END OF  TERM 2021

What a wonderful year we have had!  The children have packed so much learning into the time they were in school and have caught up brilliantly!  We have had lots of lovely socialising and playing in the garden and the children have really enjoyed their Maths and Science and Literacy lessons alongside their Topic and Reading. This class are such amazing little people and I will be very sad to let them know.  I know that they all have a great future ahead of them and am proud that I have been able to be part of their lives.

Thanks to all you parents and carers too - you have been amazing and I will miss you very much. Have a fabulous summer and I hope to see some of your little ones in the future.

Best Wishes

Mrs Hicks 

W/c 17th May 2021

This week we have been continuing our work on the Three Little Pigs.  The children have been role playing the story and have made windows using the materials that the pigs used themselves. Here are some of the children wearing their role play items.

Summer Term for Pluto Class

We have had a lovely time so far this term.  We have been reading Halibut Jackson and made some amazing costumes for him to wear to a party at the Palace.  The children had great fun acting out the book and playing with puppets we made. 

For Maths the children have been looking at shape, symmetry and fractions over the past few weeks.  They are extremely excited to be able to show me shapes and symmetry all around them.  This week we started on fractions and they have already started to understand that if we divide something into two equal parts it is a half.  Some of the children have been dividing things into 4 equal pieces to make quarters too!  You can ask your child to show you their learning by looking around them and finding shapes and symmetry at home and around the local area. If you have a pizza to eat or want to share some fruit you can ask your child to divide it up into fractions for you too!

We are now doing PE on Thursdays only.  We also do some Yoga on a Friday and run around most days so that the children are getting some physical exercise.  As it is the Summer term now hopefully the children will just need a t-shirt and shorts with their plimsols or trainers. If the weather is not too great please send them in wearing a tracksuit or warm top and trousers suitable for sport. 

This week we have started to read the three little pigs.  The children have really enjoyed this story. They have been acting it out, reading it as a class group, putting pictures from the book in order and writing some amazing versions of the story.  I have been very impressed with how hard they are working. Pluto class are real stars!!

After the half term break we will be working on finding out more about our own bodies and also about how other animals are similar or different to us.  We will be starting off by reading the snail and the whale which is a beautiful book. If you want to have a look at it with your child here it is on Youtube. 

For Maths we will be working on measuring; height, length, weight and distance which is always a fun topic.  We will also be teaching the children how to tell the time so it would be great if you could ask them every now again. They will only be learning the hour and half hour to start with. 

We have prepared some lovely ideas for the children to work at from home as homework.  They are set out on the grid below.  The children don't need to do them all but I would love to see the one's that they do so that I can put them on this website.  

RED NOSE DAY FRIDAY 19TH MARCH 2021

WE WILL BE CELEBRATING RED NOSE DAY AT SCHOOL.

PLEASE SEND YOUR CHILD IN WEARING SOMETHING THAT MAKES THEM HAPPY

WE ARE ASKING FOR A DONATION OF £1 IF THEY WEAR THEIR OWN CLOTHES.

WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO SEEING THE 'HAPPY CLOTHES'

WELCOME TO PLUTO

WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD TO BEING BACK TO SCHOOL ON 8TH MARCH.

PLEASE READ THE ATTACHED NEWSLETTER FOR FURTHER DETAILS.

KEY INFORMATION

SCHOOL STARTS 8.40 for 9.00 at the latest

SCHOOL ENDS 15.00 (14.00 ON FRIDAYS)

Please be on time at the beginning and the end of the day.

PE is on Tuesdays and Yoga on Fridays.    Please send your child in warm PE kit on Tuesdays. It is not summer yet and we will be doing PE outside. Joggers & sweatshirts/hoodies are essential.

I have loved receiving your photos and news so please continue to send me photos and emails of things you do at home. There will an opportunity for the children to share these with the whole class.

Please email pluto@kafed.org.uk

It was lovely to talk to so many parents and carers during the lockdown.  I look forward to seeing you all in person (But from a distance please) when we go back to school. If you have any questions please email them to me or ring the office as we are still very aware of the social distancing rules to keep you, your children, and our staff safe.  

I look forward to seeing all of Pluto Class on Monday 8th March 2021.

Mrs Hicks

 pluto@kafed.org.uk

Please use this email address to contact Mrs Hicks or Miss Howell and send photographs and work

Week 2 – 01.03.2021 – Traditional Tales

This week we are going to look at Traditional Tales. On Thursday it is World Book Day so please dress up as your favourite character and send me your photos.

Remember to try to do one activity a day and maybe do a phonics activity/BugClub book. However, do what works best for you and your family.

We are going to focus on these 3 stories:

The Gingerbread Man

The Three Little Pigs

Little Red Riding Hood

Of course there are lots of other stories. You could adapt any of these activities for your own choice

Literacy

There are lots of questions you can ask about these stories. The main thing is to talk about the story

• What sorts of things did you like or dislike?
• Was there anything that puzzled you?
• Have you read any other stories like this?
• How did they compare?
• Who were the main characters?
• Where did the story take place?
• Which character interested you most?
• Little Red Riding Hood stopped to talk to the Big Bad Wolf. Do you think this was a good ideas?

You could act out the stories. Maybe create a theatre. Ask your child to make tickets, pretend money. You could use objects in your house as props.

Writing Activities:

Pretend you are Little Red Riding Hood and make a Get Well card for Grandma – write her a message inside the card.

Make a Wolf wanted poster. Describe what he looks like grey, hairy, sharp teeth, big eyes, big ears

Write a factfile about pigs. Watch this video to help.

Create your own StoryBox

What is it?

A story box is a miniature setting, a shoe box-sized stage with a background and objects within it relating to either a specific book, or to a common story scenario.

Story boxes are a great resource to support children’s exploration of stories. They form areas in which to retell a favourite story, as well as creative arenas for children to make up new stories too- encouraging talk, imagination and literacy skills. Choose a favourite story and create a scene from the story using art and craft materials.   

Art

We’re going to make the characters using things you have around the house including toilet rolls!! When you have made them you can use them to act out the story.

Science

This week we’re going to try a Wind Science Experiment and test our “huff and puff”

You will need

• Objects with varying weight
• A hairdryer or your own breath
• A recording sheet – you can print the one here or make one yourself

First ask your child to predict which items would be blown away by the wolf’s huffing and puffing. Allow them to hold the items and make comparisons. Record these predictions either with a picture or the word or both!

Next place the objects one at time on a table and use your hairdryer to “huff and puff”. In the Observations box record what actually happened.

Did it match your predictions? Why?

Dance

You could try some ballet this week.

Have a look at CBeebies ballet of The Three Little Pigs

World Book Day

On Thursday it is World Book Day. You could dress up as your favourite book character for the day.

Make a book nook…

• behind a sofa
• in a cupboard
• on your bed
• on a landing
• in your garden or on your balcony

Bookmarks – why not try making a homemade bookmark. You could give as a present to someone in your family.

Find an unusual place to read – send me a photo

Recommend a book to me – tell me why I should read it, what happens in the story, who are the main characters.

Stop & Read

Throughout the day everyone drops what they are doing and reads a book for 5 minutes.

Phonics

Sounds to practise this week.

Phase 2

m    a    n    u    s    t    r    o    p    h    i    d    l    f    c    e    b    g    ck    ff        

Phase 3

j    x    v    w    igh    sh    ng    oo    ow    er    ai    th    ear    ee    ch    air    oi

Now try reading and spelling these words

Phase 2

man    him    in    and    ran    can    red    big    bad    huff    puff    fun    pot    bed

Phase 3

right    shop    long    soon    cow    fox    tail    hood    path    wood    ears    teeth    chin    hair    down    fair    roof

Challenge words

just    fast    river    jump    stick    brick    boiling    crash    splash

Tricky words

the    to    me    he    my    she    I    no    you

Challenge:

Can you draw a picture from one of the stories and write a sentence using some of these words.

Cooking

Let’s make some Gingerbread Men. I hope they don’t run away!!

Ingredients

• 225g plain flour, plus extra for dusting
• ½ tsp salt
• 2 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 1 heaped tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 50g unsalted butter
• 100g soft brown sugar
• 100g golden syrup

Method

• STEP 1

Heat oven to 190C/170C fan/gas 5 and line a baking tray with baking parchment. Sieve the flour, salt, bicarb, ginger and cinnamon into a large bowl. Heat the butter, sugar and syrup until dissolved. Leave the sugar mixture to cool slightly, then mix into the dry ingredients to form a dough. Chill the dough in the fridge for 30 mins.

• STEP 2

On a surface lightly dusted with flour, roll out the dough to a ¼-inch thickness. Stamp out the gingerbread men shapes with a cutter, then re-roll any off-cuts and repeat. Place your gingerbread shapes on the lined trays, allowing space for them to spread. Cook for 10-15 mins, then remove from the oven and leave to cool.

This is the last week of online learning.  I hope you enjoy having a go at the activities. I’m looking forward to seeing your World Book Day costumes.

Stay safe.

Mrs Hicks

Tip for parents: please remember that when your children are at school I do not ask them to sit at an activity for more than 30 minutes. So please build in a lot of breaks and play to your day.  

Spring 2^nd half term

Week 1- 22.2.21- The Hungry Caterpillar.

This half term we will be covering each week; being healthy/ life skills, Traditional tales for Book Week, learning about the season Spring and the signs, Planting/ Flowers and Minibeasts.

Let’s begin this week with the book, ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’. It is written and beautifully illustrated by Eric Carle. If you are lucky enough to have the book that could be your week’s reading together with your child. If you don’t the video below is great to watch together. Remember try to do one activity a day and a phonics activity/ bug club book. Do what works best for you and your family.

