Welcome to Kingfisher Class

Class teacher: Miss McCormack

Welcome back! I hope you all have a restful half term!

Changes to Kingfisher class this week:

• Monday will be motivational Monday
• Tuesday and Wednesday - I will not be in school these days but class will be covered by Mrs Harrison.

This week we have been learning:

• Maths - This week we move swiftly onto our money block. We will be looking at counting pence, pounds and notes. We will look at words problems involving money.
• English - We will be looking at a new narrative text for this fortnight. We will be looking at the story 'My Africa adventure.' We will learn the story using actions and pictures before innovating our own version.
• Science - In science we will be looking at plants and what they need in order to grow. We will be planting sweet pea seeds and observing them in different conditions over the next few weeks.
• Art - In Art we will be exploring clay. This week we will focus on using our hands as tools and making a small model; learning how to manipulate and stick clay together. We will move onto creating a small cup then designing and creating a decorative tile.
• Geography - We will be focusing on 'Our wonderful world.' We will look at the difference between something being wonderful and creating wonder. We move onto looking at wonders of the world.
• Computing - We will be exploring the Scratch Jr program this half term and will be focusing on giving commands for a chosen movement. They will be looking at designing backgrounds and sprites and the different actions they need to command.
• PSHE - We will be focusing on the things our bodies need to stay healthy. We will focus on keeping our body healthy, hygiene, good habits and healthy food. We looked at different ways to stay healthy and will focus on a different area each week. Next week we will be looking at keeping our teeth healthy and will conduct an experiment to show the effect of sugary drinks on our teeth.
• RE - In RE this half term we will be learning about five main religions: Hinduism, Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism and Islam. We we learn about their beliefs, significant celebrations and key facts. This week we learnt about Hinduism and created Rangoli patterns. Next week we will be making Challah bread as part of our learning about Judaism.
• Music - We will be learning to play the glockenspiel this half term. We will start looking at the note 'D' and being to plan and compose our own music compositions. 
• PE - We have new blocks of lessons this term. On Tuesdays we will focus on athletics and Thursdays will be dance.

PE Days - Tuesdays and Thursdays

Please could you ensure children have the appropriate clothing for the weather and they have a top, trousers/shorts and appropriate footwear in their PE kits.

Homework

Daily reading - please log their reading in their reading records. Please be aware that children's books will be changed once per week. If your child has read lots at home that's fantastic, please use the questions in the books to discuss the story so we are also building on their comprehension as well as their reading and fluency. Please also allow them to read their own materials - this could be magazines, books, poems, songs, etc. to help encourage a love for reading rather than just reading for homework. 

Maths - Please can we practice the 2s, 5s and 10 times tables. We have been writing them systematically starting with 0 X 2 = 0, 1 X 2 = 2 and so on. If your child is confident with their 2s, 5s, and 10 times tables please could you add the 3s and 4s.

Phonics - Please see the attached phonics sheets below called 'Summer Term 1' Each weeks phonics sounds have been organised into a weekly practice sheet. Please practice these at home each week. Children will receive a blue folder with the sheets for the term, this can be kept in their book bags and bought into school. Once your child is secure with the sound and words at home please could you highlight/mark this so I can keep track. Thank you!

Handwriting - Please spend time focusing on letter formation ensuring the letters start and finish in the correct places. This is to help ensure a smooth transition when they move through the school and begin to join their handwriting. I have uploaded some more resources below to help support handwriting at home. There is a worksheet for both lower and upper case letters as used in the Monster phonics scheme. There is also a document which details the handwriting rhymes used in Monster phonics to help the children remember how to form each letter.

Spelling - It has been great to see so many children exploring the spelling shed website! This will become a valuable tool for them so please encourage them to explore the site and use its regularly if they have not already.

The children have a phonics book to read and an additional book from the library to share with someone at home. The library book is to be read for pleasure so they may need help to read this. Both books need to be returned to school each week. 

Year 2 pupils in Kingfisher class have been very excited to start quizzing on their accelerated reader book and have so far been amazing!!