P2D- Mrs DeBonrostro

P2D Reflective Friday 24.11.23

Staff..114

Dear Parents,

We hope you had a great week.

Important information

  • Change of clothes: Please ensure that your child has a spare change of clothes at school (including pants and socks); these don’t have to be school uniform. It is really helpful for them all to have them (especially when they get wet). Some children took them home after needing them in but haven’t returned them back to school. Please label all the items.

This is a summary of our learning this week:

Literacy

This week we have learned the initial blends: br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr.

Look at this video (From minute 8.27)

We have practiced our reading skills: prediction, inference, summarising, etc.

We have introduced new tricky words from block 4 (last of block 4): house, also, friend. It would be very helpful if your children practice reading and writing these words and previous blocks.

In writing we wrote Jack and Jill story. We wrote what happened at the beginning of the story, at the middle and at the end.

At cursive handwriting. This week we have practice t, x, z and c. See the link below of the formation we are practicing at school.

Continuous Cursive letter choice 3 beginners (teachhandwriting.co.uk)

Ideas for learning at home

  • Please ask your child to read the school reading book at home.
  • Read, write and make the words: brick, brown, brain, broom, drain, dream, droop, dry, drew, craw, crown, cream, crowd, train, treat, try, tram, tree, free, fright, fry, green, grain, grow, grew, greet, pray, pram, pry, etc. You can write the words and ask your child to look for the initial blends and circle them.  
  • You can play this free online game:

https://ictgames.com/phonicsPop/index.html

– Please continue to read stories to your child at home.

– Please continue to encourage your child to read at home. It is important that children practice reading every day.

Maths 

We have been learning about time. We have learned how to tell the o’clock, half past and quarter past in an analogue clocks.

At school the children have enjoyed playing this game:

https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/116/telling-the-time

Ideas for learning at home: 

Ask your child to explain to you:

  • What time is it using analogue and digital clocks.
  • Talk to your child about when is time to go to bed, have tea, go to school, etc. This will help your child to have an understanding of time on their own lives.
  • You will find other ideas in this website:
7 Great Ways To Teach Telling Time To Your Kids
  • Continue to practice counting forwards and backwards from and to different numbers (within 20, 30, 100)

Other areas

Art

We made a Christmas banner for the school hall.

PE

We have worked on pre- tennis skills.

RME

We are learning about Bible stories. This week we have learned about Noah’s ark. We made our own arks and test if they sink or float.

We hope you have a lovely weekend!

Mrs de Bonrostro

P1 Pandas

P1p reflective Friday 17.11.23

Staff...685

Please continue to send in your clean recycling. Many thanks

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 introduced the letters

c, k, and ck

and we introduced the tricky words

put, his

These are words which cannot be sounded out using phonics and should be learned by memory as sight vocabulary. please practise both reading and writing these words

Use the sounds you know to read and build words. If you want a challenge you could try to write the word if an adult reads it to you.

Building a word. Using plastic letters or letters written on small pieces of card or paper an adult says a three letter CVC word ( consonant, vowel, consonant) and the child chooses the correct sounds to make the word.

Blending a word . Adult writes or uses letters to make a CVC word and the child should say the pure sounds of each letter then blend them together to read the word.

Our writing programme starts with telling stories through detailed drawing. We are now beginning to write some of the words and sounds we know as part of our sentence. This week our focus was I am me

Maths and numeracy focus


We have been learning about the properties of 2D shapes and 3D objects.

We also continue to practise our number bonds of ten. These are the pairs of numbers which, when added together, total ten. The children should learn these as instant recall facts. We also talk about ‘switchers’ e.g. if we know that 8 + 2 =10, we can tall that 2 +8 = 10.

Please support your child at home to learn these facts. If they already know them, the challenge is to apply that understanding to tens numbers to 100 ( e.g. 8+ ? = 10, 18 + ? = 20 , 8 +? = 40 etc)

We continue to work on SEAL ( Stages of Early Arithmetical Learning) Pupils are working and challenged at a level appropriate to their individual development. These are examples of some of the skills we have been practising :

Making arrays and counting in groups to find the total. Key vocabulary included the words rows, columns and groups

Adding 1

Adding 2

Counting random printed arrays accurately ( when you can’t move the item being counted)

Counting in tens

Counting in tens off the decade

Recognising and ordering numerals to 20

Counting forward and back within 30 ( to 100 for some)

Establishing a collection.

