Saturday, March 29, 2008

Learn to read then read to learn!

WOW!!

That is all I can say to describe the amazing Easter bonnets paraded at the end of last term. Needless to say, I was not a judge as I am far too emotional to make a choice between one angel’s bonnet and another. Please do not fret for a photograph has been taken for a keepsake and, for you to use when their 18th birthday approaches! And now…

BOO HOO!
Can you actually believe that it is in this half term last year that you met the team you decided to entrust with your child’s education? Well believe me it is. The nerves are now beginning to flutter in my stomach as I contemplate the fact that not only do I have to stand up in front of LOTS of new faces, but our little darlings who we love and have nurtured are now being prepared to flee the nest and transfer to Year 1. (Now I know what my dad went through when I got married). HOWEVER, I do need volunteers to come along to the new intake meeting and put new parent’s minds at rest that we are not raving loonatics! Even if we ask children to kiss baked beans and truly believe that the Giant in Jack and the Beanstalk corresponds with us via The Beanstalk Mail!

YES! We have a letter? But of course! Never? I could go on…but I won’t. The giant refuses to let the beanstalk grow any further for fear that his belongings will be stolen once again. A ploy? Yes, only to get the children writing. Yet a very good ploy as this is the term when the children flourish and blossom into writers of the future and beyond. (Mmm…felt like I was an extra on Star Trek then! Not good! Apologies to any trekkies reading this week’s blog) Our classroom has been transformed and we now have a Giant’s castle to role play in and…I am sooooo excited about this! But it is a secret and your child will have to tell you what we have in place of the Doctor’s surgery.

Student Teacher
As you may be aware we have the benefit of a final year student, Lauren Scott, who will be doing her final teaching practice with us next week. Lauren has been fully informed of the level at which your child is working and Mrs Higgins and Mrs Latham will be supporting her as normal. I have been banished to the depths of…no seriously…thankfully some teachers did it for me many, many years ago and made me the teacher I am today. So, a seven week holiday in Barbados then? No such luck! I shall be working with some Year 2 children about fantasy world (somehow I don’t think it will be too challenging for me, imaginary worlds, fantasy fiction! Can I tell the difference between reality and fantasy?), and Year 3 children on phonics but will observe my class in the afternoon and continue to do their handwriting and phonics work. Leave my babies? No way. I shall be teaching them every Thursday though. Mmm…what will I have up my sleeve then? During this time please make sure that any correspondence and information is passed directly onto me or Mrs Higgins. I shall always be available should you need to see me at any point and the blog spot will continue as normal.

So what have we in store for this week?
Thanks to Mrs Harding, our science leader, we have a science show on Friday morning. Therefore, this week will be very much science based. As I mentioned in the blog before Easter, we will be looking at materials. This will also form some of our art work for the theme of ‘Echoes’ for the Primary Arts Exhibition at the Gateway. In addition to this, our theme of materials also lends itself to our one week maths topic on sorting. By the end of the week, the children:

MUST be able to sort objects and materials by a given criteria;
SHOULD be able to sort objects and materials according to their own criteria;
COULD be able to record their sorting in a diagrammatic form.

You may wish to support your child by having a look around the house and outside environment, discussing with them what things are made of and why. Remember to use all the sense. What does it smell like? Feel like? Sound like? Etc. Here are some good websites to support the children in their learning:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/5_6/sorting_using_mate.shtml - this is a good website for the children to consolidate their understanding of the different properties of materials. We shall be investigating which materials will be best for making a raincoat for a Incy Wincy Spider so he doesn’t get wet when it rains. Perhaps you too could test out some different materials. Remember it needs to be bendy and waterproof.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/6_7/grouping_materials.shtml - the children will work on sorting different objects according to their materials and properties. This website consolidates their understanding but a look at household objects first would be a great idea.
http://www.crickweb.co.uk/assets/resources/flash.php?&file=materials2d - this is good once they understand the different materials.

As part of the theme of materials the children will be exploring magnets. This is one of my most dominant memories of primary school. I am still fascinated by them now. Why not explore things around the house that attract the magnets but remember to stay clear from the TV!
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/scienceclips/ages/7_8/magnets_springs.shtml - this website is a little older (actually KS2) but I think the children will be okay just investigating what the magnets will pick up and thinking about what they are made of.

