Important information
On Thursday 15th you are invited to attend our Christmas Carol singing at 9.00 or 2.30 at the P2D door. Children are invited to wear something festive on their heads if they wish.
P2 Christmas party is on Monday 12th. Children can either come dressed for the party or bring party clothes in a bag and get changed after lunchtime. A letter will be sent from the school office today with further information on providing party food boxes. Please look out for this letter!
Loose parts on Friday 16th. Please come dressed for the outdoors!
A purple folder has gone missing from school. Please could you check that your child did not bring it home by mistake.
Please return your child’s learning story to school if you haven’t done so already. Please make sure you have signed the learning comments’ sheet.
As we have received a few comments about children finding easy the reading book we would like to clarify that this should be the case as the book they take home on Thursday has been read and worked on during the week at school. By the time the book goes home, your child should be confident with it. Please be aware that we are constantly checking to provide appropriate challenge of learning for each child.
Here is summary of our learning this week.
Literacy
In phonics we have continued to learn about magic e. The magic ‘e’ rule, sometimes known as silent ‘e’, is where the ‘e’ at the end of a word is silent but changes the way that the word is spoken. This happens when ‘e’ is the second letter in a split digraph with another vowel sound, such as in the word ‘cape’. The ‘a’ says its name (ay) rather than its sound (ah).
This week we have focussed on the ‘long u’ sound with ‘magic e’ (e.g. cute, use, tube, rude).
In handwriting we have practiced cursive e and s.
At writing we have used the books ‘This is not my…’ as a stimulus and we have written our own book ‘This is not my Santa’.
Ideas for learning at home:
- Your child should continue to work on the word wall related to the stage they are reading. They should become confident in reading these words. Remember that they should recognise these words by sight.
- Everyone should now have a magic wand at home! Write out the words: cub, tub, etc, . Then ask your child to read them as they are, before tapping them with the magic wand and adding an e to the end of the word. Can they identify that the sound that the ‘u’ makes changes from its sound to its name?
- Handwriting. Here is a useful website which has animations to show how to correctly form each letter. Please note that the f and z that we use are in the ‘alternative / non scheme letters’ section.
Continuous Cursive letter choice 1 beginners (teachhandwriting.co.uk)
- Continue to practise reading and spelling the tricky words. Ask your child to read the tricky words and use a timer, do it several times and compare the times your child should get faster at reading them. Do the same for writing, if your child makes a mistake ask your child to check it and correct it himself/herself. Try several times.
Numeracy
In our number work we have continued to learn about equal groups.
Some of us have continued to work on sharing equally. When we do this, we give one to each group until we run out. There should be an equal amount in each group.
Some of us have also been working on identifying rows and columns in arrays. The rows go across the way (like rows of seats at the cinema) and the columns go up and down (like they do on buildings). We can then find the total of the array. For example, 3 rows x 4 columns = 12. We have learned to calculate the number of dots on visible arrays.
Here are some online games which would reinforce the learning in class.
https://www.scootle.edu.au/ec/viewing/L106/index.html#
https://pbskids.org/curiousgeorge/busyday/dogs/
We are still working on directions using programmable robots; bee bots
At home
- Playing games which include sharing out cards, items etc. Ask your child to share the cards/items equally between the number of players (can be 2 or more) and initially explain that ‘sharing equally’ means everyone will have the same amount/number of items at the end. Then when playing the same game again or a different one, ask your child how s/he will know the items have been shared equally.
Possible games: card games, Snap, Dominoes.
- Using everyday objects and sharing items between 2 or more people, e.g. sweets, biscuits, segments of an orange. Ask your child to share these items equally between the number of people who are going to have them, e.g. sharing 10 sweets between 2 people:
How many sweets do you have?
Can you share them equally between your sister and you? What does ‘share equally’ mean? How are you going to share them?
If your child does not know, then prompt by saying, “I wonder what will happen if you shared them out one at a time?”
Your child might have his/her own idea, so let them have a go (even if it is not right). If they share the items and they are not equal amounts, ask your child if s/he have shared the items equally. If your child says, “No,” then ask them why they are not shared equally and how s/he are going to solve the problem. Talking through a problem and coming to a solution is a great way to learn, so let your child make mistakes.
Your child might immediately say 5 and 5. Ask him/her how they know and s/he might say “5 and 5 altogether makes 10” or “Double 5 makes 10.”
Once the items have been shared equally, count/say how many items each person has or ask your child how s/he know the sweets have been shared equally. Promote the language, “We both have the same amount.”
Then use language, such as, “10 shared between 2 is 5, each person has 5.”
Share items up to 10 initially and then up to 20.
Share between more than 2 people, but make sure the amount can be shared equally between the number of people.
- Sharing board: place different numbers of items (up to 10/20) in the first box for the children to share equally between the 2 boxes below.
Items can be things found around the house, e.g. pasta shapes, buttons, raisins etc.
Questions to ask are written on the board.
Encourage your child to use the appropriate language in their explanations.
Other areas
PE
We have worked on fitness and racing skills. We also have worked on stretching through yoga.
EXA
We have started to practice our Christmas Carols for next Thursday. We are very grateful that Mrs Turner is helping us for this event.
RME
We have learned about the Christmas story and Hannukah.
Have a lovely weekend.
Mrs McFarlane
Buckstone Primary School 