Hi Pandas,

We’ve all had another busy week with lots of amazing work and activities.  Some people have been baking: a rather yummy looking chocolate cake; some people have done some amazing writing; some people have sent videos of super reading; some people have been growing things too.  Our cress experiment was interesting.  We found that cress will grow virtually anywhere! Even, we found, in a dark cupboard!  We noticed that the only thing it needed for growth was water.  The best result was when we grew it in cotton wool on a sunny window ledge.

This week’s learning…

This week in maths we are looking at Length, height and distance. Children should begin to use the language to describe length and height, e.g. the tree is tall, the pencil is short.  When making direct comparisons, they may initially say something is big or bigger than something else. Encourage them to use more specific mathematical vocabulary relating to length (longer/shorter), height (taller/shorter), and breadth (wider/narrower).  Opportunities for comparing length or height will arise naturally through talk and play in the natural environment/out and about.

The story link below is Where’s my Teddy? Read by Jez Alborough.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e9w2We3_RM0

The following sheets will mostly be around length, height and distance.

Beanstalk-Height-Ordering-Pictures

Beanstalk-measuring-with-cubes-activity-mat

Sophies Sunflowers Measuring Height PowerPoint

There are also lots of other activities available on-line for measuring.

In English we are reading the story of ‘A Magical Muddle’.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q3N8t8UD88Q

We are going to find natural items, thinking carefully about what we know is not safe to pick. We are going to use our items to make a potion! What kind of potion would you choose to make? Perhaps a potion to make you invisible, make you fly or turn yourself into a mermaid!

Before we get stuck into making our potions we are going to write instructions so we don’t forget what went in. For example:

1. Put 4 petals into the bowl.
2. Add 3 crushed green leaves.
3. Mix in 2 drops of rainwater.
4. Stir in a pinch of glitter.

Phonics – Children should aim to be secure in reading all set 1 and 2 sounds and be able to read and write all set one and two ‘red’ (tricky) words that cannot be decoded. The link below is to the Read Write Inc website Oxford Owls.

https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/reading-schemes-oxford-levels/read-write-inc-phonics-guide/

red-word-list-

phonics_sounds_set_1__2_and_3-2_2

Reading – Please read regularly: books, e-books, notices and signs when you are out and about.

This week we are going to have a go at making our own special magic wands to go with the potions we are creating.  If you can find a stick and have a go at making your own wand, you could make it extra special by adding some ribbon, glitter, paper, string or any other bits and pieces your child thinks will look nice.

Have a lovely week and keep sending in those amazing pieces of work/creations, you are all working so hard.

If you need any help with ideas or further resources please let me know.

Best wishes

Mandy Turner

Hello Panda Parents,

We’ve all been working so hard this week: at home and at school, in our bubbles.  Well done and a big thank you to all.

Maths – This week in maths we are looking at halving and odd / even numbers.  Collect an even number of small items, count them so you both know how many there are at the start. Perhaps use some food for a teddy bears picnic.  Have 2 plates and share the food out equally. Make sure the sharing is fair.  Then progress this to start with an odd number of items and talk about what happens when you have shared fairly but there is a left over, this must mean we started with an odd number of items. Talk about odd and even numbers. Encourage your child to draw pictures to record their findings. Children could build towers with odd and even numbers of bricks, again, draw what they have found out and discuss odd and even numbers. ‘An odd number is a number that cannot be shared out fairly between 2 people.’

whats-for-dinner-activity-sheet-for-odds-and-evens

We can also complete any maths activity sheets from last week too – these are good to keep revisiting basic number operations.

Phonics – In phonics this week we are revising recognising and writing, correctly, all of the set one sounds.  I have sent a link to the set one sounds so you know which ones they are.  I have also added a video clip to see how the letters should be formed.  The correct letter formation is important to crack at an early age then children don’t start with habits which are hard to break later on in school.  Ultimately, the aim is for older children to have cursive handwriting and the correct formation is vital for this to be successful.

The link below shows which letters/sounds are in which set.

phonics_sounds_set_1__2_and_3-2

The link below is a link to the parents area of Read Write Inc phonics where you will find lots of resources for reading and phonics in general.

https://home.oxfordowl.co.uk/reading/reading-schemes-oxford-levels/read-write-inc-phonics-guide/

There re some writing/phonics sheets too which will hopefully be fun and help to cement our phonics.  The sentences in bold should, ideally, be read by the children with your support.

Phonics Activity Mats

If I can be of help with anything please let me know.  Have a great week.

Mandy Turner