Phonics
All the assessments of letter sounds and names were completed at the end of the last half term. If your child does still need to work on a few I will write them in their diary this week. Believe it or not, they fit on a little label now! In class this week we will be reviewing the sounds ‘oo’, ‘ai’ and ‘ee’. The children are pretty familiar with ‘oo’ and ‘ee’ as I have often referred to them in class previously. I shall be using this week to focus on the children’s spelling and sounding out of words using the letter sounds they have been taught. This will form the basis of the records for Miss Scott to ensure that the children are working at the correct level. Here are some websites to support the children. By the end of the week, the children:

MUST be able to identify all the letter sounds and names;
SHOULD be able to orally segment and blend simple three letter words;
COULD read and spell more complex words containing the sounds ‘ee’, ‘oo’ and ‘ai’.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/longvow/poems/flash/fpoem2.shtml - click on Daisy the Snail. This is the poem the children will be learning this week to help them learn the sound ‘ai’.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/longvow/poems/flash/fpoem7.shtml - another poem for ‘oo’.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/longvow/poems/flash/fpoem1.shtml - I love this poem to help the children reinforce ‘ee’.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/longvow/print/print.shtml - this page has some wonderful print and do activities. Why not have a go at making your own poem containing the sounds of the week?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/longvow/snap/snap.shtml - a good website which has our new sounds in but also helps prepare for others to follow.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/longvow/spelling/spelling.shtml - again has other sounds but will help prepare the children.
http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/games/phaseThreeAS1_v2.html - this will be used in class to help the children. Give them a word and they can drag the cards into the frames. To find ‘ee’, ‘oo’, and ‘ai’ click on the rainbow and it will change for you.
http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/games/poopDeck_v3.html - a good website for helping with those blending skills.
http://www.starfall.com/n/make-a-word/long-e/load.htm?f - good old starfall! Click on Pete the Sheep and the games associated with it.

Reading
Tuesday sees the launch of The Year of Reading. Reading is vital to life long learning. A quote from a good friend of mine over the holidays was: ‘You begin by learning to read, and then you read to learn.’ Let this be the moto for this year across the whole country. Take time out to enjoy a novel, read a magazine, catch up on a sporting article, just read for pleasure. You can not imagine the impact that it will have on your child seeing you as a reader. Remember that Penketh library is not too far away. Why not join if you are not a member already. Penketh library celebrates its anniversary this year too. Each child will receive a special gift to mark the launch of this very special year. Enjoy your read! I have spent much of my holiday with my nose in a book, much to the neglect of my housework. I am currently reading ‘The Book Thief’ by Markus Zusak. If anyone fancies it afterwards I will be leaving a book swap basket outside the classroom door starting next week. Just pick it up and take it and if you have one you’d like to swap just pop it in the basket for others to share.

Sponsor money

It would be greatly appreciated if any outstanding sponsored Boogie Woogie money could be returned to school by the end of this week so we can collate it and send off the cheque. Many thanks to you all for your generosity.

PE Kits
We will be doing PE on Monday morning. Please make sure that your child does have their PE Kit. Thanks. Do not worry if your child forgot theirs on the last day it has been washed and ironed at Widow Narraway’s Laundrette and is ready for getting filthy again!


I think that is all for this week.

Have a great one!

Best wishes Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team xxx

Saturday, March 15, 2008

Happy Easter

Hi there!

Let’s begin with an apology. I’m so sorry for the lateness in getting your child’s handwriting homework to you last week. With the wind and the sending of the children through the front of school I forgot to send it. I will try to do much better from now on.

Now let’s talk about last week. How amazing it was! We finally completed our sentences about frogs and the use of connectives to make our sentences longer. The tongues are now firmly stuck in their frog puppets mouths and will soon be displayed on the wall in the classroom. The work the children have been doing on frogs has been further enhanced thanks to Mrs Bolton who has acquired us some frogspawn for in our water tray. The children have really loved this and have been drawing the frogspawn and creating diagrams. Already we can see the changes happening and this weekend should see the tadpoles emerging from the protective gel. It must be said that the children are truly amazing and have really impressed us with how much they have chosen to find out of their own accord. Thanks for all your support at home.

