Week 2: Percy the Park Keeper, Forest School, etc...

 And just like that, another week has flown by!

Settling in:
The Reception children continue to settle in well to school. They have been getting used to lunch times (the lunch hall can take some getting used to) and we have had lots of helpful older children showing them how it's done. It's been lovely coming down to the gate at lunch time, seeing their smiling faces and having them rush eagerly in! Starting school is hard work so I know some of the children are very tired. It will get easier and, while at school, the children are happy and friendly and keen to be here. 

Mantle of the Expert:
We have slowly been starting our first Mantle of the Expert story. If you don't know much about what Mantle of the Expert is, you can find more information and details of past stories here. 

So far, the children have created Percy the Park Keeper's park and then make symbols for a shared map:

Following this, the Year 1 children learnt how to make a map using symbols. Here are their efforts:

Forest School:

We had our first Forest School session on Thursday. The children had a wonderful time with the Year 1 children showing the Reception children around. We remembered the Forest School rules together and the children did a marvellous job of coming to base camp when called (a very important one!)

Year 1: phonics

This week we looked at the ai grapheme, which we've seen before, and the ay grapheme, which is new. Both make the same sound, but ay is usually found at the end of words. 

I am going to start doing a (fun) spelling challenge on a Friday based on what we learn the previous week; so, next Friday, our spelling challenge will be based on ai and ay. There is no pressure, it is going to be a team challenge to practice what we have been learning. 

With that in mind, here is a spelling list. If you would like to support your child with their phonics this week, please help them to learn some of these words for Friday. I would suggest just five words to begin with. 

You could also complete this word search of ay words. 

Year 1: maths

This week the children have been remembering how to represent, count and recognise numbers to 10, including one more and one less and ordering numbers. They have been learning how to represent their ideas using objects, to explain them to me and to each other. For example I would ask 'How do you know that 5 + 0 = 5?' and the answer 'I just do!' was not enough! 

We have also been learning to represent number bonds to 4 and to recall them quickly. 

At home you could:
Practise writing numbers to 10 with your child. 
Practise subitising to 10 (remember these?)
Make some number cards to 10. Choose 3 and put them in order from smallest to largest, but make a deliberate mistake. Ask your child to help you - they can't just tell you you're wrong, they have to explain why! They could use a number line, or some cubes, to explain which order the numbers go in. 

Play this caterpillar number sequencing game. Begin with numbers 0 to 10, and go from there!

Most of all, have a lovely weekend Hedgehogs and Hedgehog parents!

From Mrs Simpson :0) 

A brand new year and some brand new Hedgehogs.

Hello Hedgehogs and Hedgehog Parents. 

Welcome back to The Hedgehog Hub!

We have had a really good week in Hedgehog Class. The Year 1 children are enjoying being Year 1 children and have been very helpful with our new Reception children. The new Reception children are coming to school and leaving at the end of the day with smiles on their faces. It's good to have them with us!

This week for Year 1 has been all about learning the Year 1 routines and taking part in some  lessons. The children have been doing maths, reading, writing and passport jobs. I am particularly impressed with their writing - they have brand new writing books and have been learning about our Every Sentence Every Time mantra. This means that each time they write a sentence, they check it for: a capital letter, finger spaces and a full stop. They are becoming such happy and confident writers!

This week for Reception has been all about getting to know the indoor and outdoor parts of the classroom, and the adults in class. We've been enjoying spending time with your children, as have the Year 1 children and they seem to be settling in well. We have started to carry out baseline assessments (see here for more information), but at the moment the main aim is getting to know the children and for them to get settled in to the class. So much of the learning they will do will be independent, and so it's important for them to learn how to find the things they need around the classroom. 

I hope you all found the information document I emailed out useful. If you have any questions about it, please let me know. 

I will be sending out some information early next week about reading with your child (with support for both year groups). For now, we will change their reading books at least once per week and twice if need be. Don't worry if your child begins to memorise the book - that's a good thing. Just make sure they are pointing to words as they say them so that they are making the connection between the spoken and written word.  Learning to read requires a lot of repetition and memorising texts, as well as talking about them with your child. More information to follow!

Unfortunately, due to a USB stick incident, many of the photos we have been taking went missing. However, here are a very few to give you a snapshot of the week, starting with our new Reception children!

And here are a few photos from our afternoons with all of the children together:

Year 1 learning has been mainly getting used to routines and assessment following the summer. From next Friday, please check the blog to see how you can support your child's learning each week. 

Thank you all for your support and patience during this first week, with new routines and so on. It's great to have parents back on the playground again!

Have a good weekend,

From Mrs Simpson.

An early Goodbye - see you next year (home again, again, again).

Well, what a strange and sad way to end what has been a lovely summer term in Hedgehog Class. Having to suddenly say 'goodbye' to all of the children on Tuesday lunch time was not the way I wanted to end the year. 

However, luckily we had our Teddy Bear's Picnic in the morning and the children, and their teddies, had a lovely time! The children enjoyed sandwiches they'd made and a ginger biscuit they'd decorated and the rain managed to hold back for a little while. 

Despite the huge disruption that has occurred this academic year, we have had a wonderful time in Hedgehog class over the past term and a bit. Our Mantle story about Queen Matilda and her castle has been very interesting and the children have been fantastic knights. Yesterday they made themselves a Noble Steed which they brought home to show you. Attaching the heads to the dowelling was done in a bit of a rush because I wanted the children to take them home, so apologies if they need a bit of adjusting! The children worked so hard on their horses and were all very proud of them. 

We were supposed to ride our Noble Steeds into a final battle to save the castle... but the end of the story will have to be left to your child's imagination.

I will miss Hedgehog Class over the next few weeks, especially the Year 1s who are going into Squirrel Class! I am looking forward to our Reception children becoming Year 1 Hedgehogs. 

Parents - a huge, huge thank you to you for your support this year. It has been another strange and difficult year to be parents, children and teachers but you have worked with me to continue your children's education in spite of everything. Thank you. 

Thank you also for all the kind cards and best wishes I received for my wedding - they were lovely!

You will be receiving your child's end of year report soon with some ideas to keep learning ticking over for the summer. 

I will be working from home until Wednesday 21st July. If you would like to get in touch with me, please email the school office who will forward your email. Unfortunately I was unable to sort out the reading  books you were kindly sending back for me, but I am about to update Rising Stars with books for your children to read. 

Have a good summer holiday, and I will look forward to seeing you all in September!

Mrs Simpson