Senior Leadership Team Update
IT IS THE HOLIDAYS!!
Mixed emotions are amongst us today, excitement for our summer holidays and sadness that we say goodbye to some staff, families and our P7 children. We wish you all health and happiness in your future adventures. Have a lovely summer break and we will see you in August!
Thursday 25th June 2020
Mrs Imrie and Mrs Henry were out delivering P7 leavers bags yesterday……
It was lovely to see some children enjoying the sun! We say farewell to our P7 children tomorrow and wish them well in the future.
Wednesday 24th June 2020
Good morning everyone, what a beautiful day it is today. Mrs Imrie, Mrs Conlin and Mrs Henry are in school busy getting school ready for our return in August, we are so excited to see you all again! It is lovely to see some of you from a distance delivering resources back to school. Stay safe!
Tuesday 23rd June 2020
Good morning Buckstone, this week will be full of mixed emotions. We say farewell to our class teachers and say hello to our teachers for next session. The school say farewell to our wonderful P7 children this week and we are sad they will miss out on all the fun activities P7 would usually engage in during the last week but we do hope they come back and visit. Can yo keep a secret? We have a surprise for them!! Sssshhhhh!!
Staff understand this is difficult and know that some children would like to see their class teachers in person, some have gifts and farewell notes but we ask that parents and children do not come to the school and request to meet their child’s class teacher. This puts staff in a compromising position, staff want to support Scottish Government and Edinburgh Council so that we are able to return to normal as soon as possible.
Thank you for your cooperation and understanding.
Monday 22nd June 2020
Good evening everyone, apologies there was no post today, SLT were interviewing for the majority of the day. Back tomorrow.
Friday 19th June 2020
This week’s assembly – Building Resilience
Thursday 18th June 2020
Wednesday 17th June 20
Tuesday 16th June 2020
Monday 15th June 2020
Everyday this week we have tributes to our amazing Primary Sevens. We all know this is not the send off you expected or indeed we expected to give you, we will miss you all dearly. Time to say goodbye with our first powerpoint……….
(The PPT will play when you download, click on slideshow and then play from beginning, this music will start when the slideshow begins)
Friday 12th June 2020 – Buckstone at the Beach
Thursday 11th June 2020 – jeudi 11 juin
Good morning Buckstone, it is soon approaching our summer holidays and our P7s will be leaving Buckstone. Next week on Buckstone Buzz is the start of our goodbye to P7. Log in everyday next week and join us with our farewell.
Wednesday 10th June 2020 – mercredi 19 juin
Good morning Buckstone, stay safe and have fun with Joyful June Activities………
Tuesday 9th June 2020 – mardi 10 juin
Good morning everyone! Click on the arrows to view the slideshow, staring some of our amazing children and Mabel the dog!
Monday 8th June 2020 – lundi 8 juin
Good morning Buckstone, we are sure you will all be excited that some of the rules have relaxed a little, however, Scottish Government still have regulations in place and with schools still closed we must all take responsibility to adhere to guidance that will minimise opportunities for the virus to spread from one person to another. Please follow this guidance and exercise your judgement and consider your safety – and the safety of others – at all times. When we reduce our day-to-day contact with other people, we will reduce the spread of the infection.
Three main measures are in place:
- requiring people to stay at home, except for very limited purposes
- closing certain business and venues
- stopping most gatherings of more than 2 households in public (Please take this into consideration when the children are meeting up with friends in the community)Every person in Scotland must comply with these measures.
The relevant authorities, including the police, have been given the powers to enforce them – including through fines and dispersing gatherings.
STAY SAFE, BE RESPONIBLE AND RESPECT OTHERS.
Good morning Buckstone, we have some fun snapchat pictures for you, we hope they make you smile and giggle, Mrs Conlin, Mrs Imrie, Miss Martin and Mrs Henry had so much fun trying the filters out. Mrs Henry and Miss Martin are hoping hairdressers will open very soon, I also feel a beautician would be of help! First here is the assembly link with some exciting competition news!!
