Autumn Week 12

 Hello Class 2 Parents,

Another week has flown by in Class 2. 

In our story the children used D.T. skills to make bog baby carriers, in order to relocate the bog babies from the current pond to somewhere more secret and therefore safer. 

In art the children have designed their own piece of art in the style of Gwen Millward. Next week they will be finalising their work using watercolours. 

In maths the Year 1 children have been adding in two ways:

* adding two groups together
* adding by counting on (recognising that if you have 4 plus 5, you can start on '4' and count on rather than starting on one every time)

Their homework is here and will be in their folders. 

The Year 2 children have been subtracting from a multiple of 10, using their number bonds to 10. For example, if they know that 10-4 = 6, they know that 40 - 4 = 36. Their homework is here and will be in their folders. 

In phonics the children have learnt some alternative 'igh' graphemes:
y (as in fly, sky, why)
i_e  (as in time, line, smile)
ie  (as in tried, cried, pie) 

In spellings the children have looked at the letter c making the /s/ sound when combine with e, i or y - I have added this week's words to the Spelling Shed. I do encourage you to use the Spelling Shed as a fun way for children to work on their spellings. 

And in between all of this the children have been rehearsing their Nativity!

Forest School. 

Many of the children happily showed me their warmer socks this week, so thank you for your support with that! It was also a much warmer day which helped. We had a very lovely, chilled session with children playing our new musical instrument, painting rocks which will become bumblebee/ladybird noughts and crosses, making tents and relaxing in the hammock. 

Due to the impending Christmasness, next week will be our last Forest School of the term. It will resume on the first Friday of next term unless you hear otherwise. 

Autumn Week 11: Back to the bog babies.

 Hello Class 2 Parents,
I hope you have all had a good week. Here's what's been happening in Class 2:
Nativity costumes:
A letter is in your child's book bag detailing the costume requirements for this year - please have your child's costume in school, named, and in a named bag, by Monday 8th December. Thank you! 
Nativity practice:
This week the children have spent time starting to learn their words (thank you for all of your help with this!) and singing the nativity songs. Next week we will start longer rehearsals. They are all, of course, very excited. 
Gwen Millward art:
We have started an art project looking at the work of Gwen Millward, who illustrated The Bog Baby. The children have been learning to draw with detail (a good thing to encourage at home) and to use watercolour pencils. 
The Bog Baby Protectors:
For the first time in a while, we returned to our bog baby story. The children discovered a pet shop which was selling bog babies for a lot of money! The B.B.P. bought the bog baby and set it free, but when they spoke to the pet shop owner it was clear that she intended to continue to sell bog babies in her shop. The B.B.P is working on way to prevent this from happening, because they know that bog babies are wild animals. 
Phonics:
The children have learnt four new graphemes:   tch (as in catch, match and fetch), a_e (as in cake, snake, same), ea (as in cream, dream and scream) and ie (as in field and thief). 
Spellings:
This week has been focussed on 'g' making the 'j' sound before e, y or i. I have set this week's words for your children to practise on The Spelling Shed. Even if they only practice a few minutes per day, it will make a difference. 

Maths:

Year 1 children have continued to learn their bonds to 10 by heart. Please continue to play the games from last week's blog. 

Year 2 children have been learning how to add to the next multiple of ten, or to subtract to the previous multiple of 10. Their homework is here and will be in their folders - they need to use their bonds to 10 when adding to the next 10 (e.g. if they know that 3 + 7 = 10, then 33 + 7 = 40).  (I accidentally printed them on A3 and I didn't see the point in wasting them, hence the enormous size!)

Forest School

It was a beautiful morning at Forest School! The children were wrapped up warm and we played lots of active games to keep ourselves warm. The main thing we learnt was that we get chilly feet! If your child mentions that their feet were cold, please send them in thicker socks/ lined boots when it is cold next time. Other than that, everyone did a great job and we had a lovely time. We created a large music station using old pots and pans, hung up the bird feeders we made last time and enjoyed our first fire!

Autumn Week 10: a lot of rain and a lot of kindness.

 Hello Class 2 Parents,

It's been a very soggy but very good week in Class 2!

A missing fleece.
Liam's new school fleece has gone missing - please can you check at home in case your child has accidentally brought it home? Thank you. 

Nativity lines!
Your child has their nativity words in their purple folder. We have a lot of time to practise, but please help your child to start learning their words this weekend. One line at a time is a good approach - get them to learn the first line very confidently, before adding in another one! Information regarding costumes will follow very soon. 

Power for Good. 
The week started on Monday with Odd Socks day and an assembly led by our anti-bullying ambassadors to introduce anti-bullying week. The theme this year is Power for Good, and how we all have the power in us to do good. The children have taken part in several different activities, including making a Power for Good paper chain; each child wrote on their link how they could use their powers for good, and the intention is to create a whole school Power for Good paper chain. The week has been based around a very good book called 'Have you Filled a Bucket Today?'   - have a chat to your children about it and see if they can think of ways to use their powers for good at home too!

