Year 1 - Monday 30th March

Hello everyone and happy monday,

Me, Mrs Cura, Mrs Rogers and Mrs Barrow are really missing seeing you and your children each day. We think of you often and we are here to support you if you need us. Mrs Cura will telephone you once a week but do get in touch before then if we can help in any way.

It looks like we will enjoy another dry week weather wise and so we should all hopefully be able to get outside for some fresh air. Both of my children took Mrs Johnson's reception activity suggestion of making a mud kitchen very seriously on Friday and lots of fun was had by all.

Have you had the chance to plant anything yet? I haven't but I will take photographs once I start and share them with you and your children. I have washed and repurposed some recycling ready as plant pots. Perhaps you could challenge your child to find or make makeshift plant pots too. 

This week the Prezi presentation will talk through the slides that are available on virtual school and I have also shared some videos that will hopefully support your child's learning. Click here for the presentation which will be updated throughout the week (currently only Monday is ready). I hope your child finds it useful and enjoyable.

Have a great week.

Lots of love,
The Year 1 team. xxx   
    

Year 1 - Power Maths information for next week

This week I will be setting learning which aims to strengthen and deepen your child’s knowledge of unit 8, subtraction within 20. There are 8 lessons in unit 8 followed by an end of unit check. Please refer back to last week’s power maths slides to view the Discover and Share and Think Together slides for lessons covered last week in virtual school.   

Resources to help

To help your child work independently, making some physical resources similar to those we use in school would be very helpful. 
Two ten frames. These are grids with ten squares (5 across, 2 down). The ten frame helps give children a sense of ten and of number bonds to 10. It is also very useful when two ten frames are placed side by side to be used when subtracting numbers within 20. 
Twenty Counters. In school we use counters with different colours on each side. You could make these out of a cardboard box (a cereal box would automatically give a coloured and a plain side) or your child could colour in some circles of paper. Equally useful would be any small objects that you could collect 20 of such as raisins, pebbles or small toys.

Number cards. It would be useful to write the numbers 0 - 20 on small cards or pieces of paper. Ideally you would want two 20s and two 10s. 

Part-whole model. This model helps children to partition numbers and visualise that addition and subtraction are inverse operations. If you make this large enough to fit your number cards in the middle then this will mean you only need to draw one part-whole model. 

 

Supporting your child

Please remember that children develop at different times and that last week was an unusual teaching and learning experience for all of us.  However I have listed some of the unit aims and areas that your child might need some extra support or extension with as a guide to help you.  

If your child has struggled with the unit 8 or has needed very close adult support it might be that they would benefit from:

- practicing and building their confidence subtracting numbers within 10.

- practicing counting on and back to 20.

- more opportunities to partition numbers to 20 using the part-whole model.

- opportunities to subtract numbers within 10, either mentally or using a number line or ten frame.   

Most children will find some of the questions in unit 8 challenging. Power maths questions are designed to extend children’s understanding and develop maths mastery so it is completely normal if they have been unable to complete the questions without some adult support. 

What to expect this week

The lessons on Monday and Tuesday are aimed to strengthen your child’s knowledge of key concepts covered in unit 8.

The lessons on Wednesday and Thursdays are intended to deepen and challenge your child’s knowledge and understanding. 

The lesson on Friday I will be inviting the children to do some Mathletics.  

Throughout the week you might also like to complete unit 8 and fill in any gaps and discuss any areas your child found particularly challenging (but do remember that finding some aspects a challenge is expected) 

In addition to these lessons your child may also want to play some games in purple mash or practice their number bonds using the online game hit the button (number bonds).    

I am working on videos to support lessons although my current attempts have been enormous files.

I have recorded a video explaining the resources you need here although apologies if it is too large to load. (I am quickly working on my IT skills!). 

I also plan to have another Prezi presentation for next week. Where you should be able to view the resources video (Monday/ maths/ monday's lesson / resources to help), if you were unable to get it to load from the above link.  Click here for the presentation.

Please don't feel obliged to do any of the above. My aim is to support you and give you information to help you and not overwhelm you. Please do what is right for you and your situation and if you need any additional help from us please get in touch by emailing or calling the school.

