Spider Sandwiches
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 sorted spiders by size and 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 our phonics group time, the older children learnt a new sound -V. We looked at some objects and had to listen carefully to the sound that they started with. Can you hear a ‘V’ sound at the beginning of the word? Which is the odd one out?
Help at home:
For children moving into Reception in September, play games like ‘I spy’ where you have to listen carefully to the initial sounds in words. Get three objects, two that begin with the same sound and one that starts with a different sound. Can they spot the odd one out and tell you why? E.g. car, cookie, banana.
For children that are in yellow group and will stay in Nursery next year, begin to listen to sounds around you as you’re out and about. What can children hear in their environment? Can they hear birds singing, a fridge humming, a bell ringing?
Our other learning and interests this week have included:
- Making collages and learning how to join different materials together in the creative area.
- Re-telling one of our favourite stories from earlier in the year, ‘The Gingerbread Man’, with our friends.
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- Throwing small hoops and aiming to get them on the cones. How many did you get on? Who got the most onto the purple cone?
- Drawing patterns and writing our names in the sand.
- And…enjoying some sunny weather!
Next week’s learning:
Have you seen the tadpoles in Nursery? Next week, we’ll learn about the life cycle of a frog and check to see if there have been any changes to our caterpillars. They were VERY big at the end of last week!
Sound of the week – W for wave
Nursery Rhyme of the week – 5 Little Speckled Frogs
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 retelling from start to finish. We recalled the ‘action words’ used throughout the story: walking, running, leaping, swinging, creeping and wading.
First, we drew a story map to re-tell the story. Then, we used our story telling actions below to re-tell the story.
Finally, we re-tolled the story.
Every week, we introduce new vocabulary using the focus book. This week, our ‘word of the week’ is leaping – to jump quickly or suddenly a long way.
“The lion is leaping in the hot, sunny jungle” Albie said.
Design and Technology; using a tool
This week, we have been making a ‘bug hotel’. We’ve been carefully using hand drills to create holes, holding the tool firmly in place and using our strength to wind the handle.
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.
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 that have bumped their head, there are five kittens altogether”
“There will always be 5 because we started with 5. We haven’t added any more” Harry said.
We’ve represented our parts on a Hungarian frame (or ‘die frame’):
Help at home– Collect 5 objects. Place some of the 5 objects in front of you and some hidden behind your back. Ask your child how many are hidden. Swap and take it in turns to be the person hiding the objects!
Your child is familiar with this game as we have played it in school. Encourage your child to explain why they know how many are hidden.
“3 are hidden because I know 2 and 3 makes 5. 5 is made of 2 and 3.”
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. You’re child will get an extra star challenge on their challenge chart!
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.
Reminders and Dates
SWIMMING DATES- Summer 1
Rainbow Class- 15 May
Sunshine Class- 8 May, 22 May
3,4C Class Post
This week, we have been geographers.
We have enjoyed learning about Venice and York, comparing geographical features including latitude, area and climate.
In our reading lessons, we have discovered more about the city of Venice by reading a very interesting text.
In writing, we have completed our writing promotion for York using writer’s techniques like alliteration and rhetorical questions.
What a busy week! Well done, everyone.
Help at home by continuing to read regularly and by encouraging your child to access Times Tables Rock Stars.
3,4A Class News
This week, we finished writing our promotions about York. We created leaflets and made sure to use rhetorical questions, commands and alliteration. We then worked with our partners to check through our sentences. The children did an amazing job and it’s been lovely hearing them confidently reading out their favourite section to the class.
In Geography, we’ve been also been learning about York but from the point of view of comparing it to Venice. We’ve looked at the locations of both cities, learnt about their scale and are now thinking about why tourists want to visit them, before we move on to considering the issues raised by overtourism.
In PE this half term, we are developing ball skills by learning about the sport of basketball. This week was all about fitness for basketball and so we did a carousel of activities around the playground, including skipping, shuttle runs and ladder runs.
Help at home by asking us why it’s important to exercise regularly.
Living and Learning – Healthy eating
This week and next, Year 3,4 are looking at all things healthy eating!
So far, we have discussed what is meant by a ‘balanced diet’ and used the ‘Eatwell Guide ‘ to talk about the different food groups and roughly how much of each of the food groups constitutes a balanced meal.
Next week we will move on to explore what people should eat more or less of and consider the issue of hidden sugars. We will also learn about simple food swaps and ideas to develop healthy eating habits.
Help at home by asking us what the main food groups are!
3,4B Class News
This week we have learnt lots of information about York and Venice across the curriculum!
In writing, we have produced our own promotional piece on either Venice or York – explaining lots of varied information about our chosen city whilst using persuasive devices such as alliteration, commands and rhetorical questions to encourage our audience to visit!
In geography, we have produced fact files on York and Venice – this time focusing on three geographical concepts – location, scale and place. This included using atlases to establish the direction from Leeds and the latitude and research online to find out facts such as population and size.
This term, our new class novel in Y3/4 is ‘The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane’. We are all really enjoying the story so far and can’t wait to find out what happens to Edward next!
Help at home by continuing to listen to your child read and asking them questions as they go to help develop their understanding.
Geography: What is a rainforest?
We have been exploring the Amazon Rainforest this week. The children have a secure understanding of the location and climate of this region now. They studied the four different layers of the forest and how this offers up a huge variety of plant and animal species. Discussions took place about how the rainforest is different to the forests we have in the UK. Earlier in the week, the children researched the Dalby Forest and understood its location and uses. These are two very contrasting locations.
Help at home: Can your child remember the name of the four layers of the rainforest? Can they describe the vegetation and animals that exist within each layer?
Apostrophes
For the past two weeks, Year 2 have been learning all about apostrophes and how to use them. We have been learning to make and write contractions (where we push two words together, lose a letter or two and replace with an apostrophe). We’ve also been learning to show possession using apostrophes.
See some of our fantastic work!
A visit to Scholes Library
On Tuesday, KS1 visited Scholes Library where Madeleine welcomed us with open arms. She talked about the library, how it works and how you can join. The children were given time to explore the library and to look for books to bring back to school to support our learning. Everyone had a lovely time and we’re looking forward to our next visit. Thank you to Madeleine and to all the volunteers who helped us on the day.
Help at home: Talk to your child about the library and let them show you where Scholes Library is. Perhaps you would even consider joining the library?
We Are Explorers!
Over the last two weeks in KS1, we have begun the journey on this half term’s topic ‘Explorers.’ We have learnt the names of the 7 continents and the names of the five oceans by using catchy songs to help us (links below.) We have located them on maps and globes and in atlases too.
We talked about how different countries can have very different temperatures and we thought about why this could be. The ‘Arctic/North Pole’ and ‘Antarctic/South Pole’ have very different temperatures to those countries that sit on the equator. We plotted them on a map and we noticed that the further away from the equator you go, the colder the temperature. We talked about this being because the Arctic and the Antarctic are further away from the Sun than the equator.
Help at home:
- Discuss different countries and their temperatures with your child. Perhaps you or someone you know have been on holiday to somewhere hotter than the UK. Why was that country hotter than England? Can you find different countries on a map (including Google maps)? Which country would be the colder one? Why?
- You could also sing the Seven Continents Geography Song and the Five Oceans Song with your child: