Buttercup, Bluebell and Daffodil Blog - Friday 3rd October 2025

Happy Friday Everybody!

This week in Key Stage 1 we have been learning the story 'Handa's Surprise'. We all came together for a very fun activity on Tuesday morning. We were exploring the different types of fruit that was in Handa's basket and writing a list of adjectives to describe them. This was then very helpful when we wrote our own version of the story. 

Harvest Festival

We are celebrating Harvest time in school and talking to the children about helping others. We would really appreciate any donations of tins, packets, jars or toiletries, so that we can send them to the local charity Hopeworx. Below is a message from Hopeworx:

The items collected from your harvest festival are donated to HOPEWORX who are based at Brook Road in Rayleigh, and they support families and individuals. For over 10 years this charity has supported local people in the Rochford District with food parcels to alleviate crisis situations. The number of people requiring this support has escalated over the last few years due to the rise in unemployment, rise in fuel prices and the overall cost of living. As well as providing food, the parcel also includes information on local services to help people work towards positive solutions.'

Homework

Year 1 - This week the children have been looking at number bonds to 10 using the 'part, part, whole' method. They understand this method and we are now working on the important skill of recognising ways to make 10. The children have a single worksheet rather than the books this week. It is double sided but should not take the children long to do. Please only spend 10 minutes or so on this at home. Homework is not supposed to be a laborious task!

Year 2 - This week the children have been learning to place objects into equal groups to support their understanding of division (which will come later in the year!). This should take no more than 10 minutes to complete and matches the learning in class this week.

If your child would like to extend their Maths knowledge further, there are a range of really nice Maths games on this website. We use them occasionally in school too!

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/search.aspx?Subject=16&AgeGroup=2

Spellings

New spelling sheets have been given to the children. Once again, please do not spend lots of time completing these, little and often is much better for the children's learning, and remember, we do not need the spelling sheets to come back into school. they are for you to keep and practise at home when you have the time!

Reading

The children have their new phonics reading books in their bags. You do not need to read all 3 books at home each week. The Animaphonics book is the one that the children practise with an adult each week in school. The colour band books are for additional reading practise should you wish to do so.

Thank you all so much for your support. Please remember, if you have any concerns or queries to either message via dojo or pop in and see us.

Have a lovely weekend!

The Key Stage 1 Team x

Buttercup, Bluebell and Daffodil Blog - 26th September 2025

Happy Friday everybody!

What a lovely week we have had! Please see the newsletter for details of the Science investigation that we carried out together this week. We have also been using puppets to retell the story 'Go Tell it to the Toucan', which was recorded, so that we could watch it together. 

Next week, we will be continue to retell stories and will be exploring the different fruit that Handa carried in her basket. In Maths, we will be learning more about 2D and 3D shapes and learning our number bonds to 10 and 20.

Spellings

This week the children are bringing home some spellings to practise at home. Please do not make this a laborious task! The children are familiar with the 'Look, say, cover, write, check' method of learning words in school. They need to look at the word, say the word, cover the word, write it once and check it before writing it again. We do not need the sheets back in school, they can be kept to read and practise at home. 

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 12 & 13.

For Year 1's this focuses on counting skills and comparing amounts. Developing accurate and reliable counting and then being able to say which of two or more amounts is more or less is an important aspect of the Year 1 curriculum. It is also important that the children understand that equal means the same as. There are also some games in the link below to help reinforce these ideas.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-years/counting

For Year 2's this focuses on the number line and making estimates as to where numbers lie on the number line. When doing this, it is important to firstly look at the numbers that we can see already on the number line - are they going up in 2's, 5's, 10's? From here, look at which 2 numbers the arrow is in between to work out a number that is more/less than the given numbers. The game below will help reinforce the ideas presented in the homework book:

https://mathsframe.co.uk/en/resources/resource/37/placing_numbers_on_a_number_line

Alternatively, you can draw out your own number lines, giving a starting point and an end point and asking your child to place numbers where they feel they would go between these numbers.

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development. Thank you!

Always remember to have your child's reading book and reading diary in school everyday! We need all books and reading records in school every Thursday so that we can change the children's books in time for the weekend.

If you have any issues or questions, please drop us a message via dojo or come down the steps to see us at the end of the day.

Have a lovely weekend!

The Key Stage 1 Team

Buttercup, Bluebell and Daffodil Blog - Friday 19th September 2025

Happy Friday everybody!

We have had another busy week in KS1 this week. In English we have been creating lists of items we would like in a 'fantasy bedroom', then drawing what it might look like and adding a caption to explain our pictures. In Science, we have continued to look at materials and their properties in preparation for some exciting activities over the next few weeks. Watch this space for more information about what we have been getting up to! 

Next week, we will be retelling stories using puppets that we have created ourselves and looking at 1 more and 1 less than numbers to 100 and partitioning numbers in our Maths lessons.

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 10 & 11.

