Autumn Week 8: winding down to the holiday.

Hello Class 2 Parents,

And here we are - the first half term is done and dusted! The children have done such a good job to make it to the end - the first half term is always tiring after the summer holidays and even more so for our new Year 1 children. 

We have had a busy-and-good half term including: phonics, spellings, maths, drawing club and writing, special places in religions, lots of singing, rainbow jobs filled with lots of different subjects, painting self-portraits, performing our Harvest story, becoming the B.B.P, starting Forest School ....

...among other things. 

In maths this week both year groups have started work on addition and subtraction, recognising that a number can be split into different parts.  Year 1 children have focused on  a part plus a part equals a whole (eg 4 + 3 = 7) while Year 2 children have been recapping number bonds to 10 and looking at fact families (related number sentences such as   3 + 4 = 7   4 + 3 = 7   7 - 4 = 3  7 - 3 = 4).

Year 1 homework is here and will be in their folders. 

Year 2 homework is here and will be in their folders. 

In spellings and phonics we have been taking time to test the children on their common exception word spellings. 

In our story the children did some super work learning to tie knots in order to make a net. To start with everyone had a piece of twine and learnt how to tie a simple half knot (as you do when tying laces). Then, one at a time the children had a go at applying this to make part of a net. There was an incredible amount of perseverence going on and the children were very pleased with their finished net!

It was good to catch up with you all this week and thank you for your ongoing support of your children's education. 

A couple of notes for next half term. 

Spelling booklets. I have updated your child's spelling booklet accordingly by highlighting the words they were able to spell. If your child's booklet was not in their folder, I have been unable to do this. 

Water only in water bottles please.  If your child has a medical or other need for squash, please come and talk to me, otherwise their bottles will be refilled with water. Squash gets sticky when spilled and is of course not as healthy as water. 

Small keyrings on book bags please. Large cuddly toy keyrings just don't fit in the book bag boxes!

Forest school clothing - the weather will take a turn towards winter so please make sure your child has suitable layers, thick socks and waterproof tops and bottoms, thank you!

Forest school wishlist - several of you have kindly offered to supply things for Forest School. There is of course no pressure at all ( you've already helped a lot with the initial sponsor money) but I will put a list of things together over half term and send you the link. 

For now, any bricks or large stones  you have lurking around, or decent pallets, or unused raised beds would be great!

I hope you all have a good week - see you for the countdown to Christmas!

From Mrs Simpson

Autumn Week 7: bog baby problems.

Hello Class 2 Parents,

This week in Class 2....

The children have been rehearsing for the Harvest Festival. They did some fantastic artwork for it as well and I hope many of you will have been along to watch!

The bog babies were in danger.  The B.B.P. (Bog Baby Protectors) learnt that bog baby numbers in the pond were dwindling. They took a trip down to the woods and watched as a large heron carried a bog baby away! Luckily, the team was able to rescue that particular bog baby and next week we will decide how we can further protect the bog babies from the predators in the woods, whilst also not allowing those predators to go hungry. 

The children compared numbers: Year 1 were comparing and ordering numbers to 10. (eg putting the numbers 6, 3, and 9. in order 3,6,9) and started to learn how to use a number line. Year 2 children were comparing numbers to 100, learning that they should look at how many 10s a number has before looking at how many 1s it has. 

Both year groups can practice ordering numbers using this game.  Just alter the start and end numbers accordingly (Y1s start with up to 10 or 20, Year 2s start with numbers up to 100, and if confident go from there!)\

In phonics the children revisited the digraphs ow and oi, and the trigraph ear. 

In spellings the children looked at 'oa' rhyming patterns - oat/ one/ low. The words they have been learning to spell can be found here. 

In R.E. this half term the children have been learning about special places. So far they have talked about places that are special to them, and have learnt about churches, mosques and synagogues. If you see any of these buildings while you are out and about with your children, or even better, have the chance to go in to them, please do so!

At Forest School today:
The children built dens using some new, large den pegs and tarpaulins. They picked more apples, made some autumn wizard wands and learnt a new game. We were so busy, I forgot to take any photographs!

I hope you all have a good weekend - I'm looking forward to catching up with you on Monday or Thursday evening!

From
Mrs Simpson

Autumn Week 6: all sorts

 Hello Class 2 Parents,

I'm not really sure where this week has gone, but it's been a good one. 

Important: Harvest Festival!
Class 2 will be telling a story at our Harvest Festival next Friday, Every child has a line or two to learn. These can be found in their book bag - please help them to learn their lines and speak them loudly and clearly! 

The children have had a lot of P.E. this week. We currently have a visiting teacher from Wollaston High School teaching P.E. on a Tuesday (until half term). The children have been learning rugby skills (especially throwing and catching!) and some agility, balance and co-ordination skills. In addition this week the children had a special one-off football session led by a coach which they thoroughly enjoyed.

In our Bog Baby Protectors story the children started to categorise the animals in The Magic Blue Wood, learning what a mammal, reptile, amphibian, bird and fish are. When you are out and about this weekend, see if you can spot any of these creatures and discuss their category with the children. 

