We have continued to learn about money: We are learning to identify and use all coins and notes to £20 and explore different ways of making the same total. We have noticed that lots of children are still not sure of how to write the £ sign. We have also been working on how to write different totals, for example with 75p the pence sign goes at the end but with £18 the pound sign goes at the beginning.
At First Level your child should be able to recognise and use all coins and notes to £20.
Try one of these activities at home. It is best if real coins can be used for these activities.
Present a simple shopping list, e.g. milk 86p, paper 75p, sticky tape £1.20. Ask your child to select the coins they could use to pay for each item.
3 Coins Challenge
Ask your child what values (up to 50p) that they can make using exactly 3 coins.
Literacy
We are learning to read and spell words with –ed. This week we will be finding out about words in which the ed letters make the sound ‘t’. For example wished.
We have also been learning that if the root word has only one consonant after the short vowel then we need to add another consonant before adding -ed. For example flip becomes flipped. We must add an extra consonant or magic e will be able to work its magic and change the sound of the vowel!!
In writing we have continued to work on descriptions and using adjectives. We have described an underwater scene.
We continued to listen to the oral presentations. The children are doing a fantastic job at presenting and listening to others!
Ideas to do at home:
Ask your child to describe something and work on using interesting adjectives.
Ask your child to change these words to the past tense by adding ‘ed’.
wish
poach
zip
kick
Other areas
In PE we are focusing on games and athletics skills.
On Wednesday you received your child’s report and the learning story folder. Please return the Parents’ comment sheet (you should keep your child’s report) and the learning story folder as soon as possible. Thank you.
We have a session of Loose Parts on Friday 16th June.
Thank you for your support in helping your child to prepare for their talk. We have started to present these in class. We are doing just a few each day and it will take us a few weeks to get through them all.
This is a summary of our learning:
Maths
We have started to learn about money: We are learning to identify and use all coins and notes to £20 and explore different ways of making the same total. Some children are finding hard to understand the concept of value: two 1p coins is the same as one 2p coin. Please practice this at home if possible.
At First Level your child should be able to recognise and use all coins and notes to £20.
Ideas to try at home:
Give your child the opportunity to handle different coins and notes at home and ask them to add up different collections of coins and notes.
Your child should be able to make the same total in different ways, using different coins, recognising that finding the fewest number of coins is usually the best way to pay.
Money is a practical skill used in everyday life so the best way to support your child is to involve them as much as you can when dealing with money.
– Allow your child to pay for goods in shops.
– Talk to your child about where your money comes from.
– Teach your child how to budget spending.
If you don’t have coins at home, you could try this online game, however using concrete real material would be helpful to your child
We are learning to read and spell words with –ed. This week we will be finding out about words in which the e in ed is silent. It just sounds like d!
Example:
hug
– If this happened in the past, then we need Old Uncle Ed.
– hug becomes hugged.
– Count the number of sounds: h – u – g – d (4 sounds)
– Even though the last sound sounds like ‘d’ it is written as ‘ed’.
In writing we have continued to work on descriptions and using adjectives. We have described Hansel and Gretel’s house.
We have started to listen to the oral presentations. All children are doing a fantastic job at presenting and listening to others.
Ideas to do at home
Ask your child to describe something and work on using interesting adjectives.
Look for verbs that have the sound d at the end ( when using the past tense).
Other areas
On Wednesday we attended the P7 show. It was brilliant and the children had a great time.
In PE we are focusing on games and athletics skills.
Our butterflies finally come out of their chrysalis and we released them outside! It has been amazing to be able to observe the life cycle the butterfly at school.
Here are some photos from our learning through play this week.
We hope that you have had a good week and enjoyed the lovely sunshine we have had!
IMPORTANT INFORMATION
Pupils will begin their oral presentations next week. We are aiming to do a couple each day. Please send in any pictures / props on Monday and we will keep them in the classroom until they have used them for their talk.
Here is a summary of our learning.
Literacy
We have been learning to add -ed to verbs to change them into the past tense. For example, walk becomes walked and climb becomes climbed.
Here is a short video clip we used in class. Nessy Reading Strategy | Adding ‘-ed’ | Past Tense Verbs | Learn to Read – YouTube
In writing we wrote a setting description. We have been trying to include interesting describing words (adjectives).
In grammar we have been learning about nouns and verbs. We also looked at examples of lists and wrote our own lists of nouns.
We have been learning to read these tricky words: knew, cold, piece and told.
We have continued to work on spelling our tricky words.
Ideas for learning at home: • Can your child change these verbs into the past tense by adding -ed? talk, play, jump, open. • Can your child write a shopping list or a list of items they need for an activity? Remember to include a title and bullet points! • Please continue to practise the spelling of tricky words at home. Your child should know which block they are working on.
