Wishing you all the very best for a safe and healthy Easter holiday. We know that it will feel a little different this year and that many of you would normally be on holiday or out and about but that doesn't mean there isn't still lots of fun to be had in and around your home.
The EYFS and Key Stage 1 team have been having 'virtual' meetings and have come up with a collection of Easter activities for you to enjoy together. We've put them together in a handy 'Easter Holiday Ideas' booklet that can be printed or viewed on screen. There's no pressure to do the activities but they are there if you are looking for some fun things to do together. We've also created an Easter egg hunt that can be done in any house -you'll just need to provide a prize at the end! Please send your photos / pictures to our email address: Year1bps@welearn365.com. We'd love to to see them! Thank you and kind regards,
Mrs Pinkerton, Mrs Bes-Jeary, Miss Smith, Mrs Rosenthal, Mrs Rees, Mrs Vale, Miss Pugh, Mrs Smith.
Click on the links below...
Find out more about the Easter story and Easter traditions here.
Why do we give eggs at Easter? Find out here.
If you fancy your hand at baking (especially if you have lots of chocolate eggs left over!) then why not try making some chocolate Easter nests using this tried and tested recipe.
Answer the maths questions to complete this puzzle and reveal an Easter picture. Have fun!
'Reading eggs' are offering a free two week trial for parents to sign up to. This might be fun for you to keep up the phonics/reading until after the Easter holidays when we will be setting phonics and providing online reading books. Enjoy!
Welcome to the year 1 home learning page!
Below are the links to the documents enclosed within the Home Learning Packs. These were sent home on Friday 20th March. If you have not been able to collect your child's home learning pack, please use the following links. Don't forget to scroll down to see challenges, ideas and activities updated daily... you can contact your class teachers via our year group email address: year1bps@welearn365.com
Friday 3rd April 2020
That's right! You've done it! Two full weeks of schooling at home.
We're sure its had its ups and downs but, judging by all the amazing emails we have received, you've all achieved great things. Well done!
Now...at the end of the day today, pack all the school things away. Put them in a box, a cupboard or a drawer and let's focus on enjoying the two weeks ahead of you. Don't worry, we're going to post lots of Easter activity ideas on this page to help you along the way. We'll still be there, on the end of the emails, if you need us too and we would love to hear all about your Easter holiday antics so please do keep in touch! HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!!!
One more day of 'school' to go (we'll be back with more planning and activities after the holidays):
English: If your child has completed their story…revise their high frequency words using the following site: https://www.ictgames.com/mobilePage/dinosaurEggsHF/index.html
If you would rather not use a screen based activity you could read the words on the ‘common exception words list' from in your pack or here:
Maths: Recap capacity. Use the Week 1, Lesson 5 video to support (click on the image for a link).
Have fun carrying out the investigations on the final part of the sheet. If you would like to do some more, try out some of the capacity challenges below...
Don't forget to look out for the challenge set for you on mathletics and also to keep practising those key maths skills...
Topic: Today's topic activity builds on our work on plants we had been doing in class. Try this simple experiment to investigate respiration:
Spring has surely sprung when you see new leaves on the trees, but how do plants breathe? All you need to do is head outside and grab a few leaves to find out. Learn all about how plants breathe and take learning outdoors with this fun and simple science activity:
YOU WILL NEED:
HOW PLANTS BREATHE ACTIVITY SET UP:
STEP 1: Cut a green leaf off of a plant or tree. You will need fresh leaves and not leaves picked off the ground.
STEP 2: Add lukewarm water to a shallow glass container or bowl.
STEP 3: Place a single layer of leaves inside the water, submerging them just below the surface with a small heavy item. Place the bowl in the sun.
STEP 4: Wait for 2 to 3 hours.
STEP 5: Watch as little air bubbles form on the top of the leaves. What is happening? If have difficulty seeing the bubbles, use a small magnifying glass!
HOW DOES A PLANT BREATHE?
The simple science behind this how plants breathe activity is plant respiration! Oxygen is an important gas for animal life on earth! Without it, we can’t breathe! Plants help us breathe by taking in carbon dioxide (for photosynthesis) and letting out oxygen through their leaves. This process is called plant respiration.
WHY DO PLANTS NEED SUNLIGHT?