Talk about the story:

Questions:
Who popped out of the egg? A caterpillar
What day of the week did the sun come up and the caterpillar popped out of the egg? Sunday What do you do on a Sunday?
How might the caterpillar be feeling when he pops out of the egg? Confused/scared/ worried/happy/hungry
Why did the caterpillar keep eating more each day? Because he was still hungry
Can you remember what the caterpillar ate? Apple, 2 pears, 3 plums, 4 strawberries, 5 oranges, one piece of choc cake, one cream cone, one

pickle, one slice of swiss cheese, one slice of salami, lollipop, one slice of cherry pie, one sausage, one cupcake and one slice of watermelon.
What did the caterpillar have after he ate all that food?  A tummy ache Why? Because the caterpillar ate too much and caterpillars shouldn’t eat all that food..
It had been one whole week. What did the caterpillar eat on Sunday to make him feel better? A nice big green leaf
How can you describe what the caterpillar looks like now? A big fat caterpillar.
What did the caterpillar build around himself? A small house. What was it called? a cocoon. Another name for this is a chrysalis.
How long did he stay inside the chrysalis/cocoon for ? More then 2 weeks
The caterpillar then made a hole and pushed himself out. What did he transform into? A beautiful butterfly.

Encourage some imagination / role- play: 
Activity 1-  Can the children make their own house to represent a chrysalis.
Could be wrapping themselves in a duvet, blanket, pillowcase or making a den again and pretend to push/ wriggle out of it. 
Send me your picture
 

Activity 2-  If the children could change into any kind of animal, what would they like to be? How would they move? What would they eat?
 

Activity 3-  They could draw themselves as this creature, with a photograph of their face added on? Or dress up as this creature or make a mask or a paper plate of the animal.

Send me your picture!

Phonics

Phase 2

a    o    n    m    p    i    e    s    ss    l    ll     t     d    u    r    h    g    f 

Phase 3

  W     y      oo    igh    ou    er   ee  or    oo oo   ee    th    ch    ar   

Now try reading and spelling these words

Phase 2

On   egg    pop    sun    up    but    plum     still      lollipop       cup   melon     big    fat

Phase 3

Moon  light   start    look   food    for   swiss    cheese     cherry    green much    better    house   weeks  

Challenge words

caterpillar    Sunday   warm    hungry      two     four    five  ate strawberries     oranges   piece  Ice cream   

cake    beautiful   butterfly

Tricky words

some    he    the    was    one   little

Literacy

Writing activity: draw and write a list of the foods that the Very Hungry Caterpillar eats.

Remember to encourage your child to use the sounds they hear, I do not expect words to be spelt perfectly.

e.g.

orinj

apol

wortu melon

pers

Send me a picture of your work

Extension activity- In the story, The Very Hungry Caterpillar eats something different every day of the week. Write a couple of sentences what you may do on a couple of days.
E.g. On Saturday I go to the shop.
On Friday I eat fish and chips.

Or can you talk about what you do on different days of the week or do some mark making to show what you do?

Make a story map.

A story map is a representation of the story in pictures. It helps you to remember what happens in the story. Here are some examples of a story map.

Activity 2: Butterflies are unique and beautiful insects. Their wings are symmetrical which means, the same/identical on each side. 
I would like you to draw a butterfly and make a symmetrical pattern on its wings. 
Send me your picture 
 

Understanding the World:

In the story the caterpillar eats through lots of different kinds of food. Could you put these foods into a table of healthy and unhealthy.

Talking about being healthy, there are lots of ways for us to keep healthy, especially through this time.

I would like you to try doing some of the activities below

1. Washing clothes- Help your mum/dad/nan/grandad/carers with washing your clothes, folding it up, putting it away nicely.  Send me a photo of you helping doing the laundry.
2. Washing your bodies – Have a bath/shower and watch/follow this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4wfZT74dFEw
3. Washing our hands- It is very important to keep washing your hands, watch this video and send me your photo of you washing your hands. You could get a germ buster certificate. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=07YNCFlS0iI
4. Brushing our teeth- watch this video and brush your teeth at the same time. Send me a photo of you brushing your teeth https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ku-ForS6G3I

Cooking:

Activity 1: Above you were learning how to be healthy. Another way is to eat healthy foods too. Make The Very Hungry Caterpillar with tomato and cucumber and peppers. These are known as vegetables which are very good for us.

Activity 3: Food tasting with eyes closed. Can you find any of the foods in your house from the story; if not just get different types of food?
Taste some of the foods with your eyes shut and see if you can try to identify them.  Send me a picture of you trying this activity out blindfolded!
You can talk about which ones are healthy and unhealthy foods.

PE:  Moving our bodies and doing exercise is another great way to be healthy.

Activity 1: Cosmic Yoga - The very hungry caterpillar  

 Expressive Arts and Crafts:

Art: make a painting of the Very Hungry Caterpillar using fingerprints/collage materials/ paints/ colour pencils.

That is all for this week, I hope you enjoy the activities and remember do what works best for you and your family.

Stay safe and Take Care Mrs Hicks 😊

Tip for parents: please remember that when your children are at school I do not ask them to sit at an activity for more than 30 minutes. So please build in a lot of breaks and play to your day.  

Half Term 15.02.2021-19.02.2021

At last we have got to half-term. Well done to everyone. It’s been difficult at times but I think we all need to look for the positive things:

• Time to spend with your family
• It snowed!
• You have made some wonderful projects.

Next week is a holiday. At the moment, none of us can go anywhere but we can take a break from our routine of the last few weeks.

Here are a few things that I will be doing in the half term holiday, why not try have a go to?

1. Valentine’s Day – make a card for someone you love. Here are some ideas you might like.   

1. Make heart shaped cookies. 

Below are 2 stories. Snuggle up and watch it as a family as a bed time story.

So Much

On Tuesday, it is Pancake Day. All you need is 2 eggs, plain flour and some milk and choice of toppings; lemon/sugar/Nutella/ syrup/ fruit etc.

READY… STEADY …. START FLIPPING!

I thought you would like this story called Mr Wolf’s Pancakes

Spring Clean – empty your cupboards, give everything a clean and put it all back neatly. Wash your car, make your bed, tidy your room.

Play some of your favourite music while you’re cleaning.

Have a warm bubble bath or a shower with some of your favourite shower gel. Get some nice lotions, face masks and put cucumbers over your eyes. Wrap up warm after by wearing a bath robe or Pjs. Make your favourite drink, and play some calm music and pretend you’re in your favourite place (beach, forest). There’s lots of You Tube clips to help you imagine.

OR make  up your own gymnastic routine –forward rolls, crab, leaps,
tuck/star jumps, balances..

Have a fancy dress party. Use clothes you already have to turn yourself into…

I am sure you will have lots of ideas of your own.

The main thing is to relax, look after each
other and stay safe.

Mrs Hicks

xx

Week commencing 8.2.21

Hello Pluto Class,

I hope you are all well and managed to see the Snow yesterday. It has turned much colder now so we have been making sure the birds that live around us have plenty to eat and drink.

I have written the next part of the story below.

I hope to see you on the Zoom sessions on Monday and Friday this week.

Take Care 

Mrs Hicks

Here is Chapter 5

The next day the children felt very tired and thought it would be a good idea to stay at school and catch up with their work.  Mrs Hicks had asked them to think of the next place they would like to visit.  “I think we should go to a Zombie planet!” suggested Tyreece-Junior.  “That sounds a bit scary” mumbled Mellina looking startled. “I don’t think that planet Zombie has real Zombies” said Levi who knows a lot about space.  “No I heard that they are friendly and have lots of colourful things to eat” said Kharis licking her lips.  “But how can we get there?” asked Johan looking concerned. “I haven’t seen any space maps showing planet Zombie” agreed Keishaun.  “Hmmmm” they all thought and thought.  “I know we could go back to Venus and bounce  there from the Geysers” said Lucy looking excited  at the memory of the day before.  “I don’t think that would get us far enough” Grace pointed out.  “Well Mrs Hicks does have that special Super Duper Whopping Great Emerald Wishing Stone” whispered Lexi behind her hand.  “Yes I have seen that too” whispered Tvisha looking round to make sure nobody was listening.  “But that is a secret” said Brandon looking worried.  “I think Mrs Hicks will be cool about us having it” said Ayden looking very confident.  The children suggested that Cyrus should go and ask Mrs Hicks as he always made her laugh and was good at asking questions.  Cyrus found a nice Teddy Bear in the garden to take to Mrs Hicks and shyly asked if it would be OK for the children to borrow the SDWGEWS (which was what they had decided to call the Super Duper Whopping Great Emerald Wishing Stone for short).  “How did you know about that asked Mrs Hicks with a gleam in her eye”.  “Ehm Ehm Ehm I think someone saw you put it away” said Damian who had agreed to back Cyrus up if necessary.  “Is it for a special trip”? asked Mrs Hicks. And then all the children started to talk at once about how they wanted to go to Zombie Land to see all the beautiful coloured food.  “Calm down, calm down” said Mrs Howell.  “Shall we sit on the floor and see what we can do about it.” All the children sat on the floor and talked to the person next to them.  Daniel M and Daniel N were talking about the best kind of fuel to use to get so far away.  Bianca and Chelsea were talking about designing some new Space suits in lots of bright colours.  Jason and Jedaiah were trying to work out what language would be used in Zombie Land.  They decided to use the word zbressx!flmyot as a good way to say Hello!  Hamza was sitting with Iremede and they were both laughing because Iremede had pretended he was flying up into the sky and landed on one of his big balls.  Hamza decided it was a good idea and was soon pretending to fly around the room in a super duper rocket.  The other children all wanted to play so Mrs Rickwood said they could play pretend rockets outside in the garden where it was more safe.  “But Miss”, said Chibueze “are you going to let us have the SDWGEWS?”.  Bianca came over and looked at Mrs Hicks with pleading eyes. “I will have to see” said Mrs Hicks looking very serious.  “I think she will” Poppy whispered into Bianca’s ear.

