Welcome to the Ospreys Class!
Staff
Teacher: Christina Marriott
TAs: Gemma McKeegan and Alex Lambert
Mid Day Leader: Jordan Maguire
Newsletter
Earth, Wind and Fire
In the Ospreys, we have had lots of fun engaging in a wide range of different learning activities over this last half term!
In English, we have been learning all about how Jasper the cat planted a bean and helped it grow, learning all about the days of the week as well as ordering the story using pictures as we have shared the text ‘Jasper’s Beanstalk’ together. We have continued to develop our writing skills where we have focussed on spelling a range of simple two and three letter words using the letter sounds we have been learning in phonics. We have also worked on reading a range of common words and will continue to do so as we move into the next half term.
In Maths we have been focussing on comparing groups of objects up to ten, identifying which group has more and which group has less. We have started to work on identifying coins and recognising them in different ways using lots of practical activities such as playing shop and coin bingo. We have continued to develop our understanding of days of the week, focussing on what day it is today, tomorrow and yesterday as well as recognise the days we come to school and the days we stay at home.
In History we have been learning all about the Great Fire of London and the children have loved experiencing this through their senses where we used lots of sensory media to re-tell what happened. We have then created pictures to show what happened to the houses in the great fire, and used pictures to create our own simple timelines to show how the fire started and how it ended.
In Design and Technology, we have looked at how windmills work, looking carefully at how the sails move and their structure. We have then designed our own windmill where we have used a template to cut out and assemble all the different parts to create it, and then worked together to test them to see if the sails move by using our breath to act as the wind.
In Science we have engaged really well with our topic of plant growth. The children have really loved learning about plants and it has captured their interest well. We have planted our own beans like Jasper did in the story, and over the last few weeks we have watched them grow, focussing on looking at the different stages of growth and the parts of the plant that grows at each stage. We have created pictures of flowers and labelled them with symbols to show where the roots, stem, leaves and flower are, as well as think carefully about some of the things that a plant needs in order to keep it growing well. We have even linked this to Art where we have created some beautiful paintings of flowers that will be displayed across school!
In PSHE we have looked at ourselves and our families. We have talked about how they are similar and different to our friends in class, as well as looking at how at how our families help and support us in different ways. We have also been enjoying our play development sessions where we have chosen some of our most favourite play activities and have been sharing these with our friends in class, playing with or alongside them.
We have also engaged in lots of themed days this half term where we have experienced some of the culture of France during our French languages day looking at some of the foods they eat, making kites and practising some of the language as we learnt how to say Bonjour to each other. We have learnt all about why we have Red Nose day and how this day helps to raise money to help support people from all over the world, and enjoyed engaging in lots of activities linked to this such as decorating biscuits as a red nose and designing what our own red nose would look like!
We would like to thank families for their continued support throughout the year and we look forward to another half term full of fun learning experiences.
The Ospreys Team
Signalong
At Kingfisher we use Signalong as a part of a Total Communication Approach, we are constantly using core vocabulary with the children to support their language development and then through each of our topics we introduce new signs and language, which extends their vocabulary further. We also have two “Signs of the Week” which helps maintain and extend key knowledge and skills of everyday vocabulary.
Each half term we will be creating a short video showcasing and demonstrating signs relavent for the current term so that you can learn the signs and further this learning at home.
Click play to watch this half terms Signalong video!
Lunchtime
If your child has a school dinner, the school menus can be accessed by clicking here. For children who bring a packed lunch, please remember to provide healthy and balanced options. We are a Healthy School and will be focusing on healthy eating and how children can make healthy lifestyle choices.
How You Can Help at Home
Our theme for this half term is ‘Earth, Wind and Fire.’ In order to support your child’s learning at home, here are some ideas linked to what we will be doing in school over the next 6 weeks. We will also be sharing your child’s learning with you through See-Saw regularly.
- We will be focussing on the fictional text Jasper’s Beanstalk by Nick Butterworth this half term – below it a link to share the story online along with a version that is animated for your child to sing along to:
Jasper’s Beanstalk (fiction text) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=23INhyreb8M
Share the song together https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UxF1Xg8Sjg
- Continue to develop your child’s interests in books at home by sharing as many as you can together – get them to turn the pages, follow the words with their fingers and attempt to read some simple words if appropriate. Encourage them to find the title on the front cover, the author’s name and ask simple questions about the text as you read it. Can they name any of the characters or can they point them out when asked? Expand this to non-fiction books so that your child is able to see the difference between a fiction and non-fiction text.
- You can encourage letter and number formation at home by practising in different media such as shaving foam, flour, sand, sprinkles, cornflour etc. Encourage your child to write their full name (including surname) – this is something your child will be practising every day in school as well as some common high frequency words. For some of the children, writing simple sentences about a picture can be a good way of developing their early understanding of the words they are reading – can they write about what they can see outside? e.g. I can see….. what have they done in their day? I have……..
- We always talk about what day of the week it is in school – encourage this also at home in order to help support the children identifying what day it is today, tomorrow and yesterday – what did they do yesterday? What are they going to do today? What will they be doing tomorrow? This will be a big focus this half term as it is a main part of our story – you could even use the story to help support their understanding around days of the week asking them what Jasper has done on Monday….Tuesday….Wednesday etc.
- Continue to support careful counting at home using real-life situations such as, getting a certain number of knives and forks to set the table, getting a certain number of bananas when you go shopping – it’s important that they get lots of practical experience of maths both in and outside of school. Also extend this by counting forwards and backwards – you can use a number line to indicate numbers as you count together. Adding one more and taking one away in real-life situations is also a good way for your child to develop their understanding around various mathematical language such as more, less, add, subtract which is what we are currently focussing on in class.
- In Science, we will be looking at living plants and what they need to grow as well as the different parts of a plant. Go on a walk outside and see how many different plants you can find – take photos so that you can discuss these when you get back. Pick/ buy some flowers and have some exploratory play with them – cut them up and practise finding different parts of the plant e.g. stem, leaves, flower. Plant and grow a bean in a bag – what do you need to do to keep it growing healthy? Can you measure how much it grows each week? Can you take photos each weeks to show how it is growing? https://www.communityplaythings.co.uk/learning-library/articles/growing-beans-in-a-bag
- In PSHE we will be looking at families and how they help us. Can you find photos of all the people you live with and talk together about who they are and how they help us? We would love to see some family photos in school so that we can talk about them with our friends in class!
- In Art, we will be looking at Sculptures using natural materials. Go on a walk and collect a range of different materials such as leaves, twigs, flowers and create your own design using them. You could even use playdough to make your own models! Make some playdough together and add bright colours to make it really colourful! Watch the video to see how to make your own batches of playdough together https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAIAm6BF0fs
- Continue to support your child in brushing their teeth as home, washing their own face, putting on and taking off their own coats, zipping up their coat – anything that promotes their independence as much as possible.
If you have any questions with regards to supporting your child’s learning at home then please do message via See-Saw.
We hope to have another exciting and fun-filled half term, full of lovely learning opportunities for the Ospreys!