Maths this week:

Year 1 children have continued to look at number bonds (two numbers that make up another number) and fact families, with a focus on number bonds to 10. Number bonds to 10 are very important going forwards and by the end of Year 1, the aim is for the children to know them off by heart. 

If you like songs, there is a song here that helps (and may get stuck in your head).

You can play 'pairs' using playing cards - take two each of the numbers 1 to 9, turn them all face down, and play pairs. Each player takes it in turn to reveal two cards and if they total 10 they can keep them. If they don't make 10, they get turned face down again. 

If your child is more confident and is beginning to know the bonds to 10 by heart, you can play hit the button.  Select 'number bonds' and 'make 10'. 

Year 2 children have continued their work on addition. This week, they have looked how to add three small numbers efficiently by looking for known number facts (eg, for 7 + 5 + 3, they know that 7 + 3 = 10, which helps to make the addition simpler.  They have also looked at adding two numbers by making 10 first, again making the addition simpler. For example, if they have 8 + 5, they know that 8+2 = 10, so  8 + 5 = 10 + 3 which is 13. 

Their maths homework is here and will be in their purple folders. 

In phonics the children have learnt three new digraphs: wh (whisk, whisper, whale), ph (phonics, alphabet, dolphin) and ck (which they have learnt, but this week they 've started to learn that the digraph goes at the end or in the middle of a word, after a short vowel sound). 

In spellings the children have been learning to spell words with 'ge' at the end making the 'j' sound. Last week they learnt that 'dge' goes after a short vowel. This week they learnt that 'ge' is used in other circumstances. 

I have assigned the Year 2 children a new spelling list this week on The Spelling Shed. A few of you have had a go at the games, which is great - the idea is for the children to practise their spellings in a fun a low-pressure way, which will help them going forwards so if you do have a chance to look at The Spelling Shed that would be great. 

Year 1 Spelling Shed. 
Although Year 1 children don't have weekly spellings, I have uploaded the common exception word lists (the ones in their home spelling books) onto The Spelling Shed. I have assigned every Year 1 list to every child, so that you can work through them in your own time (they directly correspond to the lists in your home spelling books). 

Your child's login will be in their purple folder, and the parent guide is here. I hope you find The Spelling Shed useful!

Have a good weekend and I will see you all next week,

Mrs Simpson

Autumn Week 9: Autumn Term Part 2 Commences!

Hello Class 2 Parents, 

It was lovely to see the children's smiling faces on Monday. We have welcomed a new member of Class 2 - AJ, in Year 2 - and the children have been very friendly and welcoming. 

The children have taken a break from being Bog Baby Protectors this week. Instead, we've been doing some history learning around Guy Fawkes and the Gunpowder Plot. If you go to any bonfire night parties this weekend, ask your children if they can remember why they are celebrating!

In Maths:

Year 1s have continued to work on addition, learning that a part + a part = a whole, and that a whole = a part + a part.  They looked at addition fact families - four addition number sentences which are related. For example:

3 + 4 = 7
4 + 3 = 7
7 = 3 + 4
7 = 4 + 3

Year 1 homework is a dice game! 

Year 2s have been learning that they can use simple addition facts to work out facts within 100. For example:

5 + 2 = 7 and so  50 + 20 = 70

They have also been using their bonds to 10 to work out their bonds to 100. 

Year 2 homework is to play Hit the Button, which you will have seen before! Choose 'number bonds' and 'make 100'. Warm up, if you like, with choosing 'make 10'. 

In phonics Year 1 children have learnt three new graphemes this week:

ay - as in play, clay and away
oy - as in boy, toy and enjoy
y  making the 'ee' sound at the end of words - as in silly, grumpy, sticky

Look out for these graphemes around and about!

In spellings Year 2 children have learnt the 'dge' trigraph. 

dge makes the 'j' sound mainly at the end of words, following a short vowel:

badge, hedge, dodge, fridge.

New spelling program!
Year 2 children will come home with a log in to The Spelling Shed. This provides a way for your children to practice their weekly spellings. You can use it as much or as little as you like. I will give your child new spelling assignments each week based upon the week's spellings. 

There is a parent guide here.  Hopefully I've assigned your children some 'dge' words this week - have a go with the games etc, and let me know if you have any problems!

Year 1 parents - I'm aiming to add your children to the Spelling Shed ready for next week's blog/homework too!

Forest school this week:

Forest school had changed a lot in the few weeks we haven't been up there! There were many more leaves on the ground and a lot of toadstools about. The children had a great morning exploring, role-playing, testing their balance on the barrels, making lard bird balls and threading leaf wreaths!