Counting a collection with accurate 1-1 correspondence

Identifying number families ( teens, twenties, 30s etc)

Subitising ( recognising an amount without counting )

Other areas of the curriculum



In PE we continued to make sequences of movements and travelling with our body at different levels as well as playing games which give us opportunities to practise the skills we have learned.

We had a visit from the author Morag Hood. She told us about her job as an author and illustrator and she helped us to draw a picture of the digger character from her book ‘Dig, Dig, Digger”

We have been learning about customs surrounding the festival of Diwali

Looking ahead to next week

We have started learning about the story of the Nativity. Everyone takes part in our presentation of the story and will bring home a small piece of paper on Monday with a line to learn. Please help your child to practise saying this slowly and clearly . Further information about the Nativity presentation will be sent home soon.

‘Homework’ ( things to practice at home)

Look around the house for objects which are spheres, pyramids, cubes, cuboids or cones. Discuss how many faces ,vertices and edges you can see on the objects you have collected.

Count back from 20 -10

Write your name. Try to use correct letter formation for all the letters. Remember, only the first letter should be a capital. As a challenge, try writing your surname too.


P2MD Mrs McFarlane and Miss Davidson

P2MD Blog 24.11.23

Staff..226

Dear Parents,

We hope you had a great week.

Important information

  • Change of clothes: Please ensure that your child has a spare change of clothes at school (including pants and socks); these don’t have to be school uniform. It is really helpful for them all to have them (especially when they get wet). Some children took them home after needing them but haven’t returned them back to school. Please label all the items.

This is a summary of our learning this week:

Literacy

This week we have learned the initial blends: br, cr, dr, fr, gr, pr, tr.

Look at this video (From minute 8.27)

We have practised our reading skills: prediction, inference, summarising, etc.

We have introduced new tricky words from block 4 (last of block 4): house, also, friend. It would be very helpful if your children practise reading and writing these words and previous blocks.

In writing we wrote the story of Jack and Jill. We wrote what happened at the beginning of the story, at the middle and at the end.

In cursive handwriting we worked on t, x, z and c. See the link below of the formation we are doing at school.

Continuous Cursive letter choice 3 beginners (teachhandwriting.co.uk)

Ideas for learning at home

  • Please ask your child to read the school reading book at home.
  • Read, write and make the words: brick, brown, brain, broom, drain, dream, droop, dry, drew, craw, crown, cream, crowd, train, treat, try, tram, tree, free, fright, fry, green, grain, grow, grew, greet, pray, pram, pry, etc. You can write the words and ask your child to look for the initial blends and circle them.  
  • You can play this free online game:

https://ictgames.com/phonicsPop/index.html

– Please continue to read stories to your child at home.

– Please continue to encourage your child to read at home. It is important that children practise reading every day.

Maths 

We have been learning about time. We have learned how to tell the o’clock, half past and quarter past on an analogue clock.

At school the children have enjoyed playing this game:

https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/116/telling-the-time

Ideas for learning at home: 

Ask your child to explain to you:

  • What time is it using analogue and digital clocks.
  • when is time to go to bed, have tea, go to school, etc. This will help your child to have an understanding of time on their own lives.

You will find other ideas on this website:

7 Great Ways To Teach Telling Time To Your Kids
  • Continue to practice counting forwards and backwards from and to different numbers (within 20, 30, 100)

Other areas

Art

We have made a Christmas banner for the school hall.

PE

We have worked on pre-tennis skills.

RME

We are learning about Bible stories. This week we have learned about Noah’s ark. We made our own arks and test if they sink or float.

We hope you have a lovely weekend!

Mrs McFarlane

P2MD Mrs McFarlane and Miss Davidson

P2MD Blog 17.11.23

Staff..226

Dear Parents/Carers,

We hope that you have had a good week. Here is a summary of our learning.

Literacy

In phonics we have been learning to recognise and spell words with the au and aw sound. For example, Paul, haul, saw, draw. Here is a fun video to watch at home related to this week’s learning.

