Year 1

Dear Parents,

This week we have continued to recap the sounds- 'ie, i-e, o (go) o-e, and the tricky words were, one, says, here & today. Please practise these at home. Put them on the fridge, on  the doors, etc and ask the children what the digraphs are. Please continue with the alien words that I sent to you last week. 

In maths we continue with word problems. The children enjoyed drawing them to help them to solve the problem. 

I have added the books to e-Collins. Do keep reading  books they have already read and the books they bring home. 

We look forward to seeing you on Thursday for the May Day celebrations. Please make sure the children are in their normal uniform (not PE kit as they will not have PE) Let's hope for warmer weather.

Have a good weekend.

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the Y1 team.

19.4.24

Welcome back and it's term 5 already. How time flies!

This week we have recapped the sounds 'ay- play, spray,  a-e- made, make, game, amaze, ea- bread, sea, read, treat, e-fever, secret, me, we, she, be'  and the tricky words eye, sure, pure, said & were. 

In our topic we have looked at materials such as plastic, glass, fabric, wool, foil, & wood. We have discussed that everything around us is an object, whether it is human-made or natural. We have found out which natural materials are needed to make the human-made materials, for example, wood for furniture, sand for glass, oil for plastic, clay for bricks and metals for alloy to make instruments. We will be looking at the properties of these materials such as do they absorb water or are they waterproof? Are they transparent, or translucent? What happens to the materials when they are left out in all weathers? 

The children had to think of their own questions to ask about the materials. Here are some of their questions;

Plastic- How was this made? Where does it come from? When was plastic invented? 

Glass- When and how was glass discovered and when was it first made? What is a person called who makes glass?

Wood- Which type of tree is used mostly to make furniture? 

Metal- Where does metal come from? 

Sand-What can they make from sand? How do they make glass from sand?

Wool- How do they make sheep's wool into balls of wool? How do they add colour to it? 

Perhaps the children can find out some answers to these questions. They might have more questions too.

In maths, we have been looking at word problems. Making up word problems at the dinner table is a fun way to get used to listening to what is being asked. Can the children apply the word problem to a written number sentence? 

Do keep working on the alien word pack that I sent in the email earlier this week. 

Thank you. Enjoy the weekend.

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the Y1 team. 

Dear Parents,

Here we are at the end of another term. The service in church was wonderful and what a proud moment when all your children sang their song, celebrating Easter . Well done, children. 

This week the children really enjoyed the Victorian workshop and there was much discussion about how strict the school master was and how the children must have felt during those difficult times. They loved playing with the Victorian toys and making their own peg dolls. Learning about what hygiene was like in those days, made the children appreciate that they have clean water running from a tap whenever it is needed. 

This week the children have enjoyed some children's choice in the classroom as well as some Easter activities, alongside rehearsals for our song. 

The children have their reading books in their bags and I have also added them on the e-collins site. 

There are no spellings over the holidays. 

Next term the topics are Everyday Materials (science) and Shade and Shelter (DT).

In the Everyday Materials project, your child will learn that materials are what objects are made from. They will observe and identify objects made from different materials in places familiar to them, such as their home and school. They will name and use their senses to explore a range of natural materials using hand lenses, learning that natural materials come from the world around us, including the ground, plants and animals. They will name and use their senses to explore a range of objects made from human-made materials, learning that they are new materials made by people from natural materials. They will write scientific questions about a chosen object made from a human-made material, its features and its use in the object, revisiting their questions during the project to see if they can identify the answers as their knowledge builds over time. They will compare a range of objects made from different materials, putting them into groups according to their similarities and differences and explaining their groups. They will identify the properties of a range of materials, learning that materials can be described by their properties and that a property is a quality material that makes it suitable for a particular use. They will follow instructions and conduct various tests to determine different materials' properties. They will complete Venn diagrams, sorting objects according to the properties of their materials. They will complete their learning by investigating materials to determine which have suitable properties to make bunting, which will be used to decorate the school grounds.