Kind regards,
Ms Browne & the year 1 team 

Year 1 Friday 27th March - Superheroes, spellings and spring

Well done superhero parents and carers,

This has been an unprecedented week and you have all done brilliantly! I'm sure you have had some challenges and frustrations but hopefully you have also had some pleasant surprises and lovely experiences. I have enjoyed seeing your home learning projects and seeing the wonderful creative ideas you have had.

Please remember to be kind to yourselves and to not worry if things haven't gone quite to plan. Juggling home schooling, working from home and the seemingly endless demand for food from children can seem slightly overwhelming at times (or is that just me😉 ). 

Spellings

If you would like to continue to test your child's spellings then the last spellings that went home were:
made, came, same, take, safe, date, lake, these, theme, complete

If you would like new spellings for next week then the next set of spellings would have been:
five, ride, like, tide, side, home, those, woke, hope, hole

When learning their spellings, we have been encouraging the children to look, say, cover, write check, and then correct each word. 

Fridays were always our spellings test days so I will continue to post new spellings each Friday for you to give to your child, should you want to.

Spring

I'm sure I seem slightly obsessed with Spring at the moment. I'm actually obsessed with all the seasons and find the changing seasons exciting. Observing the seasons changing is also a really accessible science activity for children.   

One of our year 1 parents found and shared this lovely Wildlife Trust signs of spring spotter that you will hopefully enjoy doing with your child. 

I hope you have been finding the virtual school and Prezi resources useful. Next week I will link the two so that the Prezi presentations will provide videos and audio to support and extend the virtual school activities. 

Happy Friday everyone and I hope you have a lovely weekend. Please email me c.browne@princeofwales.dorset.sch.uk or call the school if we can support you in any way or if you just need to talk to someone. Your happiness is as important as your child's and we are here to support you. 

Lots of love,

Ms Browne, Mrs Cura, Mrs Rogers and Mrs Barrow. xx    

Year 1 - Wednesday 25th March

                            

Hello Everyone!

I've been enjoying seeing your children's work during the Today at POW sessions with Mr Spracklen. It's wonderful to see how well they are engaging with the virtual school programme in addition to seeing your own individual learning projects. 

Below are some additional activities that you may want to do with your child. These activities are based on things that we would have been doing in school in year 1 at this time but please don't feel any pressure to do them.

Science

1)  Observe the weather

In science we would have been recording the weather each day and hopefully noticing that the weather was improving and getting warmer over time as we move into Spring and Summer.

- Your child could create their own weather record sheet drawing a symbol for the weather each morning and afternoon. 

-  Perhaps your child could watch weather reports and make a record of the temperature each day. The Met Office has regular weather forecasts that they may find interesting. 

- Could your child prepare and practice their own weather forecast? It could be based on the real weather we are experiencing or they could use their imaginations and make up the weather!    

2) Signs of Spring

Spring is definitely in the air so studying the changing seasons is a lovely activity to do with your child at the moment.
- Can you (or your child) create a Spring check list or scavenger hunt? Can they find: an insect, a flower bud, blossom, daffodil, a bird, a seedling, a green leaf?
- Your child might enjoy watching past episodes of BBC Spring watch or this lovely BBC teach film which shows what happens during spring.
- Could your child practice and prepare their own Spring watch television or radio report? They could use toys or go outside if possible and report on the signs of spring that they have noticed.   
- Could you plant something and watch how it changes over time? If you don't have any seeds at home there are plenty of household vegetables that can be regrown such as celery, garlic and carrots.
   

As I mentioned in my last blog I am working on putting all these ideas into a Prezi presentation . These presentations are based on the content I'm sharing in the blogs (which I will add to) but have lots of extra videos for children to watch. There is also audio of me describing the activities and it is hoped that your children may be able to navigate through the presentation independently or with the help of an older sibling (giving you some time to enjoy a cup a tea). Unfortunately, I have been told that the link doesn't open properly via facebook and so to get the best of the content it it is recommended that you open the blog via the Prince of wales website or you open the link through Prezi Viewer (this is a free app to download). Click here for the link (which will update as more content is added).        

As ever please get in touch if I or any of the Prince of Wales team can support you in any way..

Kind regards,
Ms Browne

New Year 1 Prezi presentation trial

To help you and your child with their home learning I am trailing using Prezi with year 1. This is a presentation program that allows your child to listen to audio and watch videos embedded into the presentation.