Do you think she will?  We will have to find out next week.  Can you think of any lovely colourful food that may be growing on Planet Zombie?  Please draw me a picture or send me in some ideas for food and other planets you might like to visit.

Week 6 – 08.02.21- Blackbird Blackbird What Do You Do?

This week we are going to think about how we can care for birds. We will start by watching the story of a blackbird called Pip who wants to find out what do blackbirds do. The story is called “Blackbird Blackbird What Do You Do? by Kate McLelland.
 Remember to try to do one activity a day and maybe do a phonics activity/BugClub book. However, do what works best for you and your family.

See below for a youtube clip

Literacy

Questions: What types of birds did Pip visit? heron/owl
Why couldn’t Pip stand in the river Because his legs were too short
What do owls do? Stay up all night 
Where did Pip meet Puffin? At the seaside
How did Pip get to the city? He soared on the breeze
Why couldn’t Pip peck at seeds like Pigeon?  Because it was far too crowded
What do the other birds do? Falcons – swoop to the ground/Parrots – chatter/Ducks - waddle

What did Pip discover that he is good at? Singing

Activity:

What do you think you’re good at? You could play a game with an adult or your brother/sister taking it turns to tell each other what you or they are good at. Maybe you could teach each other something new.

Challenge:

Make a story map.

A story map is a representation of the story in pictures. It helps you to remember what happens in the story. Here are some examples of a story map.

Book Review

When you get to the end of the week listen to the story again. Then have a think about the story. Would you recommend it to someone else? How would you describe this book to someone else? What did you like or dislike about the book? What questions are you left with after reading it? What personal connections did you have with the text – does it remind you of a walk you might have been on, does it remind you of times you have spent with your grandma or grandad? You can write out your review like this.

My Book Review

Title:

Author:

Did I like the book?

Draw how many stars I give it:

My favourite part?

Draw my favourite part of the story

Send me your storymap and /or your book review

Phonics

Sounds to practise this week.

Phase 2

b    l    a    ck    p    i    o    n    e    s    t     d    f    ff    u    r    v    h    g   

Phase 3

w   x    ng    ai    ow    er    sh    or    oo    igh    ee    th    ch    ar   

Now try reading and spelling these words

Phase 2

pip    pop    met    but    leg    at    not    peck    duck    can    up    in    set    off    of    sun   

Phase 3

wing    wait    down    fish    far    too    short    good    high    owl    night    sail    seed    sigh    thing    perch    sang          

Challenge words

black    nest    fluff    river    heron    tree    looking    next    morning    puffin    nest    sand    swoop    chatter    soft    sweet    flock    singing    stand

Tricky words

you    was    the    he    his    we    to    said    do 

Challenge:

Can you draw one of the birds from the story and write a caption.

Eg: A heron can stand in the river

Send me your picture

Maths
 

This week we’re going to practice counting and addition and subtraction.

First how many birds can you count in this picture?

Now try these word problems:

• There are 6 birds in one tree and 7 birds in the next. How many birds are there altogether?
• There are 10 blackbirds in a nest. 2 of them fly away. How many are left?
• A heron eats 2 fish and then eats 5 more. How many fish did the heron eat altogether?
• An owl stays awake for 3 hours on the first night and 7 hours on the second. How many hours altogether did the owl stay awake?
• A Puffin digs a nest that can fit 5 eggs. First she lays 2 eggs. How many more can she fit in the nest?
• There are 6 pigeons eating seeds. 4 more join them. How many pigeons are there altogether?

Send me your answers and I’ll let you know how you got on.

Here are some more maths problems for you to try.

Science:

This week we are going to try and spot some garden birds. The RSPB are collecting results from people in Britain so that scientist can find out how many different garden birds there are in Britain.

What I want you to do is to choose a day and sit quietly and watch how many birds you can see in your garden or on your balcony.

See the guide below to help you identify the type of bird you see. 

Here is some information about some of the birds you might see and a link to the RSPB website where you can hear their song.

Blackbird

Not always black...

Male blackbirds live up to their name but, confusingly, females are brown often with spots and streaks on their breasts.

What they eat

Blackbirds eat a variety of foods, from earthworms to fruits like apples and berries. They also love porridge oats.

Great tit

Grabs seeds and flies away with them

The largest UK tit is green and yellow with a striking glossy black and white head. It's a woodland bird which has found that our gardens offer plenty of food and places to nest.

What they eat

Great tits make quick visits to bird feeders for seeds and fat. They also eat insects and consume a lot of caterpillars in spring and summer.

Magpie

Simply unmistakable!

With its noisy chattering, black-and-white plumage and long tail, there is nothing else quite like the magpie in the UK. When seen close-up, it's easy to spot the beautiful iridescent purple, blue and green tones in its feathers.

What they eat

Absolutely anything. 

The gardener's friend

The UK's favourite bird – with its bright red breast the robin is familiar throughout the year and especially at Christmas! Males and females look identical, and they both hold territories during winter. 

What they eat

Robins eat a lot of creepy-crawlies, including worms (which is why they like gardeners turning over the soil). They'll grab mealworms from a bird table or feeder, or snack on sunflower hearts. Fruit is another favourite.

Starling

Glossy, squawky and starry

Smaller than blackbirds, with a short tail, pointy head and wings, starlings look black at a distance but when seen closer they are very glossy with a sheen of purples and greens. In winter they're covered in pale spots – which gives them their name.

What they eat

Starlings aren't picky and will eat almost anything they can get their beaks into. They can be quarrelsome on the bird table, however.

Woodpigeon

Now a common garden visitor

The UK's largest and commonest pigeon, it is largely grey with a white neck patch and white wing patches, clearly visible in flight. Woodpigeons also have beautiful pinkish and turquoise hints to their plumage – can you spot where?

What they eat

Seeds and grains, and green shoots when they're out in the fields.

To help you with your bird spotting you could try and make some binoculars. You will need 2 toilet rolls, some tape or glue and paint or pens to decorate.

Here are some examples to give you some ideas.

Bird Feeders

To attract birds to your garden or balcony you could make a bird feeder.

When you’ve finished all of that try this quiz to find out what kind of garden bird you are.

 https://www.rspb.org.uk/search/?q=what+garden+bird+are+you

Art

You could have a go at drawing some of the birds we have been learning about.

Send me your bird pictures

Cooking

This week’s cooking is not for yourself but for the birds.

Bird seed cake recipe is above

Bird kebab recipe is above.

PE

Try this Cosmic Yoga – Nelson the Pigeon

Extra

There are lots of bedtime stories on the RSPB website. Let me know which one is your favourite.

Week commencing 1/2/21

Hello Pluto Class,

I hope you are all well and have been keeping yourselves busy and happy!  I have read chapter 3 of the story on the video section of this website if you get a chance to have a listen. I will keep adding your photographs and particularly like the one's where I can see your happy smiling faces.  All of you have been getting on so well with your home learning and I must say a Big Well Done to your adults for being such great Home Educators!  We have lots more exciting things for you to get up to this week so have a look below  to see what you can do.  

There is something special about the date on Monday can you see from the beginning of this message?

I hope to speak to lots of you in the week and Ms Davies is looking forward to seeing you on the Zoom sessions.  