The Shade and Shelter topic, teaches children about the purpose of shelters and their materials. They name and describe shelters and design and make shelter prototypes. Children then design and build a play den as a group and evaluate their completed product.

Please talk to your children about materials around the home and natural materials when you go out for a walk or in the garden. 

We hope you all have a good rest and wonderful Easter holiday. Fingers crossed that the weather will improve!

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the Y1 team.

22.3.24

Dear Parents,

The children were very excited about performing in their act of worship and they were exceptional in their delivery, well done, children! Thank you, parents, for showing your support and helping your child/ren to learn their words.

 We are speedily heading towards Easter and the children have now been learning their song for the Easter service.

In phonics we have been learning to grow the code- ch ( sh & c) chef & Christmas, ze (z), freeze, breeze and they have been reading longer words such as celebrate, astronaut, playful, pudding, octopus, picture, adventure, creature & feature. 

In maths we have been looking at numbers up to 40, and making number stories for addition and subtraction. We will continue this for a while to consolidate this concept before moving on. 

We are looking forward to our Victorian day on Monday, when the children will be attending their class in costume, ready for role-play.  Please remember that costumes should be simple so that the children can easily use the bathroom when needed and not struggle with fasteners etc

Have a super weekend and we look forward to seeing you at the Easter service. 

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the team.

14.3.24

Dear Parents,

This week we have been in full rehearsal for our AOW. I will send home the words for your child/ren to practise. Please do help them so that they become more confident when saying their words. Some children will be able to say them off by heart. 

In phonics, we have been learning the new sounds, 'ear' -learn, search,  'wr'- wrist, write,  'st' - whistle, listen & 'sc' science, muscle. 

In maths, we have been looking and noticing patterns of  numbers up to 100. Look at a 100 square this weekend. What can your children tell you about the numbers? Do they know the order? 

We continue our topic, making 3D models of the heads of people that help us at school, using plasticine. 

Also to add to our tight schedule, we have been practising our Easter song. 

See you all on Tuesday morning for our AOW. The children will be wearing their forest school clothing as usual. 

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the Y1 team. 

8.3.24

Dear All,

This week in phonics the children have learnt new sounds - 'a' (or)- water, ball & small, a (o)- swap, wasp, watch,

'ear'- pear, bear, wear & the sound ere in 'there'. 

Tricky words- recapping- who, whole, because, eye, people, thought, & through. 

You will have noticed that the tricky words are repeated in Little Wandle. This is to make sure the children can read and spell them. For some, more practise and help at home would be beneficial. When the children get their spellings correct in class they celebrate with a hooray! More 'hoorays!  would be welcome. 

Please help your child to become more confident. 

In maths, we are now looking at numbers up to 40. Numbers will increase as the year goes on. Understanding and knowing number bonds up to 10 and twenty will help your child to become more confident in their number work. 

The children are loving the School Days topic and learning about the Victorian school days. They are looking forward to telling you all about their topic at their special act of worship. I hope you found your invitation in their bag. 

Books are online should you wish to read them on e-Collins. 

Have a great weekend.

Mrs Clare

1.3.24

Dear Parents,

This week in phonics the new sounds are;

'tch' (ch)- match, catch

'ture' ( a schwa sound, chuh)- adventure, nature

'al'(ar)- half, calf

'a' (ar)- father, mask

Tricky words- once, our, laugh, because & eye. ore, them

This week we have started our School Days topic, comparing school today to the Victorian times. The children have been  using time words to write a sentence, such as 'a long time ago, past, present, future, yesterday, today, tomorrow, days ago, last week, last month, before, then & after. 

We talked about special people in school, who help the children in different ways. The children had to think about how they could help the adult, in return, by listening and being respectful. We will compare this to how school was in Victorian times.  

We have also been out in the village to look at the buildings and sketch them. Looking at a local map, the children drew their own map of the village and some tried to include their journey to school. They also had to draw a key for the map. 

PJ day went very well and the children were quite relaxed and comfortable. 

Keep reading.

Have a super weekend.

Kind regards

Mrs Clare

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to term 4. Learning is becoming more challenging for us now, so it is really important to go over sounds and words we are learning in phonics. 

Tricky words- oh, their, once, our & laugh.

New sounds- or (er)- work, worth,

oul (oo) -could, would, should

are (air) - square, share, 

au, aur, oor, al- author, dinosaur, poor, talk. 

This week in topic we have learnt about James Rizzi the American artist who lived in New York. 

Well done to those, who looked up some information about our topics. Children are coming in with lovely information about what they have researched. 

Next week we will be starting our School Days topic. On March 25th, the children will be having a Victorian school days workshop. They will need to dress up in Victorian clothing. Please do not go spending loads, as it is quite simple to use what you already have. Boys- dark shirts/waistcoats, flat caps and trousers tucked into long socks. Girls - smock dresses with an apron, tights, and hair tied back. We will also be inviting parents to watch an assembly by the children and to look at our displays, date to follow. 

Thank you

Kind regards

Mrs Clare

Dear Parents,

Here we are, already at the end of term 3. 

In phonics this week;

Grow the code: /oo//yoo/ soup fruit  /ee/ ea e e-e ie ey y ee. /s/ ss c se ce /z/ zz s se c se ce s zz ss /oa/ ow oe ou o-e o oa

All tricky words taught so far- water want any many again could would should who whole where two ask Mr Mrs Ms school call different people your their thought through friend work. Please continue to read and spell these words. Going over them again and again, revisiting them daily will help your child to learn them. 

In maths we continue to recap what we have learnt so far. Some children need help with one more than and one less than. 

I have put the reading books on e-collins library. 

The next set of spellings are in their books. Please help your child to learn them for a spell check. 

The children have enjoyed making their model of a taxi and learning about axles, wheels and chasis.  A huge thank you to Mr Maddy who brought in a real London cab for the children to experience. 

Next term the topic is School Days and Street View.

In the School Days project, your child will have the opportunity to take part in a traditional Victorian class and will learn about the differences between schooling in the Victorian era and schooling today. They will learn about objects found in a Victorian classroom and how they were used. They will research Samuel Wilderspin, an important figure in the development of schooling for young children in the Victorian era, whose ideals are reflected in schooling today. They will learn to describe the passage of time through study of past, present and future tense vocabulary.

Street View is linked to School Days. 

This project teaches children about artwork depicting streets and buildings and focuses on the work of the American pop artist, James Rizzi. They create a 3-D mural based on Rizzi's work.

Thank you for helping your child to learn. It really helps them to progress. 

Enjoy the half term everyone.

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the team. 

2.2.24

Hello Everyone,

This week in phonics we have looked at more new sounds- 'o (u) -Mother, brother, some, come, ou (u)- young, touch, se (z) -cheese, please, se (s)- house, mouse,  ce (s)- fence, choice & ey (ee)- donkey, hey, honey.

Tricky words- people, your, their, thought,  through,  friend & work. 

In maths we have begun measuring, using different units such as our hands, fingers, feet,  paper clips, & cubes. The children have been measuring objects such as pencils, pens, paper, tables, chairs etc. 

This week the children have started the Taxi topic and have investigated axle fixed wheels and axle turning wheels. They are enjoing this DT topic and making their London cab. 

The reading books are on e-collins library. Please listen to your child read their book.

Spellings are in their spelling books. 

Have a great weekend. 

Kind regards

Mrs Clare andn the Y1 team.

Hello everyone,

This week in Y1;

Phonics- please spot these new sounds and tricky words in books- 'le- apple, al- metal, c-ice, ve-give'.

tricky words- ask, Mr, Mrs, Ms, school, call, different'

In maths, we continue to order random numbers up to 20. Example - put these numbers in order from greatest to smallest or smallest to greatest- 17, 18, 15, 19. 

Please also play one more than and one less than a number using resources.

In our topic, the children have enjoyed creating models of London landmarks, ready for the Great Fire of London. 

In PSHE and RE we have been looking at kindness, listening and peace. Where in your home can you find peace? What have you done in kindness to help someone? We also discussed how Jesus chose his friends- those in need of help to understand compassion and become better people. 

Hope you all have a peaceful weekend.

Kind regards

Mrs Clare

19.1.24

Dear Parents,

This week in phonics- 'y (igh)- spy, fly, dry,  ow- snow, yellow, grow, g (j)- gem, giant, energy, ph (f)- elephant, phone, photo'

and tricky words- could, would, should, who, whole, where,  & two. 

In maths we have begun recognising and ordering numbers to 20. For example, 13, 14, ---,  16, ----, 18, 19,20, find the missing numbers. 

This week, in our topic we have looked at a grid map with London landmarks and used directional language, such as forward, backward, left, right, above, below, next to, & between  to go from one place to the other. 

This weekend, please go back to listening skills. Play some listening games , where children have to follow simple instructions. Give them no more than three instructions to follow.  Can they turn one page over at a time in an exercise book to get to the next clean page? Can they stick one picture on one page and a picture on another page, after listening to your instruction?

Have a go. 

A big thank you to the parents who cut up the white fabric ready for our art lesson. That is so helpful. Thank you also for all the boxes. Lots of art and craft next week!

Please could all parents remind their children to return reading books on a Monday and spelling books on a Tuesday. It si very disheartening for your child when they don't have their books. Please help them remember. 

Have a lovely weekend.

kind regards

Mrs Clare and the team.

12.1.24

Hello everyone,

This week in phonics we have been learning new sounds. These are, 'y (ee)- funny, happy, carry, silly',   'ea (e) - head, bread, spread', ' wh- wheel, whisper, whale', 'ou (oa, oe) - shoulder, boulder, toe, woe, goes' and the tricky words are- want, water, any, many & again.

In maths we are continuing with ordinal numbers- the way we write them and spell them; 1st, first, 2nd, second, 3rd, third, 4th, fourth etc. 

In our topic work we have begun talking about landmarks in London, looking at London on Google Earth, and discussing the size of the population and what people do in London. We have also looked at London's history, and discussed the Great Fire of London. 

The spellings this week, the spellings are 'could, would, should, who, whole & where'. Please help your child to learn to read and spell the words off by heart for a spell check. These are words we have done before, but can they remember them?

Last week, I asked for help with some resources, such as small boxes and a piece of hanky size white fabric. Please could these be sent in by Monday, ready to use next week. Do look back at my last class page. Thank you.

Please could you make sure all clothing, snack boxes water bottles, etc are clearly labelled, in an accessible place so that if the children lose them, the items can be returned quickly. Looking for items that are not clearly labelled takes up so much of our teaching time and we have so much to learn. Sorry to nag, but it really would make life easier for your child to recognise their name on their property. Thank you for your help. 

5.1.24

Dear Parents,

Happy New Year!  Welcome back to term 3. We have begun the term with a recap of our phonics and next week, we continue to learn new sounds and reading books. 

We have begun our new topic, Bright Lights, Big City and we have talked about the United Kingdom and recapped the capital cities. We talked about landmarks, human features and physical features. 

For the topics this term we need ; boxes- no larger than cereal boxes to make buildings, which the children will watch being burnt down at forest school, (safely of course by adults). This will enhance their learning about the Great Fire of London. 

We will also need smaller boxes about the size of tooth paste or hand soap boxes to make vehicles for our topic, Taxi!

We will also need a white piece of material (size of a hankey) to print on, for art. 

The children should have their spelling books in their bags to learn new words for next week; 'want, water, any, many, again'

Please make sure all snack boxes and water bottles are labelled clearly, and also all clothing. 

Thank you.

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the Y1 team. 

19.12.23

Hoorah! Schools out and we made it. The children have been working very hard and they deserve a break with lots of rest ready for next term. Today they enjoyed some party games and lots of Christmas Children's Choice. They are really ready to relax and take it easy.

Next term our topics are;  

Bright Lights, Big City

In the Bright Lights, Big City project, your child will learn the story of a local landmark. They will learn about the countries that make up the United Kingdom, including their location, capital cities and some of their physical and human features. They will have the opportunity to do map work, using compasses and positional and directional language to plan routes around London. They will research the cause and impact of the Great Fire of London and look at some famous London landmarks. They will learn about other capital cities around the world, including Kuala Lumpur, and compare how they are similar and different to London.

