Reception – The Gingerbread Man

Hello parents and children,

I understand that some of you have experienced difficulties accessing Tapestry today. Please see below a link to the Gingerbread Man story referred to in my blog earlier this morning.

Hope you enjoy it!

Mrs Palmer

Year 3 RE learning – Journeys

This half term’s learning in RE will be about journeys. The experience of community is an essential and enjoyable part of life for people of every age and faith. The cycle of a year and the span of a lifetime contain occasions for regular celebrations as well as unexpected surprises, when people want to celebrate with family, friends and communities.

The Church’s celebrations are community occasions. On Sundays, the parish family gathers together. It is a time to remember how much there is to celebrate; a time to say thank you; a time to know that God’s love is offered and made visible here and now in Jesus and in people.  Sacraments are more formal special moments: signs of ‘God-with-us’, who journeys with his people; signs of strength and blessing for life.

Word of God

“Now there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon; this man was righteous and devout, looking forward to the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit rested on him. It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. Guided by the Spirit, Simeon came into the temple; and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him what was customary under the law, Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying, “Master, now you are dismissing your servant in peace, according to your word, for my eyes have seen the salvation which you have made ready in the sight of the nations; a light of revelation for the Gentiles and glory of your people Israel.” (Luke 2:25-32)

Catechism of the Catholic Church

The whole liturgical life of the Church revolves around the Eucharistic sacrifice and the Sacraments. There are seven Sacraments in the Church: Baptism, Confirmation (or Chrismation), Eucharist, Penance, Anointing of the Sick, Holy Orders and Matrimony. (CCC1210)

The feast of the Presentation of the Lord (2 February) marks a thanksgiving celebration for a first-born son.

All those concerned with education should work and plan together to ensure that the children, besides having some idea of God and the supernatural, should also, in proportion to their years and degree of maturity as persons, have some experience of those human values which are involved in Eucharistic celebration: for example, acting together as a community; exchanging greetings; the capacity to listen, to forgive and to ask for forgiveness; the expression of gratitude; the experience of symbolic actions, conviviality and festive celebration.

Prayer and Reflection

Lord, you fulfilled the hope of Simeon who did not die
until he had been privileged to 
welcome the Messiah.
In Sacramental Celebrations we meet the Risen Christ. 
May he continue to give us life.
Amen.

Welcome back Year 3!

What an interesting week we have all had! Back to school has looked a little different in 2021. Ms McCarthy and I would like to say a big ‘well done’ and ‘thank you’ to year 3 and your parents for working so hard remotely.

We know it’s not been easy, but we have seen some fabulous learning being produced, particularly in English. We have really enjoyed reading your stories based on the book ‘Jack and the Dreamsack’. Plus, your guided reading learning about Alice and Wonderland has been great to see.

We also really enjoyed seeing most you on our class Google meet on Thursday morning. It was great to see most of the class and your fabulous presents you received for Christmas. Ms McCarthy and I would like to hold a weekly class meet in the future so please keep your eyes peeled on your Google classrooms.

Just a reminder that you will now have Maths, English, guided reading and topic subject set at least four times a week and RE set at least three times a week with (hopefully) some collective worship each week. 

Don’t forget to hand in your assignments on time but please let us know if you are finding anything tricky.

Miss Battams and Ms McCarthy 🙂

Reception Home Learning – 11.01.21

Good morning parents and children,

Welcome back to another week of home learning.  This week we are going to start learning the story of The Gingerbread Man, the winner of our vote last week.

May I also take this opportunity to remind parents of the resources recommended on the school website.  Look on the drop down menu under Curriculum/EYFS Support. 

Below is an outline of activities I will provide for this week.  If you’d like to prepare for the cooking activity on Friday, you will need:

A Gingerbread Man cookie cutter
350g plain flour
175g light soft brown sugar
100g butter
1 egg
4 tbsp golden syrup
1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
Ground ginger
Icing sugar and sweets for the decoration

Communication and Language

Understanding which day comes next

A reminder of last Tuesday’s post, make a chart together.  This time include the days of the week across the top.  Monday – Friday in a different colour from Saturday – Sunday. The idea is to help your child learn the days of the week eg. what day comes after, before etc.  This can be partially filled in advance or after each event.  Keep reinforcing your child’s understanding of the day ‘before’/’after’ a given day.

This chart will also really help your child in terms of routine and self-esteem during these unpredictable times.  

Literacy/Letters and Sounds

This week, I have planned some activities to help your child learn to retell a story.  We call it talk for writing.  The idea is to develop children’s ability to imitate the language they need for a story orally, before writing their own versions.   In particular, children begin to learn key words and phrases such as ‘once upon a time’ ‘first’ ‘next’ ‘finally’ ‘suddenly’, ‘however’.  Children learn to use these words in speech so that they have the words in their heads when thinking about what to write. 

Ask your child to watch my video retelling the story of The Gingerbread Man.  The story can be found on the Memo section of Tapestry.  Encourage your child to listen to the story first and try to join in with the actions– hope they enjoy it!  In class, we would tell the story orally with actions each day.  In time, children begin to remember the actions and join in. 

Today’s new sound – ‘th’ (digraph two letters but one sound)

There are two ways to say ‘th’, voiced (as in ‘this’) and unvoiced (as in ‘thin’). 

Here is fun Geraldine the Giraffe video to introduce the sound.  Watch the next video for words your child should be able to read and write.

This video supports blending and reading words that include the ‘th’ sound.

Below is the action for ‘th’   – pretend to be a naughty clown and stick out tongue. Can your child find ‘th’ on their sound mat?  This is quite a tricky sound for children – ask your child to look in a mirror to see their tongue sticking out a little when making the sound. 

Show your child how to write ‘th’ using the correct letter formation.

Letter formation for ‘t’ and ‘h’ can be found in your child’s letters and sounds book.

Encourage your child to ‘have a go’ at writing the ‘th’ sound. 

If your child is ready for a challenge, ask your child to write the following words:

For extra challenge, maybe your child could write a sentence and draw a picture to accompany the sentence. 

Maths

Here is step 5 of our measuring sequence.   

Ordering a small set of objects by a given attribute.

Story sticks

A story stick is such a great activity to do with children during an outdoor trip. It keeps them busy, helps them learn about nature, and provides a memento to take home.  You also need very little in the way of preparation; just some string or sticky tape.

A story stick features items collected whilst on a walk. These might be things like leaves, twigs, flowers, feathers or anything else natural that you find along the way.  All you need to do is choose a stick and attach items from your journey to it using string or wool.  Younger siblings could use a piece of cardboard instead of a stick; this is easier.

Questions you could ask:

  • Do you want your story stick to have a theme? For example, a colour, all flowers, all leaves. 
  • How long does your stick need to be? Think about how long your walk is!
  • What senses does each item stimulate?
  • What is the story that your story stick is telling? This could be either a retelling of the journey or let your child’s imagination run wild!

Wishing you a great day.

Nicola Palmer