Category: Buckstone Primary School

Hello everyone!

Here are some highlights of our learning this week:

Literacy

Our new sound this week was ‘nk‘ as in ‘bank’ and ‘sink’. We spoke about how we find this sound at the end of words (just like last week’s sound, ‘ng’ ).

Our new tricky words this week were ‘into‘ and ‘here‘.

We have been reading non-fiction books this week and will bring these home to share on Tuesday. It would be appreciated if these could be returned on Thursday, instead of Friday, next week, before the holidays begin.

In writing, we wrote sentences about a pink pig to help us practise using the new sound we learnt.

Things to try at home:

Try and spot ‘into’, ‘here’ and words with the ‘nk’ sound when you are out and about, looking at books or signs etc.

Take turns to spell the sounds in ‘nk’ words (say alternate sounds with ‘nk’ said as one sound rather than as n and k.

Words to use might include:

bank, rank, sank, tank, thank, link, pink, rink, sink, think, wink

Practise forming the letters correctly in the ‘nk’ sound by writing down some of the words above.

Take turns to read the pages of your reading book with someone at home. Pick some words from your book and se if you can think of some rhyming words.

Numeracy and Maths

We continued our learning about o’clock times on both analogue and digital clocks and looked at half past times too. We often begin the day by looking at the calendar and talking about what day it is, and this week we also used the ‘Days of the Week’ song (see last week’s blog / below) to help us learn the order of the days.

We worked on a variety of skills, across the class, in numeracy including counting forwards and backwards, ordering numbers and describing what we could see when looking at equal groups.

Things to try at home:

Practise counting backwards in short sequences, from different starting points. If you are confident doing this in the 1-30 range, try doing this in the 1-100 range.

You might want to sing along with this song as a starting point.

Keep talking about time at home. What time do you wake up? What time do you eat breakfast? Do you go somewhere the same day each week? How long does it take you to brush your teeth? How many jumps can you do in 10 seconds?

Here are the links to the songs again.

PE

We were practising our jumping, landing and balancing skills and enjoyed jumping onto and then off the springboard.

In our other PE session this week, we were developing our skills in working cooperatively to collect as many bean bags as we could for our team.

Equalities

We listened to the story ‘Trailblazer: Lily Parr, the Unstoppable Star of Women’s Soccer’ by Elizabeth Dale. We heard about how Lily Parr was determined to find a way to continue playing the game she loved despite facing lots of barriers along the way. Some of us drew pictures of Lily after hearing the story.

Music

We enjoyed another session with our external visitor from YMI. We continued working on the songs from last time as well as having fun making our own suggestions and actions when learning a new song. We also worked on listening to and repeating different rhythms.

Loose Parts

We took the decision not to go ahead with loose parts this week due the very windy weather on Thursday afternoon. We will let you know the next date for loose parts after the holidays.

Fluffy

We are continuing to enjoy hearing about all the adventures that Fluffy is having with all the different families from our class. To allow everyone to have their turn, we are asking that Fluffy only visits your home for two days at a time. However, please don’t worry if you forget to bring Fluffy back on time.

As we have previously mentioned, there is absolutely no expectation that families add to the journal. It is completely optional and, if pupils decide to complete it, could involve drawing a picture or writing a sentence or two. We appreciate how busy family life can be!

Here are some examples of what we have been learning through our play this week:

Have a fantastic weekend!

Hello everyone,

This is what we have been learning this week:

LITERACY

We were blending and building words with the final consonant blend: ng.

Our tricky words this week were: there and were.

In writing this week we were drawing and describing the main character from the story ‘My Big Shouting Day’.

The children took their reading books home on Tuesday, and we started sharing a new book in our groups on Wednesday.

THINGS TO DO AT HOME

The final consonant blends are quite challenging and any further practice at home is really helpful.

Some words to use – song long king gang ring sing wing hang hung bang sang rang lung fang.

Write out some words which have the final consonant blend we have been learning this week. The child can try to sound out the word using the pure sound of each letter to blend together to read the word. You could try writing the start of the word and the final blend in different colours then cut them up. If you did this with a few different words and laid them out, the child could then play a matching game, matching the start of the word to the final blend.

