Please check this blog every Friday as we will share the learning from the week. We would encourage you to look at it with your child so that they can talk to you about their experiences in class. The blog will also include this week’s ‘homework’ activities.

We may also share other information via the blog during the week, so you may wish to set up an alert for new posts.

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

This week we have focussed on the sounds made by the graphemes r and h For most children, the skill of blending sounds together to read a word is trickier than building it themselves and many of us still need to master this skill. Please continue to support your child at home to practise.

When revising these sounds at home please always use the pure sound of the letter (e.g. sssssss and not suh or the letter name Ess ). As we begin to use our knowledge of letter sounds to blend and build words to read and write, not using the correct pure sound can make things tricky for us. If you would like further explanation please just ask at the door.

Our storytelling this week was free choice as we were doing the first of our ‘Big Writing” assessment pieces. We look at the pupils’ physical skills in pencil control and pencil grip as well as their stage of development in producing detailed and representative drawing, alonside their oral skills in retelling the ‘story’ of their drawing.

Maths and numeracy

We have had a focus on measuring and measurement skills and vocabulary this week. Please see the homework section below for ideas on how you can support your child at home.

In P1 we use the SEAL programme ( Stages of Early Arithmetical Learning) which promotes number literacy. Pupils will be learning skills and strategies appropriate to their current stage of development. This includes ( but is not limited to) recognising numerals to 10, 20 and beyond; counting forwards and backwards in sequence; counting objects with accurate 1-1 correspondence; ascribing numerosity to random arrays, spatial and finger patterns; counting two seen/unseen collections; describing and creating equal groups; partitioning patterns and numbers.

Other areas of the Curriculum

.

We have begun to learn to say the names of colours in French.

We have looked at the Rights Respecting Schools activity on the book ‘Me and My Fear’

PE days are Wednesday and Thursday. Children should come to school dressed ready to participate as we will not change clothes in school -e.g joggers/leggings/shorts and a T shirt with a Buckstone jumper on top.

Looking ahead to next week

Have a great week off. We will look forward to welcoming pupils back on Tuesday 22nd

Homework

Literacy

Spelling homework should ideally be done in several short sessions across the week . (5-10 minutes 4 times a week will have a huge impact)

Adult write the lowercase letters m, e, s, a, t and p, i and n on individual pieces of paper ( or can use magnetic letters if you have them)

Task 1.

Using the letter cards, the adult can build the following words ( also refer to previous weeks’ word lists for extra practice)

As a challenge, you could ask your child to write the word by listening to the sounds, recalling the grapheme for each sound and building the word.

• hat
• hip
• hit
• hen
• ran
• tar
• rat
• rip

The child should pronounce each sound as the pure sound, then blend the sounds together to read the word. This is the skill that most children find the trickiest.

Task 2

The adult should say one of the spelling words and the child uses the cards to build the word by finding the sound at the start, the sound in the middle, the sound at the end.

You may wish to keep the letter cards you make as we will be adding more sounds for spelling homework next week.

Other literacy activities

Play this game on a phone or tablet. Choose the ‘initial sounds’ option first please .

Play “robot I spy” Adult spies an object and breaks down the pronunciation, child blends the sounds together to guess the object that has been spotted – e.g. I spy a ‘v – a – n’

Play ‘ which sound is where ? ‘ Adult says a cvc word then asks the child to isolate which sound they can hear in the middle/at the end/ at the start. Children are used to saying which sound a letter starts with, but generally less comfortable identifying middle and ending sounds.

Numeracy/Maths

Support our learning in school about measurement by using the following vocabulary in discussions. compare, height, length, heavy/heavier/heaviest, long/longer etc , tall, more, less.

Every day activities can help to develop understanding of measurement such as adding measuring jugs to the bath toys, bake a cake, measuring things around the house or garden with footsteps/handspans, comparing heights of family members or toys etc. Get creative.

There is also a game here which we have been using in school which your child may want to show you. Choose the ‘game’ option – then the blue dice lead to the subitising activity. We also enjoy watching this short video which helps us to practise the subitising skill in different ways

All children acquire numeracy skills at different rates, so the homework activities are skills to practise. If your child finds it easy, increase the level of challenge by adjusting the range of number (eg, work within 10, up to 20, up to 50 etc)

• say the number AFTER a given number ( What comes after 7 ?) Children should answer quickly without the need to count from 1
• say the number BEFORE a given number
• explore teen numbers. e.g 11 = 10 and 1, 12 = 10 and 2. 13 is ten and how many more ?
• count forwards and backwards
• count a random collection of moveable or fixed items accurately with 1-1 correspondence.

Life Skills

• Practise folding paper from corner to corner
• Learn to turn sleeves the right way out
• Learn your address

Thank you for the many positive responses to our survey and the suggestions made. We will discuss these as a school team.

Please check this blog every Friday as we will share the learning from the week. We would encourage you to look at it with your child so that they can talk to you about their experiences in class. The blog will also include this week’s ‘homework’ activities.

We may also share other information via the blog during the week, so you may wish to set up an alert for new posts.

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

This week we have focussed on the sounds made by the graphemes m and e. For most children, the skill of blending sounds together to read a word is trickier than building it themselves and many of us still need to master this skill. Please continue to support your child at home to practise.

When revising these sounds at home please always use the pure sound of the letter (e.g. sssssss and not suh or the letter name Ess ). As we begin to use our knowledge of letter sounds to blend and build words to read and write, not using the correct pure sound can make things tricky for us. If you would like further explanation please just ask at the door.

Our storytelling prompt this week was “My friends”

Maths and numeracy

In P1 we use the SEAL programme ( Stages of Early Arithmetical Learning) which promotes number literacy. Pupils will be learning skills and strategies appropriate to their current stage of development. This includes ( but is not limited to) recognising numerals to 10, 20 and beyond; counting forwards and backwards in sequence; counting objects with accurate 1-1 correspondence; ascribing numerosity to random arrays, spatial and finger patterns; counting two seen/unseen collections; describing and creating equal groups; partitioning patterns and numbers.

Other areas of the Curriculum

.

This week, we have been exploring magnets and learning some elephant facts.

We have begun to learn to say the names of colours in French.

We have looked at the RSHP units on making friends/being kind ( linked here and here for your further information should you wish to follow up at home)

PE days are Wednesday and Thursday. Children should come to school dressed ready to participate as we will not change clothes in school -e.g joggers/leggings/shorts and a T shirt with a Buckstone jumper on top.

As far as the weather will allow , Thursday PE will take place outdoors until October so outdoor shoes on that day would ideally be trainers if possible..

Looking ahead to next week

Loose parts learning on Friday 11th October

Homework

Literacy

Spelling homework should ideally be done in several short sessions across the week . (5-10 minutes 4 times a week will have a huge impact)

Adult write the lowercase letters m, e, s, a, t and p, i and n on individual pieces of paper ( or can use magnetic letters if you have them)

Task 1.

Using the letter cards, the adult can build the following words

• met
• map
• ten
• pet
• pen
• sat
• pat
• at
• tap
• pin
• pan
• nap
• nip
• ( challenge spelling words) pants, past ,

The child should pronounce each sound as the pure sound, then blend the sounds together to read the word. This is the skill that most children find the trickiest.

Task 2

The adult should say one of the spelling words and the child uses the cards to build the word by fining the sound at the start, the sound in the middle, the sound at the end.

You may wish to keep the letter cards you make as we will be adding more sounds for spelling homework next week.

Other literacy activities

Play this game on a phone or tablet. Choose the ‘initial sounds’ option first please .

Play “robot I spy” Adult spies an object and breaks down the pronunciation, child blends the sounds together to guess the object that has been spotted – e.g. I spy a ‘v – a – n’

Play ‘ which sound is where ? ‘ Adult says a cvc word then asks the child to isolate which sound they can hear in the middle/at the end/ at the start. Children are used to saying which sound a letter starts with, but generally less comfortable identifying middle and ending sounds.

Numeracy

Practise the skill of subitising. Subitising is the ability to quickly and accurately determine the number of objects in a small group without counting them. arrange a small number of items under a piece of paper, then remove the paper for a few seconds ( not enough time to count) and re-cover. Ask how many were there? Start with regular dice patterns to 6, then extend to organised arrays up to 10, then introduce random arrays.

There is also a game here which we have been using in school which your child may want to show you. Choose the ‘game’ option – then the blue dice lead to the subitising activity. We also enjoy watching this short video which helps us to practise the subitising skill in different ways

All children acquire numeracy skills at different rates, so the homework activities are skills to practise. If your child finds it easy, increase the level of challenge by adjusting the range of number (eg, work within 10, up to 20, up to 50 etc)

• say the number AFTER a given number ( What comes after 7 ?) Children should answer quickly without the need to count from 1
• say the number BEFORE a given number
• explore teen numbers. e.g 11 = 10 and 1, 12 = 10 and 2. 13 is ten and how many more ?
• count forwards and backwards
• count a random collection of moveable or fixed items accurately with 1-1 correspondence.

Life Skills

• Practise folding paper from corner to corner
• Learn to turn sleeves the right way out
• Learn your address

Thank you for the many positive responses to our survey so far. If you have not yet completed the survey, please do so by Tuesday 1st October.

Please check this blog every Friday as we will share the learning from the week. We would encourage you to look at it with your child so that they can talk to you about their experiences in class. The blog will also include this week’s ‘homework’ activities.

We may also share other information via the blog during the week, so you may wish to set up an alert for new posts.

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

This week we have continued revising and assessing the children’s ability to recognise and use the letters s, a, t p, i and n. For most children, the skill of blending sounds together to read a word is trickier than building it themselves and many of us still need to master this skill. Please continue to support your child at home to practise

When revising these sounds at home please always use the pure sound of the letter (e.g. sssssss and not suh or the letter name Ess ). As we begin to use our knowledge of letter sounds to blend and build words to read and write, not using the correct pure sound can make things tricky for us. If you would like further explanation please just ask at the door.

Our storytelling prompt this week was “My hair was blowing when”

Maths and numeracy

Our focus skill this week has been subitising. There are activities listed below in the homework section.

In P1 we use the SEAL programme ( Stages of Early Arithmetical Learning) which promotes number literacy. Pupils will be learning skills and strategies appropriate to their current stage of development. This includes ( but is not limited to) recognising numerals to 10, 20 and beyond; counting forwards and backwards in sequence; counting objects with accurate 1-1 correspondence; ascribing numerosity to random arrays, spatial and finger patterns; counting two seen/unseen collections; describing and creating equal groups; partitioning patterns and numbers.

Other areas of the Curriculum

.

This week, pupils have shown an interest in learning about Narwhals.

We also had a visit from a spectacularly large spider (the children named it Sam) and we have found out some spider facts and read the story Aaargh Spider.

PE days are Wednesday and Thursday. Children should come to school dressed ready to participate as we will not change clothes in school -e.g joggers/leggings/shorts and a T shirt with a Buckstone jumper on top.

As far as the weather will allow , Thursday PE will take place outdoors until October so outdoor shoes on that day would ideally be trainers if possible..

Looking ahead to next week

Loose parts learning on Tuesday 1st October

Parent consultation meetings Tuesday and Thursday evenings.

Homework

Literacy

Spelling homework should ideally be done in several short sessions across the week . (5-10 minutes 4 times a week will have a huge impact)

Adult write the lowercase letters s, a, t and p, i and n on individual pieces of paper ( or can use magnetic letters if you have them)

Task 1.

Using the letter cards, the adult can build the following words

• sat
• pat
• at
• tap
• pin
• pan
• nap
• nip
• ( challenge spelling words) pants, past

The child should pronounce each sound as the pure sound, then blend the sounds together to read the word. This is the skill that most children find the trickiest.

Task 2

The adult should say one of the spelling words and the child uses the cards to build the word by fining the sound at the start, the sound in the middle, the sound at the end.

You may wish to keep the letter cards you make as we will be adding more sounds for spelling homework next week.

Other literacy activities

Play this game on a phone or tablet. Choose the ‘initial sounds’ option first please .

Numeracy

Practise the skill of subitising. Subitising is the ability to quickly and accurately determine the number of objects in a small group without counting them. arrange a small number of items under a piece of paper, then remove the paper for a few seconds ( not enough time to count) and re-cover. Ask how many were there? Start with regular dice patterns to 6, then extend to organised arrays up to 10, then introduce random arrays.

There is also a game here which we have been using in school which your child may want to show you. Choose the ‘game’ option – then the blue dice lead to the subitising activity. We also enjoy watching this short video which helps us to practise the subitising skill in different ways

All children acquire numeracy skills at different rates, so the homework activities are skills to practise. If your child finds it easy, increase the level of challenge by adjusting the range of number (eg, work within 10, up to 20, up to 50 etc)

• say the number AFTER a given number ( What comes after 7 ?) Children should answer quickly without the need to count from 1
• say the number BEFORE a given number
• explore teen numbers. e.g 11 = 10 and 1, 12 = 10 and 2. 13 is ten and how many more ?
• count forwards and backwards
• count a random collection of moveable or fixed items accurately with 1-1 correspondence.

Life Skills

• Learn to turn sleeves the right way out
• Learn your address

Please check this blog every Friday as we will share the learning from the week. We would encourage you to look at it with your child so that they can talk to you about their experiences in class. The blog will also include this week’s ‘homework’ activities.

We may also share other information via the blog during the week, so you may wish to set up an alert for new posts.

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

This week and next we are revising and assessing the children’s ability to recognise and use the letters s, a, t p, i and n. We have also been practising forming the letters. There is a sheet in purple folders today for pupils to practise at home too. Please continue to help your child learn to blend and build words using the homework suggestions below,

When revising these sounds at home please always use the pure sound of the letter (e.g. sssssss and not suh or the letter name Ess ). As we begin to use our knowledge of letter sounds to blend and build words to read and write, not using the correct pure sound can make things tricky for us. If you would like further explanation please just ask at the door.

Maths and numeracy

In P1 we use the SEAL programme ( Stages of Early Arithmetical Learning) which promotes number literacy. Pupils will be learning skills and strategies appropriate to their current stage of development. This includes ( but is not limited to) recognising numerals to 10, 20 and beyond; counting forwards and backwards in sequence; counting objects with accurate 1-1 correspondence; ascribing numerosity to random arrays, spatial and finger patterns; counting two seen/unseen collections; describing and creating equal groups; partitioning patterns and numbers.

Other areas of the Curriculum

.

PE days are Wednesday and Thursday. Children should come to school dressed ready to participate as we will not change clothes in school -e.g joggers/leggings/shorts and a T shirt with a Buckstone jumper on top.

As far as the weather will allow , Thursday PE will take place outdoors until October so outdoor shoes on that day would ideally be trainers if possible..

Looking ahead to next week

Individual and sibling photographs are due to be taken on Wednesday 25 September. We realise that this is a PE day but please dress your child in school uniform that day and we will adapt our PE activities accordingly.

Homework

Literacy.

Handwriting practise sheet in purple folders today. No need to return to school, but please do use them.

Spelling homework should ideally be done in several short sessions across the week . (5-10 minutes 4 times a week will have a huge impact)

Adult write the lowercase letters s, a, t and p, i and n on individual pieces of paper ( or can use magnetic letters if you have them)

Task 1.

Using the letter cards, the adult can build the following words

• sat
• pat
• at
• tap
• pin
• pan
• nap
• nip
• ( challenge spelling words) pants, past

The child should pronounce each sound as the pure sound, then blend the sounds together to read the word.

Task 2

The adult should say one of the spelling words and the child uses the cards to build the word by fining the sound at the start, the sound in the middle, the sound at the end.

You may wish to keep the letter cards you make as we will be adding more sounds for spelling homework next week.

Other literacy activities

Play this game on a phone or tablet. Choose the ‘initial sounds’ option first please .

Numeracy

All children acquire numeracy skills at different rates, so the homework activities are skills to practise. If your child finds it easy, increase the level of challenge by adjusting the range of number (eg, work within 10, up to 20, up to 50 etc)

• say the number AFTER a given number ( What comes after 7 ?) Children should answer quickly without the need to count from 1
• say the number BEFORE a given number
• explore teen numbers. e.g 11 = 10 and 1, 12 = 10 and 2. 13 is ten and how many more ?
• count forwards and backwards
• count a random collection of moveable or fixed items accurately with 1-1 correspondence.

Life Skills

• Learn to turn sleeves the right way out
• Learn your address

Please name all items of clothing. I still have 3 un- named and unclaimed cardis.

Please accept my apologies that I forgot to send home the Card design templates today. If you wish your child to complete one at home please feel free to let them do their design on A4 paper and return it to school no later than Tuesday morning, I can then attach it to the relevant template here. There is no obligation to create a design at home. See previous information sent via homelink.

Please check this blog every Friday as we will share the learning from the week. We would encourage you to look at it with your child so that they can talk to you about their experiences in class. The blog will also include this week’s ‘homework’ activities.

We may also share other information via the blog during the week, so you may wish to set up an alert for new posts.

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

This week we have been learning to recognise and begin to write the graphemes i and n

Please see the Homework section of the blog for this week’s tasks.

When revising these sounds at home please always use the pure sound of the letter (e.g. sssssss and not suh or the letter name Ess ). As we begin to use our knowledge of letter sounds to blend and build words to read and write, not using the correct pure sound can make things tricky for us. If you would like further explanation please just ask at the door.

Our detailed drawing and story telling prompt this week was the story “My big shouting day”

Maths and numeracy

In P1 we use the SEAL programme ( Stages of Early Arithmetical Learning) which promotes number literacy. Pupils will be learning skills and strategies appropriate to their current stage of development. This includes ( but is not limited to) recognising numerals to 10, 20 and beyond; counting forwards and backwards in sequence; counting objects with accurate 1-1 correspondence; ascribing numerosity to random arrays, spatial and finger patterns; counting two seen/unseen collections; describing and creating equal groups; partitioning patterns and numbers.

Other areas of the Curriculum

.

In PE we continue to play games designed to help us follow instructions and take turns as well as mastering developmentally appropriate gross motor skills such as hopping, skipping, jumping with both feet together, ascending and descending stairs.

PE days are Wednesday and Thursday. Children should come to school dressed ready to participate as we will not change clothes in school -e.g joggers/leggings/shorts and a T shirt with a Buckstone jumper on top.

As far as the weather will allow , Thursday PE will take place outdoors until October so outdoor shoes on that day would ideally be trainers if possible..

Looking ahead to next week

Holiday Monday

Loose parts learning on Friday

Homework

Literacy.

Spelling homework should ideally be done in several short sessions across the week . (5-10 minutes 4 times a week will have a huge impact)

Adult write the lowercase letters s, a, t and p, i and n on individual pieces of paper ( or can use magnetic letters if you have them)

Task 1.

Using the letter cards, the adult can build the following words

• sat
• pat
• at
• tap
• pin
• pan
• nap
• nip
• ( challenge spelling words) pants, past

The child should pronounce each sound as the pure sound, then blend the sounds together to read the word.

Task 2

The adult should say one of the spelling words and the child uses the cards to build the word by fining the sound at the start, the sound in the middle, the sound at the end.

You may wish to keep the letter cards you make as we will be adding more sounds for spelling homework next week.

Other literacy activities

Play this game on a phone or tablet. Choose the ‘initial sounds’ option first please .

Numeracy

All children acquire numeracy skills at different rates, so the homework activities are skills to practise. If your child finds it easy, increase the level of challenge by adjusting the range of number (eg, work within 10, up to 20, up to 50 etc)

• say the number AFTER a given number ( What comes after 7 ?) Children should answer quickly without the need to count from 1
• say the number BEFORE a given number
• explore teen numbers. e.g 11 = 10 and 1, 12 = 10 and 2. 13 is ten and how many more ?
• count forwards and backwards
• count a random collection of moveable or fixed items accurately with 1-1 correspondence.

Life Skills

• Learn to turn sleeves the right way out
• Learn your address

Please name all items of clothing, but crucially cardigans, sweatshirts and coats. The children frequently remove cardigans and sweatshirts in the classroom/gym hall, and it can be impossible to reunite them the rightful owner if they are unnamed. Similarly for coats which are often left behind in the playground – if it is named it means it can be taken directly to class.

The un-named grey TU cardigan (age 3) remained unclaimed so has gone to the general lost property box . We now also have a purple sweatshirt fabric cardi, from Asda ( aged 4/5). This will make its way to general lost property on Monday.

Please check this blog every Friday as we will share the learning from the week. We would encourage you to look at it with your child so that they can talk to you about their experiences in class. The blog will also include this week’s ‘homework’ activities

We may also share other information via the blog during the week, so you may wish to set up an alert for new posts.

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

This week we have been learning to recognise and begin to write the graphemes p and t

Please see the Homework section of the blog for this week’s tasks.

When revising these sounds at home please always use the pure sound of the letter (e.g. sssssss and not suh or the letter name Ess ). As we begin to use our knowledge of letter sounds to blend and build words to read and write, not using the correct pure sound can make things tricky for us. If you would like further explanation please just ask at the door.

We have been practising our pencil grip and tracing skills

Our detailed drawing and story telling prompt this week was Changing shoes

Maths and numeracy focus

In P1 we use the SEAL programme ( Stages of Early Arithmetical Learning) which promotes number literacy. Pupils will be learning skills and strategies appropriate to their current stage of development. This includes ( but is not limited to) recognising numerals to 10, 20 and beyond; counting forwards and backwards in sequence; counting objects with accurate 1-1 correspondence; ascribing numerosity to random arrays, spatial and finger patterns; counting two seen/unseen collections; describing and creating equal groups; partitioning patterns and numbers.

Other areas of the Curriculum

.

In PE we continue to play games and practice our gross motor skills of running, hopping, jumping, skipping and ascending/descending stairs.

PE days are Wednesday and Thursday. Children should come to school dressed ready to participate as we will not change clothes in school -e.g joggers/leggings/shorts and a T shirt with a Buckstone jumper on top.

As far as the weather will allow , Thursday PE will take place outdoors until October so outdoor shoes on that day would ideally be trainers if possible.

As part of our ‘ My School in Buckstone’ topic, we went on a walk round the local area. We have also been discussing what the word ‘address’ means and finding out who knows their address

We explored the effect of wet ground on chalk. Lots of great vocabulary was used and we discussed colour mixing, dissolving , changing textures and lots more.

Looking ahead to next week

We have the Evening news photographer on Tuesday. Those pupils who have been denied permission for their photograph to be taken will not be included .

Loose parts learning on Wednesday.

Homework

Literacy.

Spelling homework should ideally be done in several short sessions across the week . (5-10 minutes 4 times a week will have a huge impact)

Adult write the lowercase letters s, a, t and p on individual pieces of paper ( or can use magnetic letters if you have them)

Task 1.

Using the letter cards, the adult can build the following words

• sat
• pat
• at
• tap

The child should pronounce each sound as the pure sound, then blend the sounds together to read the word.

Task 2

The adult should say one of the spelling words and the child uses the cards to build the word by fining the sound at the start, the sound in the middle, the sound at the end.

You may wish to keep the letter cards you make as we will be adding more sounds for spelling homework next week.

Other literacy activities

Make up real or nonsense rhymes for names or things. eg, John/bon/ton/gone

Encourage children to identify initial sounds of things you can see – car starts with ? bird starts with ? etc

Numeracy

All children acquire numeracy skills at different rates, so the homework activities are skills to practise. If your child finds it easy, increase the level of challenge by adjusting the range of number (eg, work within 10, up to 20, up to 50 etc)

• say the number AFTER a given number ( What comes after 7 ?) Children should answer quickly without the need to count from 1
• say the number BEFORE a given number
• explore teen numbers. e.g 11 = 10 and 1, 12 = 10 and 2. 13 is ten and how many more ?
• count forwards and backwards
• count a random collection of moveable or fixed items accurately with 1-1 correspondence.

Life Skills

• Learn to turn sleeves the right way out
• Learn your address

Please name all items of clothing, but crucially cardigans, sweatshirts and coats. The children frequently remove cardigans and sweatshirts in the classroom/gym hall, and it can be impossible to reunite them the rightful owner if they are unnamed. Similarly for coats which are often left behind in the playground – if it is named it means it can be taken directly to class.

We currently have an age 6-7 purple GEORGE cardigan which has clearly been passed on and is still named with the name of its original owner (who definitely wouldn’t fit it now). There is also an un-named grey TU cardigan (age 3). If you think either might belong to your child please let me know.

Please check this blog every Friday as we will share the learning from the week. We would encourage you to look at it with your child so that they can talk to you about their experiences in class. The blog will also include this week’s ‘homework’ activities

We may also share other information via the blog during the week, so you may wish to set up an alert for new posts.

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

This week we have been learning to recognise and begin to write the graphemes s and a

When revising these sounds at home please always use the pure sound of the letter (e.g. sssssss and not suh or the letter name Ess ). As we begin to use our knowledge of letter sounds to blend and build words to read and write, not using the correct pure sound can make things tricky for us. If you would like further explanation please just ask at the door.

We have also been looking at letter formation in our names. Today your child will bring home a reference sheet for you to keep at home which shows correct letter formation routes. Please encourage your child to use this correct letter formation as they write their own name.

We have been practising some of the pre-writing patterns

Our detailed drawing and story telling prompt this week was I am reaching up high

Maths and numeracy focus

In P1 we use the SEAL programme ( Stages of Early Arithmetical Learning) which promotes number literacy. Pupils will be learning skills and strategies appropriate to their current stage of development. This includes ( but is not limited to) recognising numerals to 10, 20 and beyond; counting forwards and backwards in sequence; counting objects with accurate 1-1 correspondence; ascribing numerosity to random arrays, spatial and finger patterns; counting two seen/unseen collections; describing and creating equal groups; partitioning patterns and numbers.

Other areas of the Curriculum

.

In PE we have been developing skills in sharing the space and travelling safely.

We have been practising and demonstrating our gross motor skills such as ascending/descending stairs one foot on each step without support, hopping on one leg, jumping with two feet together, and skipping ( the travelling kind, not with a skipping rope). These skills are tricky for some of us, so additional practice at home would be useful.

PE days will be Wednesday and Thursday. Children should come to school dressed ready to participate as we will not change clothes in school -e.g joggers/leggings/shorts and a T shirt with a Buckstone jumper on top.

As far as the weather will allow , Thursday PE will take place outdoors until October so outdoor shoes on that day would ideally be trainers if possible.

Looking ahead to next week

We hope to have a walk round our local area on Tuesday

‘Homework’ ( things to practice at home)

Most of the children are really independent, able to change their shoes, put coats on and open snack packets themselves. If this is something your child hasn’t quite mastered yet, please continue to practise at home. Opening fiddly straw packets on milk/juice cartons is one for a few of us to work on.

• Try to write your name with correct letter formation (no capitals other than the intial one)
• Turn sleeves from the wrong way to the right way.
• Go on a hunt around your house for things featuring the sssss or ah sound ( no aeroplanes !)
• Play’ ‘I spy’ for a and s
• Look for numbers in the environment ( buses, shop prices, car registration plates etc) – if single digit numbers are easy for you, look for teen numbers.

We have had a great start to the term in P1. The children have been fantastic, taking the new routines in their stride and enjoying exploring the classroom.

This week’s blog post is a long one as there is lots of information to share !

Please check this blog every Friday as we will share the learning from the week. We would encourage you to look at it with your child so that they can talk to you about their experiences in class. The blog post may also include ‘homework’ activities or suggestions of things to try at home as well as requests for help such as the ones below.

We may also share other information via the blog during the week, so you may wish to set up an alert for new posts.

Purple folders

Thank you for your support and patience waiting for the purple folders to finally arrive. The children are welcome to personalise their folders with a small keyring to help them identify their own one, but we respectfully ask that it is only one small keyring and not a large collection or a particularly bulky soft toy type attachment. The folders are stored in a basket during the school day and the addition of multiple big toys means they don’t fit.

Can you help ?

In order to encourage writing in play the children have free access to notebooks and diaries in which they can ‘write’ plans and notes on their learning. To enable this we would welcome donations of unwanted/partially used notebooks or diaries. Also any enticing writing implements ( ie glittery pencils/gel pens/ pencils with feathers etc – basically anything other than standard school issue type pencils/pens) These will be used in our ‘message trolley’. The children enjoy choosing resources from the trolley to use in their independent learning, promoting markmaking and early writing skills.

In our STEM area ( Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) the children enjoy creating structures and models from clean cardboard/plastic recycling. We would love to receive frequent donations of resources to support this area of learning, no amount is too much !

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 negotiate 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 solvng, 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.

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 been doing some baseline assessments to ascertain the children’s prior knowledge of phonics.

Our writing programme starts with telling stories through detailed drawing. This week our drawing prompt was ‘My family’

Some of us have shared our memory boxes.

Maths and numeracy focus

We have been doing some baseline assessments to ascertain the children’s prior knowledge and understanding of number.

Other areas of the Curriculum

We have been demonstrating our cutting skills, learning to use scissors safely and efficiently.

In PE we have been developing skills in sharing the space and travelling safely. We also played a game to help us learn to listen and respond quickly.

PE days will be Wednesday and Thursday. Children should come to school dressed ready to participate as we will not change clothes in school -e.g joggers/leggings/shorts and a T shirt with a Buckstone jumper on top.

As far as the weather will allow , Thursday PE will take place outdoors until October so outdoor shoes on that day would ideally be trainers if possible.

Looking ahead to next week

Loose parts play ( aka messy play) on Monday. Children should come dressed with waterproof coats, overtrousers and wellies if possible. We do have some spares in school for anyone who forgets.

Outdoor loose parts play supports ( amongst other things) the development of metaskills, social interaction, physical strength, emotional regulation and academic understanding, and as such is an highly valued part of our week. We will have loose parts sessions regularly through the term – and will notify the date here.

Please return the Flu vaccination letter via the purple folders by Wednesday of next week at the latest. Thank you

‘Homework’ ( things to practice at home)

Most of the children are really independent, able to change their shoes, put coats on and open snack packets themselves. If this is something your child hasn’t quite mastered yet, please continue to practise at home. Opening fiddly straw packets on milk/juice cartons is one for a few of us to work on.

Focus on rhyme – identifying and creating rhyming words – even if the words are made up.

Play Rhyming I spy

Instead of looking for words beginning with a certain sound, ask your child to find something in the room that rhymes with another word.

This is a great way to practise recognising those important sounds in words.