In Maths the Year 1 children have been looking at 'greater than', 'equal to' and 'less than', comparing numbers using the symbols.  < > and =.  The Year 2 children have continued their work on number lines, learning how to estimate what a given number might be on a number line. 

There is no maths homework because I'd like everyone to practise their Harvest words!

In Phonics the children have revisited  or, ar and ur this week, once again, learning how to read words containing these digraphs as well as spelling words. 

In Spellings the Year 2 children have been looking at 'igh' sounds, with the rhyming patterns:   ight,  ine  and   ie. The words we've been looking at are here. 

At Forest School this week the children made a bug hotel, which we are going to add too. If you have any bricks hanging around, preferably the ones with holes in, we will happily take them off your hands to expand the hotel!  They also made flying conker streamers and were introduced to our climbing tree and how to use it. 

Have a good week end!

Mrs Simpson

Autumn Week 5: lots of living things.

Hello Class 2 Parents,

A couple of notes to start with:

Clothing.
Please can you check at home because a couple of children have lost school jumpers and they aren't at school!  As usual, please make sure everything is named. 

Forest school clothing.
Today's session was the first really rainy one! A couple of notes - 
* children need to come to school in their school shoes please, and carry their wellies. 
* children must have waterproof trousers!
* If your child comes in a mud suit, please can they have a separate coat to wear later in the day. 

Thank you - it's all going well so far, just a few teething problems!

No-bookbag Fridays. 
Your child no longer needs to bring in a bookbag on a Friday, which will help with the logistics of Forest School kit and wellies! Please ensure your child's homework folder, group reading book and free choice (badger/squirrel) books are in their bookbags on a Thursday so we can do the changeovers. 

Mantle of the Expert. 
This week the children did some more learning about the features of living things. They used the acronym Mrs Gren to check the bog baby that they had found in the woods. 

Movement
Respiration
Senses

Growth
Reproduction
Excretion
Nutrition

These are, of course, some long words to learn but we are going to keep revisiting them. Luckily the bog baby was moving and breathing, it ate the flies offered to it and responded when the children touched it. Next, the children learnt that, to survive, living things need food, water, oxygen and shelter. They used this knowledge to rescue the bog baby. 

They discovered, though, that the bog baby couldn't survive for long out of the water because it was an amphibian. The children learnt about what an ampibian is, and will continue to work on this next week (as well as reptiles, mammals, birds and fish). 

Maths. 

Year 1 children have been counting backwards and finding '1 less' than a number. Their homework is here and will be in their folders. 

Year 2 children have continued their work on number lines, identifying what each interval is worth (1 or 10) and finding missing numbers.  Their homework is here and will be in their folders - the first sheet only, unless your child would like an extra challenge (the second sheet, which will be printed on the reverse). 

In phonics the children have revisited ee, igh, oa and oo. They have also been spelling was and want - two words with the same spelling pattern in. 

In spellings the children have been looking at rhyming patterns with different 'ee' graphemes - eam, ield and eep. The words they've been learning can be found here. 

Forest School:

The Forest Rangers embraced the rain this week! They were busy planting teasels and wildflower seeds and creating conker hedgehogs. 

Have a good week end!

Mrs Simpson

Autumn Week 4: fences, maps and a lone bog baby.

Greetings Class 2 Parents!

I hope your week has been as good as ours. 

Firstly, just a friendly reminder - please don't snip or use any photos from this blog. They are for this blog and our class community only. Thank you!

Keyrings and bookbags. 
Please could children have just one keyring on their bookbags - saves space and stops the bookbags all getting tangled together! Thank you. 

The B.B.P.
Having taken on the mantle of Bog Baby Protectors last week, the children had a couple of important jobs to carry out this week. First, they visited the bog baby pond to survey the wildlife. After a couple of people walked into the pond, they decided a fence was needed. A D.T. project followed whereby the children built some fences using card, glue, staplers and tape. A couple of enterprising children also added gates using a split pin. 

Next, we worked as a team to create a map of the woods. The map had a key showing the symbols needed and the children added the symbols to the map. However, they learnt that in one located (X marks the spot), there was a problem. They discovered a bog baby, all alone and far from the bog baby pond. It wasn't moving. The children did some learning about features of things which are alive, have once been alive, or have never been alive and decided that, luckily, the bog baby was alive. Next, they need to decide what the bog baby needs and therefore what to do with it. 

Phonics/Spellings. 
In phonics the children continued to revisit last year's learning, looking at the digraphs th, ng, nk and ai. A large focus of this revisiting is helping the children to use these digraphs when they are spelling words. It doesn't matter whether a word is correct at this stage, as long as the children are using their phonics correctly - for example they might spell 'snake' as 'snaik' and that is fine for now - as long as they are making phoneetically plausible attempts at words. 

In spellings the Year 2 children looked as some ai and a_e spelling patterns, learning that rhyming words can help them to spell - e.g. if they learn to spell make, they can easily spell cake, take, snake and shake. The words we have looked at are here. 