Long Vowel Sounds – AU & AW | Phonics For Kids – Learn To Read | Alphablocks – YouTube

In spelling we were introduced to 3 new words from Block 4: little, most and old. We then worked on the particular block we are focussing on (block 1, 2, 3 or 4). We enjoyed a rainbow writing activity to reinforce the words we are finding particularly difficult to spell.

We have been learning what nouns are as part of Grammar. We are learning that nouns are naming words. For example, nouns can name a person, animal or thing.

Our writing was an imaginative piece of writing based on an animation called ‘The girl with the yellow bag’.

Ideas for learning at home:

Please continue to practise the spelling block your child is working on. Here is an idea for an activity you could try. If you have lego or other building blocks at home you could ask your child to build their spelling words. For example, see the picture below.

Here is a link with the lists of tricky words.

Block 1 – 8 Tricky Words single sheet (wordpress.com)

Please go over your child’s reading book with them at home. This will help to build their fluency.

Here is an online game to revise phonics. Please select au and aw to practise this week’s focus but also two other sounds which we have covered already.

Spooky Sounds (ictgames.com)

Numeracy and Maths

We have been learning to read o’clock and half past on digital and analogue clocks.

We have continued to work on place value. Most of us are working on tens and ones but some of us are working on hundreds, tens and ones.

We are developing our understanding of the digits in a number, their position and value.

Ideas for learning at home:

Time

Please use every opportunity to look at analogue and digital clocks.

Here is a teaching clock which you can use.

Teaching Clock (topmarks.co.uk)

Here is a fun online game to play at home.

Telling the Time – Mathsframe

Place Value

Ask your child to investigate how many numbers between 0 and 100 have the digit 3. Once they have created their list, ask them to say whether the 3 is a tens digit or a ones digit (include the number 33 which has both).

Other

As part of Scottish Book Week we enjoyed a visit from Morag Hood. She told us about her job as an author and illustrator. Then she read us two of her books and did a ‘draw along’ session with us.

In PE we continued to work on dribbling with basketballs as well as team work skills.

In Health and Wellbeing we continue to work on the ‘Keep Connected’ unit of work. We are learning about the importance of having caring relationships. We have been thinking about the special people in our lives. These people are our ‘Back Up Team’. Please see the home learning sheet which is coming home today related to this.

Have a lovely weekend,

Mrs McFarlane

P2D- Mrs DeBonrostro

P2D 17.11.23

Staff..114

Dear Parents/Carers,

We hope that you have had a good week. Here is a summary of our learning.

Literacy

In phonics we have been learning to recognise and spell words with the au and aw sound. For example, Paul, haul, saw, draw. Here is a fun video to watch at home related to this week’s learning.

Long Vowel Sounds – AU & AW | Phonics For Kids – Learn To Read | Alphablocks – YouTube

In spelling we were introduced to 3 new words from Block 4: little, most and old. We then worked on the particular block we are focussing on (block 1, 2, 3 or 4). We enjoyed a rainbow writing activity to reinforce the words we are finding particularly difficult to spell.

We have been learning what nouns are as part of Grammar. We are learning that nouns are naming words. For example, nouns can name a person, animal or thing.

Our writing was an imaginative piece of writing based on an animation called ‘The girl with the yellow bag’.

Ideas for learning at home:

Please continue to practise the spelling block your child is working on. Here is an idea for an activity you could try. If you have lego or other building blocks at home you could ask your child to build their spelling words. For example, see the picture below.

Here is a link with the lists of tricky words.

Block 1 – 8 Tricky Words single sheet (wordpress.com)

Please go over your child’s reading book with them at home. This will help to build their fluency.

Here is an online game to revise phonics. Please select au and aw to practise this week’s focus but also two other sounds which we have covered already.

Spooky Sounds (ictgames.com)

Numeracy and Maths

We have been learning to read o’clock and half past on digital and analogue clocks.

We have continued to work on place value. Most of us are working on tens and ones but some of us are working on hundreds, tens and ones.

We are developing our understanding of the digits in a number, their position and value.

Ideas for learning at home:

Time

Please use every opportunity to look at analogue and digital clocks.

Here is a teaching clock which you can use.

Teaching Clock (topmarks.co.uk)

Here is a fun online game to play at home.

