Dear Parents,

Do you remember sensible games you used to play in the playground? 'In and Out the Dusty Bluebells, Farmer in the Den, Oranges and lemons ( with a kinder ending of course. I sing 'Here comes a candle to light you to bed' twice at the end), Hopscotch, Piggy in the Middle, Snakes and Ladders, French Skipping, Stuck in the Mud, Duck Duck Goose, clapping games, Simon Says etc. Over the weekend and the holidays please could you play some of these games with your children. They often don't know how or what to play in the playground. I have taught them 'In and Out the Dusty Bluebells' and they really enjoyed playing. 

In phonics this week, we have recapped the sounds and tricky words learnt so far this term. 

In maths we are looking at 3D shapes, cube, cuboid, square base pyramid, triangular base pyramid, cylinder, sphere and cone. We are making these shapes to make our own Christmas tree and decorations. 

We are on the wind down to Christmas practising our songs for the nativity and the children are enjoying some festive activities.

Don't forget the costumes for this Friday.

Have a great weekend

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the Y1 team

Dear Parents,

This week, in phonics the new sounds we have been learning are split digraph 'e-e' -these, even &athlete, digraph 'ew' - grew, blew, new, 'ie -' - shield, field, shriek, & 'aw'- claw, straw & claw. 

The tricky words are 'could, would, should, our, mouse, house, want & water'. 

In maths we have been  making number bond families. For example 3+5=8, 5+3=8, 8-3=5, 8-5=3. Please help your child practise this concept with numbers up to 10. Some children need to know their number bonds securely. Do play games with them so that they get used to the pairing of numbers to add up to a bigger number and subtract the smaller number from the larger number. Try putting the +,  - & = sign around the house with the language, 'add, plus, altogether, total,  minus, takeaway & subtract', so that they can relate the signs to the words.

In computing this week the children have learnt to log on, as well as to click and drag words to label a body. They will continue with this lesson next week. 

Costumes for the performance-  please send in the costumes in one named carrier bag, also naming the clothing. That way we can hang the carrier bags on the children's peg.  

Thank you

Mrs Clare and the Y1 team. 

21.11.25

Dear Parents,

This week in phonics we have been learning the new sounds 'a-e', shake, take, 'i-e', time, slide, like, 'o-e', those, note, home & 'u-e', rude, rule, cute & use.

The tricky words are; Mr, Mrs, Ms, ask, our, could, would & should.

We have been studying the human senses, listening to sounds, looking at parts of objects, feeling different materials and tasting apples. 

In maths we have been subtracting and learning the language for takeaway. 

I have been checking the children's school uniform to make sure it is named. If it is not named it is difficult to find. If you have bought second hand uniform please rename it with your child's name. If it is handed down from a sibling, rename that too, as it goes back to the original sibling and not to its rightful owner. Unfortunately, we don't have time to go looking for garments as we are busy in class learning. It's quite a full on day!

Thank you

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the Y1 team

14.11.25

Hello everyone,

This week in phonics we have the letters 'o, i, a & e' making new sounds such as in 'most, post, child, kind, paper, chasing, fever & being'. 

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

In maths we have been learning the language 'takeaway, minus and subtract'. We have learnt that you subtract from a larger number and take away the smaller number. We can also use 'part, part, whole to show this. 

In PSHE we have been discussing making the right choice by being polite and well mannered, saying please and thank you, smiling at people you know, asking people to join in your sensible game, speaking with a kind voice, using kind hands and feet, putting litter in the bin and good sharing. This will make a happy community in school, clubs and where we live.

In Geography, we have been learning about the equator, writing post cards, the 5 oceans and the 7 continents and drawing our own pirate map with X marking the treasure. 

I have given the children he next set of spellings to be given back on Monday along with their reading books, diaries and sharing books. 

I have noticed that some children are still struggling with using scissors. Please encourage your child to cut out pictures from a magazine, or cut along a line. Twinkl have lots of cutting skill pages. 

Have a wonderful weekend

Kind Regards

Mrs Clare and the Y1 team.

Welcome to term 2, everyone.

This week in class one;

Our Wonderful World topic has begun with a focus on maps. The children have been studying the key on a map and finding

countries on a globe. They have built towns, villages and cities using Duplo and using directional language to guide a bee-bot robot. 

In phonics the new sounds are 'ir'- bird, 'ie'- pie, 'ue'-blue, 'ue'-rescue & 'u'-unicorn. 