Maths. 

Year 1 children have continued to look at numbers within 10, counting on or back from any given number and finding '1 more'. They also started to look at and use a number line. 

Year 1 homework is to play Whack-A-Mole (this game will come up several times for homework - it's good for counting!). Choose the start number (start below 10 to begin with, then if your child is confident, pick all sorts of numbers) and your child has to whack the moles in numerical order. When they've whacked a few moles correctly, start again from a different start number. 

Year 2 children have continued to work on partitioning (flexibly partitioning a 2-digit number) and have also been looking at number lines. They have been looking at what the start number is, what the end number is, and what each interval is worth. 

Year 2 homework is to start familiarising yourself with Times Table Rock Stars - I don't monitor this in Class 2 (that starts in Class 3) but use it as a way to practise times tables (for Year 2 the focus is on the 2, 10 and 5x tables and related division facts). 
A letter with your child's login will be in their folder. 

At Forest School...

This week's activities included creating  digging area (so that we don't dig up the whole Forest School area!), picking apples and scarifying an area ready to plant some wildflower seeds. 

Have a good weekend,

Mrs Simpson

Autumn Week 3: The B.B.P and our first Forest School session

 Hello Class 2 Parents,

What a fabulous week we've had in Class 2!

Reading books
We started group reading sessions this week so your child will have a group reading book as well as a free choice reading book to read this week. Don't worry if they've seen the book before - we share books with Class 1 so there are sometimes some overlaps. 

Forest School
We had our first Forest School on a lovely sunny morning! The children learnt about how to be safe at Forest School and were introduced to our base camp (made up of a lot of logs kindly donated by some people in the village). Then they started exploring. Lots of the children enjoyed using the magnifying glasses and bug pots to look at minibeasts while others planted some daffodil and tulip bulbs (we're hoping it will look lovely in the spring!).  It was a great start to Forest School - thank you for all of your help again with the donations and with getting your children the necessary kit.  A few photos are below, though we were so busy I didn't get round to taking many!

Welly boots - I am going to acquire some welly boot storage. You can then decide whether you want your child to take their wellies home each Friday or whether it's easier to keep them here. I don't mind, as long as they have wellies for Forest School! Until we have the storage, the wellies will need to come home each week. 

Rainbow jobs. 
The children also had their first Rainbow jobs of the year. Year 2 children are used to these and Year 1 are starting to get the hang of them. From Monday to Thursday, children have a choice of seven activities to complete in whatever order they like. The activites cover a wide range of curriculum areas, either introducing a skill or (more often) practising something the children have already learnt. This week, for example, the jobs were:

* creating a pond habitat by drawing, cutting out and sticking features onto a blue pond background. Year 2 children also labelled theirs. 

* painting a bog baby outline by creating different tints of blue (by adding white).

* taking a photo of a friend and adding it to our class Seesaw account (a bit like Tapestry from Class 1, but only used within our class). 

* practising rugby ball throwing and catching skills

* playing a maths game

* reading 'The Bog Baby' with a friend. (Year 2 children did a great job of reading to the Year 1 children this week!)

Our story. 
In our story, the children learnt that our bog baby pond is located in the middle of a woodland. They created this woodland together using lots of different materials and learning about the features of a woodland habitat. They named the woodland 'The Magic Blue Wood' (because of all the ponds and bluebells). They 'met' a ranger from the woodland who had taken some photos of the bog babies, but had never seen them before and so didn't know what they were. The children explained that they were bog babies and they were very rare. The woodland ranger asked the children if they would help to protect the bog babies in the woods - they agreed, and became The B.B.P. (Bog Baby Protectors). To make sure everyone knows who they are, the children created some logos to go onto our classroom door. 

Maths.
In maths this week the Year 1 children have been representing numbers efficiently (for example, showing 6 as two rows or three or five as a 3 and a 2) and have been counting on from any given number. 

The Year 2 children have been partitioning two-digit numbers. They started by simply partitioning them into tens and ones (e.g. 56 can be partitioned into 50 and 6) then found different ways to partition them (e.g. 56 can be partitioned into 40 and 16, 30 and 26 and 20 and 36). 

Year 1 homework is here just to practise their counting from any number. One way you could do this is to roll a dice, and count on from the given number (i.e roll a 7, and count on 8,9,10)  (there are inteactive dice here). Another way is to use a pack of cards - put them face down in the middle of you and your child, and take it in turns to turn one over and count on from that number. You could make it a game whereby a player gets to keep the card if they count on successfully. 

Year 2 homework is here and will be in their folders. They will need something to represent 10s and 1s (eg pencils for 10s and counters for 1s) to help them!

Phonics and spellings. 
The Year 1 phonics group revisited the digraphs sh, ch and qu this week. See if you can spot them when reading. 

The Year 2 spellings group looked at the endings -ay and -oy, learning that these graphemes are often used at the end of words. They also looked at the Year 2 high frequency words door/floor/poor. If you want to practise the spellings, they are here.

I hope you all have a good weekend!

From

Mrs Simpson