Take Care and Stay Safe

Mrs Hicks

Chapter 4

The next day the children were all racing to be first into the classroom.  They wanted to learn more about the planets and space so that they could choose where to go!  Mrs Hicks showed them some beautiful pictures of the Milky Way and the Northern lights that they could not believe were real!  The Rocket was looking a bit worse for wear after their trip yesterday so they set about mending bits and pieces.  Eventually it was ready and Mrs Hicks asked for hands up for the next place to go?  “Can we try Neptune next”? asked Jedaiah excitedly.  “Well Neptune is the farthest planet away” said Jason thoughtfully.  “Perhaps we should go to one a bit nearer to start with” Lexi suggested.  “Well Mercury is really close to us” Tyreece explained.  “I think that may be a bit close to the sun” said Brandon worriedly.  “Yes we don’t want to frazzle ourselves” laughed Poppy. “I read that the closest planet to earth is Venus” Keishaun pointed out.  “Yay let’s go there” Johan agreed.  Hands up who wants to go to Venus Mrs Hicks asked.  Everyone put their hands up and so it was decided that Venus would be the one!  “I think we should take an umbrella” said Chibueze “there are lots of storms there”.   The children took out their wishing gems and did their chant  “Magic gem, Magic gem, give me the super power to shrink to the size of a peanut”.  Soon they had all clambered inside and were ready for take off.  5-4-3-2-1 shouted Mrs Howell and Mrs Hicks and Ms Rickwood pressed the button for take-off.  “Hold tight everybody” said Grace who was having her turn to drive.  Woooooooosh went the rocket straight towards Venus at the speed of over 100 miles an hour!!!  It wasn’t long before the children could see Venus out of the window.  “Oh Wow look at all of those mountains” shouted Daniel N peering out of the window.  “I think we are going to land on one” shrieked Mellina holding on tight to Damian’s hand. “It will be OK” said Dam kindly. “Remember we made those magic suits with our gems this morning when Mrs Hicks wasn’t looking” whispered Tvisha.  “Yes I think we are going to need the fire proofing” Daniel M said worriedly looking at what appeared to be hundreds of volcanoes spewing out hot lava.  “We will be alright” said Levi (who knew a lot about space). “Luckily our Magic gems can turn us into heat resisting astronauts”!!. The children all clung on tightly to their magic gems and whispered some magic words: Magic gem, Magic gem don’t let us be burned. And just like magic the children were covered with a golden glow. Bianca was brave and was the first one out onto the surface.  Lucy jumped out after her and looked around excitedly.  “Look over there” said Cyrus pointing and jumping up and down with excitement.  “It’s a Geyser” shrieked Kharis holding her hand over her mouth.  The children all ran over to where there were hot spurts coming out of the surface of the planet. “ I’m going to try and jump in” said Ayden who looked super cool in his space suit.  “Me too” shrieked Hamza and they both jumped into the hot pool.  For a moment all was still and then suddenly Bwoooooooosh went the Geyser and the two boys shot up in the air.  Wooooohooooo they laughed as they bounced up and down with the spurts of lava and dust.  Once the other children had seen what fun they were having they all decided to have a look round for a Geyser.  Soon all of the class were bouncing up and down and jumping from Geyser to Geyser.  “This is so much fun” said Chelsea happily.  Iremede had bought a beach ball with him this time and the children tried to catch it as it bounced from one Geyser to the next.  Iremede was laughing so much his face was aching and all the children were really happy to be together.  Soon it was time to think about going back.  “We never get enough time” all the children said at the same time and looked at each other and laughed again.   It was a long climb over mountains and volcanoes to get back to the Rocket and the children were really tired.  They said the magic words to the Gems: “Magic gem, Magic gem, give me the super power to shrink to the size of a peanut”. And all jumped back into the Rocket for the journey back to school.  Mrs Hicks and Mrs Howell had their coats on when they got back.  “You were gone for so long” said Mrs Hicks worriedly.  “Your adults are all waiting outside for you”.  The children had no time to tell their Teachers about their excellent adventures on Venus.  They were excited to tell their adults instead……

We were very sad not to hear your adventures.  Maybe you could send in a postcard from Venus or draw us a picture and send it in.  Next week we need to decide whether the children will go to a real planet or visit a planet that you have invented.  Send in your ideas and we shall see!!

Week 5- 1.2.2021

Ruby’s Worry

This weeks learning is a little different. This week is Children’s Mental Health Week and lots of schools, youth groups, organisations and individuals will take part in this. The theme this year is ‘Express Yourself’ 

Expressing yourself is about finding ways to share feelings, thoughts, or ideas, through creativity. This could be through art, music, writing, dance and taking photos and doing activities that make you feel good.

It’s important to remember that being able to express yourself is not about being the best at something or putting on a performance for others. It is about finding a way to show who you are, and how you see the world, that can help you feel good about yourself.

For Children's Mental Health Week 2021 we will be encouraging children (and adults) to explore the different ways we can express ourselves, and the creative ways that we can share our feelings.

Let’s start by watching the story below called ‘ Ruby’s Worry’ By Tom Percival. Its about a little girl called Ruby who was very happy doing lots of things she enjoys and is good at however, one day she has a worry and she doesn’t know what to do and it begins to make her feel sad and alone.

Remember to try to do one activity a day. However, do what works best for you and your family.

Talk about the story:

Some Questions you can ask below about the story and a great starting point for sharing feelings.

• Who is the main character in the story? What is her name?  Ruby
• What does Ruby like to do? She likes to Swing, explore faraway places, like the bottom of her garden. Do you like to do this too? 
• Are there things you love doing? What are they?
• Who makes you happy? Or do special toys make you happy? Is there a special place that makes you feel happy? 
• She was happy until one day… what did she get? A worry
• Do you know what a worry is?  Concern about something that might happen. It is feel or cause to feel anxious or troubled about actual or potential problems.
• Where is the worry in the book? It is always with her 
• What colour was her worry? Yellow
• Can you always see a worry like this? No
• Could anyone else see Rubys Worry? No – not even her teacher
• How might you know if someone is worried? By their face, they may look upset/sad, they may not want to talk, they shoulders may be curved over, they may not want to play, they may not want to do the things they love etc..
• Was her worry getting bigger or smaller at the start of the story? Bigger
• Her worry was everywhere! Can you remember where it was? At breakfast time by the cereal box, at night time when she cleaned her teeth.
• How do you think Ruby feels about the worry? Sad, cross, upset, scared  
• What do you think Ruby should do about the worry? Do you think she should keep it to herself or tell someone about the worry?  She shouldn’t keep it to herself, that’s the worse you can do, is worry about a worry. She should tell someone!
• Do you have any ideas of how Ruby can make herself feel better? For example, what do you do when you feel worried or sad? Maybe you have a toy that makes you feel better? Or maybe you hold someone’s hand or have a cuddle? 
• Have you ever had a worry? What was your worry? Have you ever talked about a worry with someone before? What happened when you shared your worry? Did it make you feel happier?
• Who did Ruby notice on the bench? A boy. How did the boy look? Sad, lonely
• What colour was the boys worry? Blue
• Everyone has worries. Do we all have the same worries or different? Different
• When the boy started talking to Ruby about his worry, did it get bigger or smaller? Smaller – it shrunk!
• Whats the best thing you can do if you had a worry? Tell someone
• How did Ruby feel at the end of the story? Happy why? She shared her worry

Insert crossword comprehension picture

Activities below:

Activity 1: Look at the pictures of Ruby doing the things she enjoys.
Can you draw yourself and all the things that make you happiest? All the things that you may be good at?
You might have some photographs or special objects that will help you to do this.

Insert ruby enjoying pictures

Activity 2: When you have drawn a picture of the things that make you happy and are good at, you could try to do some of these things, while you are at home. 

You can send in your drawings to me, or send me a picture of you doing an activity that makes you happy. E.g. painting, baking, listening to a story, playing a sport, going for a walk, playing with your siblings. These are just some ideas.

Activity 3:
Ruby’s Worry was yellow and the boys was blue. Have you had a worry before? What did your worry look like? It could be very similar to Ruby’s worry e.g. similar shape but different colour. Or, your worry could be very different? Maybe it has a different shape, different eyes, colour, body etc..
Can you draw your worry and send it to me please J
It may help me spot your worry in class. Challenge: can you write what worry down
 

Now let us relate this to our story of Ruby’s Worry. When Ruby’s worry gets bigger, she begins to feel really sad, afraid and lonely. The colours change in the background to black, white and grey.

Can you make a picture similar to the one below.
You can use chalks/pastels and explore using your hands to smudge the media.
You can use paint and explore making grey. How do you make grey? Yes black and white together!

At the end of the story, Ruby told her worry and the darkness (black, grey and white) disappeared and a lots of beautiful colours came out. A bit like a sparkly rainbow.

Can you try and recreate a colourful picture. You can use paint/ pencils/ pastels/ chalk/ collage materials e.g. pomp oms, tissue paper, glitter, stickers.  You can add things that you may associate with happiness or looking pretty e.g. butterfly, smiley faces, sun

Activity 4: 

You can write a note or draw a picture for Ruby to help her take her mind off her worry. Think about the ideas you thought of before and use these to help you. You could give Ruby three different ideas to help her feel less worried, for example talking to someone, hugging your teddy bear and going outside to play on the swings. 

Activity 5:

Connecting feelings with colours.
Let’s think about what colours make people feel certain emotions and how these colours can be used in art work. Watch this clip below to learn some colour/feeling  connections.

Activity 6: As a Challenge, you could first explore mixing different colour paints together and see what they make?

Next, you could recreate your own colour-mixing chart, like the picture below.

Insert Picture of colour mixing charts

Activity 7:
How could you make friends happy. One idea could be to draw a picture for your friend. I would like you to draw a picture for one of your friends and Miss Davies can show it on Zoom on Friday 5^th Feb.

Don’t be upset if you friend is not on the Zoom, you could take a photo of your picture and send it to me and I will send it to them after the ZoomJ

Activity 8:

In the story Ruby told someone to make her worry, go away. Why not try to make one of the items below where you can tell your worry to. It will be amazing if you tell your worry to them and be brave to tell an adult/ friend too. 

1. Make a worry monster: You can tell an adult your worry and they can write it down and if your worry monster has a mouth, you can put it in the monsters mouth where they can GOBBLE up your worry.

You can make your worry monster out of toilet rolls, boxes, plastic containers, a sock and stuff if it with something soft, sticks etc…

1. Make a worry doll. 

You can make your worry doll out of pegs, lollipop sticks, ice-cream sticks, sticks collected from outside, wool/string etc..

1. Make a dream catcher

You dream catcher will catch any bad dreams but you can also tell your worry to them and they will trap it in the string. You can make your dream catcher out of paper plates, cd’s, sticks, feathers, beads, wool etc..

Activity 9:

Make rainbow slime

Activity 10:

Some children enjoy baking and are good at it.

Let’s make some cupcakes: open the pdf below for the recipe. You could add icing and rainbow sprinkles to them. YUMMY!

Activity 11:

PE- Play a game with your child where you can encourage your child to act out certain emotions this week.  You could do this indoors or outdoors in a larger space.  For example, act out being happy, sad, angry, worried etc.  What facial expressions can your child use to show certain emotions? Role play alongside your child. How can you both move around to show different emotions e.g., you may be jumping with joy, smiling with delight or ‘frozen’ and stuck when worried?

Watch the clip below to see how these children role played different emotions.