What is this? A beanstalk? Growing in our classroom? Yes! It’s true. Last week we saw the arrival of our very own ‘Grow your own beanstalk kit’. This is like no other kit. Oh no…it is magic! We have planted our beans (baked) and have sprinkled them with magic dust. We already have a leaf. Will the beanstalk grow any higher? But of course it will. This week we hope to encourage the children to write more by having them receive a letter from the giant via the beanstalk. I wonder what will be the outcome?

In addition to this, the children will be entering a national poetry competition. In preparation for this could you talk to your child about:
Who their best friend is
What they like to watch on TV
What they consider a treat (not food)
Their pet ( and if they haven’t got one what pet they would like to have – this can be a crazy one)


Thanks.

As always, the last week of the half term is Assessment and Review Week. I will be assessing:
Number recognition
Letter sounds and name recognition

Blending of words when reading
High frequency words
Ordering of numbers
Understanding of subtraction

In addition to this we will be assessing the children on their understanding of comparative language e.g longer, shorter, taller etc for the half term to follow Easter. Please refer back to previous blogs to find websites to support he revision of these areas.


The Easter Story
We take the opportunity to spend the whole week on the celebration of Easter with the children. This week will be filled with fun activities for them whilst they understand the meaning behind the celebration of Easter. The story is told to the children sensitively and in a way which will help them to understand. Thanks to Mrs Worrall, our RE Coordinator, we have some lovely websites to support this week.

http://www.topmarks.co.uk/christianity/easter/easter.htm - this is an illustrated version of the story. You may wish to omit the part about the nails as this often upsets the children.
http://www.topmarks.co.uk/Easter/Easter.aspx - find out more about the traditions surrounding Easter.
http://www.ngfl-cymru.org.uk/vtc/ngfl/re/b-dag/ngfl-container/re-unit2-en.html - some lovely activities on here.
http://www.teachingandlearningresources.co.uk/resourcesjigsaws.shtml -online jigsaws for the children to do.
http://www.teachingandlearningresources.co.uk/colourbookeaster.shtml - printable Easter colouring activities.
http://demo.iboard.co.uk/screens/thread_home.htm?thread_id=21# - a lovely website with lots of fantastic things to do. We will be using this in the ICT suite with the children.

Easter Bonnets
There will of course be our other fun activities. I can’t wait to see all the wonderful Easter bonnets the children will have made. We do take a photograph of them for their Year Book.

Egg Rolling Competition
Please remember that the eggs need to be hard boiled.


Sponsored Boogie Woogie
The children will be dancing non-stop to ten songs on Monday in aid of Nugent Care. Please can you make sure that your child has their sponsor form in their bags for signing after the Boogie Woogie. Many thanks as this will allow for the sponsor money to be collected in that week prior to the Easter break.

Fundraiser
Year 5 and 6 are also holding their very own fundraising event. This will be on Tuesday afternoon. There will be games and small items for sale. If your child would like to contribute then bring along 50p on Tuesday. Please remember to place it in a labelled purse or an envelope.

Science Week
On our return to school we will be holding a Science themed week on Materials. Over the holidays I would appreciate it if you could see if you have any old pieces of material, wool, foil, wood, bricks etc that will help us in our investigations.

I think that is all for now so all that is left to say is…

Have a Happy and Holy Easter

Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team xxx

Sunday, March 09, 2008

Who will be the winner?

Welcome to this week’s blog!

Last week was very hectic to say the least. Needless to say we didn’t quite get round to doing everything we planned but the written work completed by the children on the life cycle of a butterfly was amazing!. Therefore, we will be continuing with the theme of frogs and how they change from a tadpole.

We are actually having a competition. Last week, the children made frog face puppets using paper plates and now they are going to have a competition to see who can write the longest sentence to create the frog with the longest tongue. The puppets they have made are fantastic and so will the sentences I am sure. As they find out more information we will be able to review their understanding of non-fiction texts. You may wish to visit the library and see if you can find any books on frogs for your child to share with us at school.

In addition to all of this we will begin a mini art topic on the theme of Echoes. There is to be an exhibition of Primary Art held at The Gateway and The Pyramid later this year. Our school is taking part in the exhibition and our class is creating a large piece of art to be displayed in Warrington Museum. Hence, the two weeks to make sure the art is of the highest quality.

Talking of art, our Van Gogh pictures are now up in the classroom and look truly magnificent. Please feel free to pop in at the end of any day and have a look at your child’s masterpiece. Even Mr Barker has commissioned us to do one for his office! (Do you think we should charge him the price that Van Gogh’s paintings bring? Who knows judging by the art we could possibly have a future artist in our midst)

Phonics
We are very close to ensuring every child knows their letter sounds by Easter. If your child does still need to work on a few I will write them in their diary this week. In class this week we will be focusing on the sounds ‘oo’, ‘ai’ and ‘ee’. The children are pretty familiar with ‘oo’ and ‘ee’ as I have often referred to them in class previously.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/longvow/poems/flash/fpoem2.shtml - click on Daisy the Snail. This is the poem the children will be learning this week to help them learn the sound ‘ai’.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/longvow/poems/flash/fpoem7.shtml - another poem for ‘oo’.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/longvow/poems/flash/fpoem1.shtml - I love this poem to help the children reinforce ‘ee’.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/longvow/print/print.shtml - this page has some wonderful print and do activities. Why not have a go at making your own poem containing the sounds of the week?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/longvow/snap/snap.shtml - a good website which has our new sounds in but also helps prepare for others to follow.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/wordsandpictures/longvow/spelling/spelling.shtml - again has other sounds but will help prepare the children.
http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/games/phaseThreeAS1_v2.html - this will be used in class to help the children. Give them a word and they can drag the cards into the frames. To find ‘ee’, ‘oo’, and ‘ai’ click on the rainbow and it will change for you.
http://www.kented.org.uk/ngfl/games/poopDeck_v3.html - a good website for helping with those blending skills.
http://www.starfall.com/n/make-a-word/long-e/load.htm?f - good old starfall! Click on Pete the Sheep and the games associated with it.

Problem-solving, Reasoning and Numeracy
MUST be able to identify one less;
SHOULD be able to understand that subtract means ‘take away’ and carry out the operation practically;
COULD be able to independently subtract one number from another, and understand the vocabulary associated with subtraction.

Last week we set the scene for understanding subtraction and it is hoped that the children are more familiar with their subtraction flower by now to enable them to use the different vocabulary associated with this operation. Unfortunately the children sometimes mix up the language of Mr Adder with the subtraction flower.

These are the websites from last week which are still suitable.
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/maths/num%20machine/take1.html - a good website for reviewing one less but you will need to play it alongside them.
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/maths/num%20machine/take2.html - this works in the same way but subtracts two.
http://www.sums.co.uk/playground/c1a/playground.htm - this is a great website for problem-solving with subtraction and it has a real visual element to it.
http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/games/game8.htm - this is a great game of skittles if the weather is bad!
http://www.deltamicro.co.uk/primary_online/planetstaken.html - another great website with a problem solving element.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/numbers/chi.shtml - I would really recommend this website as they can do addition and subtraction on it as well.
http://www.ictgames.com/soccer_subtraction.html -probably the only time that England will beat Brazil! The number of players on the Brazil team can be used to help work out if the subtraction fact is true or false. If it is false click on next and if it is true then click on the England player.
http://www.ictgames.com/targettakeaway.html - good for once your child has mastered the concept of subtraction and wants to have a go at larger numbers.

Other bits and bobs
You should have received a letter about the Easter bonnet and egg rolling competitions. The last week of this half term is a wonderful celebration of Easter. The competition for the bonnets is judged on creativity and evidence of the children’s own work. And now a plea from the heart. Please make sure that your child’s egg is hard boiled for the egg rolling competition. Yes, believe it or not we do have some who just decorate them and we do wish to stay on good terms with the school caretaker.


On Wednesday evening there is a Friends of St Vincent’s Meeting at St Joseph’s parish club. Please come along if you can. It starts at 8pm.

I am out of school on Thursday and Friday on a Deputy Headteacher’s conference. Mrs Julia Neale will be coming into support the class on these days.

I think that is all for this week.

Have a good one!

Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team xxx

Saturday, March 01, 2008

Boing!

Hola!

We had a great time last week learning about how a caterpillar turns into a butterfly. However we were a little disappointed to find that when the butterfly garden arrived there were no caterpillars in and we had to send off for them. Not to worry I’m sure they will arrive soon. This week we will be answering the question: Does a frog start off life as a frog? If anyone has access to any frog spawn I wouldn’t say I’d love to have it but will take it off your hands for the children to observe the changes over time. I will be using a lovely book called ‘The Teeny Weeny Tadpole by Sheridan Cain and Jack Tickle.