My hope is that your child will be able to become a little more independent with their learning activities and I can give them easy links and explanations with different activities.

Please click on this link to view my first trial presentation. You may find it useful to download prezi viewer to your electronic device before viewing although this isn't necessary.

This trial is a child friendly version of today's blog which has quick links to videos the children might enjoy, like staff reading stories. It also has my voice explaining different activities they could do (please note you may need to pause to hear the audio).

Let me know if this is something you think you and your would like to see more of.

Kind regards,
Ms Browne

Year 1 - Tuesday 24th March 2020

Hello everyone,

I hope the first day of virtual school home learning went well for you. Please don't worry if things don't go exactly to plan - try to relax and know that over time you will find an approach that works for you and your family.
Due to me being unwell my children have already had a week of home learning. We are still finding our feet with it all too and my daughter emphatically telling my husband that "this isn't school" has become as routine for her as watching Good morning POW with Mr Spracklen!

In addition to the school's virtual school timetable of activities I am sharing some alternative activities you might want to do with your child this week. Please don't feel any pressure to do them they are just some different ideas you might like to explore for variety.

1) Get Active   

I really recommend finding some time for your children to do some exercise every day. It is important for their physical health but it will benefit their mental health also. The Prince of Wales virtual school program begins at 9am with a workout for school children with Joe Wicks. This was very popular on Monday although any physical activity that gets your child moving would be good.
Many of the children in Year 1 have enjoyed following videos from Cosmic kids Yoga and Koo Koo Kangaroo who are a band that sing fun songs with actions to get your child moving.
Alternatively playing games outside is an excellent way to also get some vitamin D where possible. Ball games, tag games or developing their own circuits are just a few ideas your child might enjoy. 

2) Share a book

a) Read to your child
Reading to and with your child is one of the best things you can do at home. If your child doesn't want to engage with any other activity then allow them to choose their favourite books and read them to your child.  The benefits of reading to your child are not just educational. It can be a very calming activity for them and can help them feel secure and attached.       

b) Ask your child to retell a story
Encouraging your child to retell a story you have recently read or a well known story is a really beneficial activity. It helps your child develop their comprehension skills and vocabulary and helps them develop greater confidence speaking. Allow your child to be creative with this -  they may want to collect or make props or masks or they could use different voices for characters. If you want to film or record your child retelling a story myself and Mr Spracklen would love to see or hear them. 

c) Listen to your child read
Listening to your child read is always a good activity to do. I can't recommend praising your child for their reading efforts strongly enough. As an English speaker, learning to read is a tricky process with lots to remember. Your child might gain confidence if you take it in turns reading a page or line each rather than reading extended sections of text. For phonetically regular words your child will be familiar with 'Fred Talk' which is where they sound out the sounds the letters make. Children should be familiar with first finding special friends. For example the word thin has special friends th and then we would Fred talk the individual sounds th-i-n. 
The English language has a number of irregular words known as Red words in RWI. These words cannot be sounded out and need to be learnt by sight.
For more information about the RWI approach that your child will be familiar with please visit the RWI parents page           


Please feel free to get in touch if you have any questions or if there is anything I can do to support you and your family. c.browne@princeofwales.dorset.sch.uk


Kind regards,
Ms Browne

Year 1 Monday 23rd March 2020

Good Morning everyone!

It looks set to be a beautiful day today -  I hope you get the chance to enjoy some sunshine.

For many of you it may be the first day home schooling your child and it is bound to be an adjustment for all of you.

Please take a look at our virtual school.  You can access this via the  Prince of Wales website  and then by clicking on the Virtual school microsite. There is a schedule of activities for you to work through, although as Mr Spracklen's recent letter outlined we do not want you to feel that you must stick to a rigid timetable if it is not right for you and your child at this time.

Everyday there will be a new schedule of activities for you to follow. I recommend the live broadcasts as a great way for your child to connect to the school community. The live broadcasts are at 9.30am for Good Morning POW; 11.20am for Assembly and normally 4pm for Today at POW. You can access these via facebook or the Prince of Wales YouTube channel. Again please don't feel obliged to tune into every broadcast every time.

I am a parent and a teacher and have taught both of my children in school. I hope it is reassuring for you to know that my children behave completely differently for me at home than they do at school - and rightly so!