For Year 1's this focuses on counting to 100. This will continue to build upon the work on tens and ones from last week. Remember - having a clear understanding of what digits represent in numbers is such an important aspect of our maths learning. Reinforce how 24 is represented by the digits 2 & 4 but 24 is actually a 20 and a 4. Explore the hundred square on page 10 and look for the patterns you can see there. There are also some games in the link below to help reinforce these ideas.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-years/counting

For Year 2's this focuses counting on in different steps. This looks at the patterns that are present in counting on in steps of different amounts and how even numbers always have even multiples but odd numbers alternate between odd and even multiples. The hundred square app below is really good for creating these steps and spotting patterns. Alternatively, practice writing out sequences of numbers, in particular, the 2's, 5's and 10's and discuss any patterns that you can see.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/learning-to-count/paint-the-squares

Reading At Home

Reading regularly at home will make a huge impact on your child's reading development and learning across the whole curriculum. Please read each week as often as you can and jot it down in the reading diary. Is is also important to talk about a book when you have finished your reading. Which is your favourite part? Did you like this character? Why? 

Always remember to have your child's reading book and reading diary in school everyday! We need all books and reading records in school every Thursday so that we can change the children's books in time for the weekend.

If you have any issues or questions, please drop us a message via dojo or come down the steps to see us at the end of the day.

Have a lovely weeked!

The Key Stage 1 Team

Buttercup, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 12th September 2024

Happy Friday!

This week in Key Stage 1 we have been busy learning our new routines and getting to know everybody in our classes. In English and Geography we have been looking at different types of homes and labelling their features. The children also went on a hunt for different materials that have been used around our school (see this weeks newsletter for photos). This was in preparation for our Science lessons next week when we will be sorting objects made from different materials. It's going to be another busy week of learning!

Roald Dahl Day

We had a lovely day celebrating the author Roald Dahl. The children that dressed up looked fabulous! We all enjoyed learning about his life and sharing his stories and rhymes.

 

Home Photographs

Thank you to everyone that has already sent a photograph of their home into us. If you haven't done this yet, please don't worry! We need them for Tuesday next week, so would be grateful for them by then. You can either send a photograph in with your child or you can send one electronically via Dojo messages to your child's class teacher

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 8 & 9.

For Year 1's this focuses on tens and ones. Understanding how 2-digit numbers are made up of tens and ones is fundamental to all the maths we do in Key Stage 1. Having a clear understanding of what digits represent in numbers is such an important aspect of our maths learning. Although we represent the number 12 with the digits 1 & 2, 12 is actually one 10 and 2 ones. Again, look at page 8 to understand the idea and then work through page 9. If you wish to extend your child's work in this, count objects and group these into tens so you can see how these larger numbers can be represented by tens and ones. There are also some games in the link below to help reinforce these ideas.

For Year 2's this focuses numbers to 100. Again, keep looking at these numbers in terms of their tens and ones - how is the number 24 different to 42? Look also at how each number can also be represented by words. When it comes to writing the words, encourage the children to be as accurate as possible in their spelling.

Place Value Games

Have a lovely weekend! 

Mrs O'Connor, Miss Langley, Mrs Holmes, Miss Bridges and Miss Smith

Buttercup, bluebell and Daffodil blog 5th September 2025

Happy Friday, everybody! 

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog - A new blog post will be posted every Friday containing information about what the children have been up to and what they will be doing in school the following week. It will also detail any reminders or special events coming up, as well as the Maths and English homework that has been set for each year group.

We have had a great first week back. It was so lovely to welcome the children back into school on Tuesday and to hear all of their holiday news!

The children have settled in so well and we are all very proud of how well the children have coped in their new classrooms and with new routines. Thank you so much for joining Dojo. I think you'll agree that it makes communication between parents and teachers so much quicker and easier. Please do not hesitate to use it to contact us if you need to or to send in photos of any special activities or achievements that the children have completed at home. We will also be starting 'Wow's' in Key Stage 1. (We know how you all like to use them as bribes from time to time! 😀) These can be in the form of the usual paper copy or via Dojo. 

Reminders

It is important that your child brings with them a water bottle and their reading diary and reading book every day please. The guided reading books are needed for the next group each week, so returning them is very important. 

Can you please ensure that all hats, cardigans, jumpers, coats etc. have the children's names in them? We have already had a number of children losing items and our lost property is mounting up! We would be grateful if you could do a quick check of the uniform this weekend please (including their PE kit). The children are far less likely to lose things that are labelled and it makes our life so much easier! 

**Don't forget that Monday is our PE day, so the children come to school in their school PE kit.**

Roald Dahl day is next Friday 12th September, The children can come to school dressed as a character from one of his stories, or they can bring in their favourite Roald Dahl story. It isn't necessary to spend lots of time and money on costumes and do not worry if your child does not wish to dress up to participate. We will be sharing the author's different rhymes and stories in our classes.      