The sun is key to this science activity! The leaf uses the sunlight during photosynthesis, which is where the plant converts the light energy into chemical energy or food for the plant. During photosynthesis, the leaf gets rid of what it doesn’t need which is extra oxygen and water. Photosynthesis is what allows us to see the bubbles! All the extra oxygen the plant releases during photosynthesis can be seen in the form of bubbles of gas which rise to the surface in the water. The bubbles you see in the water is plant respiration in action!
Thursday 2nd April 2020
Happy Thursday! It's almost the Easter holidays! We will be posting a range of ideas to help make Easter extra special for you all. Look out for them on this page. Did you spot the April Fool yesterday? The pinana? Try rearranging the letters of the island Lafrolpio.... April Fool! Hope you had lots of laughter in your day... today we are looking on the bright side! Here are your activities for today. Remember, do what you can and when you can. Above all, take care of yourselves! Don't forget to get in touch via our year group email address: year1bps@welearn365.com
English: If your child has completed their story…use the handwriting sheets included to practise correctly forming letters. You don’t need to do all the sheets in one day. Don't forget to share your stories with us... we can collate them and display them here!
Maths: Introduce Capacity – ‘the maximum amount something can hold’. Find various containers (cup, mug, pot, jug…). How many cups of water can each container hold? Make predictions- which do you think will hold the most/least? Why? Think about shape, size… Carry out investigation to find out- you could record your findings or just discuss them. Were your predictions right? Were you surprised by the results? Why? Complete second part of the sheet. The video on the right is really helpful to get started and guide your investigations.
Look out for the challenge set in mathletics for you this week as a trial in preparation for after Easter. https://login.mathletics.com/
Topic: Continuing our seasons work, we are really enjoying Maddie's Let's Go Live (thank you Hattie for the recommendation). Take a look at this episode from Monday on 'birds in the garden' but do dip into any episodes that you're interested in!
READING BOOKS: We are sure you are keen to continue to support your child's reading and that you've exhausted the books we sent home by now. We have exciting news coming up after the Easter holidays about home reading books you'll soon have access to that will be monitored and changed by your teachers and teaching assistants, complete with comprehension activities. Watch this space...
Wednesday 1st April 2020
Welcome to Wednesday and welcome to April! April Fools Day! We hope you have lots of things that make you smile today. Maybe you have some April Fools Day pranks planned but remember, the joke is on you past mid-day!
Don't forget to take breaks and time for healthy snacks. We are going to be enjoying a delicious fruit just discovered on the island of Lafrolpio. A tasty pinana.... yummy! Have a great day ;-)
Have fun with today's activities:
English: On the paper provided, children can begin to write out the new version of their story. For some children this will need to be spread over several days. Some children may be able to write this in one session, it is not a race. It is best for your child to ‘have a go’ at their spellings. Writing the whole story out for them to copy is not helpful, they need to learn to write independently. They could use the flashcards to write the days of the week properly. Ask children to remember to use finger spaces, capital letters and full stops.
If they are unsure you can refer back to the book to look for where the author used them. Do send us some pictures of your completed stories to the year group email address... we'd love to read them: year1bps@welearn365.com
Maths: Introduce Volume; ‘The measure of how much space an object takes up’. In this case, looking at water. Find some glasses/cups and ask your child to fill one cup full, another half full and another less than half. Focus on language to compare the amounts of water (more, less, half, full, equal, greater…) Complete first part of the sheet- drawing lines to show where the water would go on each container. Why not get active whilst rehearsing the language of mass and volume using the website on the right. You could follow it up by looking at mililitres and litres on your kitchen equipment.
Topic: How did the weather reporting go yesterday? I wonder how the weather compares to other, very different places on the planet? Why not find out by using this site: https://kidsweatherreport.com/ (change to celsius). Plot today's and tomorrow's weather here against your chosen country. Find the UK and your chosen country on the globe /Google maps and discuss why they might have differing weather/climates.
Try a mindful moment today using the instilling learning channel - this activity focuses on using bubbles for relaxation.... very important in such unusual times.
Tuesday 31st March 2020
Wow! The last day of March! Probably the most unusual March we can remember but today we are focusing on the positives. Aren't we fortunate that we do have a home to take refuge in and lots of places near our homes to take our daily walk in. Take care and stay safe and think of one positive thought before you start your day! Let's take a look at today's home learning activities:
English: Practise your new story again, the more you do this the easier your child will find it to write.
Focus on the new foods. Ask your child to draw and label each piece of food from their new version accurately so that they learn the correct spellings. Children should draw each piece in the order their new insect will eat them.
Maths: Recap number bonds- play game from last week again (scroll down to last week's plans if you're not sure). Test your child to see if they can tell you what number goes with each card. Complete the number bonds to 20 activity sheet (sticks of cubes). Don't forget to also visit Mathletics.
This site is a good one to help children see the bonds visually if they are finding it hard to recall them (click on the image):
And this site offers a great opportunity of extension as you can set the start number to 20 (or even a selection of different numbers) - just try to set time limits on screen time...as this one is hard to stop playing!
Topic: How is the weather chart doing? You must have at least a full week's worth of weather now. Can you answer these questions looking at your weather chart? You can record your answers any way you like (on paper, as a video, using pictures or text).
-What was the most common weather during your week?
-How many days did it rain?
-Did we have any snow?
-Which day was the best / worst day to go out for a walk?
-Is this weather typical for the season?
Today, why not try your hand at being a weather forecaster? You could do a little video/picture and send it to us. Use a reliable site such as https://www.bbc.co.uk/weather and make your weather forecast. We would love to see what you create! Send it to our Year1bps@welearn365.com email address.
Today's Window Wonderland activity is 'silly faces' and 'jokes' - interpret that how you wish - we would love to see what you put up in your window! Send the photos in!
Take care and stay safe, from Mrs Pinkerton, Mrs Bes-Jeary and Miss Smith.
Monday 30th March 2020
One week down! You've got this! Just remember that, even during a normal half term, everyone would be starting to get tired about now. Remember to work in short bursts and also enjoy spending time together (playing games, sharing stories, talking...) and also to exercise... we love Cosmic Kids yoga... why not try it for yourselves?
Today's activities:
English: Remind your child of their new version of the Hungry Caterpillar story, can you retell it together? Ask your child to draw their new character.
Add a caption so your child can practise spelling the insect’s name i.e The Very Hungry Worm. They could write ‘This is the Very Hungry Worm’. Extension: ask your child to write some facts about their character...where does it live? What does it like to do? Email us your pictures- we'd love to see them!
Maths: Make a card game- pairs. Write numbers 0-10 or 0-20 on pieces of paper. Turn them over and play pairs to find all the bonds to 10/20 e.g. 6 and 4 / 17 and 3. Can your child recall them quickly? Send us a photo of you playing the game!
Topic: How are those cress seeds doing? Have you noticed any difference between the ones you grew in the dark place and the ones in the light? Perhaps you could draw both and write a little sentence about it to complete your cress diary.
Remember our work on deciduous and evergreen trees? Perhaps, on your daily outside time today, you could identify some trees of each type and explain to your parents how you know... check out the slides below to remind yourself.
Have a go at making a four seasons deciduous tree (watch this link on the left to see how). The template is provided below...
Have a happy Monday and we'll be in touch again tomorrow!
Friday 27th March 2020
Hello Year 1! So, it's not quite the usual 'Friday feeling' this week but please do try to differentiate between your week days and your weekends... in our house we are planning to clear all the school things away from the kitchen table and put them in a 'school box' ready for Monday. The weekend will be for gardening, playing, toasting marshmallows on the fire and watching favourite films.... be kind to yourselves, it's been a busy, strange week. We are so proud of our school community... thank you for being an important part of it!
Last day of home learning this week....
English: Tell your child today they will create their own versions of the story. They will need to change the insect (it doesn’t need to be an insect that transforms) and the fruits/food that they eat. Together create a story map (use the one below as a guide). Orally re-tell their new story, practise doing this over and over again throughout the day so that they are very clear on the structure and language patterns of their new story.
Maths: Remind your child how to ‘count back’ by making jumps backwards on their number line.
Model: 6 – 2 - start on 6 and make 2 jumps back to 4. Play the addition and subtraction snakes and ladders board game (printed). Use the number line to help solve the calculations- remember to start with the biggest number!
Topic: Keep checking on your cress - have you noticed any changes yet? Is there a difference between the one in the dark and the one in the light place? Start to draw/take photos using the sheet below...
How is your weather recording going? We've been very lucky with the sunshine so far. If, during your daily exercise, you are lucky enough to find a pine cone... this is a fantastic weather experiment to try:
Get moving this Friday with some spring time PE:
Think of different movements for:
• Dig the garden.
• Cut the hedge.
• Pull the weeds.
• Mow the lawn.
• Sweep the leaves.
Run/walk around the house/garden. When you call out an action, perform the agreed action.
This website is fantastic for moving whilst also reinforcing maths skills.... try this activity for practising number bonds but there are many more to explore on the site.
Have a fabulous weekend... we'll be in touch again on Monday!
Thursday 26th March 2020
Wow! What amazing weather we've been having. We hope that you've been able to get outside at some point during your day to make the most of it!
Don't forget to keep checking on and watering your cress seeds... is anything happening yet? What have you noticed so far? Remember, super scientists record their findings so perhaps you could start a cress diary showing the changes that you observe.
If you're enjoying being scientific, why not try this science experiment (click on the light bulb) using items you'll have around the house... Mrs Pinkerton's daughter REALLY enjoyed it!
Our other learning activities today are (resources in your packs):
English: Look at the number flash cards together, ask your child to read each number up to 10. Use the matching card game to match the number to the number word. Practise spelling each number word correctly.
Maths: Practise writing teen numbers 10-20, ensure number formation is correct. Explain how teen numbers are 1 ten and some ones. Practise counting on from 10 to a teen number- how many more than 10 is it? e.g 10 in your head- count on fingers- 11, 12, 13. How many more than 10 is 13? 1 ten and 3 ones. Repeat. Complete the ‘adding by making 10’ sheet- use coloured pencils to colour in counters on the tens frames and solve the addition. Remember to fill one frame and then count on from 10 to find the total.
Topic: Remember to update your weather chart and check your cress seeds.
Our art work links to the Glaisher and Coxwell lesson we have learnt about in class (meteorologists who used a hot air balloon to observe the weather). We have been practising techniques for 3d modelling on plasticine. Show the image of the hot air balloon clay tile. Which of the learnt techniques can they see used (stamping, coiling, pinching, printing)? Can your child draw a design for a clay tile considering which technique they could use to create their effects?
Wednesday 25th March 2020
Welcome to day 3 of home learning! Today, take time to be thankful for all that we have.
Remember, though the learning is important, so is being there for each other. Be kind to yourselves. Take lots of breaks and take a look out of the window or go into the garden and see the signs of spring...just like the seasons, this too shall pass...
This week we would have enjoyed our author visits from Stratford Literary Festival. Though we can't actually meet Benji Davies, author of Storm Whale, we can 'virtually'. In light of the current situation, he can be found reading his stories on his youtube channel, #BenjiDaviesReads. We hope you'll enjoy his reading of Grandad's Island below...
Today's activities:
English: Go back to your first session. Using the sequenced story, ask your child to copy correctly the spellings of the days of the week above the right picture. You could model write it first for them, talking through the spelling, the use of a capital letter and demonstrating the correct handwriting.
Maths: Practise writing teen numbers 10-20, ensure number formation is correct.
Explain how teen numbers are 1 ten and some ones. Practise counting on from 10 to a teen number- how many more than 10 is it? e.g 10 in your head- count on fingers- 11, 12, 13. How many more than 10 is 13? 1 ten and 3 ones. Repeat. Complete the ‘adding by making 10’ sheet- use coloured pencils to colour in counters on the tens frames and solve the addition. Remember to fill one frame and then count on from 10 to find the total.
Topic: Watch a video clip of a weather forecast (use BBC iplayer to look at the actual week ahead).
Look at a map of the British Isles online or follow the daily national forecast and discuss the different weather symbols and what they mean. Is the weather the same everywhere in the country? Talk about why not? Complete a daily weather chart (present in any format but use the weather symbols provided). Use as an opportunity to spell the days of the week correctly with your child. Talk about the meaning of the symbols and the weather –is this typical of the season?
How's your cress doing? Don't forget to keep watering the seeds and checking in on their progress!
Tuesday 24th March 2020
We hope that you all had a good start to home learning yesterday and that you are settling into a routine but, most importantly, you are safe and well.