Thursday 4th June 2020
Buckstone Primary School Internet Safety
Good morning everyone.
On Wednesday 3rd June all our P6 pupils were invited to participate in Games@The Hub. This is a sports festival which normally takes place each year at Forrester High School during the summer term and involves over 1000 P6 pupils from across the City of Edinburgh Council schools. Due to school closures this year, Active Schools kindly agreed to host the event online. P6 pupils, were invited to participate in the event by joining in on our P6 year group Teams page. Looking forward to seeing some videos and pictures P6!
WELLBEING WEDNESDAY 3rd June 2020
Good morning Buckstone, the sun has disappeared hopefully only for a short while but that is not going to dampen our spirits! We all play an important role when it comes to increasing our wellbeing. While many factors that correlate with wellbeing may be beyond the control of our families, making time to spend together as a family, eating meals together, ensuring we are physically active, rationing screen time and ensuring we eat a healthy breakfast all have the potential to improve our wellbeing. The self-esteem that comes with emotional wellness is associated with increased physical activity and healthy eating habits, which support physical wellness. Why not challenge yourself?
We have been learning to increase our wellbeing; Mrs Imrie is being innovative with her daily exercise, whilst Miss Martin is spending more time with her little girl. Mrs Conlin is making sure her boys eat a healthy breakfast every morning and Mrs Henry is really trying to reduce screen time. What will you do to increase your wellbeing?
Tuesday 2nd June 2020
Happy Tuesday everyone, another sunny day in lockdown. These are unusual times and one day, when this is all over, you will be retelling stories about the time that our brilliant community overcame a huge challenge, how we stuck together to help and care for each other. You will also tell them how brave you have been. We all know that you are strong, compassionate with those around you and will be a positive influence in your homes. This thought fills us with pride. Continue to be a positive role model, let other people see how powerful and wonderful you are by talking to adults about what you are afraid of, bringing positivity to your family when they look sad and strengthening them by your good humour or kind words. This strange time will pass and at some point in the future our Buckstone community will be together again.
Monday 1st June 2020
Good morning everyone, what a glorious day it is today. CONGRATULATIONS Maggie in P7 – winner of Buckstone Got Talent 2020. Well done to all the finalists and everyone who entered, you were all fabulous.
A big thank you to our judges; Cheryl McKellar-Young, Brian Chalmers and Scott Arthur. We can only imagine how difficult choosing a winner would have been! Thank you from all at Buckstone!
Last week you were asked to create scarecrows, here is a picture that was sent in. Amazing!
Friday 29th May 2020
And the winner is……
Good morning Buckstone, what an exciting day today, the final of BGT and the sun has come back out! This has to be a great day everyone. Announcement will be soon!
THURSDAY 28TH MAY 2020 – BUCKSTONE GOT TALENT 2020
FINALISTS ARE;
WE HAVE BELLA IN P3 PERFORMING A DAZZLING TAP DANCE, CHARLIE IN P6 MULTI TASKING WITH HIS UKULELE AND VOICE, MAGGIE IN P7 COORDINATING HAND EYE RHYTHM WHILST SINGING WITH THE CUP SONG AND CARLA IN P7 SHOWING OFF HER ANGELIC VOICE. LAST BUT NOT LEAST IS WONDERFUL ANASTAYSIA IN P5 PERFORMING GYMNASTICS. GOOD LUCK EVERYONE!
THE 2020 WINNER WILL BE ANNOUNCED DURING TOMORROWS ASSEMBLY, GOOD LUCK EVERYONE YOU ARE ALL FABULOUS!
Good morning Buckstone, hope everyone managed to enjoy some of the fabulous sunshine yesterday!! As it is wellbeing Wednesday we have some more photos of our wonderful children to share with you. Last few BGT finalists coming soon, watch this space.
Apologies, we have just noticed Friday Assembly was not uploaded, please click on the link below to find out about Lucy’s lockdown.
