Thank you to those who were able to come to ‘Watch Us While We Work’ yesterday. We hope you enjoyed the session and were able to take some ideas away with you. We’d love to hear your feedback.
Cooking
Over the course of the year, your child has three opportunities to prepare food. A couple of things to remember…
- Please consider making a voluntary contribution (£3 to £6 to pay for the ingredients) so that we can continue to offer this. You might have already donated this year – if so, thank you.
- Don’t forget to alert us to any allergies your child has. We’ll do our best to adapt recipes.
For more about our Cooking curriculum, please check out our Cooking and Nutrition Curriculum Guide. (We’re in Year B this year.)
Next, a reminder about the importance of reading (and for your child to use their Reading Record)…
Read, read, read
Reading together at home is a wonderful way to bond with your child while fostering a love for books. Set aside a regular time each day for reading, whether it’s before bed, after school, or during quiet afternoons. Choose books that align with your child’s interests, from adventure stories to fantasy or even non-fiction, allowing them to explore different genres. Alternatively, choose something that they’d not normally read to expose them to new vocabulary. Take turns reading aloud to each other, using voices and expression – this helps build fluency and makes the experience more interactive and enjoyable.
To further enhance the reading experience, ask open-ended questions about the story, encourage your child to predict what might happen next, and discuss the characters or themes. Creating a cozy reading space with comfy seating and good lighting can make this time feel special. Remember, it’s not just about the quantity of books, but the quality of the time spent together, sparking your child’s imagination and making reading an enjoyable part of their daily routine.
In Key Stage 2, Reading Record activities should be about exploring the story to aid understanding and memory. We’ve listened to your feedback: this year, there are more, and more varied, activities to support this.
NHS Healthy Start
The NHS Healthy Start scheme helps young families on low incomes to buy healthy food and milk. If you’re more than 10 weeks pregnant or have children under four and receive certain benefits, you could be eligible for NHS Healthy Start. Find out if you’re eligible and apply online.
Finally this week, another of our occasional messages about what a child misses if they’re absent for a prolonged time.
If your child was absent for five days in a row…
We know children are sometimes ill and have to spend time out of school – that’s inevitable. However, taking a week’s holiday during term-time means your child misses…
- over 4 hours of learning in Reading
- over 4 hours of learning in Writing
- over 5 hours of learning in Maths
- over 10 hours of learning in other subjects
- over 6 hours of opportunities for social time and play
Missing all this in one week means your child will miss significant chunks of teaching and will therefore have gaps in their learning.
Have a happy and healthy weekend!