Taxi!

D&T project (Year 1)

This project is linked to Bright Lights, Big City. 

This project teaches children about wheels, axles and chassis and how they work together to make a vehicle move.

Rain and Sunrays

This project is linked to Bright Lights, Big City. 

This project teaches children about collagraph printing, including how to develop a motif to make single and repeated prints.

Do share lots of bedtime stories over the holidays, pointing out the digraphs and trigraphs that the children have learnt. 

Finally, a huge thank you to all the parents and children for the thoughtful gifts. I am thoroughly spoilt. I really appreciate your kindness and I am looking forward to a shopping spree.

Have a lovely Christmas all, and to all a good night! 

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the team.

15.12.23

Dear parents,

A huge WELL DONE to your children on Thursday afternoon and evening. Their performance was amazing. They sang out and we were all so proud of them. 

This week we have been enjoying Christmas activities and choosing different resources to make decorations. 

I have sent home reading books for the last weekend. Please return them on Monday. There will be no reading books being sent home for the holidays. I think it is time to enjoy sharing books that you might have at home. I have not sent home any of our sharing books, as we would like to audit them. Any of the school sharing books you have at home would need to be returned on Monday as well. 

Please send your child in with a carrier bag on Monday so that we can send home their Christmas cards, decorations and anything else they need to bring home. 

Thank you.

I hope you have a good weekend. Merry Christmas and a happy new year!

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the Year 1 team

8.12.23

Dear Parents,

We are nearly at the end of term 2. The children are now getting rather tired and they have been working hard. So that they can cope with the last week of term, we hope to calm things down and begin the Christmas fun. If you find your child is flagging, an early night's rest would be beneficial. 

This week in phonics-  we have recapped all the sounds recorded in the previous class pages as well as all the tricky words. Please just keep going over them and see if they can spot them in their sharing book. Really sorry, the children are so tired, they have been rehearsing songs most of today, so I haven't given them their reading books. They have read well at school. let's give them a weekend off. I have put them on E-Collins if they are desperate to read. 

In maths, we have recapped what has been done so far through this term. 

The spellings are in your child's spelling books. It would really help your child if you could help them learn the spellings. Your help is appreciated. The spellings are; what, when, have, love & they. 

This week the children have enjoyed tasting a variety of apples to decide whether they are sweet, sour or bitter. Surprisingly, some children liked the sour Bramley apples. The majority of the class preferred Golden Delicious. We looked at tallying the final numbers and counted in 5s. The least popular was the Granny Smith. 

Please remember your child's NAMED costume in a NAMED carrier bag. We can then hang the carrier on their peg, so that it is ready for the performance. All costumes in by Monday- house T-shirt, black school shoes and black leggings. Thanks.

Have a great weekend.

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the team. 

1.12.23

Dear Parents,

In phonics this week we have covered- e-e, 'these, even, athlete, complete', ew- ' new, stew, few, grew', ie- 'shield, field, shriek, brownie', aw-' draw, straw, claw, squawk'. 

Tricky words- could, would, should, our, house, mouse, water & want.

Maths- we have continued to make 3D shapes using nets- cube, cuboid, cone, cylinder and pyramid. 

The children have enjoyed making salad in DT and they have been learning to safely, tear, chop, mash and slice using cucumber, tomatoes, lettuce, spring onion, carrot and avocado. Some loved the salad dressings too. 

Using our senses we have been smelling and tasting fruit and herbs. We have listened to sounds and looked at close-up photos of parts of objects  to guess what they are. 

Costumes for the nativity performance- the children will be kings and should wear their house T-shirt (they wore them in sports day) and their long black PE trousers and black school shoes. We will make the crowns. It's nice and easy this year. Please send their NAMED clothes in a NAMED carrier bag by the end of next week. 

On Monday, the children had a great time watching the pantomime, Cinderella, with lots of interaction. I'm sure they told you all about it!

Some children are still not bringing in their spelling books and reading books on time. It is essential that these books are brought in on the correct day. Please do send them in, otherwise we will have to go back to having books online. Please see below. Thank you.

Monday- reading books in plastic folders.

Tuesday and Friday- change sharing book (the books parents read to the children)

Tuesday- spelling book. 

Kind regards

Mrs Clare

24.11.23

Isn't Time whizzing along? I can't believe we only have three and a half weeks left! We are working very hard in class to get our topics finished before the Christmas rush.

This week, the children have been writing sentences using the split digraphs, a-e - made, same, game, snake, amaze & take,

i-e - time, like, ripe, inside, prize, slide,  o-e - home, woke, explode, note, stone, those,  u-e (oo or yoo) cute, cube, tube, rude, use, & rule. 

Tricky words- Mr, Mrs, Ms, ask, could, would, should & our. 

In maths we have been looking at repeating patterns using 2D shapes, as well as sorting the shapes in different criteria, for example colours, shape, amount of straight sides, corners etc. We have also looked at 3D shapes and we are working with nets to make them. 

This weekend, please play hunt the shape. Look around your home. Can you find something that is a cylinder, a cube, a cuboid, a sphere, or a pyramid shape? Draw them and label them. Bring them in for Monday. 

This week we have also begun our new topic, 'Human Senses'. We have discussed our five senses. Do they remember them? How do visually impaired people read or cross the road? How do deaf people communicate? 

I will add the reading books for the next two weeks on the e-collins. Please remember to send the hard copies back on Mondays. Sharing books to be changed on Tuesday and Fridays. 

Spelling books in every Tuesday morning. 

Thank you.

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the Y1 team. 

17.11.23

Dear Parents,

In phonics this week we have learnt that some letters make different sounds, such as  'o' also makes an oa sound in the words 'go, most, post & open'. 

'i' (igh)- in words such as 'child, tiger, spider, find, wild & kind'.

'a' (ay) - 'paper, later, chasing,  & baking'.

'e', (ee)- 'me, we, she, be, fever, secret, & being'.

The tricky words in phonics this week are, 'your, people, their, oh, Mr, Mrs, Ms & ask'.

We are continuing with handwriting to support children's letter formation and checking they going in the correct direction. 

Maths- we are now looking at 2D shapes and their properties. How many sides do they have? How many corners? Are the sides the same length? At home, how many objects can you see that are circles, squares, rectangles or triangles? Draw them. 

In geography, this week, the children have looked at towns, cities and villages from an aerial view on Google earth. They have also, learnt about the four countries of the UK and their capital cities. Using a map of the world they labelled the seven continents and the five oceans. Do talk about them at the dinner table. 

This week's spellings are in their books. There are less spellings this week, as the words are more tricky. The words are, 'was, they, some, come, were & there'. Can you see any similarities in the words that can help you remember their spelling? 

I will put last week's and this week's reading books on e-collins. It would be a good idea for children to read books they have already read. This reminds them of words they have already read and it helps them to become more fluent. 

Have a great weekend.

Kind regards

Mrs Clare

10.11.23

Hello everyone,

Welcome back to term 2.

This week in phonics we have learnt the new digraphs, ir- bird, skirt, girl,  ie- pie, tie, cried,  ue- blue, rescue, glue,  u- unicorn, music & human. Please recap them at home, noticing any words in books that you share with your child. 

Tricky words- here, today, one, their, people, oh, & your. 

In maths, we are continuing to subtract and add. The children have been using the inversion method, eg 7+3=10, 3+7=10. Now use the same numbers to subtract,  eg 10-7=3  & 10-3=7. It would benefit the children to have a go at home, using resources, so that they can understand the concept. 

9-5=4

9-4=5

4+5=9

5+4=9  etc

We have begun our topic 'Our Wonderful World'. The children have been learning about physical and human features and they have compared cities, towns and villages. They have used directional vocabulary, such as north, south, east, west, left, right, forwards, backwards, next to, and between to explain the location of buildings on a map. They drew their own map of Chiddingstone village. 

Talking to your children about what they have learnt through the week really helps them to consolidate their understanding.

Please remember to send back the Big Cat Collin books every Monday, the spelling books every Tuesday. The sharing books from our class library are changed every Tuesday and Friday.  

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the Y1 team. 

20.10.23

Dear Parents,

I can't believe we have already completed term 1!

This week, the children have been learning about Mary Anning, a significant figure in history, who changed the way scientists view our world. 

In phonics, we have been reviewing what we have learnt so far, especially the tricky words - was, are, like, there, one, you, sure, some, little, what, they, said, love, when, says, all, have, were, come, here & out. Putting these words around the house and playing 'hunt the word, see the word, say the word, spell the word', would help children to recognise them and use them in their writing. 

After the half term, children will be bringing home a spelling book every week. They will need to learn the words to be able to have a go at spelling them in class. 

Don't forget the book cover competition. Please read the instructions carefully on the letter that was emailed with this week's newsletter. 

Over the half term, please ensure all uniform, kits, snack boxes and water bottles are labelled clearly with your child's name. If you have bought second hand uniform, take out the old name and add your child's name as, if they are misplaced, they are often returned to the original owner. 

Happy half term everyone. 

Kind regards,

Mrs Clare and the team. 

13.10. 23

Dear Parents,

This week we have recapped the new sounds 'ea, ou, ay and oy'. Please keep going over the sounds learnt so far this term. You will find them in the previous class pages and also on the mat I sent home. 

The children wrote some wonderful narratives about the animals at Godstone farm. 

In maths we have continued working with numbers to 10, using numicon. 

This rhyme will also help your child remember number bonds;

0 and 10 are big strong men,

1 and 9 are feeling fine,

2 and 8 are never late,

3 and 7 go to Devon,

4 and 6 like to play tricks,

5 and 5 come alive,

6 and 4 open the door,

7 and 3 come for tea,

8 and 2 are feeling blue,

9 and 1 have just gone

10 and 0 are super heroes. 

We have also been talking about even and odd numbers. 

Over the holidays, practising number and letter formation would be useful. Please continue going through the letter formation sheet I gave you, making sure your child forms letters correctly, beginning at the right place. Tails go under the line and stalks go up. We have also been practising number formation as most children are writing some numbers back to front. This is quite common at their age, but some practise will help them to write the numbers the correct way round. 

Continue to make sure they listen to your instructions. Ask them to repeat back what you have asked them to do. Would they be able to explain the task to you? Following Lego instructions really helps with this. 

Please could the children bring in an old clean sock to make a sock puppet. We need it on Monday. Thank you.

Have a super weekend.

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the team.

Dear Parents,

In phonics this week we have learnt new sounds, in phase 5. 

'ay'- play, day, say, spray, may & crayon

'ou'- cloud, sound, about, proud, found

'oy'- boy, joy, toy, enjoy, annoy, destroy

'ea'- sea, read, treat, least, each

Tricky words- said, says, you, do, like, little, push, put, pull, full

To help your child keep up with the new sounds we are learning, it would be helpful if they could spot them in their reading books, or perhaps write the sounds on a piece of paper and play a matching game, or snap. The more they see the sounds the more they will recognise them. 

In maths we continue adding numbers up to 10, by putting the largest number in our heads and counting on. Please practise this at home using objects, eg toy cars, animals etc.

The children had a fabulous trip to Godstone farm and their behaviour was exceptional. They made Chiddingstone School very proud. 

They loved finding out about the dinosaurs and the animals in the barn, which they were allowed to stroke and feel their soft fur and bumpy skin. Well done children!

A huge THANK YOU to the parent helpers, who gave up their time to help and make the trip run smoothly. 

Enjoy the  weekend

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the Team.

29.9.23

Dear Parents,

This week, in phonics we have continued to recap the phase 3 sounds in words such as : frost snack squelch thump thrash scrubs splat groan float/ing smear bright appear train green steep and also the tricky words: was they some come were there sure &  pure.

It would be helpful if you could recap the tricky words with your child/ren by writing them on a piece of paper and playing games such as match the word or snap. 

This weekend, we are sending the reading books home for your child to read. Reading the book more than once and noticing repeated words will help your child become more fluent and confident. Please remember to send the books back on Monday for the next group. There are also words to focus on, prior to reading the book,  that relate to the stories. Do go through these and ask your child if they can see the words in the reading book. If your child has not got a book, because they have been absent from school, I have added their book to the e-Collins website. 

In maths, we have been looking at number stories, for example, 'I have 3 daisies and 2 buttercups. How many flowers do I have altogether? Ask your child to make up and draw some number stories up to 10. They don't need to bring the work to school, it just helps them to recap what they have done so that they feel secure in what they have learnt. 

Do continue with the letter formation sheets I sent home last week. Please do not rush them. This work is not to be finished quickly. I would rather the children took their time and formed the letters properly, even if it takes until Christmas. It is really important that you sit with your child and guide them, showing them where the letter begins and ends, and where the letters sits on the line. 

The children really enjoyed Roald Dahl Day, making a fox mask, a fox collage and joining in a drama workshop about Fantastic Mr Fox. 

Thank you and enjoy your weekend.

Mrs Clare and the Y1 team.

22.9.23

Dear Parents,

This week in class, we have continued to recap all the sounds in phase 3 of Little Wandle. The tricky words this week are 'what, when, he, she, we, be, me, have & love'. Please do go over the sounds and words with your child. 

I have added the reading books online. We are still waiting the arrival of more books so that we can send the reading books home. Hopefully they will arrive in time for next week. 

In science, we have been sorting animals into groups, according to their diet, ie carnivores, omnivores and herbivores. 

In maths, we have been continuing our numbers to 10, looking at numbers that come before or after a given number. Please use the words vocabulary with your child this weekend. Use numbered objects and ask which number comes before or after a number that you give them. Count forwards up to 10 and backwards down to 0.

Please can you also give time to your child for cutting out. Perhaps they can cut and stick pictures of animals from a magazine. Draw a line around a shape and encourage them to follow the line. 

Thank you for your help.

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the team

15.09.23

Dear Parents,

This week we have begun going over the phase 3 phonics. We have covered the sounds, ai, ee, igh, oa, oo (zoom),ar, or, ur, oo (took), ow, oi & ear. 

The tricky words we have recalled are; no, go, so, my, by, to, into, out & the. 

Please go over these sounds and words with your child/ren at home. 

In maths we have been focusing on recognising and  ordering numbers to 10, from the smallest to the greatest, and the greatest to the smallest. We have also looked at random numbers for example, 6, 3 & 9 and putting them in order. 

For home work this weekend, the task will be to use their listening skills. Give your child three simple instructions and ask them to repeat them back to you. Can they follow the instructions given? For example: open the draw, get a knife, fork and spoon and lay your place at the table or go and find your shoes, put your coat on and get your bag. 

Also, in class we have a traffic light system for our voices. The red light is for listening to what the adults are asking. The white light is for whispering and the green light is for low level volume when speaking. When you have supper or lunch around the table, ask them to take turns in conversation and listen carefully to what others say. Can they use a quiet voice to speak? 

Have a fun weekend. 

Mrs Clare and the team.

8.9.23

Dear Parents,

The first week is done and your children are settling into the Y1 routine nicely. We have had gentle start to the term learning about primary and secondary colours in our topic, Mix it! They have also been comparing colours in paintings by different artists and focusing on the artist Wassily Kadinsky, who used colours to create his painting called Squares with Concentric Circles. The children had the opportunity to recreate their own version of his painting.

The children will be bringing home a sharing book twice a week. These will be changed on Tuesday and Friday. Please make sure your child returns the book ready for changing, with the reading diary. Do tick in their diary to confirm they have enjoyed the story. If they have commented about the story, we would love to know their thoughts. Just a short sentence is fine. 

A letter will be sent soon about the reading books, please bear with us. 

Enjoy the weekend.

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the Y1 team.