Reading Books

Your child will have brought home 2 new reading books this week. This is to supplement extra reading practice alongside their Phonics Guided Reading books which will be coming home next Friday. Please write in your child's reading diary about any reading they have done as regularly as possible. Little and often helps your child's development so much! A quick note or a signature is all we need to see when we check if the children have read at home.

School Council Elections

Next week we will be holding elections in class to choose our class councillor, who will become part of the School Council. If your child wishes to stand they might like to make a poster or prepare a short speech which will help them make their case to the class! We will hold elections in the middle of next week and the results will be revealed in assembly on Friday!

Maths Homework

Today your child will be coming home with a maths homework book. This week, we would like both year groups to look at pages 6 & 7.

For Year 1's this focuses on numbers 1-20. Look through page 6 together with your child and practice counting the apples in the picture. Look at how the numbers can be represented by digits and words - both are important! Then let your child work through page 7, supporting them as needed. There is also a quiz on pages 2-5 which your child can do if they are super eager! There are further counting games on the website below to further extend these ideas:

Counting Games

For Year 2's this focuses on place value. Understanding how numbers can be broken down into tens and ones underpins all our work on addition and subtraction during Year 2. It is important that the children understand that 45 is not 4 & 5 but 40 & 5 as the 4 represents 4 tens. Let your child work through page 7, supporting them as needed. There is also a quiz on pages 2-5 which your child can do if they are super eager! There are further place value games on the website below to further extend these ideas:

Place Value Games

If you have any issues or questions, please, please come and see us at the end of the day or send us a Dojo message.

Have a wonderful weekend! 

Best wishes

Mrs O'Connor, Miss Langley, Mrs Holmes, Miss Bridges & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 18th July 2025

 Happy Friday, everybody! It seems incredible that we are already at the end of the year - it has flown by! We have all absolutely loved working with all your children this year and it has been a privilege to watch them grow, learn and flourish as the year has progressed. We are all sure that they will continue to be just as fabulous as they move on to being Year 2's and 3's!

We would also like to give a massive thank you and good luck to Mrs Yuille who is leaving us. She has been an incredibly important member of our staff team here at Down Hall and will be greatly missed. Good luck out there Mrs Yuille!

Don't forget that we are celebrating the end of the term with a picnic on the field with parents and carers on Tuesday 22nd July. Much like the Sports Day arrangements, parents can collect their children from classes at 12:00pm to take them on to the field. At 1:00pm, the children will line up to return to class to collect their things and then will go home straight away.

HAVE A GREAT SUMMER HOLIDAY!!!

We will be available on ClassDojo up until lunchtime on Tuesday 22nd July and then again from Monday 1st September.

Remember: children return to school on Tuesday 2nd September.

All that remains is for everyone here in Key Stage 1 to wish you an amazing summer holiday. We would also like to give our heartfelt thanks for all your support and kind words over the year - it means so much to all of us!

Much love

Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes, Mr Jude & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 11th July 2025

  Happy Friday, everybody! We are beginning to make preparations for all the children to be moving on to their new class as we wrap up our last 7 days in Year 1 or Year 2! There will be lots of things coming home so if you could put a named carrier bag in you child's normal bag this would be useful. Next week, we will be sending home the children's completed work books and their current books will come home on Monday 21st July.

Upcoming Events

• Friday 18th July - PTA Disco
• Monday 1st September - INSET Day
• Tuesday 2nd September - Children return to school

Reading Books

In preparation for next year, we will be collecting in all reading books on Wednesday 16th July. If you know you will be away before this date, please hand in your reading book before this date. We have already collected all Guided Reading books in today but if you can have a check at home to see if there are any books outstanding that would be much appreciated. 

We would encourage you all to take part in the summer reading scheme at the library during the holidays to help keep up your child's reading fluency during the 6 week break.

Have an amazing weekend!

Best wishes

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Class Blog - 4th July 2025

 Happy Friday, everybody! It was lovely to see you all on Thursday evening to see some of the work we have been busy at this year. After visiting our new classes on Monday, attention starts to turn to new horizons and there will be opportunities over the next 2 Thursdays to visit our new classes again. Over the next couple of weeks we will be gradually sending home all our work and books so please ensure that your child brings their bag in each day to help with this.

Upcoming Events

• Friday 18th July - PTA Disco
• Monday 1st September - INSET Day
• Tuesday 2nd September - Children return to school

Homework

We would like to thank you all for your hard work in supporting your child with their homework this year. We have returned all their homework book to them but we are not asking for them to be returned again this year.

If there are some pages left, please work through them at your own pace. The maths homework book is also a useful tool for looking back over the ideas we have covered this year as a reminder during the summer holidays so your child does not get too rusty over the 6 weeks off.

Have an amazing weekend!

Best wishes

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 27th June 2025

  Happy Friday, everybody! We have been very busy this week finishing off our animal habitat boxes which we have been creating in Design & Technology. Hopefully they will be ready for next Thursday when it will be Open School Evening from 3:30-5:00pm. This will be a chance for you all to come and visit all the different classes in the school and see some of the things we have been making this academic year. We look forward to seeing you all!

Upcoming Events

• Thursday 3rd July - Open School 3:30-5:00pm
• Friday 18th July - PTA Disco
• Monday 1st September - INSET Day
• Tuesday 2nd September - Children return to school

Message from Miss Harvey

Please follow the link below for your chance to get a signed copy of Andy Shepherd's new book "The Wood Where Magic Grows."

Click Here

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 64 & 65.

For Year 1's this looks at 3D shapes. This covers the names of the 3D shapes the children should know and it is important to discuss the mathematical properties of these shapes, that is the number of faces, vertices and edges.

Below is a link to some games to help support these ideas.

For Year 2's this looks at drawing shapes and patterns. Patterns can be repeating patterns, sequencing patterns (like at the bottom of page 64) or symmetrical patterns. Look around you and see where you can find shape patterns.

Below is a link to some games to help support these ideas:

Shape Games

Don't forget to keep reading at home and do the next page in your comprehension homework books.

Have an amazing weekend!

Best wishes

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 20th June 2025

 Happy Friday morning, everybody! We are all ready for our Sports Day today - it will be a fun albeit hot day for everybody. We hope you enjoy/have enjoyed it!

Upcoming Events

• Friday 18th July - PTA Disco
• Monday 1st September - INSET Day
• Tuesday 2nd September - Children return to school

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 62 & 63.

For Year 1's this looks at 2D shapes. This covers the names of the 2D shapes the children should know and it is important to discuss the mathematical properties of these shapes, that is the number of sides and corners (or vertices).

Below is a link to some games to help support these ideas.

For Year 2's this looks at sorting shapes. This again helps the children to focus on the different shapes mathematical properties - faces, vertices and edges for 3D shapes and sides and vertices for 2D shapes.

Below is a link to some games to help support these ideas:

Shape Games

Don't forget to keep reading at home and do the next page in your comprehension homework books.

Have an amazing weekend!

Best wishes

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 13th June 2025

 Happy Friday, everybody! Amazing to think that Barleylands was a whole week ago! All the children in Key Stage 1 were fantastic and it was such a lovely day. Enjoy looking at all the photos on this week's newsletter!

Upcoming Events

• Monday 16th June - Book Fair begins (after school)
• Friday 20th June - Sports Day Click here for the letter from this week)
• Friday 18th July - PTA Disco
• Monday 1st September - INSET Day
• Tuesday 2nd September - Children return to school

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 60 & 61.

For Year 1's this looks at measuring time. Understanding how time is measured helps work out slower and quicker times and whether times are earlier or later than each other. Try timing your child doing different tasks and compare the times that it took. Also reinforce how 60 seconds make up a minute and 60 minutes make up an hour.

Below is a link to some games to help support these ideas:

Time Games

For Year 2's this looks at 3D shapes. This focuses on the names of the shapes the children should know and their mathematical properties - faces, vertices and edges.

Below is a link to some games to help support these ideas:

Shape Games

Don't forget to keep reading at home and do the next page in your comprehension homework books.

Have an amazing weekend!

Much love

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 6th June 2025

Happy Friday, everybody! All is poised here this morning for our whole school trip to Barleylands! We are all looking forward to an amazing day - look out for the photos in next week's newsletter.

Upcoming Events

• Friday 13th June - PTA Father's Day Sale
• Friday 13th June - Father Day Tea at 3:15pm
• Friday 20th June - Sports Day Click here for the letter from this week)

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 58 & 59.

For Year 1's this looks at reading and writing the time on an analogue clock. This can often be quite a tricky concept so take the time to notice how the hands of the clock are different from each other and they have a distinct role in telling the time. Practical reinforcement of reading the time to the hour and the half hour around the home will also help embed this concept.

Below is a link to some games to help support these ideas:

Time Games

For Year 2's this looks at 2D shapes. This focuses on the names of the shapes the children should know and their mathematical properties - sides, corners (vertices) and lines of symmetry.

Below is a link to some games to help support these ideas:

Shape Games

Don't forget to keep reading at home and do the next page in your comprehension homework books.

Have a lovely weekend!

Best wishes

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 23rd May 2025

Happy Friday, everybody! Incredibly we find ourselves at Half Term and about to go into our last half term as Year 1's and Year 2's! We would like all the children to have a relaxing week off, so we are not sending homework books home this week but if you can keep up the reading little and often this will have a hugely positive effect on their progress.

We are also currently doing an inventory check on Guided Reading books so these have also not come home this week. Please keep an eye out for any Guided Reading books you may still have at home and bring these back after Half Term.

Upcoming Events

• Monday 2nd June - INSET Day (School Closed)
• Friday 6th June - Whole school trip to Barleylands (see here for the letter)
• Friday 13th June - PTA Father's Day Sale
• Friday 13th June - Father Day Tea at 3:15pm
• Friday 20th June - Sports Day

Have a wonderfully relaxing break!

Best wishes

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 16th May 2025

 Happy Friday, everybody! It has been a lovely summery week for everybody here in Key Stage 1. We have been doing all we can this week to support our Year 6's as they have risen admirably to the challenge of their SATs. As a result of some changes to our usual weekly timetable, we will not be sending home spellings or Guided Reading books this week.

Upcoming Events

• Friday 23rd May - Wellbeing Day
• Monday 2nd June - INSET Day (School Closed)
• Friday 6th June - Whole school trip to Barleylands (see here for the letter)
• Friday 13th June - PTA Father's Day Sale
• Friday 13th June - Father Day Tea at 3:15pm
• Friday 20th June - Sports Day

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 56 & 57.

For both Year Groups, this continues to look at the area of time.

Keep practicing these areas as outlined in the homework books and relate them as much as possible to your child's everyday life. We will leave the same links as before to help support this learning at home.

Months Game 1

Months Game 2

Time Games

Don't forget to keep reading at home and do the next page in your comprehension homework books.

Have a lovely weekend!

Best wishes

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 9th May 2025

 Happy Friday, everybody! We all enjoyed celebrating VE Day on Thursday this week, with all the children looking resplendent in red, white and blue! We have also been busy with our "Down At The Bottom Of The Garden" project in writing reports about garden birds in English and going on minibeast hunts in science!

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 54 & 55.

For both Year Groups, this is looking at the area of time.

For Year 1's this looks at days of the week and months of the year.. Being able to sequence the days of the week and the months of the year is an important area in time and underpin all the later work that we do going into Year 2. Think about the different things you do on certain days and the key events of the year and in which month they happen.

Months Game 1

Months Game 2

For Year 2's this looks at reading the time on analogue clocks. Read carefully through the page which explains this concept and be patient - time can be a very challenging area of the maths curriculum! There are lots of time games on the link below to help practice your clock reading skills:

Time Games

Don't forget to keep reading at home and do the next page in your comprehension homework books.

Have a lovely weekend!

Best wishes

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 2nd May 2025

 Happy Friday, everybody! It has been a very musical and mathematical day at school today with everyone enjoying Times Tables Rock Stars Day! The children looked amazing and enjoyed a special rock band assembly and took part in a range of times tables activities throughout the day!

Just a reminder that Thursday we will all being wearing red, white and blue to celebrate VE day - see the newsletter for more details.

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 52 & 53.

For Year 1's this looks at money. The use of coins in shopping is becoming less and less common in our everyday lives but it is still part of the curriculum for the children to recognise the different coins we have and use different combinations of coins to make amounts. Dig out your change drawer and practise making amounts and counting money. There are lots of games in the link below that support the concepts of money in Key Stage 1.

For Year 2's this continue to look at money. Again, keep exploring this concept practically using real coins but also using the games featured in the link below:

Money Games

Don't forget to keep reading at home and do the next page in your comprehension homework books.

Have a lovely weekend!

Best wishes

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 25th April 2025

 Happy Friday everybody and welcome to the Summer Term! It has been a busy 4 day week in Key Stage 1 with swimming starting and our Prostrike event today. We have also started thinking about our project "Down At The Bottom Of The Garden" by looking at different types of animals in the world around us.

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 50 & 51.

For Year 1's this continues to focus on volume. Continue to try some of the practical activities discussed last week - look at the volume of different bottles and cans around the house to compare and order them or use an egg cup to see how many cups it takes to fill different containers. Below is a game that builds upon this idea:

Bubble Bath Game

For Year 2's this focuses money. The use of coins in shopping is becoming less and less common in our everyday lives but it is still part of the curriculum for the children to recognise the different coins we have and use different combinations of coins to make amounts. Dig out your change drawer and practise making amounts and counting money or bribe incentivise your child to do jobs around the house for a set "wage." Below is a link to lots of games that support the concepts of money in Key Stage 1:

Money Games

Don't forget to keep reading at home and do the next page in your comprehension homework books.

Have a lovely weekend!

Best wishes

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 4th April 2025

  Happy Friday, everybody! Wow! We find ourselves at the end of the Spring Term! Everyone has worked so hard and achieved so much already this year. We are now looking forward to our last project of the year - "Down At The Bottom Of The Garden!" Have a look at our knowledge organiser to see the areas we will be covering in the Summer Term:

Down At The Bottom Of The Garden

Just a reminder that swimming starts for Key Stage 1 after Easter and our swimming day is on Thursdays. Please ensure that you have completed and returned the swimming experience slip from the letter that went home last week. This helps the swimming teachers organise the groups ready for the first lesson. Drop us a Dojo if you need another copy of this letter. 

We would like all the children to have a relaxing Easter Holiday, so we are not sending homework books home this week but if you can keep up the reading little and often with books you have at home or at the library this will have a hugely positive effect on their progress.

Have a wonderful Easter!

Much love

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

 

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 28th March 2025

 Happy Friday, everybody! We hope you enjoyed the chocolates this week - it has taken a lot of hard work to get to this finished spot - including some very tricky wrapping! We now know why Mr Wonka has Oompa Loompas to help him!

Amazingly we only have 1 week left of the Spring Term! Just a reminder that swimming starts for Key Stage 1 after Easter and our swimming day is on Thursdays. Please ensure that you have completed and returned the swimming experience slip from the letter that went home last week. This helps the swimming teachers organise the groups ready for the first lesson. Drop us a Dojo if you need another copy of this letter. 

Upcoming Events

Tuesday 1st April - Parent Consultation Evening

Wednesday 2nd April - Parent Consultation Evening

Friday 4th April - PTA Easter Egg Hunt/Wellbeing Day

Thursday 24th April - Swimming Starts!

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 48 & 49.

For Year 1's this focuses on volume. Many of the practical activities discussed around length and mass in previous blogs hold true here - look at the volume of different bottles and cans around the house to compare and order them or use an egg cup to see how many cups it takes to fill different containers. Below is a game that builds upon this idea:

Bubble Bath Game

For Year 2's this focuses on comparing measurements. This gives another opportunity to using greater than (>), less than (<) and equals (=) signs to compare amounts, ordering values and linking units of measure to length, mass and capacity. Below is a game to help read amounts on a labelled scale - start off with the simple challenges and build up to scales where not all the numbers are labelled:

Capacity Countdown

Don't forget to keep reading at home and do the next page in your comprehension homework books.

Have a great weekend!

Best wishes,

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 21st March 2025

 Happy Friday, everybody and it has been a fun filled Red Nose Day here in Key Stage 1! We have also been evaluating our finished chocolates ready for them to be wrapped, packaged and sent home next week!

Upcoming Events

Friday 28th March - PTA Mother's Day Sale

Tuesday 1st April - Parent Consultation Evening

Wednesday 2nd April - Parent Consultation Evening

Friday 4th April - PTA Easter Egg Hunt/Wellbeing Day

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 46 & 47.

For both Year 1's and Year 2's this continues to focus on mass and ways to measure. This is a fantastic opportunity to do a spot of baking as it will involve lots of practical measuring and reading of marked scales. Take a photo of any of your wonderful efforts (or of course bring us in a slice!) we would love to see them all.

Don't forget to keep reading at home and do the next page in your comprehension homework books.

Have a great weekend!

Best wishes,

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 14th March 2025

 Happy Friday, everybody and it has been a very chocolatey week in Key Stage 1! We made our chocolates this week and all the classes were very much like Mr Wonka's factory with many Oompa-Loompas busy working away! The chocolate is currently setting ready to be packaged next week!

Upcoming Events

Friday 21st March - Red Nose Day (see below!)

Friday 28th March - PTA Mother's Day Sale

Tuesday 1st April - Parent Consultation Evening

Wednesday 2nd April - Parent Consultation Evening

Friday 4th April - PTA Easter Egg Hunt/Wellbeing Day

Red Nose Day - Comic Relief Big 40th Birthday Bake!

This year marks 40 years of Comic Relief. Next Friday there will be a cake sale to raise money and children are asked to bring in a few cakes if possible (homemade or shop bought) to be sold during the day. 

Cakes will be sold at 50p a cake so if you would like your child to take part please bring in money for this and a box if they are buying more than one cake to bring home.

Below is a link to our Just Giving Page if you wish to donate money in this way but please note that this is separate to the cake sale - children will need to bring in money if they wish to buy a cake!

Down Hall Just Giving Page

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 44 & 45.

For Year 1's this continues to focus on mass or weight (we do not make a distinction between the two terms in Key Stage 1). Again, explore this idea practically - get a range of toys and see if you can compare them in terms of how heavy they are. Order these from lightest to heaviest, reinforcing the different language as you go.

For Year 2's this focuses on ways in which we measure. Explore how we use different units to measure different aspects of an object. Try measuring different objects using a ruler to the nearest cm, look at food and drink packaging to see the weight and volume of different objects and use a weather website to see how we measure temperature in degrees Celsius. If you record any of these ideas, pop them in your homework book - we love to see all your efforts at home!

Don't forget to keep reading at home and do the next page in your comprehension homework books.

Have a great weekend!

Best wishes,

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 7th March 2025

 Happy Friday, everybody and it has been another busy and exciting week with all the children enjoying dressing up for World Book Day on Thursday! Look out for all the photos in this week's newsletter.

Upcoming Events

Friday 21st March - Red Nose Day (further details to come)

Friday 28th March - PTA Mother's Day Sale

Tuesday 1st April - Parent Consultation Evening

Wednesday 2nd April - Parent Consultation Evening

Friday 4th April - PTA Easter Egg Hunt/Wellbeing Day

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 42 & 43.

For Year 1's this continue to focus on length and height - this time measuring. This is a great chance to become involved in some practical measuring of different objects around the house. Use a ruler/tape measure or use some non-standard  units such as hand spans and find out how long different things are. If you record any of these measurements, please pop it into the homework book as we would love to see this too! 

