Yoga
For the last 2 weeks of half term we are doing yoga in PE. We are LOVING IT! We start the learning off with some breathing exercises, then practise some yoga poses. We put 3/4 balances to create a ‘flow’ and then have a go at creating our own balances.
On our mats we practised lots of low and high poses.
We also did some balancing in pairs and in threes!
Geography fieldwork
We have really enjoyed the fieldwork part of our geography topic this half term. We surveyed the village and our school grounds, thinking about litter, noise, traffic and plants. Our locality is really nice!
We did notice quite a bit of litter around school so we are going to pick it up.
Help at home by talking about how we can positively impact the environment (eg picking up litter, recycling, planting trees).
PE – yoga
We are doing some yoga lessons to finish this half term. Being aware of our bodies, balancing and stretching were great exercise. We loved the paired poses!
Feed the birds
It’s been a busy week in Nursery. The children love exploring the outside area, especially looking for worms and bugs under the logs. This week they began to notice that they couldn’t find many. Where they had gone?
We talked about the cold, frosty weather and how the ground had been very hard. The children then began to think about the birds in our garden and wondered what they were eating? We decided to make them some food. Cutting up lard very carefully, we mixed it together with bird seed, it was “sticky” and “gooey”
We pressed it into cups, added string, and then hung them in our Nursery garden. We took some home too, so that we could watch the birds at home. Let us know if your bird feeder attracts the birds into your outside space. scholesnursery@spherefederation.org
Some other activities from this week in Nursery.
Self-help skills are very important as the children develop. At lunchtime we are developing our skills of independence by learning how to use a knife and fork. We have been practising this skill in our dough area too.
In group time, children in red, blue and green group learnt about the number 2. We looked at a domino that had one spot on one end, and one spot on the other. When we looked at the spots together, there were two. Children knew that they had 2 eyes, 2 ears and 2 feet. We jumped twice and counted two claps.
Help at home: Have a look around your house and surroundings – What can you find two of? You might see two wheels on your bike or 2 eggs left in the box. Can you spot any number twos on doors or number plates? Send us an e-mail to let us know how you get on – you could send a photograph to show us what you find. scholesnursery@spherefederation.org
Next week’s learning:
Sound of the week- “e” for elephant.
We will be choosing some of our favourite Nursery rhymes to revisit this week. Which is your favourite?
Pat a cake, The Grand old Duke of York or Jack and Jill?
The Nursery Team
School Trip to Magna!
Supertato
On Monday morning, we welcomed in the new week with another stay and learn. We invited parents and carers into class to explore all things fine motor and early writing, or as we like to call it- Funky Fingers!
Thank you to those who could join us for another fun and hopefully informative session.
As always, we would love to hear your feedback. Please use the QR code below to tell us how we did and to make suggestions of what you might like to see next time!
If you missed the session or would like to look back on the presentation, please click the link below.
Literacy
On Tuesday, there was a vegetable-based mystery… Who had captured the vegetables and why were they trapped?
It could only be one thing… The EVIL PEA!
After reading the story Supertato by Sue Hendra, we read and answered some true or false statements to check our understanding of the story.
We’ve been making Wanted posters to warn everyone who to look out for! We’ve also been writing about a picture from the story.
Our new word of the week is: mischievous. A perfect word to describe the small, green villain in our story!
We’ve enjoyed lots of activities linked to our focus story.
Maths
In maths, we’ve been exploring and comparing weight. Using the correct vocabulary (light, heavy, lighter, heavier, lightest, heaviest, balanced, equal), as we investigated.
In provision we’ve been weighing different vegetables, using the balance scales.
PE; Yoga
Last week, we started our yoga unit in PE. We are learning that yoga is meditation through movement. It is taking a lot of balance and control to move in and out of our yoga positions.
At the end of each session, we finish with a visualisation that focuses on our breathing and creating peaceful images in our minds.
Ask your child if they can demonstrate some of the yoga poses we have practised.
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 Mrs Bluebird
We talk about how a poem sometimes has rhyming words and sometimes doesn’t. We also talk about how a poem can have a fast rhythm or a slow rhythm.
