Week 3: Animals in Percy's park, yoga and lunch times.

 

Hello Hedgehogs and Hedgehog parents,

This week has just flown by! The class is settling so well; the Reception children are finding their way around life at school and the Year 1 children have done a lot of Year 1 learning this week. The two groups of children are slowly starting to get to know each other which is lovely to see. 

On Monday the whole class took part in a Percy the Park Keeper Mantle episode. We thought about what animals Percy would have in his park. The children looked at the features of the different animals and then became them - making ears, stepping into our story and acting in role as the animals. The Year 1 children have spent the rest of the week learning more - they have learnt to identify a mammal, looked closely at the different features mammals have (such as tails for balancing, strong legs and claws for digging and whiskers for feeling their way around). They have also learnt to use oil pastels to create detailed pictures of the mammals. 

We have finished our initial assessments of the Reception children and so, from next week, the children will begin to take part in some adult-led phonics and maths activities, among other things. 

Forest school was just so sunny this week! We all had a great time looking for blackberries. The children managed to eat them all, but if we find some more next week we're going to make some blackberry cake. We'll have to hope the birds don't get to them first!

Lunch times are becoming easier for the Reception children. It can be quite a big thing for them, as the hall is full of older children and they have to learn to get their own cutlery, go up for their lunch and clear away. They are doing a great job with the help of the other children and the adults in the hall. 

Here are a few photos! Year 1 learning can be found below...

Year 1 learning this week:

Phonics: The children have learnt that the /ee/ sound can be spelt  ee, ea or y. Today many of the children said they'd like to do their own independent spelling challenges on a Friday, so we'll try this next week - I'll give each child a spelling book and they can mark themselves out of 6 or 8. This is not designed to be a 'test' but a way for them to work towards learning their words and feeling proud of themselves. 

Here is the list this week - please help your child to learn:
* the green 'ee' words first
* if they get on well with those, the green 'y' words
* if they get on well with those, the green 'ea' words

All other words are optional. Don't forget the list of spelling ideas I sent round with your child's high frequency spelling lists. They will come in handy here too!

Maths: This week the children have been:

Counting in 2s: which is quite straight forward up to 10, but has been causing challenges up to 20! To practise this you could play 'the missing number post-it note game' (one day I'll think of a snappier name). Your child hopefully knows how to play this, but if not:

1) practice counting in 2s to 20

2) stick a multiple of 2 on your child's back

3) count up to 20 in 2s but miss that number out, saying 'sssshhhh' instead

4) your child identifies the number

If your child is confident up to 20, you could either go beyond 20, or count backwards in 2s from 20.

Finding the missing part: The children have been remembering part/whole diagrams and finding the missing part, such as this one:

The main ways to find the missing part are

a) use counters - put the 'whole' number in the whole, then move the one part down (so in this case, move 4 counters down) and the remaining counters into the other part
b) count on from the known part, so in this case start on four and count on '5', putting the one spot into the empty part.

To practise this, complete this cut and stick activity, matching up the missing parts to their part-whole diagrams. Don't forget to use concrete objects.

If your child quickly fills in the part, talk to them about how they know, and ask them to show you so that you can complete the next one. Follow their instructions closely so that they really have to clarify their thinking. 

If you don't have a printer at home: you can re-create this activity using chalk on a pavement and cobbles, or conkers, or anything you like, or by drawing your own part whole diagram, giving your child one 'part' and asking them to work out the other 'part'. 

Have a good weekend Hedgehogs and Parents - enjoy this lovely September we're having!

From Mrs Simpson.