Maths and Numeracy
We have focussed on counting backwards mainly within the range of 100-0. But for some, we have been counting backwards with 3-digit numbers. We are becoming more confident at crossing the decades, e.g. 43,42,41,40,39. We have linked this skill to subtraction.
We have also been learning to use every day objects (e.g. cups) to estimate capacity. We have also looked at measuring jugs and cylinders and drawn attention to the scales on the side.
Ideas for learning at home: • Roll 2 dice to generate a 2 digit number (or 3 digit if your child is working with these numbers). Count backwards from that number in 1s until you cross a decade. Try to do this activity several times. • First, find a cup, a bowl and a jar. Collect lots of small, regular items, e.g. the same size of lego pieces, small building bricks, marbles etc. Begin by making an estimate of how many you think will fill the cup/bowl/jar, then fill it to the top to see how close your estimate was. • Ask your child to complete one set of subtraction sums below.
Mild • 12-4 • 8-2 • 10-3 • 5-1
Spicy • 24-5 • 32-3 • 25-3 • 33-4
Hot • 102-4 • 95-8 • 35-12 • 85-21
Other areas of the curriculum: • We enjoyed learning about Mozart and listening to a live performance from two musicians playing the cello and the violin. • We had another visit from Youth Music Initiative and enjoyed singing some new songs. • In PE we have enjoyed team games and also learning to throw the javelins. • Our butterflies have started to emerge from their chrysalides which has been very exciting to observe!
We have explored measurement related to height and length. We have used non-standard and standard units to measure; we have learned how to use a ruler and measure in centimetres.
We have practised subtraction skills.
You can practice subtraction at home using this website:
In writing we have continued our focus on Poetry. We have written a diamante poem: cat to dog. We are learning what is an adjective (describing word), a verb (doing word) and a name.
In phonics we have been learningto add -ing to words that end with an e. If a word ends in ‘e’, drop the ‘e’ when adding ‘-ing’: fake / faking, slide/ sliding, etc. The first vowel is always long (says its name) because there is only 1 consonant to separate the vowels. There is only 1 guard!
In handwriting we have continued to work on writing capital letters and cursive lower-case letters.
We have been learning to read these tricky words: complete, family, area and question. Please continue to practice at home the tricky words (children are aware in which block they are working at the moment). Every week we mix the classes and we have groups based on the block of tricky words the children are working on; this has been very motivating for the children as they work hard to move up a block. Practising at home makes a huge difference!
Other areas
We had Loose Parts on Tuesday afternoon. It is great to see how the children are building more complex structures and how they work as a team.
Science: we have learned about our senses; We have explored the senses and discussed their reliability and limitations in responding to the environment. We have discussed how we can use our senses to detect information and explained how they help to keep people safe.
RSHP: We have been learning about Privacy and the PANTS rule.
We hope you have a nice weekend and enjoy the Summer Fair !
We have a session of loose parts on Tuesday 23rd May.
Please return Learning Stories to school ASAP.
Here is a summary of our learning.
Literacy
We have been working on our reading books in class. These were sent home yesterday.
Our tricky words this week were: music, mountain, enough and almost. We have been learning to read these words.
We have continued to work on our individual block of spelling words.
In grammar we have been learning to use connectives.
In writing we wrote a poem based on the work we have been doing over the last few weeks in our poetry lessons.
We finished up our phonics block on the suffix -ing. Here are some photos which explain the rules we have been teaching the pupils.
Learning at home
Ask your child if they can add the suffix -ing to these root words.
crawl
float
win
boil
end
rub
Can they explain the spelling rule which helped them?
Please continue to read reading books at home and ask questions to check for understanding.
Also, please remember that in June, the pupils in P2 will be asked to give a short talk on a subject of their choice. This will begin Monday 5th June. Information on this is provided below.
Pupils can choose to talk about a hobby/interest, how they look after their pet, a favourite wild animal, favourite film etc.
The focus is on selecting ideas and relevant information, organising these into a logical sequence and using words which will interest the audience.
Please see guidance below on how best to prepare for this.
1. Choose a topic.
2. Think about the ‘W’ questions: Who (who is this about?) What (What do they do?) Why (Why is it interesting?) Where? When?
3. You may wish to make cards for each heading with a picture and/or key words. Don’t write whole sentences to read out loud.
4. Once the information is organised, practise delivering the talk to family at home.
Thank you in advance for your support with this.
Maths
We have been revising addition strategies.
We have been learning to estimate and weigh items using non-standard units.
Learning at home
There is an addition SumDog challenge which goes live tonight.
Choose an object e.g. a pen. Find 3 things that are heavier and 3 things that are lighter.
Choose 5 items from around the house and put them in order from (estimated) heaviest to lightest.
Draw attention to the weight of different items when you are cooking / baking.
Other areas of the curriculum
As part of our equalities focus for this term, we had an interesting and informative talk on racism.
As part of the RSHP programme we have been talking about being confident in our bodies. We read a poem called ‘I’m glad I’m me’ and discussed the importance of being positive about your body and also the fact that your body is your body (body autonomy).
We hope you had a nice week. We have had an amazing one!
Health week has been brilliant and Sports Day has been our highlight!
This is a summary of our learning.
Other areas of the curriculum
What a great time we had at Sports Day! Thank you to those of you who were able to come and support your child.
On Tuesday we had an athletics session with Mr Segall ( our Active Schools coordinator). This focused on sprinting technique and the difference on our bodies when running for endurance.
On Thursday we had a Lacrosse session with Zoe Dickson and a dance session with Simon says Dance. The children had a fantastic time. We also enjoyed a brilliant session of Loose Parts in the sunshine!
On Friday we had a Multisport session.
We also have done baking.
Science: we have learned about inheritance by comparing dog breeds and generations of dogs. We are beginning to understand how characteristics are inherited. We had the opportunity to look at our teachers’ dogs and think about their characteristics.
RSHP: We have been learning about our body and to identify the correct words for body parts.
Maths
We have started learning about the concept of area and how to estimate it by using squares. We have noticed that different shapes can have the same area.
Literacy
We have continued our focus on Poetry. Thinking about what we feel and using different words (adjectives) to describe them.
In phonics we have been learning that when adding the suffix -ing to words containing short vowel followed by just one consonant we need to double the consonant and add -ing: run – running, shop- shopping, cut-cutting, etc.
• Next week is Health Week so pupils are invited to wear PE kit all week. • Sports Day will be held on Wednesday at the Waterboard Field from 10:30-12:00. • We have a session of Loose Parts on Thursday afternoon. Please come dressed for the weather! • No reading books were sent home yesterday, and no books will be sent home at the end of Health week. In class we are reading poetry books but there are not enough copies to send home. • Learning Stories were sent home today. Once you have read the newsletter and term 3 targets please send them back in.
We are also looking for donations of picture frames for an art activity. If you have an old picture frame that you no longer need, we would be very grateful if you were able to donate it. Thank you in advance!
We have had a quick but very busy week! Here is a summary of our learning. I have also added photos from our Generation Science workshop last week to the very end of this blog.
Literacy
We have continued to read and spell words using the suffix -ing. For example: feel – feeling, wait – waiting.
We have been learning to read these tricky words:
• through • always • country • young • example
We have continued to work on our own list of common words for spelling.
We have started a unit of work on poetry. Pupils are learning to read, listen to, join in with and respond to poetry that captures sensory experiences. We have been outside to experience the weather then made a list of words and phrases to describe what we could see, hear, feel, taste and smell. We enjoyed Wind Ways by Judith Nicholls and When The Wind Blows by John Foster.
Ideas for learning at home:
Keep working on the individual list of tricky words for spelling.
Write the five tricky words for reading (above) on small pieces of paper. Hide them behind an object then slowly reveal the words one letter at a time. How quickly can your child read the word?
Here is a link to an online lesson with videos and activities which will explain more about poems and to try to learn and perform one.
Remembering and performing a poem – BBC Bitesize
Maths
We have been learning to estimate the area of a shape by counting squares. We have also been learning that different shapes can have the same area (conservation of area).
We have been rounding off our work on reading clocks. We have been reading digital o’clock and half past times. We have also been using quarter past / to on analogue clocks.
Ideas for learning at home: • Please continue to practise number formation and make sure that numbers are not reversed. • Talk about the different times of day. For example – what time does the alarm go off in the morning? Can your child write this as a digital time? • There is a Sum Dog challenge to revise some of the concepts covered this week. It goes live tonight!
Other areas of the curriculum
• We enjoyed an outdoor learning session which linked to our unit of work on poetry. • We have been preparing for Sports Day as part of our PE lessons. • As part of RSHP and Health and Wellbeing we are learning about where living things come from and about how they grow, develop and are nurtured. As part of this we are going to see first-hand how the butterfly life cycle works. We have some class caterpillars which we will look after until they turn into butterflies. We will then set them free outdoors!
We are looking for empty, cleaned yogurt pots. Please send these in when you can.
There will be no reading books sent home next week or the week after. In class we will be reading poetry books in our groups but there are not enough copies to send home.
Here is a summary of our learning this week.
Literacy
– This week we have been learning to add the suffix -ing to long vowel sounds. For examples: feel – feeling, wait – waiting.
– We have been learning to read and write the following common words: different, picture, letter, better, earth.
– We have continued to work on our individual blocks of common words for spelling. It is great to see how motivated the children are and making good progress. Thank you for your support at home!
– In writing we wrote the story of ‘The clocktower’. We watched a clip and thought carefully about the story. We had a special focus on adding adjectives. Each week we are getting better at writing a beginning, middle and end.
– We have been reading our reading books.
– We have worked on adding punctuation to sentences: full stops, exclamation marks and question marks.
– In handwriting we are learning how to write capital letters.
Ideas for learning at home
· Please work on spelling the tricky words sent home at parent consultations. If your child has moved block practice the new ones.
· Reading books were sent home yesterday. Please continue to practise reading at home.
· Begin to prepare the talk on a subject of your choice.
Numeracy
– We have been recognising and naming 2 digit numbers (and for some pupils 3 digit numbers).
– We have been sequencing numbers.
– We have been learning to read o’clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to times on analogue clocks. We also have looked at o’clock and half past on a digital clock.
Ideas for learning at home
· Practise number formation and make sure that numbers are not reversed.
· Draw attention to clocks at home. Reinforce the fact that the minute hand is the long hand and when it is pointing to the 12 it is an o’clock time, and when it is pointing to the 6 it is a half past time. Point out that the small hour hand lies exactly on the number for o’clock but moves past the number for half past. The minute hand (long hand) is pointing to the 3 when is quarter past and the small hand has moved a little from the hour number. When it is quarter to the long hand is pointing at the 9 and the small hand ( hour hand ) is near to the next number.
You may wish to use this teaching clock if you only have digital clocks at home.
· Talk about the different moments of the day when you do things: what time do your child wakes up, what time does your child have breakfast, what time do you leave the house to go to school, etc.
Loose parts: We had a great time outside. As it was raining when we went outside there was good teamwork and engineering while building tents to protect ourselves from the drizzle.
PE; We have continued to practice for Sports Day that will take place on Wednesday 10th May. We are practicing skipping, relays, throwing to a target and dribbling a football. We are finding skipping very tricky so it would be great to practice at home.
RHSP We have been learning about the lifecycle of a butterfly and a frog. We have continued to look after our window beans. We can see the roots and shoots developing now!
Science We have been learning about the skeleton (names of bones) and germs.
We had a visit from Generation Science. We learned about day and night. “I learned that the moon goes around the Earth and it takes a month” “ I learned that a year is 365 days” “ I learned basically everything: the moon and the Earth orbit around the sun”.
Remember:
P2 Listening and Talking Term 3
In June, the pupils in P2 will be asked to give a short talk on a subject of their choice. We are making you aware of this now so that you can support your child over the next few weeks to prepare for this.
Pupils can choose to talk about a hobby/interest, how they look after their pet, a favourite wild animal, favourite film etc.
The focus is on selecting ideas and relevant information, organising these into a logical sequence and using words which will interest the audience.
Please see guidance below on how best to prepare for this.
1. Choose a topic.
2. Think about the ‘W’ questions: Who (who is this about?) What (What do they do?) Why (Why is it interesting?) Where? When?
3. You may wish to make cards for each heading with a picture and/or key words. Don’t write whole sentences to read out loud.
4. Once the information is organised, practise delivering the talk to family at home.
Thank you in advance for your support with this.
I have added photos from the last few weeks to the end of the blog this week. I hope you enjoy seeing the variety of activities the pupils have been engaging with.
It has been lovely having everyone back after the Easter break.
Important Information
Loose Parts
P2 have a session of loose parts on Monday 24th April. Please send children to school in appropriate clothing.
P2 Listening and Talking Term 3
In June, the pupils in P2 will be asked to give a short talk on a subject of their choice. We are making you aware of this now so that you can support your child over the next few weeks to prepare for this.
Pupils can choose to talk about a hobby/interest, how they look after their pet, a favourite wild animal, favourite film etc.
The focus is on selecting ideas and relevant information, organising these into a logical sequence and using words which will interest the audience.
Please see guidance below on how best to prepare for this.
Choose a topic.
Think about the ‘W’ questions: Who (who is this about?) What (What do they do?) Why (Why is it interesting?) Where? When?
You may wish to make cards for each heading with a picture and/or key words. Don’t write whole sentences to read out loud.
Once the information is organised, practise delivering the talk to family at home.
Thank you in advance for your support with this.
Here is a summary of our learning this week.
Literacy
This unit of Literacy Rich introduces the spelling rules required for adding the suffix ing to a root word. For example sing – singing, run – running. This week we have introduced this at a simple level. For words containing a short vowel sound followed by more than one consonant, just add ing. For example park becomes parking, turn becomes turning.
We have been learning to read the following common words: your, called, sentence, follow, small.
We have continued to work on our individual blocks of common words for spelling.
In writing we retold the story of The Three Billy Goats Gruff. Each week we are getting better at writing a beginning, middle and end.
Ideas for learning at home
Please work on spelling the tricky words sent home at parent consultations.
Reading books were sent home yesterday. Please continue to practise reading at home.
Begin to prepare the talk on a subject of your choice.
Maths
We have revisited number formation and are trying very hard not to reverse numbers.
We have been recognising and naming 2 digit numbers (and for some pupils 3 digit numbers).
We have been sequencing numbers.
We have been learning to read o’clock and half past times on analogue clocks.
Ideas for learning at home
Practise number formation and make sure that numbers are not reversed.
Draw attention to clocks at home. Reinforce the fact that the minute hand is the long hand and when it is pointing to the 12 it is an o’clock time, and when it is pointing to the 6 it is a half past time. Point out that the small hour hand lies exactly on the number for o’clock but moves past the number for half past.
Roll a dice twice / three times to generate 2 digit / 3 digit numbers. Can your child write the digits down and name the number? Do this 5 times and ask your child to put the numbers in order from smallest to largest. Discuss the value of each digit.
Other curricular areas
In PE we have started to prepare for Sports Day.
We have been learning about all the things we need to do to look after plants. We are learning about how every living thing needs to be cared for and nurtured so that they grow and flourish. We planted broad bean seeds and hope that they will start to grow very soon.
In Science, we have been learning about some of the symptoms of common diseases. We have also been learning about ways in which some diseases can be prevented through good hygiene and vaccination.
Important information about shoes and spare clothes- PLEASE READ!
• On Thursday we sent home all indoor shoes and changes of clothes. • Please check that the shoes are still in good condition (Velcro still works etc) and that they fit your child. • Please also check that the spare clothes bag has everything in it that is needed (underwear, socks, spare top and trousers) and that these items are named. • When you return the spare clothes bag, please can you ensure that your child knows which is their bag and that it has their name written on it. • If it is a carrier bag, could you please tie the handles as we have had a few come open and unnamed items fall out. • All lost property was laid out at the start and end of the day on Friday, but we still have unclaimed items which we do not have space to store.
Thank you for your help with this.
Here is a summary of our learning.
Maths
We have revisited a range of number skills covered this term and worked on 3D shape.
Home learning ideas Here are some activities you could do at home to reinforce these skills.
Remember you also have your SumDog log in details.
Practice sharing equally: give the same number of items (stones, pompons, etc.) to a number of people/ toys. E.g.: have 15 pompons and share it fairly/equally between three dinosaurs/ cars. With 8 pompons see how many groups of 2 pompons you can make.
Practice adding and subtracting within 10 / 20 / 100.
Literacy
This week we had a special focus on comprehension skills, summarising a text and spelling. The text that we have been working on is Goldilocks and the three bears.
Our writing focus was doing a recount of this well-known story. We are working hard on using the past tense as well as making a beginning, middle and end structure.
In handwriting we practised our spelling words in cursive.
This week we will have not sent reading books home because next week will be the Easter holiday.
Home learning ideas
At parent consultations we gave you a copy of the tricky words (spelling) that your child is working on in class. Please practise spelling these at home. You could use pavement chalk, paints or simply a pencil and paper to do the Look, Cover, Write, Check method.
Please continue to practice reading at home. If possible, read to your child this will help to increase their vocabulary and you will be able to model reading.
Your child could help you to write the shopping list, write letters/postcards to relatives, etc.
Other areas of the curriculum
We had a brilliant time meeting online a P1/ 2 class from Sgoil Dhalabroig which is a primary school in South Uist. We asked questions to each other about life in an island and life in Edinburgh, they taught us how to count to five in Gaelic and we sang to each other. They were fifteen children in the class and we are nearly 60! It was a lovely experience for us all!
In PE we have worked on team games and finishing off our unit of gymnastics. It was great to see the children giving positive feedback and things to improve in a polite way.
Outdoors we did Easter activities. We looked for hidden carrots ( a challenge from P3!) and we made nests using twigs.
Home learning ideas
Enjoy your time with your children: go for walks, read stories, play board games, cook together, …have fun!
Buckstone Primary School 