The adult can say some of the words we have been learning this week and the child writes them down.

Write down the tricky words on a piece of paper or card, hold the cards behind your back then show them to your child and ask them to read the word you have shown them. Your child could practise writing these words, forming the letters the way they have been shown in class.

(If you are unsure about correct letter formation, please speak to one of us at the end of the day).

NUMERACY AND MATHS

We continued our topic on time. We were using the clocks to make o’clock times and talking about what we might be doing at that time of day. We were practising months of the year and linking them to the four seasons.

THINGS TO DO AT HOME

Look at clocks around your home and talk about the different times of day, what time do you get up, have breakfast, go to school, go to bed etc.

Practise saying/singing the months of the year in the correct order.

PE

We were practising different jumps and landings.

FLUFFY!

Thank you so much for all the entries in Fluffy’s journal. It has been lovely to see the children’s enthusiasm and eagerness to take him home. At the moment, we are just allowing the children to keep him for two nights so that everyone can have a turn as soon as possible but if you forget to bring him back to school, please don’t worry.

We really don’t want to give families anything extra to have to think about so PLEASE don’t feel you have to add to the journal. Your child will be given the chance to speak to the class about what they have done with Fluffy.

HWB

We have been thinking about what makes us special and unique and drew pictures of ourselves.

MUSIC

We began our programme of musical activities with the Youth Music Initiative.

LOOSE PARTS

Next date for loose parts is Thursday 21 March.

Some examples of learning taking place this week:

Have a lovely weekend.

Hello everyone,

This is what we have been learning this week:

LITERACY

We were blending and building words with the final consonant blends: lt and ft.

Our tricky words this week were: said and one.

Our writing topic this week was- she/he/they/I left……..

The children took their reading books home on Tuesday, and we started sharing a new book in our groups on Wednesday.

THINGS TO DO AT HOME

The final consonant blends are quite challenging and any further practice at home is really helpful.

Some words to use loft, lift, soft, daft, raft, left. Gift.

Belt, melt, kilt, felt, tilt, wilt, lilt.

Write out some words which have the final consonant blends we have been learning this week. The child can try to sound out the word using the pure sound of each letter to blend together to read the word.

The adult can say some of the words we have been learning this week and the child writes them down.

Write down the tricky words on a piece of paper or card, hold the cards behind your back then show them to your child and ask them to read the word you have shown them. Your child could practise writing these words, forming the letters the way they have been shown in class.

(If you are unsure about correct letter formation, please speak to one of us at the end of the day).

NUMERACY AND MATHS

We began a topic on time and started by talking about  mornings and afternoons and the different activities we did at those times. We spoke about the days of the week and tried to put them in the correct order.

THINGS TO DO AT HOME

Look at clocks around your home and talk about the different times of day, what time do you get up, have breakfast, go to school, go to bed etc.

Practise saying/singing the days of the week in the correct order.

PE

We had a PE session outside this week, keeping fit using hoola hoops.

At our inside PE session, we were working on cooperation, listening and following rules.

FLUFFY!

Thank you so much for all the entries in Fluffy’s journal. It has been lovely to see the children’s enthusiasm and eagerness to take him home. At the moment, we are just allowing the children to keep him for two nights so that everyone can have a turn as soon as possible but if you forget to bring him back to school, please don’t worry.

We really don’t want to give families anything extra to have to think about so PLEASE don’t feel you have to add to the journal. Your child will be given the chance to speak to the class about what they have done with Fluffy.

HWB

We have been thinking about what makes us special and unique and jumped outside on stepping stones shouting out what we are good at. If we couldn’t think of anything our friends helped us out.

ART ACTIVITY

We each drew a penguin for a corridor display so that others could learn about the ice melting in Antarctica.

WORLD BOOK DAY

We shared some of the books that children had brought in and enjoyed wearing comfy clothes so that we were ready to read. We spoke about the different characters in stories and some of us designed our own characters to share with the class.

LOOSE PARTS

Next date for loose parts is Thursday 21 March.

Some examples of learning taking place this week

Have a lovely weekend.

Reflective Friday Quiz – Friday 8 March 2024

Hello everyone,

This is what we have been learning this week:

LITERACY

We were blending and building words with the final consonant blends: st mp rk nd, for example: just, gust, camp, lump, dark, park, sand, mend.

Our tricky words this week were: they and all.

Our writing topic this week was- At the park…..

We had new reading books this week. The children have been reading in groups at the teaching table.  As well as decoding the words we have been discussing title and author, talking about the characters, and predicting what might happen next in the story. The children will bring their reading books home on Tuesday, please see the separate email for further information.

THINGS TO DO AT HOME

Write out some words which have the final consonant blends we have been learning this week. The child can try to sound out the word using the pure sound of each letter to blend together to read the word.

The adult can say some of the words we have been learning this week and the child writes them down.

Write down the tricky words on a piece of paper or card, hold the cards behind your back then show them to your child and ask them to read the word you have shown them. Your child could practise writing these words, forming the letters the way they have been shown in class.

(If you are unsure about correct letter formation, please speak to one of us at the end of the day).

NUMERACY AND MATHS

We have continued to work on core numeracy skills: recognising numerals, saying forward number word sequences, sequencing numerals, counting items, saying the number before and after and adding numbers together in our heads.

We continued working on money. We were adding amounts to 10p and beyond. We were working in pairs to make amounts by drawing coins on our boards. We completed a money worksheet to show our understanding.

Some of us were doing money assessments with the teacher.

THINGS TO DO AT HOME

Have a look at some coins at home, try to make different amounts by adding the coins together.

https://ictgames.com/mobilePage/payForIt/oldcdn.html

PE

We have begun working on gymnastics and this week the focus was on balancing in different ways. We were trying to hold balances using different parts of the body.

FLUFFY!

Thank you so much for all the entries in Fluffy’s journal. It has been lovely to see the children’s enthusiasm and eagerness to take him home. At the moment, we are just allowing the children to keep him for two nights so that everyone can have a turn as soon as possible but if you forget to bring him back to school, please don’t worry.

We really don’t want to give families anything extra to have to think about so PLEASE don’t feel you have to add to the journal. Your child will be given the chance to speak to the class about what they have done with Fluffy.

SOCIAL STUDIES/SCIENCE

Linked to our topic on Antarctica and penguins we were trying to find out what makes penguins feathers waterproof. We coloured one penguin with wax crayons and left the other drawing uncoloured. We dropped water onto the penguin with the wax coating and the plain paper one and described what happened.

LOOSE PARTS

Next date for loose parts is Friday 1 March.

RSHP

As part of our RSHP programme we began to look at the section on ‘Asking questions, making choices, saying yes/saying no’.

We discussed the different questions we can ask using the words: who, what, where and how. We talked about the difference between fact based questions and preference based questions. Next week we will talk about making choices.

Some examples of learning taking place this week:

Have a lovely weekend.

Hello everyone,

This is what we have been learning this week:

LITERACY

We were revising the digraphs th and wh as the children are finding these sounds challenging. Some of us were revising single sounds.

We were revising the tricky words: no go be she me we.

We were learning to write the capital letters: A B C.

We were writing about Fluffy and a possible adventure he could have.

We had new reading books this week. The children have been reading in groups at the teaching table.  As well as decoding the words we have been discussing title and author, talking about the characters, and predicting what might happen next in the story.

THINGS TO DO AT HOME

Hold up the digraphs and ask your child to tell you the sound they make. Ask them if they can think of a word containing that sound.

Use letters written on a piece of paper or card to ‘build’ a word. The adult says a word and the child choses the correct sounds to make that word.

An adult makes a word using the digraphs and the child says the pure sounds of each letter to blend together to read the word.

Write down the tricky words on a piece of paper or card, hold the cards behind your back then show them to your child and ask them to read the word you have shown them. Your child could practise writing these words, forming the letters the way they have been shown in class.

(If you are unsure about correct letter formation, please speak to one of us at the end of the day).

NUMERACY AND MATHS

We have continued to work on core numeracy skills: recognising numerals, saying forward number word sequences, sequencing numerals, counting items, saying the number before and after and adding numbers together in our heads.

We continued working on money. We were adding amounts to 10p and beyond. We were identifying coins and played a game on the Smartboard and the iPads.

THINGS TO DO AT HOME

Have a look at some coins at home, talk about their value and if possible, use them to pay for some items in a shop.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/money/coins-game

PE

We have been working on using repeated patterns of movement to create simple sequences and have practised moving in time to music. We worked together with a partner to make our own sequence of movements. We were an audience for our friends and made positive comments about their performance.

FLUFFY!

Thank you so much for all the entries in Fluffy’s journal. It has been lovely to see the children’s enthusiasm and eagerness to take him home. At the moment, we are just allowing the children to keep him for two nights so that everyone can have a turn as soon as possible but if you forget to bring him back to school, please don’t worry.

We really don’t want to give families anything extra to have to think about so PLEASE don’t feel you have to add to the journal. Your child will be given the chance to speak to the class about what they have done with Fluffy.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We were talking about Antarctica and comparing life there to life in Scotland.

We were learning about Chinese New Year.

FRENCH

We continued to learn the words for numbers from 1-10.

LOOSE PARTS

We had a cold but sunny afternoon at loose parts and the children were very busy building, creating and working with their friends.

Next date for loose parts is Friday 1 March.

Here is a whole school quiz for you to try at home, there may be a prize for the winner!

Robert Burns’ Quiz (office.com)

Some examples of independent learning taking place this week:

Have a lovely weekend.

Hello everyone,

This is what we have been learning this week:

LITERACY

We introduced two new consonant digraphs this week: wh and th. Digraphs are two letters which go together to make one sound. We were building /writing these words : which, that and blending sounds together to read: when then.

Our new tricky word this week is are.

We were writing about being in the bath to practise using our new th sound.

We are encouraging the children to use the tricky words they know and the sounds they have learned to ‘have a go’ at writing independently. If the word the child wishes to use is too difficult to sound out, they can still write the starting letter. We are trying to remember to use finger spaces after every word so that our writing is not squashed together. The children have also been given free writing jotters which they can use for their own ideas and drawings whenever they are given the chance to choose their own learning.

We had new reading books this week. The children have been reading in groups at the teaching table.  As well as decoding the words we have been discussing title and author, talking about the characters, and predicting what might happen next in the story.

THINGS TO DO AT HOME

Hold up the digraphs and ask your child to tell you the sound they make. Ask them if they can think of a word containing that sound.

Use letters written on a piece of paper or card to ‘build’ a word. The adult says a word and the child choses the correct sounds to make that word.

An adult makes a word using the digraphs th and wh  and the child says the pure sounds of each letter to blend together to read the word.

Write down are on a piece of paper or card, hold the card behind your back then show it to your child and ask them to read the word you have shown them. Your child could practise writing the tricky words, forming the letters the way they have been shown in class.

(If you are unsure about correct letter formation, please speak to one of us at the end of the day).

NUMERACY AND MATHS

We have continued to work on core numeracy skills: recognising numerals, saying forward and backward number word sequences, sequencing numerals, counting items, saying the number before and after and adding numbers together in our heads.

We continued working on money. We were adding amounts to 10p and beyond. We used the iPads to play some money games.

THINGS TO DO AT HOME

Have a look at some coins at home, talk about their value and if possible, use them to pay for some items in a shop.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/money/coins-game

PE

We have been working on using repeated patterns of movement to create simple sequences and have practised moving in time to music. We worked together with a partner to make our own sequence of movements. We were an audience for our friends and made positive comments about their performance.

FLUFFY!

Thank you so much for all the entries in Fluffy’s journal. It has been lovely to see the children’s enthusiasm and eagerness to take him home. At the moment, we are just allowing the children to keep him for two nights so that everyone can have a turn as soon as possible but if you forget to bring him back to school, please don’t worry.

We really don’t want to give families anything extra to have to think about so PLEASE don’t feel you have to add to the journal. Your child will be given the chance to speak to the class about what they have done with Fluffy.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We were talking about Antarctica and learning about some of the other animals who live there. We also discussed what else we would like to find out about this continent.

FRENCH

We started to learn the words for numbers from 1-10.

LOOSE PARTS

Next date for loose parts is Wednesday 7 February.

Some examples of learning taking place this week:

Have a lovely weekend.

Hello everyone,

This is what we have been learning this week:

LITERACY

We introduced two new digraphs this week: ch and sh. Digraphs are two letters which go together to make one sound. We were building /writing these words : chat shop and blending sounds together to read: chip shop.

Our new tricky words this week are she and be.

In writing, we had a choice of two story starts – I went to the shop…….

At the shop……….

We are encouraging the children to use the tricky words they know and the sounds they have learned to ‘have a go’ at writing independently. If the word the child wishes to use is too difficult to sound out, they can still write the starting letter. We are trying to remember to use finger spaces after every word so that our writing is not squashed together.

We had new reading books this week. The children have been reading in groups at the teaching table.  As well as decoding the words we have been discussing title and author, talking about the characters, and predicting what might happen next in the story. Some children chose to continue a story by drawing what might happen next.

THINGS TO DO AT HOME

Hold up the digraphs and ask your child to tell you the sound they make. Ask them if they can think of a word containing that sound.

Use letters written on a piece of paper or card to ‘build’ a word. The adult says a word and the child choses the correct sounds to make that word.

An adult makes a word using the digraphs ch and sh  and the child says the pure sounds of each letter to blend together to read the word.

Write down she and be on a piece of paper or card, hold the cards behind your back then show them to your child and ask them to read the word you have shown them. Your child could practise writing these words, forming the letters the way they have been shown in class.

(If you are unsure about correct letter formation, please speak to one of us at the end of the day).

NUMERACY AND MATHS

We have continued to work on core numeracy skills: recognising numerals, saying forward number word sequences, sequencing numerals, counting items, saying the number before and after and adding numbers together in our heads.

This week we also started working on money. We were looking at different coins and talking about their values. We used the iPads to play some money games.

THINGS TO DO AT HOME

Have a look at some coins at home, talk about their value and if possible, use them to pay for some items in a shop.

PE

We have been working on using repeated patterns of movement to create simple sequences and have practised moving in time to music.

FLUFFY!

Thank you so much for all the entries in Fluffy’s journal. It has been lovely to see the children’s enthusiasm and eagerness to take him home. At the moment, we are just allowing the children to keep him for two nights so that everyone can have a turn as soon as possible but if you forget to bring him back to school, please don’t worry.

We really don’t want to give families anything extra to have to think about so PLEASE don’t feel you have to add to the journal. Your child will be given the chance to speak to the class about what they have done with Fluffy.

SOCIAL STUDIES

We talked about Burns Night and learned a little bit about his life. We are learning the Selkirk Grace as a year group and will be reciting it at our assembly on 9.2.24. Can you please help your child by practising at home.

LOOSE PARTS

Next date for loose parts is Wednesday 7 February.

Some examples of learning taking place this week:

Have a lovely weekend.

Hello everyone,

This is what we have been learning this week:

LITERACY

We introduced two vowel digraphs this week: oo and ee. Digraphs are two letters which go together to make one sound. We were building /writing these words : look, took, keep, beep and blending sounds together to read: moon, soon, been, seen.

Our new tricky words this week are go and my.

In writing, we had a choice of two story starts – I went to the moon……..

I see the moon………..

We are encouraging the children to use the tricky words they know and the sounds they have learned to ‘have a go’ at writing independently. If the word the child wishes to use is too difficult to sound out, they can still write the starting letter. We are trying to remember to use finger spaces after every word so that our writing is not squashed together.

We introduced reading books this week. The children have been reading in groups at the teaching table.  As well as decoding the words we have been discussing title and author, talking about the characters, and predicting what might happen next in the story.