For Year 2's this focuses on equivalent fractions. Understanding how 2 quarters is the same as 1 half is an important skill for the children and being able to "see" these equivalent makes it easier to understand. The below website lets you explore how different fractions relate to each other by dragging the fraction into circles and then comparing. 

Circle Fractions

Don't forget to keep reading at home and do the next page in your comprehension homework books.

Have a great weekend!

Much kindness,

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 28th February 2025

 Happy Friday, everybody and welcome back to the second half of the Spring Term. We had a very exciting week back with our visits to Holy Trinity Church. Huge thank you to Reverend Glen for showing us around the church and a big well done to all the children who were so well behaved and asked so many questions!

Because this week we were in a slightly different routine to normal weeks with all the LSAs walking the children up to the church, your children will not be coming home today with their spelling books or new Guided Reading books. This will resume next week but they will still bring Maths and Comprehension homework books back as normal.

Upcoming Events

Thursday 6th March - World Book Day (come to school dressed as your favourite book character!)

Friday 21st March - Red Nose Day (further details to come)

Friday 28th March - PTA Mother's Day Sale

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 40 & 41.

For Year 1's this focuses on length and height. It is important to develop the correct vocabulary here; longer/shorter rather than bigger/smaller. Take the time to compare different objects around the home - choose 6 toys/items and order these in terms of their length or height.

For Year 2's this focuses on finding fractions of amounts. As usual, relate this mathematical concept back to the basic operation of division.

Doggy Division

Don't forget to keep reading at home and do the next page in your comprehension homework books.

Have a brilliant weekend!

Much love,

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 14th February 2025

  Happy Friday, everybody! It is incredible to think that this week marks the half way point for this academic year! Wow, how time flies and how wonderfully hard everyone has worked this half term!

Visits to Holy Trinity Church

A reminder that first week back after half term will be our class trips to Holy Trinity Church in Rayleigh. We will be walking up to the church during morning sessions of the school day and will be back in time for lunch as normal. The dates for each class are as follows:

• Tuesday 25th February - Tulip Class
• Wednesday 26th February - Daffodil Class
• Thursday 27th February - Bluebell Class

There are no other changes to our normal school day for this visit. We will share with you our time at the church in the newsletter!

Half Term Homework

As mentioned earlier, the children have all worked phenomenally hard this half term and we all wish them a relaxing half term. To this end, we will not be sending any of the maths, spelling or comprehension homework books back this week. The children will bring home their reading books and Guided Reading books as normal, however.

Have an amazing half term break and we will see everyone back at school on Tuesday 25th February!

Best wishes

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 7th February 2025

 Happy Friday, everybody! It has been a very busy time in school this week but we have been exceptionally proud of how well all our children have represented our school during this time. They are truly amazing!

Visits to Holy Trinity Church

As part of our RE theme this term we have been looking at Christianity and the role of the church in the lives of Christians. To support this learning, we have arranged for each class to visit Holy Trinity Church in Rayleigh. We will be walking up to the church during morning sessions of the school day and will be back in time for lunch as normal. The dates for each class are as follows:

• Tuesday 25th February - Tulip Class
• Wednesday 26th February - Daffodil Class
• Thursday 27th February - Bluebell Class

There are no other changes to our normal school day for this visit. We will share with you our time at the church in the newsletter!

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 38 & 39.

For Year 1's this focuses on quarters. Again, it is helpful when discussing fractions to relate it closely to division. So when discussing finding quarter, relate it to the same as dividing it in 4. The game below explores how to recognise halves and quarters in shapes.

Halves and Quarters

For Year 2's this focuses on thirds and quarters. As usual, relate these mathematical concept back to the basic operations of maths - dividing by 3 or by 4. The game below explores finding quarters and three quarters by sharing.

Finding Quarters By Sharing

Don't forget to keep reading at home and do the next page in your comprehension homework books.

Have a great weekend!

Kind regards

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 31st January 2025

 Happy Friday, everybody! We have had a wonderful week in Key Stage 1 - we have all enjoyed taste testing different types of chocolate and other ingredients so we can begin to make final decisions about the chocolates we will be making; it's not easy being Mr Wonka! We have also been thinking about how we learn and approach new challenges and how having a "stretchy" brain is good when we learn new things. We have made our own "stretchy hand" flowers to help us remember this as we learn and grow together.

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 36 & 37.

For Year 1's this focuses on halves. It is helpful when discussing fractions to relate it closely to division. So when discussing finding half, relate it to the same as dividing it in 2. The games below explore how to recognise halves in shapes and how you can find half of amounts by sharing.

Half Not Half Game

Find Half By Sharing

For Year 2's this focuses on doubling and halving. As usual, relate these mathematical concept back to the basic operations of maths - doubles as times by 2 and halving as divide by 2. The game below has a mode for finding half and double of different amounts to help develop a rapid recall of these facts.

Hit The Button

Don't forget to keep reading at home and do the next page in your comprehension homework books.