The tricky words are 'oh, people, their, one, today, here, & your'. 

In maths we are continuing to solve problems up to 10. For example, 'If there are 3 birds and 6 more come along, how many are there in total (altogether, equals)? We have also been using the different words.

In PSHE we have been talking about what makes a happy community. Being kind, using kind words, caring for one another, letting others play in our games, not being bossy, taking turns, holding the door open for others, good listening, not calling out, using small voices in class etc.

Remember to listen to your child read their reading book, at least twice please and send books back on Monday morning in their folder. 

I am sending home the spelling book which should be sent back on Monday morning along with the reading books. Please sit with your child to do the home work. Read the word, say the word, cover the word, write the word. Check it. Have another go. This weeks words are very easy, just to try it out. I will give less words than this normally. The homework should only take about 10 minutes. 

Have a good weekend.

Mrs Clare and the Y1 team.

17.10.25

Hello everyone,

Here we are already at the end of term 1.

This week we have been finishing off our topics and recapping what we have learnt so far.

We have been spelling tricky words and writing a little about Mary Anning.

During the holidays, please keep reading to your child and let them read to you. Please remember the handwriting sheet that I have already given you. It is really important that you sit with your child to do a little at a time and make sure they are forming the letters in the correct direction. Please use a pencil.

Next term our topics are;

Human senses

This project teaches children that humans are a type of animal known as a mammal. They name and count body parts and identify similarities and differences. They learn about the senses, the body parts associated with each sense and their role in keeping us safe.

Our Wonderful world

This essential skills and knowledge project teaches children about physical and human features, maps, cardinal compass points, and positional and directional language. They learn about the equator, hemispheres and continents and are introduced to the countries, capital cities and settlements of the United Kingdom. The children carry out simple fieldwork to find out about local physical and human features. If you go for walks please notice rivers, forests, hills and any other physical features and also human features. If you go to London, do point out the River Thames and any important landmarks. 

Plant Parts (Learning in forest school).

This project teaches children about wild and garden plants by exploring the local environment. They identify and describe the basic parts of plants and observe how they change over time.

I hope you all have a wonderful half term break. See you all in term 2.

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the Y1 team.

10.10.25

10.10.25

Dear Parents,

Thank you for your help in learning the harvest song. The children sang beautifully and I hope you enjoyed watching them. I was very proud of them.

This week in the phonic lesson we have recapped the sounds learnt so far in the first term, including the new sounds ‘ay, ea, ou & oy’.  Next term we will continue to learn more new sounds. I will keep you informed weekly as to which sounds we are learning, so that you can encourage your child to spot them in their reading books.

The tricky words for this week are; ‘all, are, I, of, one, here & today’. The children should be able to recognise these words when reading and be able to spell them too. I will send spelling books home next term.

I am also sending home some letter and number formation practise for the half term. It is really important that you find time to sit with your child whilst they are practising, so that you can ensure they are beginning and ending the letters at the correct place. It is important because as they go through the school and learn how to join their writing, it will be easier for them. If they are left handed, it is better that the page is tilted so that their hand travels away from the writing. Please do not finish the booklet at once. Just 5-10minutes each day is enough until they finish the booklet. When they have finished, please send the booklet back to school sometime during term 2.  Pencil grip is also important and I have added a ‘nip, flip and grip’ instruction page.

For Monday, please send in a clean old sock to make sock puppets.

Please continue to support your children to make school life an enjoyable one.

Thank you for your help

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the Y1 team.

3.10.25

Dear Parents,

This term is whizzing along and the children are settling nicely. I’m getting to know them and they are getting to know how class 1 works.

This week in phonics we have learnt some new sounds, ‘ay’ in play & say, ‘ou’ in cloud & proud, ‘oy’ in toy and boy, & ‘ea’ in each and treat.

The tricky words this week are ‘said, says, you, do, like, little, push, put, pull & full’. Please help your child to recognise them and spell them. The more they know them the easier it will be for them as they go up through the school. 

They have learnt about Mary Anning who lived in Lyme Regis and discovered many fossils. Did you know that, back in the Victorian era, scientists believed that the earth was only 6,000 years old? They soon changed their mind when they saw the dinosaur bones that Mary found.

In maths, we have continued to order random numbers, from greatest to smallest, and smallest to greatest. We have been looking at one more and one less and using the vocabulary, greater than, fewer than and less than.