Telling the Time – Mathsframe

Place Value

Ask your child to investigate how many numbers between 0 and 100 have the digit 3. Once they have created their list, ask them to say whether the 3 is a tens digit or a ones digit (include the number 33 which has both).

Other

As part of Scottish Book Week we enjoyed a visit from Morag Hood. She told us about her job as an author and illustrator. Then she read us two of her books and did a ‘draw along’ session with us.

In PE we continued to work on dribbling with basketballs as well as team work skills.

In Health and Wellbeing we continue to work on the ‘Keep Connected’ unit of work. We are learning about the importance of having caring relationships. We have been thinking about the special people in our lives. These people are our ‘Back Up Team’. Please see the home learning sheet which is coming home today related to this.

Have a lovely weekend,

Mrs de Bonrostro

Buckstone Primary School, P1 Koalas

P1 Koalas Reflective Friday 17.11.23

Staff..469

Hello everyone,

This is what we have been learning this week:

LITERACY

We introduced the new sounds c, k and ck.

 In small groups we were thinking about words beginning and ending with these sounds, playing games, and identifying the letters which make these sounds. Some of us were learning how to ‘build’ and ‘blend’ three letter words with the sounds we know.

We also introduced two ‘tricky words’ his and put. Tricky words cannot be sounded out but have to be learned. We will be introducing new tricky words on a weekly basis.

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 his and put 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).

Writing – Our starter sentence this week was ‘He put his…………’

We are encouraging the children to   try to  write as many of the letters and words as they can.

NUMERACY AND MATHS

In numeracy we have been carrying out some assessments to establish where children are in their learning and to identify next steps.

We were completing our topic on measure, using the language : taller, shorter, heavier, lighter, full, empty, more, less.

THINGS TO DO AT HOME

Please choose an activity from the SEAL wall which was sent home earlier in the term.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/ordering-and-sequencing/caterpillar-ordering

PE

We were playing running games to improve our fitness and have fun. We participated in various fitness activities at different stations around the gym hall.

We took part in yoga in the classroom.

RME

We talked about the celebration of Diwali and watched a short film about it.

NATIVITY

We have started practising our Nativity play which will be performed to families on Tuesday 5 and Wednesday 6 December. Your child has a piece of paper with the part they will be playing in their purple folder (If it says N. and a number, they are a narrator). Can you please help your child to learn their words. Further information will be coming out shortly.

WORLD BOOK WEEK

We had a visit from local author Morag Hood. She talked about her job as an author and illustrator and shared two of her books with us: Spaghetti Hunters and Dig Dig Digger. She showed us how she draws one of her main characters and the children drew along with her. They were very engaged in this activity and were proud of the results. Your child should have brought their drawing home in their purple folder yesterday.

LOOSE PARTS

Next date for loose parts is Wednesday 6 December.

SPARE SOCKS AND TIGHTS

As the weather gets wetter, we are always needing a supply of dry footwear. If any families are able to donate any old socks or tights that would be really useful.

INDOOR PE

As we are now doing all of our PE inside can you please make sure that your child has suitable shoes for the gym halls. Can we ask that long hair is tied back.

Some examples of learning taking place this week:

Have a lovely weekend.

P2D- Mrs DeBonrostro

P2D Reflective Friday 10.11.23

Staff..114

Dear Parents,

We hope you had a great week.

Important information

  • My sincere apologies as I forgot to send the reading books home today. As this is a showcase of learning they have already completed the learning intention for this week. Books will be sent home on Friday as usual.
  • Loose parts on Monday 13th.
  • Change of clothes: Please ensure that your child has a spare change of clothes at school (including pants and socks); these don’t have to be school uniform. It is really helpful for them all to have them (especially when they get wet). Some children took them home after needing them in but haven’t returned them back to school. Please label all the items.

This is a summary of our learning this week:

Literacy

This week we have learned the vowel diagraphs ou/ow. Here is a video that you could watch at home if you would like to revise the learning:

Here is another video:

We have practiced our reading skills: prediction, inference, summarising, etc.

We have introduced new tricky words from block 4: word, world, work. It would be very helpful if your children practice to read and write these words and previous blocks.

In writing we wrote the continuation of the story The Storm Whale. We read the beginning and we had to think about what was going to happen after.