I know how challenging it can be to encourage your child to work at home when they are used to home being a place of play and relaxation. With this in mind, in addition to the virtual daily learning programme I will also share ideas for you on this blog to do with your child. These will be designed specifically for year 1 and for those moments when the virtual schedule may not be suitable.

As it is almost lunchtime as I blog this, I'll keep my first suggestions quite brief:

Science activity - Signs of Spring
Can you look outside or go into the garden and spot signs of Spring?
Your child could:
- draw pictures of evidence of Spring.
- choose a tree or plant that you can take a photograph of every week to show how it changes over time.
- create a scavenger hunt for a parent or sibling to find signs of spring.
- create a spring collage, painting or drawing.   

Maths activity - Numberblocks
If you are not familiar with Cbeebies Numberblocks then do check it out on the BBC iplayer. This cartoon is educational and fun and is a great way for your child to learn about number bonds. Perhaps after watching an episode your child could explain what they learnt and recreate it with any blocks or counters you may have at home.

I hope you have a lovely afternoon and I will blog later with some activities for tomorrow.

Take care and please get in touch if you have any questions.

Kind regards,
Ms Browne   
 

 

Year 1 - Keep Smiling - 18.3.2020

  

On Friday we will be ending term with a non-uniform day with the children invited to wear bright clothes to bring us some cheer and a donation for our local food bank!  We would also like to bring a smile to all of our faces by having a joke to share as well.  Put your thinking caps on and bring along your favourite joke to tell and share. You can join in at home as well, just email them in in the usual way and wear your brightest clothes for the day.

Year 1 lockers - new morning routines

Hello everyone,

The children were very excited today because year 1 now have lockers in the quiet room to store their bags and coats. There are a few changes to the morning routine that I will be putting in place as from tomorrow (Thursday) to avoid congestion. 

1) Please place drinks and snacks in the plastic containers in the classroom.

2) Book bag trays are now also in the classroom and children may put their book bags in their trays before taking their seat to complete their morning activity.

3) Children should sit down at their morning group places putting their coats on the back of their chairs or on the benches and their bags on the floor next to them.  

4) Each table will be invited by a member of staff to place their bags and coats in the lockers in turn. 

5) Please could parents and carers avoid going into the quiet room where the lockers are located. We would like to encourage independence in your child whilst avoiding congestion and confusion.

Thank you for your patience as we help the children adapt to these new routines.

If you have any questions or concerns please talk to a member of the team.  

Ms Browne

Year 1 - Week 2 update including Home learning

We had another lovely week in year 1. The children especially enjoyed coming to school dressed as their favourite characters for World Book day. Thank you for all your efforts in making and providing costumes for your child, they were all very impressive. The children will have a free world book day to bring home next week. My apologies for these not going home on Thursday!

In science we have started talking about the seasons and how we know what season it is. On Tuesday the children enjoyed going outside and looking for evidence to decide what season it is now. Next week we will start looking at tally charts and other methods of gathering information as well as starting to consider what plants we would like to grow.

In maths we have been looking at how to use our number bonds to 10 to calculate additions that have a total greater than 10. Next week we'll be learning about subtraction within 20. On Monday your child's Power Maths practice books from last term will be sent home with a letter. We would like to set your child the challenge of completing any unfinished challenges or reflections with a purple pen and returning them to school. There is no time limit for this activity and every returned book will receive a special award.

Next week in literacy and topic we will be learning about the history of the postal service. The children will practice writing their own address and will write their own postcards from a dream holiday destination.

Home learning
For Home learning this week I would like the children to think about or research their dream holiday. I would like them to consider what the weather will be like, what foods they would eat and what sights or activities they would see or do at their chosen destination.

RWI home learning is also sent home on a Friday. Please could you return RWI home learning books and book bag books by Thursday at the latest. 

Library books and book bags
We will give the children the opportunity to change their library books every Friday afternoon. The library scanner prevents children from taking out more than 3 books at one time so could you ensure that library books are returned in your child's book bag on Fridays otherwise they will not be able to change their books. Parents are also very welcome to come to the library before or after school with your child to change books. 
Please could children also bring their book bag books in their book bags on a daily basis so that staff can read with your child.          

We hope you have a lovely weekend.

Ms Browne & the Year 1 team