It has been a real pleasure getting to know your children as they settle into Year 1 routines – they are all absolutely wonderful and amazing! We would also like to take this opportunity to thank parents and carers for your continued support in helping your child at home to learn. Please continue reading with your child at least three times a week or ideally every day if you can. It is this valuable home-school partnership that ensures academic success and it is much appreciated! Thank you!
What we have been learning
Our topic this half term has been ‘Remarkable Me’, and we have been developing children’s knowledge and understanding of the human body. Children have been introduced to the concept of five senses that help them to find out about the world around them and link those senses to particular parts of the body. We really enjoyed exploring taste, touch, smell, sound and sight. For example, as part of our scientific learning, we had a food tasting event to understand the difference between bitter, sweet, sour and salty foods and classify those food groups. We also went on a learning walk outside to see, smell and touch everyday plant life. Finally, as part of our science unit, we explored touching a range of everyday materials to sort items into categories such as ‘soft’, ‘smooth’ or ‘hard’. In History, we have been developing our understanding of what the ‘past’ means. In Art, children have enjoyed learning about lines and shading. Our shared reading has been very enjoyable, and children particularly loved gaining a deeper understanding of the story ‘Where the Wild Things Are’. In Maths, children have been developing their counting and addition skills and writing numbers to ten and beyond. Finally, children have been working very hard in their writing and have produced some lovely work, including a List Poem and a character description. We have also been challenging ourselves to use upper and lower case letters correctly in our writing.
Upcoming Learning
Next half term, our topic will be ‘Winter News’, which explores the season of winter. In Science, we begin by looking at winter and its impact on British wildlife. We will explore how some animals and insects adapt to the cold, while others hibernate or migrate. In PSHE, our ‘Winter News’ topic will look at how to take care of our health by discovering which foods boost wellbeing in the winter months. Winter is also a time for reflection; just as wildlife experiences a scarcity of food, so do many humans. We will be discussing simple things we can do to help those in need. Finally, winter is the season that heralds the joys of Christmas. In RE, we will be learning about the story of Christmas and engaging in a range of festive activities, including getting ready for our Christmas Concert!
As part of our Learning Wonders, we will also look at the festivals of Diwali and Bonfire Night. In English, children will learn to write short, well-constructed sentences, which they will then develop into longer sentences using varied sentence openers and descriptive vocabulary. In Maths, we will be focusing on subtraction, number bonds, and 2D and 3D shapes.
It is going to be an amazing new half term and we cannot wait to see you all again!
