Buttercup, Bluebell and Daffodil Blog Friday 24th October 2025

Happy Friday, everybody! 

We have finally finished our first half term in Key Stage 1. The children have settled in so well and have worked extremely hard this half term! We now want them to have a well-earned rest and enjoy any celebrations you may be having before we return to school. The children have all attended an assembly about how to stay safe this Halloween and during Fireworks Night. We hope they all have great fun!

The children have made Diyas to celebrate Diwali, the Hindu Festival of Lights this week. We are currently waiting for them to dry so that we can paint them. When they come home after half term, they will have a small tea light candle in them that the children have been told to ask an adult to light for them. We have also coloured and created some amazing Rangoli patterns this week!

Cauliflower Christmas Cards -

All the children will have come home this week with their Christmas card design attached to the order form. If you wish, these designs can be turned into Christmas cards, mugs, books and wrapping paper too! If you want to order any of these items you need to place the order online first AND then return the artwork to school please. All the details about how to do this are clearly set out on the form that the artwork is attached to. Once you have placed the order online, you must tick the box indicated and return the artwork and form back to school by Tuesday 4th November, so we can send it away to be printed for you. If you do not wish for your child's design to be made into items then you do not need to return the artwork.

Samaritans Purse Shoebox appeal

We are collecting items and are hoping that each class can pack a shoebox for one boy and one girl. It would be wonderful if everybody could donate one small item to help us to achieve this. There is information about the items that can be placed into the boxes on the website and we have also sent a photo of the list via Dojo. We would like to thank you in advance for your generosity and kindness. Further information can be found here:

https://occ.samaritans-purse.org.uk/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=23023624685&gbraid=0AAAAAD1oMlX71zYLpUjb8y4M2QTaMW4eV&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIlZ_Ehty8kAMVoZdQBh02_RzbEAAYASAAEgJi0_D_BwE

Half Term Homework

As stated at the beginning of the blog, we are very proud of all the children's efforts this half term and would like them to have a good rest. To that end we do not send homework books home during the holidays. It would be useful, however, if you keep up the reading, little and often, to ensure your child's continuing progress in this very important area. 

We hope you have a fantastic half term holiday, whatever you are doing and look forward to welcoming everyone back on Tuesday 4th November! Don't forget the meeting about Forest School is at 9am on the first day back!

Best wishes

The Key Stage 1 Team xx

Buttercup, Bluebell and Daffodil Blog - Friday 17th October 2025

 Happy Friday Everybody!

This week the children have been busy writing Autumn poems, after taking inspiration from our Autumn walk. They have written some really lovely poems together. We are very proud of them!

Next week we will be using some P4C to express our own ideas, thoughts and feelings about where we would rather live and the type of home that we would like to live in. We will also be taking part in a drama workshop on Tuesday.

Maths Homework

Year 1 - Page 17: This is about greater and less than numbers and finding missing numbers on a number line.

Year 2 - Page 61: This is naming and describing 3D shapes.

The homework reflects what the children have been learning in school this week, so they should not find it too challenging for them and may even be able to give to give you a lesson at home!

Spellings

The new spelling sheets came home with the children on Friday. Please ask for a copy if your child has not brought them home.

Remember, we are here if you need us. Pop down and see us at the end of the day or message us on Dojo.

Have a lovely weekend!

The Key Stage 1 Team

Buttercup, Bluebell and Daffodil Blog - Friday 10th October 2025

Happy Friday everybody!

We have have had an exciting week in Key Stage 1 this week! As well as writing our own stories in English and exploring the properties of 2D shapes in Maths, we have been out in the local area looking at different types of homes and what they are made from. Below is a photograph of the Year 1s making 3D shapes from dough this week. It was great fun!

Next week we will be going on a nature walk to inspire the poet within us and hope to be creating some amazing poems to share with each other. We will also begin the construction of our 3D homes for our D&T project.

Homework

Maths

Year 1 - Please complete page 63 of the CGP booklet. The children have been learning all about 2D shapes in Maths this week, so this will not be a new concept for them.

Year 2 - Please complete page 59 of the CGP booklet. This is also about 2D shapes and their properties. The children have covered the elements required to complete this homework in school this week.

If you would like access to further games online to support their knowledge in this area, the website below is free and there are some lovely games on there for the children to 'play' and learn at the same time.

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

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/shapes/2d-shape-reveal

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/symmetry/symmetry-sorting

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/symmetry/symmetry-matching

Spellings

The children's new spelling sheets are in their bags. Please remember that we do not need the spelling sheets do not need to be returned to school. Keep them at home to practise reading or writing them together whenever you have the chance. 

Reminders

The PTA spooky disco is on Friday 17th October (EYFS and KS1 5pm to 6pm) Early bird tickets are available until Monday 13th October.

As the weather is becoming more changeable and the temperature is dropping, please ensure that your child has a coat to wear every day. Fresh air is very important for the children, so we do go out in most weathers. 

Remember, if you need to talk to us about anything at all, you can either send us a dojo message or come and speak to us at the end of the day.

Have a lovely weekend!

The Key Stage 1 team x

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