THINGS TO DO AT HOME

Hold up the digraphs and ask your child to tell you the sound they make. Ask them if they can think of a word containing that sound.

Use letters written on a piece of paper or card to ‘build’ a word. The adult says a word and the child choses the correct sounds to make that word.

An adult makes a word using the digraphs oo and ee  and the child says the pure sounds of each letter to blend together to read the word.

Write down any of the Term One tricky words  and the new tricky words go and my on a piece of paper or card, hold the cards behind your back then show them to your child and ask them to read the word you have shown them. Your child could practise writing these words, forming the letters the way they have been shown in class.

(If you are unsure about correct letter formation, please speak to one of us at the end of the day).

NUMERACY AND MATHS

We have continued to work on core numeracy skills: recognising numerals, saying forward number word sequences, sequencing numerals, counting items, saying the number before and after and adding numbers together in our heads.

THINGS TO DO AT HOME

Please refer to your SEAL home learning wall and pick an activity to practise.

PE

We have been working on using repeated patterns of movement to create simple sequences and plan to add music and rhythm in the next few weeks.

FLUFFY!

Thank you so much for all the entries in Fluffy’s journal. It has been lovely to see the children’s enthusiasm and eagerness to take him home. At the moment, we are just allowing the children to keep him for two nights so that everyone can have a turn as soon as possible but if you forget to bring him back to school, please don’t worry.

We really don’t want to give families anything extra to have to think about so PLEASE don’t feel you have to add to the journal. Your child will be given the chance to speak to the class about what they have done with Fluffy.

SOCIAL STUDIES

As the children have shown an interest in penguins, we have started to learn about Antarctica. We have talked about where Antarctica is and looked at the weather and seasons there. We will be learning about some of the other animals which live on this continent.

LOOSE PARTS

Next date for loose parts is Thursday 25 January.

Some examples of learning taking place this week:

Have a lovely weekend everyone.

Hello everyone,

It has been lovely to welcome the children back to class and to hear all about their holidays. We would like to wish all our families a very healthy and happy 2024.

This is what we have been learning this week:

LITERACY

We were revising some of the tricky words we learned last term. The words were hanging from the trees outside and we wrote them out in chalk.

We were writing about our holidays, trying to use the tricky words we know, as well as thinking about the letter at the start of words and using the correct letter formation.

THINGS TO DO AT HOME

Hold up the letters and ask your child to tell you the sound they make. Ask them if they can think of a word beginning with that sound. Play ‘I spy’ using the sounds your child has learnt.

Use letters written on a piece of paper or card to ‘build’ a word. The adult says a three letter word and the child choses the correct sounds to make that word.

An adult makes a three letter word, and the child says the pure sounds of each letter to blend together to read the word.

Write down any of the Term One tricky words on a piece of paper or card, hold the cards behind your back then show them to your child and ask them to read the word you have shown them. Your child could practise writing these words, forming the letters the way they have been shown in class.

(If you are unsure about correct letter formation, please speak to one of us at the end of the day).

NUMERACY AND MATHS

We have been working on core numeracy skills: saying forward number word sequences, sequencing numerals, counting items, saying the number before and after and adding numbers together in our heads.

THINGS TO DO AT HOME

Please refer to your SEAL home learning wall and pick an activity to practise.

PE

We are beginning to learn some Scottish country dancing. We have been clapping and skipping in time to the music and practising counting to four while we walk forwards and backwards with a partner.

FLUFFY!

We have adopted a penguin with WWF and will receive regular updates  about its progress throughout the year. As part of the adoption, we have been sent a small cuddly penguin which the class have named Fluffy. We would like all the children to have a turn of taking Fluffy home. There is a journal which will also come home with Fluffy. If you would like to write a few sentences about what you have been doing with Fluffy please do so. You could also include a drawing or a photograph if you wish. However, there is absolutely no expectation to do so, and your child will be given the opportunity to share anything they might want to say about their time with Fluffy with the rest of the class.

LOOSE PARTS

Next date for loose parts is Thursday 25 January.

Some examples of learning taking place this week: