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The Snail and the Whale

The Snail and The Whale

We’ve been reading The Snail and The Whale, another book by one of our favourite authors, Julia Donaldson

We’ve been retelling the story in our own words and writing special blackboard messages, just like the snail trail messages in the story!

The book had some fantastic adventurous words to describe landscapes and actions. Our word of the week was humongous. We discussed the meaning of lots of other words too.

Can your child tell you what each of these words mean? They could use the images to remind them.

Maths

This week, we’ve re-visited the composition of 5 in various ways.

Transition

On Wednesday, the Reception children had a wonderful visit to their new Year 1 classroom. It was a delightful experience for the children as they met their new teacher and explored their future learning environment.

The children were excited and engaged, participating in fun activities to make them feel welcome and at ease. This visit was a positive step in helping the children transition smoothly into Year 1. They left with big smiles and lots of enthusiasm!

The dancing raisin experiment

Phonics

Summer 2 week 5 has focused on:

root word ending in: –er, –est

longer words

In provision, we’ve been reading words ending in –ed and sorting them by the sounds that –ed makes:

‘t’ final sound: jumped, helped, screeched etc.

‘id’ final sound: boasted, painted, printed etc.

Help at home; Sentence Substitution Throughout the school year, we’ve suggested lots of practical ways to explore phonics at home with easily made resources and games. There are also some great quality online phonics games. Sentence substitution is a great way to practise both reading and comprehension. The goal is to replace one word in the sentence, whilst ensuring that the sentence still makes sense. This is a free to access game on ‘Phonics Bloom’ Click here to play at home!

Poetry Picnic

Each week we will be learning a new poem. We will recite this poem each day. By saying the poem out loud, we can focus on the sounds and rhythm of each word or line. We talk to the children about how this can help us become better readers.

This week’s poem is Sliced Bread

The children enjoyed exploring synonyms for the word nice and came up with many alternatives, such as delightful and delicious. This sparked a lot of interest in changing and adapting various parts of the poem. Check out some of their new poems!

Nell Bank

On Friday, we set of on our trip to Nell Bank. We began by listening to a story about Pete who liked to be TIDY but maybe a little bit too much.

We worked together safely to clear up a big mess! During this activity, we explored ways to reduce, reuse, and recycle, and discussed what would happen to litter if it was left.

Afterwards, the children had the opportunity to go on a mini-beast hunt to help Pete find lots of worms. Following this, it was time to help Pete make a new home in the woods. One of their favourite parts of the day (outside of  lunch, of course) was the water play area.

Summer Reading Challenge – Reading for fun!

Are you looking for something FREE to help with your child’s summer holiday boredom? The Library Service may have the answer for you.

The Library Service’s annual summer reading challenge is due to start this weekend on Saturday 6th July.  All children need to do to earn rewards, a certificate and a medal is to read at least 6 books during the summer holiday period.

The challenge runs from 6th July until the 14th September in all Leeds Libraries so there’s lots of time and opportunity to rise to the challenge. You do not have to join up this weekend though – You can join at any time and you can join online too.

The theme this year is Marvellous Makers and it’s all about being creative – music, junk modelling, art and crafts, photography, dancing. There’s something for everyone’s reading tastes – even audio books too.

For more information you can contact any Leeds Library but Madeleine at Scholes Library will be more than happy to welcome you there to answer any queries or questions.

Wrap it up!

Today, as part of our D & T learning, Class 1A set off for The Hub to make their own wraps. They were given the choice of cream cheese, ham, peppers, lettuce and cucumber of ingredients to put in their wrap. Everyone thought carefully about making healthy choices. The children used skills such as slicing, chopping, spreading, arranging and rolling and everyone tried hard to use the bridge grip when slicing. Well done Class 1A!

After all the hard work, they enjoyed the fruits of their labour. Yum!

Help at home: Perhaps you could give your child the opportunity to show off their skills by allowing them to make their own healthy wrap or sandwich at home. Or better still… perhaps they could make you one.

One is a Snail, Ten is a Crab

One is a Snail, Ten is a Crab

We’ve been reading One is a Snail, Ten is a Crab by April Sayre and Jeff Sayre.

This book, which is set on a beach, has a maths link. It describes how many legs you can see when combining different animals, insects and humans!

In our writing, we’ve used images from the book and described what we can see.

The book has also inspired lots of talk around seaside locations we have visited before.

Help at home- To continue our discussions around seaside locations, it would be lovely to have some pictures up around the classroom of the children visiting a beach. Please email these over to Scholesreception@spherefederation.org.

Geography- Where do we live?

In our non-fiction reading, we’ve been looking at maps of the United Kingdom. Country is our word of the week. We’ve learnt that there are many countries across the world and that our country is called England.

The children enjoyed looking at a map of the United Kingdom, locating Leeds and having a go at reading seaside towns.

Help at home- Next week, we’ll be focusing on our city; Leeds. Please have a chat with your child about their favourite places to visit in the city, as we’ll be asking about this in class. 

Maths; counting and arrangement of shapes

Over the next few weeks, we’ll be revisiting mathematical skills learnt across the year. This week, we’ve been revisiting number patterns, such as double facts.

In provision, we’ve been using Tangram pictures to match position, orientation and arrangement of shapes.

Art

We’ve been making observational drawings of real-life objects(shells).

Phonics

Summer 2 week 1 has focused on phase 4 words with long vowel sounds.

In provision, we’ve been having a go at ‘sentence substitution’; reading a sentence and replacing one word with a different word, making sure the sentence still makes sense.

Poetry Picnic

Each week we will be learning a new poem. We will recite this poem each day. By saying the poem out loud, we can focus on the sounds and rhythm of each word or line. We talk to the children about how this can help us become better readers. This week’s poem is called Thunderstorm.

Living and Learning

I know the ingredients of a happy and healthy relationship.

During our living and learning session, the children created a friendship soup. They thought carefully about what ingredients would make a good friend.

If someone wants to play and no-one else will play, I will play with them.

Please can I have that?

You share toys.

Please may I play with you.

Please can I have a turn.

Go to someone if they feel sad.

Music

Listening to a piece of music, the children drew in time to the music and shared their feelings.

When it was loud, I wanted to run. Violet

I liked it because there were drums. Frankie

It makes me want to dance. Eli

It made me think of an elephant because it was loud.  Sienna

It made me feel excited. It sounded like a lion. Lula

Reminders

Getting ready for year one

We are now in Summer 2 and starting to think about transition into year one. To get the children prepared, we’d like parents/carers to encourage children to come into school through their classroom door independently and wave them off at the waving window. We know there are a few children already doing this, which is great for developing that independence.

Having said this, please know that our door will continue to be open to you for chats and if your child wants to show you their learning.

Thank you for your support.

Swimming dates 

Rainbow –  12 June, 26 June, 10 July

Sunshine – 19 June, 3 July, 17 July

Living and learning: I know the importance of 60 active minutes

This week  we were very lucky to try our hand at Heely’s. If you’ve never heard of them, they are shoes with wheels! The workshop allowed the children to try an new sport and this linked brilliantly with our living and learning statement for this week about being active for 60 minutes a day.

The first big challenge was putting the shoes on and attempting to get the knee and elbow pads on! Once we were kitted out, we were taught how to position our bodies to get the Heely’s to move smoothly. This was harder than it looked. The adults even had a go although I’m not sure we should’ve done! By the end of the session, we were all feeling a lot more confident – there were still a few people wobbling about though!

Farmyard Hullabaloo

It has been a fun-filled farm themed week!

We have continued our learning on our topic Life on Earth, by exploring animals that may live and work on a farm.

We began our week by reading Farmyard Hullabaloo.

Farmer Time

We had a very exciting video call with a farmer named Luke. The children were very eager to find out about Luke, his animals, and life on a farm.

On the call, we learnt about Farmer Luke’s farm and what types of jobs he does. We even got to join him on a drive to see his neighbour’s cows!

The children confidently asked their questions and listened carefully to his answers.

What is it like being a farmer? Charlotte

What jobs do you do? Sienna

How loud are you animals? Liezah

How do you plant seeds? Norah

What tractor do you have? Albert

Butterflies

Everyone was very excited to see the newly hatched butterflies on Monday morning. The children enjoyed observing them closely and looking at the details on their wings and bodies.

By the afternoon, it was time to release them outside. It was wonderful to watch them fly around our wildflower garden and some children also had the opportunity to hold them.

Poetry Picnic

Each week we will be learning a new poem. We will recite this poem each day. By saying the poem out loud, we can focus on the sounds and rhythm of each word or line. We talk to the children about how this can help us become better readers. This week’s poem is called The Fox.

Phonics

This week we have focused on reading root words with the suffix ing, ed and est.

plumpest   swimming   melted   helped

We’ve learnt the tricky words; out and today.

Help at home- Please continue to work through the weekly learn at home phonics sheets. We’ll continue to send these home each Friday.

Reminders

Sun cream – Please remember to bring in a labelled sun cream, ready for those hot spring days.  As your child will need to independently apply their sunscreen, please practise this at home.

Thursday 23 May – Farmyard Festival: (Letter sent home) Please don’t go to the expense of buying anything new – creative adaptations of something you’ve already got will be fantastic.  Outfits need to be suitable for school, safe and warm/cool enough to be worn all day.

Friday 24 May- School Closed: Training Day

SWIMMING DATES- Summer 1

Sunshine– 22 May

Reading – poetry

We have been enjoying ‘There’s a Rang-tan in my bedroom’, a poem that links to our geography topic. It identifies the threat that humans pose to the Amazon Rainforest and the diverse ecosystem that lives there. The children were quite moved by the poem. They were given the opportunity to perform the poem, drawing on their oracy skills. They used prosody, read with fluency and pace and portrayed the emotions brilliantly. They are definitely becoming more confident at reading aloud.

Help at home: Find a poem that you can read aloud together at home. Can your child read it fluently and with expression and self-assurance?

School Journalist: The Transition to High School

This week, we’ve another update from our now lone reporter, Jimmy in Y6.

The transition from primary school to secondary school can seem daunting. Our year 6s have just entered their final term at Scholes. It is a good time to check in with our leavers about what lies ahead for them and to look back at their time at Scholes.

I interviewed Thomas, Alex and Emma on this topic to find out their thoughts.

What has been your greatest moment in primary school?
Emma: Getting a school job.
Thomas: When I did some very good cooking that expanded my horizon around flavours and recipes
because my passion is cooking.
Alex: Probably when I scored a volley from the halfway line two days in a row in football earlier this
year! (Editor’s note: I know this is true as I was on the same pitch!)

How do you think that high school will be different to primary school?
Emma: We’re going to have to move around different classrooms a lot.
Thomas: It will feel a lot more grown up because we will have to take ourselves to our own
classrooms and there will be a lot more responsibility.
Alex: There will be a lot more people, much harder learning and a lot more homework, but I can cope
with that.

What are you most worried about going into high school?
Emma: Making new friends because all of my friends are going to different high schools.
Thomas: All the new people and different personalities that I will face.
Alex: The teachers and how strict they’re going to be.

It is very normal to feel this way and have anxieties about moving to secondary school. I interviewed a year 7 from Lawnswood school who I know through an out of school activity. She said that within her first month at high school, she had already made a new circle of friends and had found it
surprisingly easy to settle in.

Well that’s all, folks. See you next week

The Very Hungry Caterpillar

This week, we have been reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar. As a class, we created a story map to help retell the story. We used time connectives to develop our story language.

First,   Next,   After that,   Finally,  

In our writing, we have been composing sentences to retell main events of the story. Some children chose to adapt the story by changing the main character and food.

The reading challenge this week was to create a story map.

Maths

This week, we have continued to develop our subitising skills (see the quantity without counting) in complex arrangements.

