Squirrel HQ - Mrs Browne

 

Key dates and information:

PE is on Thursday – please come to school in PE kit.

Forest School is on Friday - please come to school in PE kit.

Children will need a forest school bag containing:

• Wellington boots - they can stay at school
• Waterproof trousers
• Spare socks and spare trousers/skirt.

Forest school bags will be returned weekly to be refreshed. 

Library day is Thursday. Please return all library books each Thursday to exchange it for a new one.

 

Home learning:

This weeks sounds were h, b, f, ff, l, ll, ss (ff, ll and ss make a long sound for grass, muffin and jelly). Can you segment some words to see if they can blend the word? For example, you say "s-a-t" and they hopefully hear and say the word "sat". If you keep doing this with any three letter words it will support their early reading skills to hear the individual sounds to make the word. Remember to use our sounds from the last 6 weeks too... s, a, t, p, i, n, m, d, g, o, c, k, ck, e, u, r, h, b, f, ff, l, ll, ss.

The tricky words we have learnt are: is, the, no, go, I, to, into, his, has, as, of, put

I can't believe we have completed all our phase 2 sounds... Well done Team Squirrel! Next week I will be checking in to find out which sounds we are finding trickier than others. Keep a look out in reading wallets to see which ones your child are finding tricky to remember so we can keep practising. 

A taste of our learning:

16.10.26

This week was the start of our new topic 'When I group up I want to be...'. We have learnt about different jobs, the equipment they may use, the vehicles they have and what they do in their job. The children have drawn what they want to be when they grow up, and we have some footballers, Mummys, Doctors and builders in the making. The children even attempted to write the key word of what they want to be. 

In maths, we are looking at our number formation. It turns out you can never write enough numbers! We used multi-link to create the numbers we had written and used numicon to write the number to match. 

Next week we continue our topic but look more at how we grow as humans and how other living things grow. We will be planting our own cress and watching it grow and change day by day. We are also going to be interviewing different people around the school about what their job is and what they do. We also have a very special visitor coming in to talk about their job! 

9.10.26

This week we have focused on different things people celebrate or believe. We learnt a little bit about Diwali through the book 'The Best Diwali Ever'. We found out how Diwali is celebrated. We were inspired by the rangoli patterns because of the colour and patterns and created our own using coloured sand. They looked brilliant! A big thank you to Clemmie who bought in a book called, 'We're All Works Of Art,' which again celebrates how we are all unique and different. There were some fabulous pictures in the book which inspired Mrs Browne to create her face using colour and shape and of course, Squirrel Class did not disappoint with their own versions! They were using great cutting skills, recognition of shape and using bold colours to make it stand out. 

Squirrel class have also had their eyes on litter picking! They noticed it was happening during lunchtimes and wanted to do it themselves. They took full responsibility for their new role and looked the part with their high-vis jackets on and rubbish collectors. They loved it! It sparked a great conversation about looking after our school. 

Next week we start a new topic called, 'When I grow up I want to be...'. If you have a job where you help others, please can I ask you send in a photo and description of your job (just in an email). The children would love to see it and it would be a great discussion as a class. OR, if you want to come in to talk to the children about your jobs and show some of the equipment you use, it would be a highlight to their day! Now... some children have already offered your expertise and said that you want to come in... I want to believe them, so please contact the school office or me at pick-up to arrange this! This topic will be for the next two weeks so anytime between now and half term - it won't need to last more than half an hour. Thank you!! 

 

2.10.26

This week we have been finding out about who we are, who we live with and how we are different to one another. We have read many books linked to our topic, which has helped us to understand how we are all different and that difference is great! We have been busy role playing in the dolls house, making puppets using a variety of fabrics and materials and building our houses using lolly sticks. The children loved looking at their family photos and talking about who was who. There was such a sense of pride in each of their faces, with beaming smiles every time – it was rather lovely to watch.

In maths, we have learnt how to count using one-to-one correspondence. This means making sure we count all we need to, and to not over or undercount. To do this, we make two piles, the uncounted pile and the counted pile. We have been moving what we have counted into the counted pile to show clearly that it has been counted.

To practise the formation of our numbers, we have been detectives around the school to write down every number we find! We found them on the clock, the computer and on displays around the school. The children felt very important walking around school with a clipboard and pencil to investigate where the numbers were. The biggest number we saw was 2014!

As a special treat, we had some Year 6 children join us for a music lesson. In small groups, they taught us a pattern to follow using the instruments, then we played it all together as a class. It was brilliant watching Year 6 teach the Squirrels but also watching the Squirrels taking it very seriously, enjoying themselves and the task.

25.9.26

This week the sun has been shining which only means one thing... being outside and pretending it's summer again! We have been in the water tray, building in the construction area and made great use of the bikes with our fancy new helmets! In maths, we have been using and finding numbers for personal significance. To do this, we have been finding different amounts up to 10 to count, then write the number. Also, we have been ordering numbers using cones and using bean bags to match the amount to the number. The children noticed that as the numbers got bigger, the amount of beans bags made the cones grow taller (see picture attached for it to make sense!).

DRAWING CLUB!

Drawing Club is an imaginative, story-based teaching approach which we will use at different times throughout the year. It builds on early literacy, vocabulary, and fine motor skills. Our focus book was 'Not Now Bernard' by David McKee. In drawing club we read the story every day and learn and repeat four ambitious words (using our big voices and actions) that link to the book. Next, we draw using our imaginations. Mrs Browne draws first, then the children use their own ideas to draw their versions. This week we have drawn a monster, Bernard's house, a meal that the monster will eat and where the monster came from. We then make up a code, which is where the magic happens! Can your children tell you about Drawing Club?

Thank you to those who attended the Meet the Teacher. It was a great turn out and I hope you found it useful. Please find attached at the bottom of this page, a PDF of the presentation, should you need to reference back or could not attend the meeting.

 18.9.26

This week we have begun phonics and focused on the sounds 's', 'a', 't' and 'p'. We have been practising writing our sound with our whole bodies, big arm movements, finger writing and on whiteboards. To support our hand grip, we have been busy threading, twisting nuts and bolts, completing puzzles as a team, using tweezers, sweeping and scooping compost and even planted some bulbs. 

In maths, we have been singing number songs, ordering numbers to 10 and had an introduction to numicon. The children have been exploring patterns, whether that be in the construction shed by moving the different shaped blocks to fit in a certain space or painting different coloured petals on a flower. Using the animals, the children have been ordering them in height from shortest to tallest. I gave them an added challenge to find two different animals which were the same height.

11.9.26

The children have loved listening to and playing with rhyme. We have learnt that when the ending sound is the same they rhyme. We have been playing a game to bake a cake by mixing the correct rhymes together to make the perfect ingredients! It was also the perfect opportunity to read all the 'Oi Cat' books... The class favourite was definitely 'Oi Duck Billed Platypus!' See if your child can remember or make new rhymes up with these words: cat, frog, queen, tap, crown, mug, zip, ring.

We have also been recognising and ordering numbers to 10. We have used numicon, dinosaur feet with dots to show the quantity and numbers to make a number line up to 10. I was extremely impressed with what they knew! 

The children are really getting to know their new school routine. They have had to remember so much! We are learning more and more about each other day by day. It has been great watching the children talk with confidence about their bear's adventures over the summer. Do bring them in if you want to share your adventures too! 

On Monday 14th September there will be a celebration assembly of the library reading challenge. Please bring in your child's certificate if you have one for Monday's assembly so we can celebrate them (this is a whole school assembly for children only). Many thanks! 

4.9.26

Well done for completing your first day at Langrish! I am so proud of all of you! I was definitely bursting with pride and enjoying lots of stories and hugs today. We learnt where our pegs were and how to choose our lunch. We even shared our names with the class and learnt about each other's favourite foods during circle time. We have a lot of ice cream and chocolate lovers in Squirrel HQ and conveniently fish and chips (luckily it was what they chose for lunch!) Have a brilliant weekend and I will see you again Monday! I will be at the gate at 8:25am. If I am not there, I will be dropping off children to the classroom and be straight back if they need me!