We have started to practice cursive handwriting. This week we have practice i and l. See the link below of the formation we are practicing at school.

Continuous Cursive letter choice 3 beginners (teachhandwriting.co.uk)

Ideas for learning at home

  • Please ask your child to read the school reading book at home.
  • Read, write and make the words: mouse, house, loud, sound, shout, south, round, count, out, ground, cow, town, powder, flower, etc. You can write the words and ask your child to look for the ou/ow letters and circle them. Ask your child how many letters the word can has and how many sounds.
  • You can play this free online game:

https://ictgames.com/phonicsPop/index.html

– Please continue to read stories to your child at home.

– Please continue to encourage your child to read at home. It is important that children practice reading every day.

Maths 

We have been working on angle, symmetry and transformation. We have been learning to use technology and other methods to describe, follow and record directions using words associated with directions and turns including, full turn, half turn, quarter turn, clockwise, anticlockwise, right turn, left turn. We have used Bee bots and the Bee Bot app on the IPads to reinforce our learning.

At school the children have enjoyed playing this game:

https://pbskids.org/peg/games/hungry-pirates/

Ideas for learning at home: 

Ask your child to explain to you:

  • How to get from the kitchen to the toilet ( and from different rooms to other rooms). You can pretend to close your eyes and your child has to give you instructions (step by step).
  • How to get from the school to the park.
  • Blindfold Game: Create a maze for your child using items like cushions, pillows, bed sheets and other items that won’t harm or hurt your child. Now blindfold your child and give them directions, like “turn left,” “walk straight,” etc., till your child comes out of the maze. Now blindfold yourself, and ask your little one to give you the correct directions. This fun activity will help you to teach directions to your child easily.

Other areas

Art

We have finished our Diwali lanterns.

PE

We have worked on pre- basketball skills: we can bounce a ball while we walk, we can do chest passes and we have started to learn how to shoot a basketball to the basketball hoop.

RME

We are learning about Bible stories. This week we have learned about Jonah and the whale.

SCIENCE

We had a great time learning about sound. We were given six paper cups and the challenge was to do something different with them. The children thought about different ideas: megaphone, microphone, headphones and a telephone. They were able to work out that all those items had something in common: sound! So we have been learning a little bit about sound.

We hope you have a lovely weekend!

Mrs de Bonrostro

Buckstone Primary School, P1 Koalas

P1 Koalas Reflective Friday 10.11.23

Staff..469

Hello everyone,

This is what we have been learning this week:

LITERACY

We introduced the new sounds l and b.

 In small groups we were thinking about words beginning with these sounds, playing games, and identifying the letters which make these sounds. Some of us were learning how to ‘build’ and ‘blend’ three letter words with the sounds we know.

We also introduced two ‘tricky words’ is and me. Tricky words cannot be sounded out but have to be learned. We will be introducing new tricky words on a weekly basis.

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 is and me 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).

Writing – Our starter sentence this week was ‘The bat…………’

We are encouraging the children to   try to  write as many of the letters as they can.

NUMERACY AND MATHS

In numeracy we have been counting backwards from 20 and putting numerals in order. Some of us were working on number bonds to 10.

We were talking about the language of measure : taller, shorter, heavier, lighter, full, empty, more, less.

THINGS TO DO AT HOME

Please choose an activity from the SEAL wall which was sent home earlier in the term.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/ordering-and-sequencing/caterpillar-ordering

PE

We were playing running games to improve our fitness and have fun. We participated in various fitness activities at different stations around the gym hall.

HWB

As part of our Health and Wellbeing programme to help build resilience and following on from our introductory assembly, we were discussing the idea of special people in our lives and how they can make us feel happy when things are not going so well. We drew pictures which showed, ‘I am happy when…………’

LOOSE PARTS

We enjoyed the sunshine during loose parts this week.

Next date for loose parts is Wednesday 6 December.

SPARE SOCKS AND TIGHTS

As the weather gets wetter, we are always needing a supply of dry footwear. If any families are able to donate any old socks or tights that would be really useful.

INDOOR PE

As we are now doing all of our PE inside can you please make sure that your child has suitable shoes for the gym halls. Can we ask that long hair is tied back.

Some examples of learning taking place this week:

Have a lovely weekend.