Phonics
Reception are loving their phonics lessons and are all gaining confidence in forming letters and making words.
Please practise the phonemes at home and encourage them to practise writing the letters and their name.
You can see how we form our letters here.
Learn how we teach phonics.
Phonics
We have begun phase 2 of our phonics learning and have learnt the phonemes s, a, t, p.
This week we will continue with set 2 g, o , c, k, ck
Has your child been talking about ‘phonemes’ and ‘graphemes’ yet?
Don’t worry- you can learn about these terms and how we teach phonics here.
As we learn new letters and their sounds, we also learn how to write them.
You can see how we write the letters here.
If you have any questions please email and remember to let us know about those ‘wow’ moments at home.
moortowneyfs@spherefederation.org
Living and Learning: 8Rs for learning
In this half term, there has been a focus on the 8Rs for learning.
During one PE session, we focused on showing resilience. The children were set an extremely tricky task of trying to hit a tennis ball into a box from a distance. What made it unexpectedly harder was the wind blowing the boxes around! The children struggled to get the ball into the boxes but never gave up and some eventually managed it.
They all showed great resilience!
This week’s learning
Maths
This week we will continue sorting and comparing sets of objects and talk about which set has more and which has fewer.
We will also learn all about the number 2.
Why not watch Numberblocks with your child and talk about 2.
English
We will be reading the story, ‘Leafman’ and drawing a story map. The children will be encouraged to think about the events in the story and use language such as first, then, next and finally.
As children gain confidence in phonics, they will be encouraged to label their drawings.
Encourage your child to ‘have a go’ at writing their names and labels for drawings. Remember- at this stage we want to encourage their confidence in having a go.
Being Reflective
On Friday afternoon, we spent ten minutes reflecting on our week. We reflected on what went well, what was tricky and what we enjoyed.
Olivia said:
When I saw our maths learning objective: ‘counting in 50s’, I was worried that it was going to be really tricky. When you taught us that it was really similar to counting in 5s, I found it a lot easier than I thought I would and now I get it!
This week, we also begun creating our own maze games based on ‘Theseus and the Minotaur’ – a Greek myth.
The children in Year 3 were so excited about this project. When we were reflecting on Friday, many of them put their hands up straight away to show it was their favourite part of the week.
One of your five a day
In Reception, Year 1 and 2, the children benefit from the School Fruit and Vegetable Scheme, a government programme that entitles every child to a piece of fruit or vegetable each school day.
Fruit and vegetables are key to a healthier lifestyle for all of us and experts recommend that everyone eats at least five portions of a variety of fruit and vegetables in a day.
Eating fruit and vegetables every day helps children and teenagers grow and develop, boosts their vitality and can reduce the risk of many chronic diseases – such as heart disease, high blood pressure, some forms of cancer and being overweight or obese.
The children enjoy a variety of different fruit and vegetables and these all contribute to their 5 a day. We even tried radishes last week!
To ensure no food waste, sometimes the children may bring home a piece of fruit or vegetables. Change 4 life provides more ideas for achieving 5 a day.
If you would prefer, you are welcome to send a snack with your child for playtimes but this should only be fruit or vegetables.
Science: environmental dangers
In our science lesson this week, we’ve been learning about how humans can cause environments to change and how this can have a negative effect on the plants an animals that live there.
We learnt about how deforestation is leading to habitat destruction for lots of plants and animals. We also learnt about how plastic pollution in the environment affects sea creatures.
Children were then tasked with creating a short video to inform others about these dangers and what we can do to help.
Living and Learning – mental health
What might affect our mental health?
Anything! It could be a friendship issue, not taking care of yourself or even a life event such as moving house or school (like us next year!).
What might the person be feeling?
“They might feel anxious,” said Safiya-Mishal.
Isabella said they might look happy on the outside but be really sad inside.
“They might be paranoid about little things,” said Noah.
How can that person help themselves?
- go for a walk – Priya
- talk to someone – Ethan L
- avoid what’s making you sad for a bit – Phoebe
- make sure you’re sleeping and eating enough – Talha
- write your feelings down – Miss Wilson
- do some mindfulness – Albie
How can others help the person?
Leo said, “They could ask them if they want to talk but they might not.”
Sami advised, “You could remind them that everything will be ok.”
“They could comfort them or just be with them,” suggested Jasraj.
Painting with syringes
Year One have been using the book Here We Are, written by Oliver Jeffers, as their focus for the current mini topic.
We have looked closely at our planet and the children thought of questions they would like to ask about life on earth.
How many humans live on Earth?
Which is the biggest animal?
Is everybody different?
Why is there so much water?
Using Google Earth, we looked down on our planet from space. Then we zoomed in gradually and found our school. The children were fascinated by the colours of our planet from far away.
Using some water colour paints, we created our very own versions of Earth. The children mixed their own paints and then used a syringe to drop the colours onto some filter paper.
It’s magic! The paint is spreading out!
The colours are joining.
It is light and dark.
The finished planets looked very realistic indeed.
Sorting
In maths this week, the children have taken part in different sorting activities.
Sorting is an important early maths skill.
By sorting, children understand that things are alike and different as well as that they can belong and be organized into certain groups. Lots of practice with sorting is important for developing numerical concepts.
Try some sorting activities at home. Children love sorting objects like buttons, small toys and coins. They could even help sort the laundry!
Please send some photos.
moortowneyfs@spherefederation.org