Another really fun game to play when role playing acting out different emotions is a game of charades.  Encourage your child to act out a certain emotion where you have to guess the emotion that he/she is acting.  You can also role play a certain emotion and see if your child can guess correctly how you are feeling.  On our display board in class, we have Inside Out characters to represent different feelings.  You child may like to watch this clip below to see if your child can tell what different characters are feeling.

Activity 12:

Dancing makes some people happy and some children are very good at dancing. Why not join in on the dance below or type in your own just dance song on youtube, maybe wakka wakka? and move your body to the music!

Activity 13:

Yoga is also a very good for your mind and healthy. Why not join in on the cosmic yoga session, it is Trolls, and it is to do with ‘I got that feeling’ or you could find your own one to do on youtube.

Activity 14:

Make a weekly journal of each exercise you do on each day and record it. You can draw pictures or write a caption.

Maybe something similar to the one below:

Activity 16:

Snuggle up, maybe in your cave/den, if you still have it, with some popcorn and watch a movie that you like/ enjoy. If you can maybe watch the movie Inside Out- it is all to do with feelings/emotions and links to our classroom display of zones of regulation.

Phonics

Sounds to practise this week.

Phase 2

s    i    u    p    h    f    t    g    d    e    n    l    b    ll    m    k    r   

Phase 3

w    j    ng    igh    ar    er    ee    th    oo    sh

Now try reading and spelling these words

Phase 2

up    of    it    big    but    bit    at    bus    sad    had    rid    his

Phase 3

high    far    hung    night    teeth    see    seem    feel    look    too    them    soon    her   

Challenge words

swing    went    garden    until    bigger    just    still    normal    stopping    forever    think    felt    person    shrink    best

Tricky words

she    to    the    was    so    go    he

Introducing Well-being Wednesdays

On Wednesday try switching off phones, tablets, laptops and TVs and go for a walk. Just a walk. Walking is very good for you and your child’s wellbeing. It helps clear your mind, maybe of any worries, and keeps your body healthy. We will continue this each week on a Wednesday.  You could share your favourite routes and places. J

That is all for this week, remember you do not have to do them all!

I hope you enjoy some of these activities and remember to send them to my email address.

Stay Safe

Mrs Hicks

Week Commencing 25.1.2021

Hello Pluto Class,

I hope you are all happy and keeping nice and warm at home.  We had some snow this morning which was really exciting!!!  I hope you are enjoying your home learning but also getting some time to play and relax as that is very important.  We have got some more lovely activities for you this week and I hope to see you at one of my Zoom meetings or to speak to you on the phone at some time this week.

Take Care and Stay Safe

Mrs Hicks.

Here is Chapter 3 of our Pluto in Space story:

“Oh Wow” said Hamza landing on the Moon with a bounce.  “This is so Awesome” Ayden shouted back.  The children stood up one by one and tried to get their balance.  “Woah hold on to me” Chelsea screeched.  “I’ve got you” laughed Kharis with a big grin on her face. “ It’s a good job we brought the boots with us” Cyrus said very sensibly.  The children started to look around the Moon.  “I think I’m going to taste a bit of it to see if it tastes like cheese” Lucy said hungrily.  “I don’t think it does Lucy” said Levi who knows a lot about space. “No that’s just on Wallace and Gromit” laughed Daniel M. “Look down there” pointed Bianca looking down at the Earth.  “It looks so tiny from up here” gasped Tvisha. “Well I’m going off to see if I can find some craters” said Damian.  The children set off in search of craters.  “Look over there” shouted Mellina excitedly.  “It goes down and down and down”  Grace exclaimed.  Just then Iremede appeared with his ball and threw it down the hole.  He was very upset when he realised that it just kept on rolling and a small tear ran down his cheek.  “Don’t worry” said Chibueze  “I will slide down and get it”.  And I will come with you said Daniel N very bravely.  The boys held hands and sat at the edge of the crater looking quite worried but determined.  “5-4-3-2-1 go” said Keishaun giving Daniel N a big push to start him off.  “I’ll help you Chibueze” said Poppy giving him a big push to start too. “Woooohooooo” the boys screamed as they shot down the hill at top speed.  “This is greeeeaaaaaattttt”!!!  After a while the other children could not hear them.  “Where are you?” Brandon called out and it echoed all around the crater.  “We have found the ball and we are coming back” said Daniel N sounding very excited.  They puffed and panted but eventually the other children could see their happy smiling faces. “ It’s like the biggest slide ever” Chibueze grinned.  All the children lined up around the crater edge and counted together 5-4-3-2-1 Go!!! They shot down the hill going off in all directions.  Tyreece Junior was laughing so much that he got hiccups and that made him laugh even more.  The children had fun all that afternoon sliding up and down the crater and were very sad when they realised that they would have to go back soon.  “We should at least do a bit more exploring” suggested Lexi who was always excited about new things.  So the children went off to explore the moon a bit more.  They came across a flag stuck in the surface.  Do you know which flag it would be?  Eventually they reached the side of the moon that the sun could not reach.  “I’m ffffff freezing” said Jason shivering.  Mmmmeeeee too said Jedaiah trying to wrap himself up in his space suit.  The children all agreed that it was probably time to go back to the Rocket now and they bounced off laughing and joking together.  The Rocket was waiting where they left it.  They all took out their special power Gems and asked to be made the size of peanuts again.  The Rocket took off with a puff of smoke and before they knew it they were back at school again.  Mrs Hicks and Mrs Howell were waiting for them looking very worried.  “Thank Goodness you are back safe and sound” said Mrs Howell, relieved.  “Come and tell us all about your adventures” said Mrs Hicks excitedly. All the children wanted to talk at once they were so enthusiastic about their trip.   Ms Rickwood saw how happy Iremede was looking and when she heard their news she could see why!  Soon it was time to go home and the children were all bursting to tell their adults what a great day they had.  “So where do you want to go next?” Mrs Hicks asked smiling.  The children were shocked they hadn’t even thought about going anywhere else. 

Next week the children will be going on another space adventure.  Where do You think they should be going?  Send me an email or write me a short story or draw a picture with some of your ideas and I will try and put them in over the next few weeks.

Week 4- 25.1.21- Lost and Found

This week we are going to learn about penguins and other animals you may find in a cold climate. Let us start by watching the story of a little penguin and a little boy. The story is called “Lost and Found” by Oliver Jeffers.
 Remember to try to do one activity a day and maybe do a phonics activity/BugClub book. However, do what works best for you and your family.

See below for a youtube clip

Literacy

Questions: Who turned up at the boy’s door? A penguin
How might the boy feeling when he saw a penguin? Confused/scared/ worried/
How was the penguin feeling at the start of the story? Sad 
Why did the boy think that? Because he thought he was lost.
Where did the book say penguins come from? South Pole
When the penguin and the boy got to the South Pole the penguin became sad again and When the boy left the penguin, the penguin was even sadder. Why? Because the penguin was lonely/ he wanted a friend/ he didn’t want the boy to leave.
Discuss what it means to be lonely and how we can help others when they are feeling lonely. What can we do when we feel lonely ourselves? Ask our friends to play with us, get a hug, talk to someone, play with our toys
What did the boy and the penguin do at the end of the story? Hug.
How are they both feeling now? Happy Why? Because they are together
 

Activity:

Can you make up a story to explain how the penguin ended up at the boy’s door? To help you come with some ideas you can play a “Maybe” tag game.  Adult: MAYBE he was kidnapped by a whale! Child: MAYBE – your child’s idea Adult: MAYBE he chased a fish all the way here! Child: MAYBE – your child’s idea (and so on). 

Challenge:

Make a LOST poster- a lost poster is when you describe someone/something to help people find them. Describe what he looks like. How did the penguin feel?

Draw the penguin and write some words to describe how he looks.

Make your own penguin story - can you make up your own story of a lost penguin?

You can set out your story like this:

Book Review

When you get to the end of the week listen to the story again. Then have a think about the story. Would you recommend it to someone else? How would you describe this book to someone else? What did you like or dislike about the book? What questions are you left with after reading it? What personal connections did you have with the text – does it remind you of a walk you might have been on, does it remind you of times you have spent with your grandma or grandad? You can write out your review like this.

My Book Review

Title:

Author:

Did I like the book?

Draw how many stars I give it:

My favourite part?

Draw my favourite part of the story

Send me your story and/or your poster and /or your book review

Phonics

Sounds to practise this week.

Phase 2

s   a   d   u   ck   r   n   b   i   g   p   o   t   h   u    e    ss    ll

Phase 3

oo    ch    igh    sh    or    oa    ee    ow  ng    er   th   oi

Now try reading and spelling these words

Phase 2

sad    duck    ran    big    pack    bad    back    got    at    had    it    him    but    his

Phase 3

look    check    night    ship    much    horn    boat    need    push    good    down    quick    see  

Challenge words

lost    help    next    just    must    missing    float    sleep    morning    strength    telling    sadder    fast   last    point    wind

Tricky words

and    was    he    a    the   to    be    so    in    are    said    they

Challenge:

In the story it says “They packed everything they would need”

Try writing a list of what you would need if you went on a trip to the South Pole. Remember it is very far and very very cold. Remember too that you only have a small boat!

Send me your list

Maths
 

This week we are looking at capacity. Talking about capacity- this means how much of something (water, soil, flour) will fit into something. We’re going to experiment using water.

Get a bucket/big pan/washing up bowl/ or get in the bath and fill it with water. Find different containers to use in your household- small cup/jug/tall cup/empty containers e.g. milk bottle/washing up liquid. Experiment first filling up the different size containers.

Now, have a go at making the capacities below.

Take a photo of your containers and send them to me.