Monday 25th May 2020
Good morning Buckstone! Hope you all had a lovely weekend. Exciting week for Buckstone as we take a look at our final acts ……
Our first act is Bella Panton from P3M, Mrs Munro and Mrs Bailey are super proud. You are all in for a special treat, Bella has lots of sparkle, smiles and presents a very talented tap dance for us all. Bella you are fabulous! Good Luck.
Friday 22nd May
Good afternoon Buckstone, apologies this post was scheduled for 23rd and I have just noticed my mistake.
Much excitement next week!!
Buckstone Got Talent – Next week have Buckstone Got Talent, if you still need to email your clip please do before Thursday. Watch the first of our finalists on Monday. Judging will take place on Thursday 28th and the winner will be announced by Mrs Imrie on assembly clip.
Scarecrow – create, decorate and scarecrow and place it in your front garden, our lovely Pupil Support Assistants will be taking photos during their daily exercise and we will be posting on the website. Can’t wait to see your creations!!!
Home Learning Tab– Science activities have been uploaded. Click on the other tab to view.
Thursday 21st May 2020
Good morning, happy Thursday everyone!
Some of our families have requested additional learning and we are in the process of adding optional learning for those who would like to engage. You can locate these under Home Learning Tab which has three categories; Literacy, Numeracy and Other. Please remember this is an optional resource.
Wednesday 20th May 2020 – Mercredi 20 Mai 2020
Good morning Buckstone. The sun is coming out today, a reported 20 degrees. Remember your sun hats, sun cream and water pistols!!
Some of our families have requested additional learning and we are in the process of adding optional learning for those who would like to engage. You can locate these under Home Learning Tab which has three categories; Literacy, Numeracy and Other. Please remember this is an optional resource.
Tuesday 19th May 2020 – Mardi 19 Mai 2020
Good morning Buckstone, we hope you all had a super Monday holiday, very different from our usual Monday holidays but we are sure you have all invented something fun to do!
Transition Nursery to Primary 1 2020
Edinburgh Council has launched an online ‘bear hunt’ project which aims to help children making the transition between nursery and primary school while in lockdown. The project will include six weeks of bear hunt themed tasks that parents and guardians can do with little ones at home. The idea is that children across the capital will become familiar with the book We’re Going on a Bear Hunt by Michael Rosen, and this will give them something in common with other children when normality resumes. Watch this space for the activities!
Friday 15th May 2020
Good morning learners. It is School Uniform Day Friday!
Mrs Imrie has some exciting news in assembly this morning! Click on the link below.
Mrs Imrie and Miss Martin are all ready for the day, watch out for Mrs Henry and Mrs Conlin’s picture, are experiencing some technical difficulties at the moment! We can’t wait to see all your pictures.
Wear your school uniform, part of your uniform or wear an invented school uniform today! If you can…take a photo. Details on how to submit on the grid link below.
Be proud to be part of the Buckstone Family.
OUTDOOR LEANRING IDEAS
Thursday 14th May 2020
Good morning Buckstone, we hope everyone had a fabulous day yesterday. We can’t wait to see all your Circus Skills pictures!
Children in P3-P7 are using TEAMS for learning and communication during this time. This is a new platform for most and it will take time for all of us to become confident accessing learning and communicating this way. Please be patient with us while we work to fix all the technical issues and find an approach that suits all. Please see the attached PDF for support.
Wednesday 13th May 2020
Circus Skills Day
We hope that you are all enjoying the Health Week activities that were shared with you on Monday. As today would have been Sports Day for all the classes across the school, we have decided that learning today will focus on being active, trying something new and developing skills. Choose two or three ideas to try. You may get time outside to practise, you may have to practise indoors, you may only have a small amount of time, you may have all afternoon, don’t worry, just go with what works for you and your family.
Here are some ideas:
Juggling – against a wall or in the air Diablo spinning
Skipping – try doing different tricks with one short rope or as a family group using one long rope Acrobatics Balancing Baton twirling
Hoola Hooping- try using two hoops at a time Yo-Yo tricks Mime
Hand Walking – how far can you go? Puppetry
Elastics – use elastic bands Magic tricks – loads of ideas online Trampolining Ventriloquism Stilt walking Being the Ringmaster
Clown makeup Strength testing Hat Manipulation – look it up!
You will have lots of your own ideas. Be creative – if you don’t have juggling balls, what could you use instead? Just check with an adult first!
Put on a show for your family. Plan a circus event with your brothers and sisters with your parents as the audience. Maybe an adult in your home could showcase their special talent. Make invitations.
We look forward to seeing and hearing all about your new circus skills so let us know how you got on. If you have time send us a photo or write about it. Whatever you choose to do, have fun and enjoy a different kind of Sports Day!
Tuesday 12th May 2020
Good morning everyone, we hope you have made a great start to Health Week, looking forward to seeing all your fabulous pictures especially your Circus skills.
Monday 11th May 2020
“‘When you wake up in the morning, Pooh,’ said Piglet at last, ‘What’s the first thing you say to yourself?’
‘What’s for breakfast?’ said Pooh. ‘What do you say, Piglet?’
‘I say, I wonder what’s going to happen exciting today?’ said Piglet.
Pooh nodded thoughtfully. ‘It’s the same thing,’ he said.” —Winnie-the-Pooh
What exciting thing will you do today?
Reading resources (Oxford Tree)
Free eBooks developed for children aged 3–11 years old for the duration of UK school closures, so that your child has more to read. If you’d like to learn more about how to support your child’s reading, visit reading pages at;
https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/find-a-book/library-page
All eBooks are tablet-friendly. Just register or log in to start reading. New users: need to activate registration by clicking the link in your confirmation email.
Thursday 7th May 2020
Good afternoon, parents have been in touch regarding blog posts and how to only receive feeds from you child’s class. A huge thank you to Nicole Johnston who has kindly created the PDF below.
Good morning everyone, it is going to be another sunny day. we have a special assembly for you all today, thank you to all the staff who worked on this special assembly and Mrs Humphrey’s for the music.
Here are some more photos of our wonderful children……….
Wednesday 6th May 2020
Good morning everyone.
As a staff team, we are all very proud of all the children, at their resilience, flexibility and adaptability in these most uncertain and difficult times. As ever, the children, both in hub school and from what parents have told us, at home, have ‘just got on with it’! Well done folks, you too are heroes in all of this and deserve a big clap! To our families, thank you for all you are doing!
Some parents have been in touch concerned that their child or children are not engaging with the home learning. Whilst it is important not to lose our basic skills of reading and writing and number and times tables, it is also equally important to remember our well-being at the moment. Keeping the children safe, loved, secure and calm is the most important thing to do at home. Their learning will come and all children across the land are in the same position.
Over the coming weeks, as more information is given, Mrs Imrie will be liaising with both the Local Authority to secure ways and plans for a return to school. This will of course include looking at the learning missed and how we can adapt our curriculum to support ALL children, regardless of how much or how little learning they have done at home during School Closure. Please do not worry! Encourage your child to read a little, do a few times tables, keep writing their daily diary and do the Daily Challenges, IF THEY WANT TO! Don’t force them if it is going to cause upset, tears, anxiety, for you and for them. Put it down, do something fun and go back to it later!
Next Friday is a Bank Holiday and also the 75th VE Day Anniversary. Why not have your own VE party at home. We will be posting pictures on our website as well as any you send in, so do keep checking!
Below are some useful websites;
https://whiterosemaths.com/homelearning/ (Videos/worksheets and self-marking materials)
https://literacytrust.org.uk/family-zone/9-12/book-hopes/ (Free online book if you are looking for texts) М
Tuesday 5th May 2020
Good morning to all our Buckstone super heroes out there!