On Wednesday children had to get themselves dressed for forest school. Some struggled with buttons and putting garments on the correct way round. For homework this weekend please help your child dress and undress themselves, so that they can become more independent. Top buttons on shirts are tricky and we can help with those, but the children should be able to manage the rest.

Song- Tiny little me. Over the weekend, please help your child learn the song for harvest. We have been practising in class and need a few more goes to know the song off by heart. It's quite fast but you can slow the speed down on you tube. 

Also for harvest please send in a donation in a decorated envelope and a tin of something that is non-perishable. The donations go towards Bondeni. 

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6db1EjrHEQU&list=RD6db1EjrHEQU&start_radio=1

Have you ever wondered how the God who made the universe,
And all the plants and creatures that you have ever seen,
The planets, stars, the moon and sun, is watching over everyone,
And still has time for tiny little me.

My God made crocodiles and antelopes, jellyfish and billy goats,
Elephants and spiders and buffaloes and bees,
Rattlesnakes and porcupines and ladybirds and butterflies,
And still has time for tiny little me.

My God made deserts dry and mountains tall, jungle vines and waterfalls,
All kinds of places where I have never been,
Forests green and oceans wide, the wind and rain, the sea and sky,
And still has time for tiny little me.

And He knows how I feel every night, every day,
And He knows what I’m thinking and what I’m going to say,
And he’s known all about me since before the day that I was made.

My God made mums and dads and great grandmothers,
Aunties, uncles and stepbrothers,
All the different people who are in my family,
Grandads, sisters, babies too and second cousins twice removed,
And still has time for tiny little me.

What a wonderful time we had at Godstone Farm, today. The children were beautifully behaved and polite. They had a super time looking at all the animals and feeding them, feeling the fluffy chick, Hermione the bearded dragon and Georgie the tortoise. We enriched our knowledge of dinosaurs finding carnivores, herbivores and omnivores along the trail and had a fun time playing in the ‘Wiggle barn’.  A huge thank you to the parents who came along to help. We hope you had as much fun as the children did. Enjoy the photos. 

Thank you for your help.

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the Y1 team.

26.9.25

Hello Everyone,

Can you believe it's nearly October already. Goodness time is flying far too quickly.

This week in phonics we have continued to recap all the phase 3 sounds and the tricky words 'was, they, come, some, were, there, pure & sure'.

In maths we continue comparing numbers using the language 'more than, fewer than, greater than and smaller than'. We have also looked at how to help us subitise when the objects are randomly placed; We then have to place them in an orderly arrangement. Have a go with toys at home. 

This week in our topic lessons we have used Venn diagrams, Carroll diagrams and block graphs to sort animals and collect data. Please ask the children what they found out, using each one of those methods. How did they sort the animals?

We are nearly at the end of our animal topic and are going on to the Dinosaur Planet topic.  

Stomp, crash, roar! Watch out – there are dinosaurs about! Yes, that’s right, we’re travelling back in time to the age of the dinosaurs.

This half term, we’ll visit a Godstone Farm, look closely at the dinosaurs and study reptiles to understand how dinosaurs may have lived and eventually died out. We’ll learn about the great fossil hunter, Mary Anning, and follow in her footsteps, studying dinosaur teeth and bones to find out what dinosaurs liked to eat. Learning dinosaur names, creating puzzling riddles, writing fantastic fact files and creating exciting dinosaur stories are some of the other activities we’ll be involved in this half term. We’ll also use our artistic skills to make model dinosaurs and to design dinosaur landscapes. 

Help your child prepare for their project
Dinosaurs are fascinating! Why not visit the library, choose some dinosaur books and practise reading and writing dinosaur names together? Alternatively, research amazing dinosaur facts together online. You could also make a mini Jurassic Park from cardboard boxes and craft materials to make model dinosaurs feel at home!

Have fun and please email in any photos of the mini Jurassic parks. This topic will lead us to the end of term 1.

Please don't forget to encourage your child to read their reading books (Not sharing books) at least 3 times to get that flow in reading. Encourage them to recognise repeated words, so that they don't have to sound them out again.

Kind Regards

Mrs Clare and the Y1 team.

19.9.25

Hello Parents and Children,

Class 1 is getting more busy and the children are learning lots. This week we have been focusing on grouping animals into mammals, invertebrates, reptiles, amphibians, fish and birds. We have discussed why they fit into these groups, 'Do they lay eggs or have live babies?', 'Are they warm or cold blooded?', 'Do they have wings and can they fly?', 'Do they breathe under water and above water?', and  'How does their skin feel, dry or moist and slimy?'. Do have a look at some information books at home and discuss the groups with your child. 

In phonics, we continue to recap the phase 3 sounds, ai, ee, igh, oa, ow, ear, air, er, sh, zz, ss, ng, th, or, ch & ar. The tricky words this week are 'what, when, he, she, me, we, be, have & love'. Do put them around the house and keep pointing them out. Does your child remember the sounds and words?

In maths we are recapping numbers to 10 and subitising, (knowing how many without counting, like when you use the dice).

Don't forget to send in your pet photo ready for Monday morning for the children's art lesson.

Have a great weekend

Mrs Clare and the Y1 team. 

12.9.25

Dear Parents,

We have come to the end of the Mix it! topic.  

This project teaches children about basic colour theory by studying the colour wheel and colour mixing. It includes an exploration of primary and secondary colours and how artists use colour in their artwork. The children looked at, and compared paintings by a variety of artists including Wassily Kadinsky, who painted colourful circles. The children have enjoyed blending colours using different resources, such as coloured cellophane for weaving, paints and rollers and chalk pens. 

Next week we will begin Animal Parts.

In the Animal Parts project, your child will learn that animals, including humans, can be sorted into six groups: amphibians, birds, fish, invertebrates, mammals and reptiles. They will learn that different animal groups have similar and different body parts and the purposes of these body parts. They will sort animals into the six animal groups based on characteristics. They will complete Carroll diagrams, sorting picture cards of animals according to given and chosen criteria.  They will complete a class block graph by recording which pet they prefer, then interpret the classes' results to learn which pets are the most and least popular. They will discuss what different animals eat, using the terms 'carnivore', 'herbivore' and 'omnivore', and observe the characteristic features of different animals that belong to these groups by examining their teeth and eye positions. They will complete Venn diagrams, identifying animals that are carnivores, herbivores and omnivores. This topic will be enhanced by our trip to Godstone Farm. Details to follow. 

As the weather is unpredictable please make sure your child has a light raincoat at school.There are still a couple of children that come to school without protection from the rain and they get a bit damp and cold. 

Thank you

Have a good weekend

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the Y1 team.

5.9.25 Wk 1

Dear Parents,

Welcome back to term 1, class 1. 

As I said in the curriculum meeting, I will add information and photos on the class page weekly. Please make sure you read all the information. It is very important that you look at the photos with your child for discussion at home. As you know, when you ask your child what they have done at school, they usually answer 'nothing'. Well, I can assure you all, that class 1 is very busy. 

The children are settling in well this week and learning the rules of our class. This week we are learning to speak without shouting in the building. Louder voices may be used outside at break time. We are also learning to listen to instructions, so that they understand what is being asked of them and they can manage their task. At home, please do practise these rules, using a little voice, taking turns in speaking and listening. If you give them 2 or 3 instructions, can they carry them out? Eg Take your shoes off, and hang your coat up. Find a spoon, a fork and a bowl and put them on the table. Get the children to repeat the instructions back to you. Do practise saying ‘please and thank you’. It makes school a pleasant place to be in for everyone.

We have been practising using scissors and cutting along the lines, holding a pencil firmly and properly to colour in the lines, writing our numbers, putting together puzzles ( knowing that the pieces with the straight edge are placed on the outer side), and using sewing cards for threading.

The children are getting to know the routine and where things are kept when it is tidy-up time, and they have been amazing at tidying up the resources.

Reading books will be sent home next week, as I would like to give the children time to settle. Sharing books will be chosen on Mondays and returned on Fridays and a new sharing book given on Friday and returned on Monday. Reading books will be taken home on Friday and returned on  Monday. If you still have your child's reading diary from YR, please send it in on Monday 8th. If you have misplaced it, I will give your child a new one. Please let me know. I have most of them here already, but there are a few missing. 

If you have your child’s certificate from the summer reading challenge, please do send it in to school, ready for the photograph, (should we win again, fingers crossed). Most children have already given their certificate to me. You will get them back, once the winning school is announced.

Thank you for your help.

Have a great weekend. 

Kind regards

Mrs Clare and the Y1 team.