Science:

The boy and the penguin make a boat for their journey to the South Pole. When it is finished “They tested it for size and strength”

We are going to test out which materials are good for making boats?

I want you to find, in your house, items/materials that float and sink.

Then record your answers on a table similar to mine below. Can you find anymore?

Send me your table and photos of your experiment

Learn about penguins

First watch this clip

Activity:

Write a fact file on penguins

Art

Make a boat

Why not try and make your own boat and see if it floats or sinks?

Remember to think carefully what materials will be good to use to make your boat - look at the table you made of materials that float or sink. 

Draw a penguin

Colour it in paint it or make it out of collage materials

Send me your penguin pictures and/or photos of your boat

Cooking

In the book it said “They stopped for lunch”

Activity:

Can you set up a picnic for you and your family or toys. What would you eat at a picnic? Think about what is healthy and unhealthy?

Try making a sandwich by yourself (your adult can be there to help you get the ingredients)
Be sensible when buttering your bread with a knife (parents please model how to use a knife safely, and let you child have a go, please supervise!)

Send me your photos of your picnic

Music

In the story they went through a storm. What noises does a storm make? Quiet/ loud? Can you make some noises with your voice or parts of your body? What could you find around your house to make a loud noise like the crashing thunder? (Sorry Parents J) What noise does rain make? pitter patter – can you find something around your house to make that noise?

Why not make an instrument out of junk modelling? Find on of these: Milk bottles/ cardboard cereal boxes, elastic bands, rice, pringle tubes, biscuit tins.

Use rice or dried peas/beans to put inside. Seal it up tight and decorate your instrument.

You could bring your instrument to the Friday Zoom

PE

Try moving like a penguin. Can you jump like a penguin? Waddle like a penguin? Slide like a penguin?

Try this Cosmic Yoga – Pedro the Penguin

Then try and move like different animals?

Chimpanzee – pretend to swing through trees .

Lion – prowl slowly on hands and feet.

Elephant – large stomping movements.

Zebra – galloping movements.

Snake – slither along floor.

Giraffe – stretch up tall and walk around slowly on tiptoes.

Hippopotamus – crouch or lie or the floor.

Crocodile – move quickly making large snapping movements with hands.

Rhinoceros – run in straight lines stopping to change direction.

Bird- flap your hands and pretend they are your wings

Gazelle – large strides and jumps.

Gorilla – stand still and (gently!) beat chest.

Tiger – crouch and pounce around.

Leopard – run around avoiding obstacles.

That is all for this week. I hope you enjoy having a go at the activities. Look out for more next week.

 Mrs Hicks

Week commencing 18/1/2021

Hiya Pluto Class,

I hope you are all doing well and having a good time at home with your families.  We set you a lot of work last week and I hope that you were able to do at least a little bit of it.  I also hope that you got some time to play and do your favourite things!  I managed to get some sunshine a couple of times last week and it made me feel much better. I have recorded some video's which you can find on the 'video' area of this website. I have read last weeks part of our class story and also read the book 'Sam's Sandwich' which I know you all love.This week we are going to continue our learning about Hibernation and winter time. I hope you enjoy it!

Here is Chapter 2 of our Space story.

The next day all the children got to school bright and early so they could get ready to go outside and play with their rocket.  “The only trouble is” said Daniel N “we can’t all fit in there”.  “Oh dear” said Kharis “what can we do”?  All the children tried to think of an answer as they all wanted to travel in the rocket  but there was only enough room for three children at the most. “ How about we send the rocket up and back ten times”? said Levi thoughtfully.   “Or we could make ten rockets and fly them up all together” suggested Grace. “Yeah then we could have a race and see who would go the fastest” said Cyrus excitedly.  “But how can we find stuff to make ten rockets” Tvisha said looking round the garden which had been almost emptied already. “Oh no that means we can’t do it” cried Mellina looking very sad and not her usual happy self at all. “Let’s think about this” said Keishaun.  So the children stopped to think for a while.  …..   …..“I know” said Jason excitedly – “we could ask Mrs Hicks for some super powers”.  “Yay” all the children shouted and they went running into the classroom to find Mrs Hicks. “Woah slow down” said Mrs Howell who was nearly pushed over in the rush.  Mrs Howell could see that all of the children were very excited so she chuckled to herself and let them in a few at a time.  Mrs Hicks was busy playing Lego on the floor with Damian and Tyreece-Junior who were building a model of a Hotel on the Moon.  “Mrs Hicks, Mrs Hicks” Jedaiah shouted. “Have you got any superpower gems we could use” Levi asked.  “What are they for?” Mrs Hicks asked.  “We are building a rocket to go to the moon but there is not enough room for all of us” Lexi explained.  “Luckily I have just bought a whole new batch so there is enough for one each – how will you use them?”  The children thought …….   …….. “hmm maybe we could all fly up there” suggested Poppy. “But then we won’t be able to take our investigator kit” remembered Chibueze.  “How about if we use them to change the rocket into a giant rocket” said Daniel M thoughtfully.  “How would we fit it into the playground though” said Johan frowning.  Just then Iremede ran into the classroom holding two balls he had found in the garden. One was very small and one was very big.  He put the very small ball into the class rocket and then tried to fit the other ball in but it was too big.  “Look” exploded Ayden, Iremede has just given us the answer.  The children looked over at what Iremede was doing and he gave them a big happy grin. “We could use the gems to shrink ourselves” Chelsea said with a gleam in her eye.  “Please let us have them oh please” begged Brandon and Bianca.  Mrs Hicks thought about it for a moment then said “Of course you must have them – come and show me this rocket of yours”.  The children took her outside and proudly showed off their rocket. “That’s the best rocket I have ever seen – come and have a look Miss Reynolds and Miss Howell” Mrs Hicks said proudly.  All the adults agreed that it was the best rocket they had ever seen.  “I think we should get going now” said Lucy looking at the clock.  “Yes or we won’t have time to get to the Moon and back before the end of the day” Kharis said worriedly.  They all said the magic words to their Super Power gems. “Magic gem, Magic gem, give me the super power to shrink to the size of a peanut’.  And whoosh they all shrank at the same time.  The adults were all shocked “Wow” said Miss Reynolds “it really works!”  Of course it does said Mrs Hicks with a twinkle in her eye.  “I will drive” squeaked Hamza in his tiny person voice.  The children all managed to climb up into the rocket and belted themselves up.  “5-4-3-2-1 Liftoff” the adults shouted and Mrs Hicks pressed the button to send them into Orbit.  The rocket went really fast and all the children were so excited to see the Earth getting smaller and smaller and the Moon getting bigger and bigger.  Soon they arrived at their destination.  They pulled out the special steps they had made and wished to get bigger again.  “Magic gem, Magic gem make me bigger again” and they pulled on their gravity boots and stepped out on to the moon. 

This is where the story ends this week.  I want you to think about what the children may have seen when they stepped onto the moon?  Can you send me a picture or write some words to describe it?

I will write the next chapter next week.  Have fun! 

Mrs Hicks

18.1.2021- Week 3: Winter Sleep

This week we are going to learn more about hibernation. Our story this week is Winter Sleep.

It is a story about a child who learns about hibernation when he stays at Granny Sylvie’s house in the winter.

After you have finished the story have a go at the activities below- remember choose activities that you suit you and try to do one a day J

https://athelney-primary-school.primarysite.media/media/winter-sleep-read-by-miss-davies

Literacy:

First Talk about the story and ask questions:

• What is the weather like in the beginning of the story? What time of year is it?
• What time of year does it change to?
• Who was in the story?
• The story takes place in a forest near Granny Sylive’s house. What would it be like to be there?
• What would you see, hear and feel?
• Watch a section of this video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a_oqcg0hvpo of a winter walk in the woods (the whole video lasts for 3.5 hours, so don’t try to watch it all!).
• What words do you think of when you watch it?

Challenge:

Imagine that you are at Granny Sylvie’s house exploring the forest with her. Try writing a letter home, either to a friend, a parent or another family member, or even to me to tell them what it is like in the forest.

• What is it like in the forest?
• Who is with you in the forest?
• What are you doing together?
• What can you see in the forest?
• What do you most like about the forest?

Book Review

When you get to the end of the week listen to the story again. Then have a think about the story. Would you recommend it to someone else? How would you describe this book to someone else? What did you like or dislike about the book? What questions are you left with after reading it? What personal connections did you have with the text – does it remind you of a walk you might have been on, does it remind you of times you have spent with your grandma or grandad? You write out your review like this.

My Book Review

Title:

Author:

Did you like the book?

Draw how many stars you would give it:

What was your favourite part?

Draw your favourite part of the story

Tip for Parents – Ask your child the questions and make a sentence together and then ask your child to write that sentence down. Your child will need support remembering the whole sentence.

Role-play:  

If you still have your den you could take some blankets in there and pretend to be like the boy at the end of the story when he is in bed. Otherwise make a bed with cushions and blankets.

Take some paper and pencils and draw yourself asleep in the corner of the paper. On the rest of the paper draw all the things you might dream of after your winter walk in the woods. Can you remember the things Granny Sylvie and the boy saw in the woods? Maybe you could listen to this soundscape while you’re drawing.

6 Hour Ambient Soundscape: Relaxing Nature Summer Sounds - An English Country Meadow - YouTube

Phonics:

You can spend a few minutes every day practising your Phase 2 and Phase 3 sounds.

Phonics Play has lots of online games. They have a free username and password for the lockdown.

Username: jan21

Password: home

Sounds to practise this week.

