Rumble in the Jungle
Rumble in the Jungle
This week, our focus book has been Rumble in the Jungle by Giles Andreae and David Wojtowycz.
The book is a collection of fun animal poems. Whilst reading, the children enjoyed listening for rhyming words and noticing the patterns made with the words.
Our word of the week is Rainforest. We’ve been learning all about geographical features of rainforests and about some of the animals who live there.
In our writing, we’ve been writing facts about rainforests. Lots of children are challenging themselves to write more and use finger spaces!
Maths
In maths this week, we’ve continued to develop our understanding of the composition of numbers to 10. Using the rhyme ’10 Fat Sausages’, we have found different ways to represent 10.
We have also used 10 frames and dice patterns to show ‘5 and a bit’ numbers to 10.
Phonics
This week we have continued to read longer words as well as compound words such as windmill, handstand and lunchbox.
We’ve learnt the tricky words; there, when, what, one.
Help at home- Please continue to work through the weekly learn at home phonics sheets. We’ll continue to send these home each Friday.
Poetry Picnic
Each week we will be learning a new poem. We will recite this poem each day. By saying the poem out loud, we can focus on the sounds and rhythm of each word or line. We talk to the children about how this can help us become better readers. This week’s poem is called A Little Shell.
More learning from this week…
Reminders and Dates
Friday 23 May- School Closed: Training Day
I know the importance of 5 a day
This week KS1 have really being getting into our school motto, ‘Scholes is happy and healthy’. But what does it mean to be healthy?
We can keep our bodies healthy in lots of different ways. It is important to keep active and fit.
We do this each week by taking part in WUSU, PE and swimming. Lots of the children also take part in after school clubs.
Our diets are equally important to keep our bodies healthy. We know we need to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables each day. 
Our fantastic school library service has also brought us some fantastic books about keeping active and healthy. We are really enjoying making our way through them!
Help at home by discussing what it means to eat a healthy diet and encourage children to help prepare food where appropriate.
Walk to school week
Next week, we are taking part in ‘Walk to school week!’
The children are being encouraged to be more active next week and avoiding travelling to school in a car. We would love the children to walk, cycle or scoot to school. We would really appreciate parents support on this. If you live further afield, maybe you could park near to school and walk the last part of your journey.
The children will be signing a pledge in their classes this week and will receive an activity book they will complete in school. Each day the classes will tally up the active journeys. If you have any photographs of your children completing their active journey to school, please send them to sarahhogarth@spherefederation.org.
Let’s make next week active, happy and healthy!
Help at home: If you are interested in finding out more, check out the following website.
Year 5 Historians Explore World War II
This week, Year 5 have been hard at work as young historians, diving into fascinating research about life in Britain during World War II. As part of our research project, the children have been exploring three key areas: life on the Home Front, the Battle of Britain, and the evacuation of children.
Working collaboratively, Year 5 used a variety of carefully selected websites to investigate each topic, gather facts and create to detailed fact files. It’s been great to see their enthusiasm and curiosity as they uncovered how families coped with rationing, how the RAF defended Britain in the skies, and how children just like them were evacuated from cities to the countryside.
Each lesson has involved group discussion, research and teamwork. We’ve also spent time reflecting on the resilience and courage shown by people during the war and how their experiences still teach us important lessons today.
Help at Home: Ask your child about their brilliant research.
Incy Wincy Spider
This week, children have been searching for spiders in Nursery and looking for their webs. We sang Incy Wincy Spider and made spiders in the malleable area using playdough. First, we had to roll a ball to make the body and then we rolled sausage shapes to add on the legs. Some children managed to count 8 legs to put on their spiders!
In the maths area, we counted spiders carefully to match the numeral written on each web. During group time, older children counted spiders and looked at which web had the most/fewest spiders. We also talked about what happened if we had ‘one more’ or ‘one less’ spider on the web. For example: ‘There are 4 spiders on the web, 1 spider runs away. How many will be left? How do you know?’
In the creative area we made our own spiders webs by rolling a marble backwards and forwards. It was lots of fun and we were very happy with our silky webs.
In the sensory area we used tweezers to pick up our own spaghetti worms.
Help at home.
Have a minibeast hunt in your outdoor space or at the park. Can you find any minibeasts ? How many legs can you see ? Do they have a pattern ? Do they have wings ? Let us know at Nursery what you find.
Next week
We will continue reading “Mad about Minibeasts”
Our Nursery Rhyme of the Week
Ring-a -ring of roses
Our sound of the week
Yy
Reminders
Please remember to put your child’s named sun cream in their group basket on the days that you want it to be applied.
Your child needs a coat every day. The weather is changeable at the moment and a sunny morning can often turn into a chilly afternoon.
Walking Through The Jungle
This week our focus book has been Walking through the jungle by Julie Lacome.
Top tip for watching YouTube with your child: go to the settings cog along the play bar and turn off auto play – this avoids an inappropriate clip coming up automatically, and helps to discourage your child from passively watching clip after clip.This repeating story has been great for re-telling and exploring different ‘action words’: walking, running, leaping, swinging, creeping and wading.
In our writing, we’ve been re-telling parts of the story in our own words.
This week, our ‘word of the week’ is leaping – to jump quickly or suddenly a long way.
Did you know?…
We have a new morning activity. After we’ve put our things away, found our names and chosen our dinner, we are writing about an interesting picture. We have been showing some spectacular independent writing. We are getting so confident to write on our own. Check out some of our writing below!
Design and Technology; using a tool
We’ve continued working on the parts we are going to use for our ‘bug hotel’. We’ve been carefully using hand drills to create holes in wood, holding the tool firmly in place and using our strength to wind the handle.
We kept safe by wearing our safety goggles.
Maths; composing 5
In Maths, we’ve been composing 5 and using the song ‘5 little kittens’ to explore the parts that make the whole number. These are also called number bonds.
We’ve been using full sentences to explain what we can see on our fingers, as we move through the song:
“There are three kittens on the bed, there are two kittens under the bed, there are five kittens altogether”
In our partner work, the children had 5 counters. Taking turns, they hid some of the counters behind their back and their partner had to guess how many it was by looking at how many they could see!
Help at home– Can you play this game at home?
Encourage your child to repeat the below phrases.
5 is made of ____ and ____.
____ and ____ make 5.
Please email us a quote from your child or a photo when playing the game.
Phonics
Summer 1 week 3 has focused on phase 4 words with short vowels and longer words. We’ve learnt the tricky words; were, here, little, says
Help at home- Please continue to work through the weekly learn at home phonics sheets. We’ll continue to send these home each Friday.
Poetry Picnic
One week in every half term, we focus on a traditional nursery rhyme. This week we’ve been reciting Sing a song of sixpence.
Watch us sing the nursery rhyme here!
Art; using and representing nature
We’ve worked on collaborative and independent art pieces this week.
We used large leaves to print a large-scale jungle scene, before adding our jungle animal drawings.
We used fine paintbrushes and watercolours to create some observational paintings of plants.
Reminders and Dates
I know the importance of a healthy diet
In Living and learning this week, KS1 have been looking at what a healthy diet is.
We know that we need to eat food from different food groups to create a ‘balanced diet’.
We also know what we need to do to keep our bodies healthy such as exercise and get enough sleep.
As part of our ‘being healthy’ focus, the children also came up with some brilliant games to play at playtime, to help count towards the 60 minutes of exercise they need each day.
Help at home by talking to your child about the importance of a balanced diet and encourage them to tell or show you what that might look like at tea time!
Our class novel
We are really getting into the class novel this half term – Letters from the lighthouse. The author is Emma Carroll who we know from earlier in the year when we read Secrets of the Sun King. The book links directly to our learning in topic about World War II. In the book, the main characters Olive and Cliff, are young children experiencing a war situation and are evacuated to the south coast for their safety. We follow their journey and experience the fear, emotion and moments of happiness with them.
Help at home: https://emmacarrollauthor.wordpress.com/
Use this website to learn more about the author with your child.
Science – investigating how bulbs grow in different temperatures
We are growing bulbs in science. In this investigation we will observe the bulbs growing in different temperatures – the warm windowsill in the classroom and the cold fridge. They will both be watered.
We will be observing over time (4 weeks), measuring and watching closely what happens. We made predictions when we set up our investigation.
Help at home by growing bulbs or seeds of your own, observing what happens as they grow. We’d love to see any photos of your plants. Email them to you teacher.
1A Mrs Wilkins : lydiawilkins@spherefederation.org
1,2B Mrs Latham : vickylatham@spherefederation.org
2C Miss Young : kateyoung@spherefederation.org
KS1 Reading – Amazing Grace
This half term we are sharing Mary Hoffman’s story ‘Amazing Grace’ in our classes. It’s a lovely story about a young girl named Grace who loves stories and using her imagination. She likes to dress up and act out her favourite tales. One day at school, Grace wants to play Peter Pan in the class play. But some kids tell her she can’t – because she’s a girl and because she’s Black. Grace feels sad, but with the love and encouragement of her Nana and Ma, she decides to try anyway. And guess what? She gives an amazing audition!
Help at home: Share the story with your child at home by clicking the link. This story teaches children that they can be anything they want to be, no matter what others say. What does your child want to be? You could discuss their hopes and dreams with them and relate it back to Grace from the story. Which character would they like to play from a book, programme, film or pantomime?