Click below to watch Reception recite this week’s poem.
Phonics
Spring 1 week 5 has focused on reading longer words, by using the chunking method (segmenting and blending longer words one syllable at a time, i.e. “s-u-n, sun, s-e-t, set, sun, set, sunset”)
Ask your child to show you how they ‘chunk-it-up’
Each week, we’d like to give you an idea of a game you could play at home to make reading even more exciting.
This week’s game is: Tricky Word Splat
- Write a selection of tricky words on paper/sticky notes.
- Place around the room/floor.
- Say a tricky word for your child to splat. You might jump on the words, splat with a masher or create your own ideas!
More photos of our learning this week…
Dates for your diary
Parent-Teacher Meetings- Tuesday 11 February/Thursday 13 February (pre-booked appointments)
Class Trip- York Railway Museum- Monday 3 March (details sent home)
World Book Day- Thursday 6 March, 9am-10am Join us in class, to share in reading time with your child. They can also bring in their favourite book to share with the class later in the day (please name the book)
Reception parent/carer survey
At Scholes (Elmet) Primary, we’re always keen to hear your views. We hope that you let us know any questions, comments and concerns (as well as causes for celebration!) whenever these crop up, but we like to gather the views more generally so we can keep reviewing and improving what we do.
This short survey is just for you to think about your child’s experiences in our Reception class. (There’s another annual survey at the end of the year for all parents/carers.) It’ll only take a few minutes or so. You’ve plenty of time to do this – the deadline is Friday 28 February 2025.
We can’t guarantee to meet the needs and wants of every parent / carer, but we do assure you that we consider all the points raised and aim to act on specific points that are raised by many, or a useful idea raised by just a few.
Previously, based on your feedback, for example, we alternated the days Stay and Learns were held – to give all parents an opportunity to attend.
Thank you for taking the time to complete the survey. We’re looking forward to reading your views.
Topic – we are geographers
As we are drawing to the end of our geography topic, we are applying our geographical skills to study the impact rising sea levels have on the UK’s coastlines. We spent a few lessons looking at how rising sea levels had impacted places around the world, such as the Solomon Islands. We watched an informative video about the devastating impact on a local community.
Today, we used Digi-maps to study the Holderness coastline and we were able to look at maps from 1890, 1950 and the present day. Using drawing and measuring tools, we could see how much of the coastline had eroded. We compared Hornsea with Skipsea to see the positive impact coastal defences such as groynes have.
Help at home: Watch the video with your child at home. Can they recall the impacts that rising sea levels are having on this community?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/class-clips-video/articles/zcyqdp3
Living and Learning: Being Safe
Over the last two weeks, Year 3 and 4 have been learning all about staying safe in our Living and Learning sessions.
In the first of our two sessions, we learnt about how to assess our own risks and personal boundaries. We learnt to explain what is meant by ‘personal space’ and ‘personal boundaries’ and why these are important. We moved on to describe how boundaries might be different for different people or in different relationships e.g. with friends, family, at school or online. Finally, we identified what might make someone feel uncomfortable and what they could do or who they could go to for help and support.
In the second of our two sessions, we watched the NSPCC Speak Out, Stay Safe Assembly and discussed how we can seek help. We talked about the different reasons why we might need to seek help and who we can talk to. This could be…
– a parent
– an adult at home
– your teacher
– a member of staff at school
– a grandparent or auntie and uncle
– Childline
Well done, Year 3 and 4!
Writing: Persuasive letters
This week, we’ve started working on our next writing project: composing a persuasive letter. Persuasion means convincing someone to take action through reasoning and clear arguments.
We’ll be writing to Steve Reed, the UK’s Minister for the Environment, urging him to take stronger action against climate change. In our letters, we’ll highlight the severe impact climate change is having globally and suggest what steps he can take to address it.
After we’ve written our letters, we’ll send them out and wait for a reply!
So far, we’ve examined some strong examples and identified key elements of persuasive writing.
On Friday, we focused on selecting phrases that we can use in our own letters.
Help at home: Have a discussion about how climate change is affecting our world. Is there anything we can personally do to stop it?