Here is a summary of the learning activities for today (see your home learning pack for the resources).
English: Show the ‘days of the week flashcards’, read them together. You could look for the tricky part of each word such as ‘tues’ in Tuesday or ‘Wed-nes-day’ in Wednesday. Put the cards face down on the table, take turns to turn them over and read them until children are very familiar with them. Ask your child to put them in the correct order. You could display these in your home so children see them on a regular basis.
Maths: Write down some number sentences and ask your child to read them out to you.
e.g 5 + 2 = 7 – 3 =
Check your child recognises + - = signs and uses the correct language.
Model using the number line made to solve the above- starting on the first number and then making jumps forwards/backwards to find the answer.
Ask your child to solve some simple addition and subtraction sentences using their number line.
6 + 2 = 10 – 6 =
15 + 4 = 16 – 4 =
11 + 6 = 20 – 5 =
This game (click on the image) is a great way to reinforce using a numberline to subtract-there are lots of levels and settings...
Topic:
Use the cress seeds provided and cotton wool. Clean out two empty egg shells or yogurt pots and draw on a face! Add cotton wool provided into the empty shell, dampen and sprinkle on cress seeds. Choose one to put in a dark place and the other to sit e.g. on a window sill. Make predictions about what might happen. Start a 'cresshead' diary. Begin today with writing the day (reinforcing the correct spelling of the days of the week) and what you did and what you predict might happen. Keep watering the seeds every day and observe the changes (recording them in your diary).
This book: 'Dave the Dog' has been written by a nurse to help children to make sense of what is happening right now. It is free to download. Click on the link below for your copy...
Monday 23rd March 2020
Welcome to the first day of your home learning activities!
Why not start your day with a morning workout? Join Joe Wicks and thousands of children around the country via his youtube channel at 9am for today's daily PE session.
Tasks for today:
English: Read the story of ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’ by Eric Carle. If you don’t have a copy at home you can often find retellings on YouTube…https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75NQK-Sm1YY
Ask your child to cut out and sequence the story using the pictures provided. They could stick these down if you have glue at home, leave space above each picture. Together re-tell the story so children can remember it.
Maths:
Create a number line with your child which they can use throughout their learning.
Ensure they correctly form and order the numbers.
Practise counting forwards and backwards from different numbers on the number line. Can they find 1 more and 1 less than different numbers?
Topic:
Using photo sheet provided, talk about some of the wild plants that grow near our homes. Discuss the shape, size and distinguishing features of these plants.
Ask: which wild plant is the most common? How could we find out?
Go on a wild plant hunt together – use the photo sheet provided and mark the frequency using a tally. Add up tallies and write the number – discuss which plant is the most common.
Music:
Recap the 'When it's a sunny day' song below (words in your pack) and sing it together- talk about the different weather associated with different seasons.
Phonics:
Go to https://new.phonicsplay.co.uk/resources/phase/2/grab-a-giggling-grapheme
Use the phonics play login: march20, password: home and play 'giggling graphemes' - select phase 3.
Select the correct grapheme to match your phoneme.
Why not join in with the window wonderland campaign? Children are invited to make something creative each day to go in their window for other children to spot in walks (with family members only) around their towns/villages... these are the themes for each day....
In addition to the suggested activities, please also read regularly at home - access to scheme books can be found in the 'useful link' pages of our website. We suggest that you go ahead with the daily spellings, working through a week at a time (pausing during the Easter break). MANY thanks.
We want to emphasise that whilst the home learning packs provide some ideas and resources, we do recognise that, during this unsettled time, the highest priority should be given to wellbeing and spending time together as a family. So please... play games, do puzzles, build dens, cook, paint, talk about your family history, take walks in the fresh air and simply 'be' together.
In your pack, as part of your science work, we have included cress seeds and cotton wool. Have fun creating some cress heads together following the instructions. Take lots of photos - we will look forward to seeing them when our new year group email accounts are up and running.
May we take this opportunity to wish you the very best during these unprecedented circumstances. Take care and stay safe.
Kind regards,
Mrs Pinkerton, Mrs Bes-Jeary, Miss Smith, Mrs Rosenthal, Mrs Vale, Mrs Rees, Miss Pugh and Mrs Smith.