Phase 2

k      h     f     s     ss     r     t     u     n     i     d     l     o     m     p    g

Phase 3

w     oa      oo      ng      igh      er      ar      ee      th    ch    qu    z

Now try reading and spelling these words

Phase 2

nut   sun    mud    web   bat   egg   top   den   cub   bed   moss

Phase 3

hoof   oak   fern   song   night   hard   long   food   queen   bee   moth   wood   tight   dark   feet   seem   deep

Challenge words

winter   sleep   summer   print   splash   pond   green   tree   secret   frozen   sleeping   insects   nest   spring   trunk   under   frog   croaking   twig

Tricky words

was   she   I   to   the   with   we   me   no   in   into   go

Challenge:

Here are some words from the story you could try and read. If your grown-up reads them to you maybe you can have a go at writing them as well. To make an extra challenge see how many you can do in 2/3 minutes.

moss, run, up, back, yes, if, can, it, will, sun, on, bats, webs, eggs, until, top, cubs, bed

Use these words to make a sentence. Draw a picture to match the words.

Maths:

The story takes place in the summer and winter. These are called seasons. Do you know what the other 2 seasons are called?

The 4 seasons make up a year. There are 12 months in a year. Listen to this song and then try and name all the months. Perhaps you could try writing them.

This is a list of animals and insects which hibernate. Can you re-write the list starting with the largest animal and ending with the smallest?

stag beetle

dormouse

bumblebee

earwig

bat

moth

frog

bear

hedgehog

ladybird

Activity:

Try sorting your toys by size then group them by colour.

This is another sorting activity you could try. https://nrich.maths.org/5157

There are lots more maths activities you could try at home on this website.

https://nrich.maths.org/14579

Challenge

Here are four addition problems

1+1

2+3

6+4

5+3

Your challenge is to put them in order, from easiest to hardest.  

How did you decide the order? 

I would love to hear the reasons for your final order.

Science:

This week I want you to watch these 3 videos.

What did you learn about the hibernation of these animals?

Bats

Challenge

Can you make a fact file about one or all of these animals. You could use this template or make-up your own.

Cooking

After a cold walk in the winter woods, it is nice to have something tasty and warm for tea. I am going to try this tasty tuna bake this week. Why don’t you have a go and send me some photos. I am sure it will be yummy.

I saw this and thought it looked super cute. If you’re in a baking mood why don’t you have a go.

That is all for this week. I hope you enjoy having a go at the activities. Look out for more next week.

Stay safe.

Mrs Hicks

Week Commencing 11/1/2021

Hi Pluto Class

I hope you had a good week last week and enjoyed all of the activities we provided for you.  It was lovely to get to speak to some of you and your adults.  I will be making some more phone calls this week so if I didn't get a chance to speak to you last week please listen out for the phone.  

I managed to get some fresh air last week and hope that you did too!  I have written a chapter for a class book that I will be writing week by week and you can read it below here.  

Have a lovely week and keep up the good work.  I was so pleased to receive so many photographs last week they really cheered me up.

Once upon a time there was a class called Pluto Class.  They were a very happy class and everybody loved them.  They had been learning about Planets at school and were all very interested to find out what is going on up in the sky above them.  A group of boys were talking about it.  “I think we could build a rocket” said Hamza.  “Oooh Yes that’s a great idea!” Ayden agreed.  “What can we use to make it?” Daniel wondered.  “I know we could try and make it out of that shiny silver cylinder thing over in the corner of the garden” Cyrus suggested.  “And what about the big Cone made out of plastic for it’s nose?” Levi asked excitedly.  They started to gather things together and soon some other children came over to see what was happening.  “What are you doing?”  Asked Lexi.  “I think they are making some kind of robot” Tvisha said poking the cylinder to see what it was made of.  “No its not its something to play on like in the park” said Mellina jumping up and down excitedly.  The boys carried on looking around for things to use.  They were hoping to find a steering wheel so that they could steer the rocket up to the Moon.  “Here look at this” said Damian holding up a broken bike with a wheel hanging off.  “That looks perfect” said Chibueze running over with his spanner to start undoing the nuts.  Meanwhile the girls were thinking of things that they could add on.  Daniel N had explained to them that it was actually a rocket they were making to get up to the Moon.  “What a fantastic idea”  Lucy said grinning. “ I think we should find some bits to make up an engine” said Grace scratching her head thoughtfully.  Chelsea and Poppy went off to see if they could find anything to make some windows out of and Iremede decided that a ball would be just the thing to use as a gear knob so he added it to the growing collection of objects the children had found.  “I guess we should start putting all of this together” said Keishaun. Jason and Bianca rolled up their sleeves and started to put everything in the right places ready to join together. Tyreece-Junior suddenly appeared with an Athelney Flag that he had drawn to go on the side of the Rocket.  “Wow” said all of the children - that will look great!  Kharis had been searching for engine parts and came back holding a big bottle of oil.  “We will need this to shoot us up into space” she said.  Soon they had all the bits that they needed and they were all so happy that they nearly forgot they had to put them all together.  “Come on let’s all help” said Jedaiah.  Johan and Brandon picked up the heavy cylinder and set it up on 2 chairs so that the children building the engine could get underneath.  It took the children hours to get the Rocket ready to fly and they were all very tired by then.  They decided that they would not try to fly it until the next day as it was getting dark and they would need the light to see what they were doing.  Unless somebody could come up with an idea for making a light for the Rocket?

I will continue the story next week.  Please send me any ideas that you have for making a light for the Rocket. 

Your work for this week is below:

Our topic this term is winter

11.1.2021- Week 2: A Bear Snores On

This week we are going to learn about hibernation. Hibernation is when animals sleep for a long time, throughout the winter.  Let’s learn more about hibernation by watching the story of

The Bear snores on.

After you have finished the story have a go at the activities below- remember choose activities that you suit you and try to do one a day J

Literacy:

First Talk about the story and ask questions:

What season was the story in? (Winter)
What is the weather like in Winter? (Cold/ freezing/icy/snowy)
Where was the bear hibernating for winter? (in the cave)
What was the bear doing for most of the story? (sleeping) (snores on)
Who came and joined the bear in the cave? (mouse, hare, badger, gopher, mole, wren, raven
What activities did the animals do?
The animals had a party. What would you do/bring/eat at a party?
Why did the bear get upset? (because he didn’t get to join in the fun)

Challenge:
Why was the bear sleeping throughout the story? (because it is Winter and they hibernate)
What does hibernate mean?
When the bear woke up the other animals went to sleep why?
What season comes after winter? Spring – do you know what happens in Spring? Flowers start to grow, some animals have their young, it starts to get sunnier and rain

Tip for Parents – you could write your child’s responses down and then encourage them to draw their den and write about who would live in there. When would they go in there? What would they do in there? Ask your child to use the words you wrote for them.

Role-play:  

I would like you to make a cave in a room from duvet covers, sheets, pillows, boxes, tables, chairs.

If you have a teddy bear bring him in your den and pretend he is hibernating and snoring on. You can also pretend to be the bear and hibernate in there. You could now re-watch the story in your cave, try to answer the questions with your adult and do some of your work in your cave. You can see what it would be like to stay in there for a long time without coming out?  If that was easy maybe stay in there longer? Maybe you could sleep in your den tonight?
How does it feel to stay in there a long time and not come out?
Animals hibernate for the winter months that can be 3 months long!
Could you imagine sleeping for nearly 3 months!

Phonics:

You can spend a few minutes every day practising your Phase 2 and Phase 3 sounds.

Here is a selection of sounds I would like you to focus on.

s    a    t    p    i    n    d   b   m   o   u   g    c    ck

j     v     w     sh     ch     th     ee     oa

Now that you’ve said them see if you can use them to make some words – eg d-o-g or w-ee-d

Now have a go at these tricky words:

I   go   to   no   the   into

Try reading them and then can you practise writing them.

Finally can you read these sentences. Try one per day.

The dog can dig in the mud.

I go to the shop.

I chat to mum and dad.

Pick up the cup and the mug.

The goat can kick.

Challenge:

Draw a picture to match the sentence and then add a sentence of your own.

Maths:

This week we are going to learn how to tell the time.

We will focus on 0’clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to.

First watch this BBC Bitesize video and try the quiz at the end.

Activity:

To make your own clock out of a paper plate/ cardboard/paper.

When you have made your clock try making different times on it.

Tip for parents: At this stage of your child’s learning we focus on reading clock faces and not digital. To keep practising if you have a clock with hands then ask your child throughout the day to tell you what the time is. Remember the focus is on o’clock, half-past, quarter-past and quarter to. Children are learning to read the time.

Science:

First, watch the BBC Studios video Winter Hibernation, Winter’s Tale:

Talking together:

What you have seen?

What more have you learnt about hibernation from this video?

What animals have you seen that hibernate? Why do you think they do this?

I am really enjoying  A Perfect Planet by David Attenborough. You can watch it with your grown-ups permission on BBC iPlayer.

This week I learnt about the Wood Frog which lives in Alaska and hibernates in ice.

Tip for parents: This is the link to the episode. https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/p08xc2x7/a-perfect-planet-series-1-2-the-sun

The Wood Frog is at 17.08 mins. Please make sure you are watching with your child to explain what is happening.

Arts and crafts:  

Think about the animals that you have seen in the story and the videos about hibernation. We are going to main a page for a flap book.

1. Draw an animal which hibernates and colour it in.
2. On a separate piece of paper draw their hibernation home
3. Cut it out leaving a strip at the top. Glue the strip and stick it over your animal.
4. Underneath the picture write these sentences:
5. I hibernate in a [den, nest, underground]. I am a [name of animal]

PE:

Try find and feel your resting heart rate. How many heartbeats can you count in a minute.

