Because this week is half-term, we’re taking a break from the usual daily home learning tasks (just like we did at Easter). Instead, we’ve prepared a menu of home learning activities that you might want to dip into this week – these are optional only, but you might want to encourage your child to have a go at being a quiz master, doing some up-cycling, presenting a cookery masterclass or any of the other activities.
Whatever you decide to do, we hope you have a happy and healthy half-term.
As it’s the Easter holidays, we’re taking a break from the daily home learning tasks. Instead, here are a range of activities that you might like to try over the two weeks. The tasks are creative and are designed to allow children the opportunity to enjoy some different learning, perhaps alongside family members. A few key points…
Art Attack
Andy Goldsworthy is a British artist who creates art using things he can find in nature. The artwork shown here was created using different leaf types and creating a pattern. He creates his art outside as he likes the fact that it’s temporary and won’t be around for long!
Create your own piece of art using different materials you can find around your home or in the garden. You could even create some ‘rubbish art’ using only items that have been used and would be thrown away or recycled.
Take some photographs and send them to your teachers.
Hunted
Create your own treasure hunt with cryptic clues for your family members to complete. Make the clues as tricky as you can. What could be the prize for the winning hunter? Maybe, this could tie in with a family Easter egg hunt.
Secret Message
Create your own invisible ink.
Using a spoon, mix water and lemon juice. Dip a cotton bud into the mixture and write a message onto the white paper. Wait for the juice to dry so your message becomes completely invisible. When you are ready to read your secret message or show it to someone else, heat the paper by holding it close to a light bulb – be careful: maybe ask an adult to do this part. As the mixture heats up, your message should reappear so people can read it again.
Alternatively, the same result can be achieved by writing the message on white paper with a white candle or crayon. Then, paint over the message using coloured paint to reveal the writing.
For a challenge, come up with your own way of making invisible ink and try it out on your family.
‘Board’ Silly
Design and create your own board game for you and your family to play – perhaps play some existing board games first to research ideas.
There are a few key things to think about:
Enjoy your games!
Extreme Reading
Reading is a great way to relax and learn about the world around us; also, reading regularly can help us to stay happy and healthy. This challenge is all about making reading even more fun. We’d love to know how many places you can read in. Try to read in a different place each day. Take photos or draw a picture of you doing it, if you can.
You could read…
Stay safe and send your class teacher some pictures.
Come Dine/Bake with Me
Have your very own family ‘Come Dine With Me’ experience. Each family member could cook a meal or a course and then you must score each other out of ten. Similarly, each family member could bake something and you could all have a tasting after where you give points (like on Great British Bake Off). You don’t have to work on your own – you could help an adult.
Who will win?
Den Building
Who doesn’t love making a den? Either in your house, or in your garden, spend time building a den and enjoy some time relaxing in it – if there’s more than one of you, you could make it a competition. Use whatever materials you can find and see how creative you can get.
You could also read in it and combine this challenge with the ‘Extreme Reading’ one.
Get Ya Body Movin’
Staying physically active plays a crucial role in keeping us happy and healthy; it boosts our mental and emotional health, too. This task has three options – all of which are designed to get people moving during the holidays. You could include your family as well.
Option A: Create your own ‘Ninja Warrior’ style challenges in the garden or your house. Try to include a range of activities that include jumping, balancing, stretching, climbing and, if you’re feeling brave, water. The adults in your family will love a water challenge.
Option B: Create your own Joe Wicks style workout video. You could do it with your family or film yourself and send it to your friends. You might like to check out Joe Wicks’ YouTube channel for inspiration.
Option C: Choose your favourite song and create your own ‘Wake Up Shake Up’ (WUSU) dance routine. Again, you could lead this for your family to join in or film yourself and send it to friends or other family members. This’ll be a great way to get everyone dancing.
This week, the whole school has the same Talk Time homework: I can pay and receive compliments to/from people outside of school.
