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Please continue to send in your clean recycling. Many thanks
Our STEM area is a core part of our play curriculum in school. The end product may not look like much, but it is the process that matters. ‘Junk’ modelling helps to develop their imagination and creative abilities while challenging them to explore, investigate and problem solve as they bring their ideas to life.
Children can work on their own or co-operate with others, learning to negociate and share ideas. When they create something new it can give their confidence and self-esteem a big boost. They can also consider how their plans have worked out as they think about what they might have done differently or how they might improve their model.
With these materials they practice complex skills from fine and gross locomotor skills to higher order executive functioning; higher order thinking skills such as sequencing, hypothesis testing, divergent problem solving, analysis and evaluation.
If they don’t take their model home at the end of the day it doesn’t matter – the learning has already happened. If it does come home, please value the process your child has gone through more than the product itself. Thank you.
A reminder to please name all items of clothing, water bottles and shoes, and to check names on items brought home in case your child accidentally acquires an item belonging to someone else.
Our learning this week
Here are some photographs of us developing our skills through our independent learning opportunities and experiences this week. Please take time to share these photographs with your child so they can share their learning with you.
Literacy focus
We have focused on two letter shapes/sounds this week p, and s . As you support your child with learning their letters at home please always pronounce the pure sound of the letter ( e.g. S = sssssss and not suh or the letter name ‘ess’ ). This is very important as we begin to blend letters together to make words.
Some words to make/read
sat tap pat at as (past)
Some children are already familiar with these letter sounds ( and more) and have already begun to build and blend words in class. These are skills to practise at home whenever you can.
Building a word. Using plastic letters or letters written on small pieces of card or paper an adult says a three letter CVC word ( consonant, vowel, consonant) and the child chooses the correct sounds to make the word.
Blending a word . Adult writes or uses letters to make a CVC word and the child should say the pure sounds of each letter then blend them together to read the word.
Our handwriting pattern this week was zig zag lines, with pointy corners showing control as our pencil changes direction.
Our writing programme starts with telling stories through detailed drawing. This week our drawing prompt was ‘I change my shoes ‘
Maths and numeracy focus
Other areas of the curriculum
We have enjoyed playing some singing games and rhymes with Mrs Cross, developing our skill in keeping a steady beat and also exploring different ways in which we can use our voices.
In PE we practised following instructions, taking turns and using different ways of travelling, We have been learning how to warm up our muscles and enjoy choosing different exercises to demonstrate to the class. Skipping and hopping continues to prove quite tricky for a few of the children, so please practice this at home. We also enjoyed some games such as ‘Finding Nemo’ and ‘Messy Bedroom’
PE is tiring !
We have shared all memory boxes that have been brought in so far.
Outdoor play is important for our development. Proprioception is the sense that tells the body where it is in space, and it plays a big role in self-regulation, coordination, posture, body awareness, the ability to focus, and speech.
Looking ahead to next week
PE days as before.
Loose parts play on Thursday. The weather forecast doesn’t look great, but we will go out anyway unless the weather is exceptionally bad, so we would ask that the children come appropriately dressed for a good Scottish autumnal day.
Buckstone Primary School 