Here are some websites to look at.
http://ecs.lewisham.gov.uk/youthspace/ca/Lorraine/frog_life_cycle.htm - this is a good cyclical diagram to explain the life cycle and the length of timescale of each stage of growth.
http://ecs.lewisham.gov.uk/youthspace/ca/Lorraine/growth_stages_of_a_frog.htm

Phonics
This week we focus on the use of ‘sh’, ‘ch’, ‘th’ and ‘ng’. The children are familiar with the sounds through their POPAT work but use of two letters for one sound is often difficult to grasp. Nevertheless I have total confidence in the fact that the children will achieve them by the end of the week.

I have been so pleased with the children and their enthusiasm for learning. Many children have brought in books that contain the spelling patterns we have been working on e.g ‘ck’. ‘ss’ etc. Perhaps getting a newspaper and being word investigators for sh, ch and th is a worthwhile exercise, especially if you have a magnifying glass!


http://www.ictgames.com/ladybird_v2.html - this is a great website that you will need to play with your child. It helps them to hear the sounds in simple three letter words. If you give your child a word like ‘pet’, ‘man’, ‘hen’ and then they can make it on the daisies. You can extend this to including four sounds and having words such as ‘clap’, ‘jump’ etc. Perhaps you could use this to try out spelling the three and four letter high frequency words.
http://www.ictgames.com/blendingBingo.html - good for supporting blending of words using the patterns we have already looked at.
http://www.ictgames.com/soundBingo.html - good for blending three letter words together.
http://www.ictgames.com/cvcPop.html
http://www.ictgames.com/blending_dragon.html


Problem-solving, Reasoning and Number
In this area of the curriculum we begin our work on subtraction. The children do understand addition well and this is where the children may have a little confusion. The thing to remember, if you give them any written calculations to do, is to look at the ‘-‘ symbol. A good way is to write it in red to start with then it is more obvious. By the end of two weeks, the children:
MUST be able to identify one less;
SHOULD be able to understand that subtract means ‘take away’ and carry out the operation practically;
COULD be able to independently subtract one number from another, and understand the vocabulary associated with subtraction.


As you can see I have placed the objective of finding one less again. This is just to refresh their memory about the vocabulary of subtraction. In your child’s diary I have sent a sheet with a subtraction flower on it. This works in a similar way as Mr Adder with each flower petal having a different word associated with subtraction for them to learn. I have made each petal a different colour to help them to remember them.

You can get outside if the weather is fine and play skittles, writing the sums down each time.
Alternatively here are some websites they can have a go at over the next two weeks:

http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/maths/num%20machine/take1.html - a good website for reviewing one less but you will need to play it alongside them.
http://ngfl.northumberland.gov.uk/maths/num%20machine/take2.html - this works in the same way but subtracts two.
http://www.sums.co.uk/playground/c1a/playground.htm - this is a great website for problem-solving with subtraction and it has a real visual element to it.
http://www.abc.net.au/countusin/games/game8.htm - this is a great game of skittles if the weather is bad!
http://www.deltamicro.co.uk/primary_online/planetstaken.html - another great website with a problem solving element.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/laac/numbers/chi.shtml - I would really recommend this website as they can do addition and subtraction on it as well.
http://www.ictgames.com/soccer_subtraction.html -probably the only time that England will beat Brazil! The number of players on the Brazil team can be used to help work out if the subtraction fact is true or false. If it is false click on next and if it is true then click on the England player.
http://www.ictgames.com/targettakeaway.html - good for once your child has mastered the concept of subtraction and wants to have a go at larger numbers.

The domestics…
On Thursday our Year ¾ children will be hosting their annual fundraising afternoon. Your child can buy little trinkets, sweets, enter competition, etc. They would probably need between 50p and a £1 each. Please ensure it is in an envelope or purse with their name on. Thanks.


As it is World Book Day, there will be a sale of second hand books for adults in the hall after school. If you have any books you would like to send in for the sale that would be great. Thanks.

As a class we too are going to be doing some fundraising whilst we are in Lent. In order to support our Good Shepherd Appeal we are going to have a Sponsored Boogie!! The sponsor forms will be sent out on Monday and the Boogie will happen on Monday 17th March.

I hope you all liked your card and gift for Mother’s Day.

Take care
Jayne Narraway and the Foundation Stage Team xxx