We have explored creating arrangements of 6. The children explained how they could see 6.

Phonics

This week, we have continued to learn phase 4 words such as frog, shift, chimp and drum.

We’ve also learnt more phase 4 tricky words; some, come, love and do

Help at home- Please continue to work through the weekly learn at home phonics sheets, throughout the Summer term. We’ll continue to send these home each Friday.

Poetry Picnic

Each week we will be learning a new poem. We will recite this poem each day. By saying the poem out loud, we can focus on the sounds and rhythm of each word or line. We talk to the children about how this can help us become better readers. This week’s poem is called Under a Stone. Watch here.

Living and Learning

I know the importance of sleep.

The children thought about different reasons we need sleep and how to get a good night’s sleep.

It can sometimes make your eyes sting. (screens)

It wont help her brain. If she’s distracted she wont go to sleep. (iPad)

You shouldn’t have any screen one hour before bed.

If you put a calming song on your might go to sleep.

Science

The children have been amazed at the rapid growth of the caterpillars. Each day, we have observed how they have changed and recorded what we noticed

They are massive now!

They have got too big for their skin.

They are moulting.

Reminders and Dates

SWIMMING DATES- Summer 1

Rainbow Class-  1 May, 15 May

Sunshine Class- 8 May, 22  May

The Bad-Tempered Ladybird

We’re excited to be back together for a happy and healthy Summer term!

This half term is called Life on Earth. We’ll be exploring minibeasts, wild animals, farm animals and the human body.

The Bad-Tempered Ladybird

This week, we’ve been reading The Bad-Tempered Ladybird by Eric Carle.

There was lots to explore in this story; feelings and appropriate behaviours, clocks/time and the comparative sizes of animals.

Frustrated is our ‘word of the week’.

In our writing, we’ve written things that make us feel happy and things that might make us feel sad or angry, like that bad-tempered ladybird!

Art; clay modelling

We’ve been using clay to make minibeasts. We looked at pictures and photos of minibeasts, before making our models. We had spiky caterpillars, wiggly worms and crawly spiders to name just a few! Clay is great for our fine motor skills. We have to work hard to mould, pull, press and shape.  We’ll be continuing with our clay creations into next week.

Maths

In Maths, we’ve been counting beyond ten- to twenty. We’ve been suggesting ways to make counting easier, when we are faced with a lot of objects to count.

We’ve also been counting things that cannot be moved, or things that cannot be seen (such as sounds/actions)

In provision, we explored doubles through doubling ladybirds and recorded our findings.

Help at home- Challenge your child to count more than ten objects. Can they count the pegs on the washing line? Can they count toys in their toy box? Can they count books on a book shelf? Don’t forget to send in photos of counting at home!

Caterpillars

We’ve got some new additions to the classroom, as this week some very tiny caterpillar friends arrived! We’ve been observing them and have been writing about the caterpillar life cycle. Some of us also wrote down how we will keep them safe. We can’t wait to see them change and grow over the next few weeks.

Phonics

Summer 1 week 1 has been an introduction to reading phase 4 words. We’ve also learnt our first phase 4 tricky words; said, so, have, like

Help at home- Please continue to work through the weekly learn at home phonics sheets, throughout the Summer term. We’ll continue to send these home each Friday.

Poetry Picnic

Each week we will be learning a new poem. We will recite this poem each day. By saying the poem out loud, we can focus on the sounds and rhythm of each word or line. We talk to the children about how this can help us become better readers. This week’s poem is called Pitter Patter

We talk about how a poem sometimes has rhyming words and sometimes doesn’t. Can your child tell you the rhyming words in this week’s poem? We also talk about how a poem can have a fast rhythm or a slow rhythm.

click below to watch us recite this week’s poem!

Pitter Patter

More pictures of our learning this week…

Reminders and Dates

SWIMMING DATES- Summer 1

Rainbow Class-  1 May, 15 May

Sunshine Class- 24 Apr, 8 May, 22  May