Have a super weekend!

Best Wishes

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 24th January 2025

 Happy Friday everybody! We have all survived the wind and the rain and made it to the weekend. Progress in taste testing ingredients for our own chocolates is continuing and is all very exciting! Watch this space! 

Charlie & The Chocolate Factory

Just a reminder that as part of our current project we would like to share the 2005 film of "Charlie & The Chocolate Factory" with the children. The film is classified by the BBFC as PG so we are asking for your approval to show the film to your child. If you have any concerns regarding this and you do not want your child to watch the film, please come and see us by Monday.

Reading Comprehension Homework Book

As promised, all your children brought home their reading comprehension books this week. Thank you to those who did complete a page this week but we fully understand this may not have been possible for all of you.

We just work through the book one page at a time. We will not specify which page to do each week, just complete the next page you are up to and hand in all homework books by Wednesday of each week. Please come and see us if you require further advice on this.

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 34 & 35.

For Year 1's this focuses on dividing. This is explored initially as practical sharing equally between 2 people. Begin to explore which numbers can be fairly shared and which leaver an odd one left over. This is good to help your child think about odd and even numbers. 

For Year 2's this also focuses on dividing. As mentioned before, in Year 2 we relate all division calculations back to their multiplication inverse as this is often a more efficient method of solving a calculation.

Both year groups can enhance their knowledge of division through the games below:

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/mental-maths-train

https://ictgames.com/mobilePage/doggyDivision/index.html

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development. 

Have an amazing weekend!

Best Wishes

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 17th January 2025

 Happy Friday everybody! We have had a very busy time in our first full week back in Key Stage 1. We have been exploring the genre of explanation texts in English and finding out all about the history of chocolate!

Charlie & The Chocolate Factory

As part of our current project we would like to share the 2005 film of "Charlie & The Chocolate Factory" with the children. We use excerpts from the film to help us look at characters in our English work and use many of the scenes to help our descriptive writing and poetry work.

The film is classified by the BBFC as PG so we are asking for your approval to show the film to your child. If you have any concerns regarding this and you do not want your child to watch the film, please come and speak to us. Below is a link to the film's trailer for an idea of the film's tone:

Charlie & The Chocolate Factory

Reading Comprehension Homework Book

After a delay from the delivery company (despite being order before Christmas) the reading comprehension books have finally arrived today! Your child will be coming home with this comprehension homework book early next week. Just like with the maths homework book, we ask that you complete one page (double page where the task is spread across 2 pages) and bring the book back to school once completed.

In the blog from 15th November (scroll down to remind yourself of this blog) we spoke in depth about all the key skills involved in comprehension and how reading is more than just mechanically reading the words on the page. The activities in these homework books will help develop these skills. Again, please come and see us if you require further advice on this area.

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 32 & 33.

For Year 1's this focuses on multiplying. The first step in confidence with the times tables is practising counting on in different steps e.g. 2, 4, 6, 8 etc or 10, 20, 30. Grouping objects such as socks or gloves is a good way of showing this in practical terms. Regular practising of counting on in multiples of different numbers will also help - maybe count the steps upstairs but in 10's or 2's instead of 1's?

For Year 2's this also focuses on multiplying. Remember, practicing little and often at times tables facts will help your child gain confidence in this area. We talk about this in class as "squeezing the orange" - the more effort you put in, the more juice you get out!

Both year groups can enhance their knowledge of multiples of different amounts through the game below:

Coconut Multiples Game

The interactive number square below is really good to "paint" the multiples and explore the patterns that they make too:

Paint The Squares

If you have any issues or questions, please, please come and see us at the end of the day - we would love to see you!

Have a relaxing weekend!

Love & joy

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith

Tulip, Bluebell & Daffodil Blog - Friday 10th January 2025

 Happy Friday everybody and a very Happy New Year to you all! It has been lovely to have welcomed all the children back and we have begun work on our new project for the Spring Term - "Charlie & The Chocolate Factory" where we will be exploring all things chocolate!

Maths Homework

This week, we would like you to look at pages 30 & 31.

For Year 1's this focuses on adding and subtracting. The ability to switch between these different operations is very important for the children, so take particular care to look at the sign when solving these calculations to decide which approach to use!

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/maths-games/5-7-years/addition-and-subtraction

For Year 2's this again focuses on times tables and their related facts. All that we mentioned last time holds true for this week too. Just like reading or riding a bike, practicing little and often at times tables facts will help your child gain confidence in this area.

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/number-facts/number-fact-families

Don't forget to keep up all your fantastic efforts with your reading at home - it will make a huge impact on your child's reading development. Keep using the range of questions we have discussed previously as well! All being well, comprehension homework books should be coming home next week.

If you have any issues or questions, please, please come and see us at the end of the day. Just come down the steps to see us!

We hope you enjoy seeing what we have been up to this week in the newsletter. Have a super weekend!

Best wishes

Mr Jude, Mrs Yuille, Mrs Holmes & Miss Smith