The try this 5 minute workout by Joe Wicks:

When you have completed the exercise, count how many heartbeats in a minute. Compare this to your resting heart rate. Has it changed. Why might this be? How do you feel after the exercise.

Now relax by lying on your back, head on a pillow and knees bent. Maybe have a blanket over you to keep warm. Try and stay still like this for 5 minutes. Now count how many heartbeats in a minute.

Talking about this activity:

Which of the activities slowed their heart rate the most? Where was their breathing the slowest? When do they think they were using the most and least energy? Which exercise best reflected the kind of state that animals are in as they enter hibernation? How did it feel to slow your body and mind right down in this way?

Challenge:

Write about this activity.

Eg: My heartbeat was slower when I was relaxing.

I was like a bear in hibernation when I was relaxing.

Tip for parents: When your child is writing allow them to use their phonic knowledge and write independently. Their spelling will not necessarily be correct.

That is all for this week. I hope you enjoy having a go at the activities. Look out for more next week.

Stay safe.

Mrs Hicks

Tip for parents: please remember that when your children are at school I do not ask them to sit at an activity for more than 30 minutes. So please build in a lot of breaks and play to your day.  

Dear Pluto Class

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

I hope that you were able to enjoy the Winter break and had a lovely time over Christmas and New Year.  Did you get lots of presents?  Did you go for some lovely walks or to the Park?

I was very spoiled and got everything I asked for .

I am so sad that we will not be together again for a while as I was looking forward to seeing you and finding out your news.  Please ask your adults to email me some pictures so that I can share them on this website.  *I have put any pictures you send in below the Animals in Winter video so you will have to scroll down past all the work to see them*

I have got some work ready for you to do at home over the next couple of weeks and look forward to seeing what you have done so that I can add this to the website too.

Here is a short story just for you:

Once upon a time there was a class called Pluto Class.  All the children were the cleverest and funniest children their Teachers, Mrs Hicks and Mrs Howell had ever known.

All the children were looking forward to going back to school after the Christmas holidays and the adults were all chatting on the phone excitedly about what they would do when they got back to school.

When it was time to go back to school there was sad news as there was to be another lockdown.  But Mrs Hicks and Mrs Howell were not sad because they knew that all of the children from Pluto class were very clever and would make sure they did their homework and sent it to Mrs Hicks to put on the website.  Mrs Hicks also knew that she would be able to speak to them and their adults when she phoned them to check how they were.

So, it was not such a sad story after all.  Everyone was busy and happy at home and nobody needed to worry about missing their friends as they would all be together and playing again soon.

Spring Term Week 1 w/c 4th January 2021

We will be going over work that we did last term for this week.

Remember to login into bug club where you can do online reading and also other interactive games on there. Also remember to close the bugs eyes when you have finished reading the book so then it records that you have read the book. Remember to go onto Oak Academy where there are online classes for your child to access via class pages- home learning- year 1.

Literacy:

Here are some ideas of things you could do with your adults, or family/friends (on the phone), over the next few days

Talk about the holidays - What did you do? Did you get presents? Go out for a walk? Watch anything on TV? Eat Christmas dinner? Do any activities at home like baking or crafts?

Activity:  

Draw a picture and/or write about your holidays. 

You could use the template below to write or just some plain paper. 

Remember when you write about the holidays try to include; who you may have seen, where you went, what you did, how you felt and when you went or took part in an activity.

You could also write a letter on the template below to say Thank You to someone that has been kind, done an activity with you or given you a present.

Challenge:

Talk about New Year’s Resolutions. Can you think of your own New Years Resolution? What would you like to do more or less of?  How could you challenge yourself for the New Year?

I have put a video below this block of how a young Squirrel decided to make a new year's Resolution. 

Phonics:  

Your child should know which sounds they have been practising so far.  If they don't please check their knowledge starting at phase 2.  There are some great resources on Phonics Play (username: wales and Password: athelney)   if you look in the Teacher's section you can find daily plans for the phase your child is working on. Also you can access some great games on there for your child to practise such as Obb and Bob and Pick a Picture.   There are also some great activities on Youtube if you google 'Phonics activities year 1 Youtube'

I have put some activities for each phase below and will update these with new activities regularly.

Maths:  

Last term we were learning to about 2d and 3d shapes all around us.  We have also been learning to add and subtract single digit numbers using a number line or small objects.  We have been practising counting to 100 and are learning our 2x, 5x and 10x tables.  We can count to 20 forwards and backwards. We can count in 10s. 

Our Topic for this term is 'Winter'.

The book below is a lovely introduction to our Topic.

Dear Pluto Class,

I hope that you are all well and enjoying your time at home.

I feel very sad that we can't be together at this special time of the year.  I had lots of fun plans ready.  At least we have a couple of days at the end of term to see each other and celebrate the festive season.

While you are at home you could use the homework grids that are below this letter to do some activities and learning.  I have found some reading, writing and maths for you to do next week too.

Don't forget to sing and dance to our songs I have copied them so that you can find them on Youtube below.  They always make us happy.

Looking forward to seeing you all very soon.

Mrs Hicks

WELCOME TO PLUTO

We are very lucky to have lots of adults working in our class this school year.

Mrs Hicks - Class Teacher

Mrs Howell – Teaching Assistant across Pluto & Neptune

Ms Rickwood - LSA

Spring Term 1

Winter/Animals

We will be reading Winter’s Sleep and Out and About.

We will be investigating different types of Animal habitats and finding out about animal eating habits. In Maths we will be learning about days, weeks and months. We will also be focusing on internet safety this half term.

Autumn Term 2

Coming this term….

Space!!

We will read Look Up! By Nathan Byron and some non-fiction texts about the solar system. We will also look at the changing seasons and read poems about Autumn. We will learn about Neil Armstrong and Mae Jemison and pretend to be astronauts. We will also learn about day and night.  We are learning the songs: Seasons of the Year and The Solar System.

Year One Curriculum

To help the children settle in and transition from Reception our curriculum is based on play. We will build on the foundation blocks developed in reception to challenge and motivate the children in their learning. Our topics will be based around quality texts. This is  to allow the flexibility to follow the interests of the children.

Our Class Curriculum

In Pluto Class we have enjoyed being back together. We have settled into our class routines and getting used to a new environment. We go outside everyday and we have really enjoyed exploring. We have even started building our pond. Our book has been We Are Here by Oliver Jeffers and we have learnt about the Earth and our place in the world.

AUTUMN TERM FIRST HALF – HIGHLIGHTS

In Maths we have been learning to count to 20, one more and one less and we practice counting in 10s everyday.

In Phonics we have recapped the Phase 2 sounds and have started to learn Phase 3 digrahs.

We have written guides to earth.

We really enjoy PE with Mr Owen who is teaching us ball skills.

We have been developing our fine motor skills by threading, making peg patterns and joining.

We looked at our local area and the UK on Google Earth

Finally we love singing “I Can See Clearly Now” by Johnny Nash.

Autumn Term 1

The children will spend 2-3 weeks settling back into being at school and getting used to routines and expectations. We will focus on their well- being ensuring that they are happy and therefore ready to learn.

For the rest of this half term we will read at this book ‘Here We Are – Notes for Living on Planet Earth by Oliver Jeffers.

“Our world can be a bewildering place, especially if you've only just got here. Your head will be filled with questions, so let's explore what makes our planet and how we live on it. From land and sky, to people and time, these notes can be your guide and start you on your journey.”

We will also be learning about Autumn and reading Autumn poems taken from Out and About by Shirley Hughes.

“In this wonderful collection of poems, by best-loved and Kate Greenaway Medal-winner, Shirley Hughes, Katie and her little brother Olly go out and about, romping through the changing seasons. They take pleasure in the different elements and weather conditions - sunshine, wind, rain, mist and even snow.”

We will return to both these books as they are a source of rich information about the world, the environment, the different  seasons and a celebration of our diversity.

PE

Pluto will have outdoor PE on a Tuesday. Please send your child in with their PE Kit on so they can keep it on all day.

Phonics

We will teach phonics daily.

Phonics Play has lots of free games to support your child’s learning.

You can also access a great phonics programme called 'Teach Your Monster to Read'

Reading

Every child will have the opportunity for 1-1 reading with a school adult across the week. They will then bring home their reading book so that they can read with you. Please make sure that you read for at least 5 minutes daily. Their reading book will be changed once per week. It is important that they become familiar with the book so please don’t worry if you feel that you are repeating the same book. It is also important that your children have a story time at home where you read to them. We have a selection of books that the children can borrow. Unfortunately due to corona-virus we can only allow the books to be changed weekly. I will encourage the children to bring home a storybook of their choice.

Maths

We follow a programme called Big Maths and each Friday the children complete a ‘Learn Its Challenge’. I will send home their sheets so that you can see what they need to practice. As well as this I would encourage you to play maths games at home. These can be traditional board games or online.

Year 1. Home Learning

Please also try and complete the recommended 60 minutes of physical activity a day.

Homework

Each half term we will set a homework grid like the one above. There will be a variety of activities that you and your child can work on together to support their learning at school. Please don’t feel that you must complete them all. Do what you can, when you can and with what you have available.

Keeping In Touch

Although at the moment school is a little strange with the restrictions around dropping off and picking up I want to re-assure you that your children are at the centre of everything I am planning.

If you have any concerns or questions you can email me at pluto@kafed.org.uk and I will try to get back to you as quickly as possible. I will send an individual email once per week to let you know how your child is getting on.

Please keep checking the class web page for photos.

04.09.2020 WE’RE BACK!

Everyone was so pleased to see each other. It honestly felt as if we had never been away.