Read all about the young heroes making a difference in the world – and their Marvel comic original stories. 20 free Marvel made comics that discuss topics such as being yourself, inclusivity, disabilities, celebrating differences, supporting friends, overcoming barriers. Copy and paste the link below…………
Paddington Bear
Poppy Scotland are offering a special 10 minute lesson featuring Paddington Bear at 11am. They will be learning about evacuees for the Second World War and discovering what is inside Paddington’s suitcase. A perfect way to get in the mood for VE day (victory in Europe day) on Friday 8th May.
.
https://www.facebook.com/events/3756083844465395/
WHY NOT TRY SOMETHING DIFFERENT!
Free online book, Book of Hope…… https://mobile.twitter.com/Literacy_Trust/status/1254692367925469185
Free knitting course for children………..
https://www.learnrowan.com/knitting-for-all-courses
Monday 4th May 2020
Good morning everyone, today is a Staff Only day and we are all working virtually. If you have an urgent query, please contact admin@buckstone.edin.sch.uk
The link below has some fun ideas to take learning outdoors. We know that not everyone has access to a garden but these ideas could be used during daily outdoor exercise or adapted to work indoors. They can be adapted to enjoy by all ages. More ideas coming soon!
Take a look at some of our wonderful children……….
You are all amazing!
Friday 1st May 2020
Good morning Buckstone, Mrs Imrie is looking very colourful in her assembly today, click on the link below………
Thursday 30th April 2020
Good afternoon, we have a lovely book for you all to listen to, please see below.
Here is the link to a great little book written by Axel Scheffler’s about coronavirus. Copy and paste into your browser.
https://axelscheffler.com/books-for-older-children/coronavirus
Wednesday 29th April 2020
Wednesday Quiz for everyone to try………
Balancing work, learning and family life.
In the midst of the worldwide coronavirus (COVID-19) outbreak, we are all trying to figure out how to manage long days in quarantine with kids who are bouncing off walls and wondering what is going on. Here are five things I found on an education website that families can do to help get work done while supporting each other and keeping spirits high.
1. Adjust perspective. Think of this unexpected time together as a gift. Under any other circumstances, discovering that your family has uninterrupted time to spend together would be a pleasant surprise. Think of it as a gift and brainstorm ways you’d like to use it. What are some things you enjoy doing at home with family, but don’t always have time for? Play games, watch movies, bake cookies, take naps, read books and ask kids how they would like to spend this unexpected gift of togetherness.
2. Stick to a schedule. It might feel unnecessary, but kids thrive in structure, so plan your days and keep to a schedule. Write it down and post it where everyone can see.
3. Make the ordinary extraordinary. Don’t cling to rules and perfection, let kids do something special once a day and plan ‘exaggerated’ activities.” That means injecting fun into everyday things, aka making ordinary activities extraordinary.
4. Invest time in helping others. One of the best ways to shift your focus is to think about what your family can do to serve those who might be feeling especially vulnerable and lonely. Reach out with notes, calls, text messages and other creative ways you and your kids think will brighten their days with encouragement and hope.
5. Create space for each other. One of the biggest challenges of all this togetherness is, well, too much togetherness. With parents trying to get work done, older kids trying to do homework (or teens wanting to be alone), and younger kids needing attention, you might wonder how you’ll all survive.
Instead of trying to do everything everywhere, set up stations throughout the house for parent work, the kids’ schoolwork, and zones for play and crafts. Use the zones in conjunction with scheduling and reward self-discipline and self-directed play with praise and verbal high-fives. Explain that by honoring boundaries for work, school and play, everyone can get things done so your family will have more time to enjoy together later. Jodylee Gates (2020)
Above all, remember that this temporary interruption in daily life presents families with a unique opportunity to grow closer while lifting each other up. By making the most of this unexpected gift of togetherness, parents and kids will feel stronger and more connected when life returns to normal and you’re, once again, wishing for more time together.
Tuesday 28th April 2020
Good morning everyone. Wishing you a wonderful day.