This homework, which links to our recent living and learning statement, is an opportunity for children to discuss the benefits of paying compliments to people. Here are some questions that might shape your discussion:
Children should be ready to discuss what they’ve talked about at home by Thursday 26 March 2020. It would be even better if children were able to talk confidently about times when they have given, or received, a compliment.
Our homework this week is Creative: I can show my talents.
All of the children in our school are blessed with an array of talents. This week, our homework, which links to our living and learning statement (I can recognise my talents), gives our children the opportunity to celebrate and share their talents. Children should respond creatively and be ready to show off their talents to their peers as part of their homework review. They could do this in a range of ways:
create a short performance to show to the class
film themselves showing off their talent
make a collage of their many talents
produce a piece of art to show off their talents
There are, of course, many other ways that children could respond. Children should be ready to show off their talents by Thursday 19 March 2020.
This week, our homework is Creative and is helping us to celebrate World Book Day next week.
I can show what I love about reading.
Children could come up with their own ideas for how to show this, or ideas might include:
Be as creative as you like.
This homework will be celebrated in our weekly homework review on World Book Day itself, 5 March 2020.
This week, the whole school has the same creative homework, which is due in on Thursday 13 February 2020.
I can show different ways to stay safe, including online.
This week, linked to our Living & Learning, we have been thinking about how to make safe choices, including online. There are many ways, and many different situations, in which we need to keep safe: at home, at school, in our environment and online.
Children should think about the situations where they need to keep safe and who might help them to stay safe. This could be done in any creative way:
…or any other creative ideas!
The homework will be reviewed as part of our weekly homework review.
This week, the whole school has the same Talk Time homework: What is a drug?
This homework, which links to our Living and Learning statement, is a first step in children becoming aware of drugs. There are a few key points you may wish to talk about at home. Children need to be aware that some drugs are helpful, some are harmful, some are legal, some are illegal. Don’t forget to consider that even the legal or helpful ones can be harmful.
Below are some question prompts that could help shape your discussion…
Children should be prepared to discuss what they’ve talked about at home during our homework review next week. This homework should be completed by Thursday 30 January.
This week, the whole school has the same Creative homework:
I can show different ways to make things better.
This homework, which is due on Thursday 24 January, is an opportunity for children to reflect on our living & learning statement for this week: I can make things better.
Children should think about ways to make things better in a variety of different situations and contexts:
You could consider…
Don’t forget to be creative! Produce a report or diary; capture photos of making things better; create rules for better games at play times; make a poster about how to say sorry; or, think of your own creative response.
This homework will be celebrated in our weekly homework review.
This week, the whole school has the same Creative homework, which should be returned by Thursday 12 December.
The children are invited to respond to something from either a cultural or a spiritual perspective.
I can show what I know and think about something cultural.
We’d like children to present their responses about a recent book they’ve read, film they’ve watched, piece of art they’ve looked at, piece of music they’ve listened to – anything cultural in fact.
We’re interested to read some sort of description (a summary, for example) and then your child’s opinions. This review might include pictures, an interview (your child could write a fictional script between himself/herself and the artist, for example), a letter (eg to or from a character, or perhaps even the author) – anything which might include your child’s responses!
However, your child might prefer to do the following:
I can show what I know about a festival.
Over the course of this term, some children in school may have celebrated a religious festival of some sort. This might have been
There are lots of other festivals and celebrations, which you and your child together might want to reflect on.
We invite children to respond to the sentence above – they might include a recount (like a diary entry), pictures, an interview (perhaps in a script). Your child might also choose to research a completely unknown festival, or they might even think about creating a brand new festival, one that everyone will celebrate.
This week, the whole school has the same Talk Time homework: Which charity should our school support?
Next week, a charity will be decided for us to support for the year ahead – for example, when we have a performance, we’ll collect money for this particular charity. What charity does your child think we should support?
You could talk about:
Next week, each class will vote (because in our school we make democratic decisions) for the charity they would like to support to form a shortlist. Then, our recently elected School Council will decide which charity we will support for the next year.