We are having technical issues uploading our juggling videos. We are working to resolve this. Coming soon!!!
Times tables for everyone are a very important part of mathematical knowledge and children who struggle with times tables in primary school will likely fall behind when they begin secondary school. Therefore the earlier we introduce multiplication in its most basic form to a child the better, so they can begin to familiarise themselves with this key operation.
You can introduce multiplication to ordinary games like snap, bingo and snakes and ladders to make the learning experience more enjoyable, or simply have cues around the home as prompts. Through knowing their times tables children will start to notice patterns and will then be able to apply this knowledge to more advanced work. As an example, knowing that 2 x 3 = 6 will help children understand that 20 x 30 = 600, and 200 x 300 = 60,000. Being able to recognise these connections will in turn speed up their thinking processes and mental arithmetic, meaning they do not rely on a calculators for assistance.
Times tables are an important part of learning and through continuous repetition children develop the habit of working sums out independently in their heads and build up the speed and stamina needed to excel at mental arithmetic.
Higher levels of the learning involve long multiplication, long division, fractions and algebra, concepts which children will struggle with if they haven’t fully mastered their times tables, multiplication and division skills.
Assess yourself with the attached……………
Now try mild, or spicy challenges.
Mild 2x – 4x Tables
Spicy – 6x – 9x Tables
Confident with your multiplication tables. Try these……..
Sizzling Hot – Multiplication and Decimals
Monday 27th April 2020
Good morning everyone, what a glorious day. We have started the juggling challenge and have small clips of us beginning our journey starting with Mrs Imrie, watch this space for the video! Having a few technical problems at the moment.
MONEY SENSE MONDAY
Money Sense is an impartial financial education programme for 5-18 year olds. It uses a range of materials such as games and videos and real-life situations to make learning about money feel real and relevant
Copy and paste the link below……..
https://personal.rbs.co.uk/personal/life-moments/teaching-children-about-money.html
Technology and Science
We have a fun Lego challenge for you and the family; WACKY RACES
Step One: Everyone in the family designs and builds a lego car, design a space on the roof, just enough to fit the end of a balloon through.
Step Two: Blow up a balloon (or ask an adult to do it for you) DO NOT tie.
Step Three: Put the end of the balloon through the space you created, making sure it is secure, don’t let go!!
Step Four: Keep holding the end of the balloon, line up the cars, count to three and let go!!
Who ever comes last is allocated tonight’s dinner dishes!!! Be great to see you pictures!!
Friday 24th April 2020
Happy Friday everyone. Enjoy the sunshine!
Thursday 23rd April
A colourful message from SLT……….
Click on the arrows to read our colourful message……..
Planning the children’s day
Some parents have asked about planning the day for children in relation to having set work provided and accessing work online. It is important to ensure that children are not doing work all day and that they have plenty of breaks and time to relax in-between. Recommendation from education authorities and researchers say a couple of hours spread out throughout the day is ample. Becoming your child’s teacher is a daunting prospect but leaning on other parents who are going through similar experiences can be helpful.
When planning the day, think about when your child learns best and work out a schedule with them. You may want to start the day with something active and then perhaps a break and then onto the next activity. Some children thrive with a solid schedule whereas others prefer flexibility. There are plenty of helpful resources available. BBC Bitesize will be bringing fresh new content every day during this period to help support families with education. BBC Teach will be hosting live lessons for primary aged children for numeracy and literacy.
Chatterpack have produced an exhaustive list of resources and links. Twinkl provide a huge amount of resources that support the curriculum. You can use this free code CVDTWINKLHELPS to give you access free of charge. David Walliams is providing audio readings of his books, free of charge.
Ensure that your children have active time too, there are many resources available such as the Joe Wick PE lessons perhaps you may want to find a Yoga session on YouTube that they can do. As long as it is 30 to 60 mins of active time and they enjoy the activity, this is the most essential thing. If you have a garden, let them have some time to run around and if you don’t have access to a garden, open the windows for plenty of fresh air. Does your child love dancing? This is a great way for the whole family to have fun and get active. The Woodland Trust have produced a list of nature activites you can do at home. You can also download illustrated nature activity sheets from Wildlife Watch.
Encouraging your child’s creativity can help bust boredom blues. Spread the Happiness have great activity worksheets that your children can do indoors without costing the earth. Click here to download their activity sheet. Get cooking with the kids and use up those store cupboard essentials to create a dish worthy of being on MasterChef.
If you have young children, singing songs can help ease anxieties and help with their cognitive development.
Does your child like STEM? They may enjoy BP’s Educational Service. They can learn lots of different experiments and resources on all things science. Check out DKFindOut which lets kids explore subjects from coding, space, history and much more.
We hope you find this helpful and remember we are here for you. You are all doing a fabulous job!
WELCOME BACK – Tuesday 21st April
All the staff at Buckstone hope that you and your family are all well. We miss you all and you are never far from our thoughts.
Our expectations for learning at home: We will continue to upload ideas to our website, there are no expectations from school about what you do or don’t do. These are very unusual and unprecedented times.
Please remember:
- Our children might be scared at the moment. They see and hear a lot, even when we think they don’t.
- Their routines and structures are disrupted. They will feel tension and anxiety from the adults around them. It is a completely new situation for us all.
- Children may expect the weeks ahead to feel like the summer holidays; we know that they will feel very different.
- They may react to all this by changing their behaviours and showing behaviours you have never seen from them before. This might be difficult for you and your family but it is natural and to be expected.
- Your child just needs these feelings to be acknowledged and to be reassured that you understand that life is just that bit less predictable at the moment.
Under these circumstances, home learning may well add to this anxiety and stress – for them and for you. In that case, leave it. Your children need to be reassured, comforted, loved and feel secure more than they need to be learning.
So, please don’t argue and fall out about any of the learning ideas we have sent home or offered. Instead, cuddle on the sofa and watch a film. Share a book and talk about it. Bake and cook together, discuss measurements. Paint pictures, create and make. Play board games. Do science experiments. Travel the world via Google Maps. Go on virtual tours of museums, art galleries, and zoos. Look at old photos and tell stories about family members, some of whom your children have never met. Write letters to those you cannot visit at the moment. Keep a diary, great way of encouraging vocabulary and spelling.
However, for some children, a learning routine may be exactly what they need. They might thrive on structure and routine. They might be bored or anxious about not learning. They might be desperate to feel connected to their classmates or teachers. They might love learning online and fly through tasks.
Your child might be both of these types of children: most children are! Follow their lead and use your gut instinct. You won’t go far wrong. Don’t worry about their academic progress. All of the above will help them.
Every child is in the same boat at the moment. They will all be ok. When we get back to school, after celebrating being back together again, we will pick up from where we left off and meet your child’s needs like we always do. That’s our job.So, use the learning resources – or don’t. Or anything in between. Try to have fun spending time together. Your child’s emotional and mental wellbeing – and yours – is far more important than anything else. How they felt during this time will stay with them for the rest of their lives, far longer than any worksheet or online learning task.
A reminder of some links…………..
Joe wicks – Body coach – 9am daily https://www.youtube.com/user/thebodycoach1
Fischy Music Assembly – 11am Monday https://www.youtube.com/user/FischymusicStories https://stories.audible.com/start-listen Please remember all home learning will be posted at 12 noon on blogs, this is what was agreed and communicated to parents and children. Thank you.
Elevenses with The World of David Walliams, everyday at 11am you can listen to one of David Walliams’ World’s Worst Children Stories, so sit down, take a break and enjoy 20 minutes of fun! https:// http://www.worldofdavidwalliams.com/elevenses/– (copy and paste into browser)
BBC I-player link; https://www.bbc.co.uk/mediacentre/latestnews/2020/iplayer-children
NYCOS Creative Learning are posting their first in series of songs, musical games and activities that you can play without contact.
