Happy Friday everybody and welcome to this week's blog. We are trying to share some things each class have been doing each week. This week: Emerald Class have been looking at the Hindu celebration of Diwali and made diva lamps.
Big Cat ebook Library
We are very excited to share with you your child's log in for the Big Cat library that we are now a part of. Your child will come home with a card detailing how they can log into their account for this library. Before you begin, however, it is worth having a quick look at the parent's guide in the link below:
Once you are ready to begin, go to the website on the front of the card or use the link here:
Then enter your child's username and password, again detailed on the front of the card. This will take you to your child's bookshelf.
It is worth noting that every child's bookshelf will look different as they have been assigned specific books by their teacher. We wanted to ensure that every book was accessible and also didn't want 100's of different books making it difficult to navigate. We are able to add more books and remove books as time passes keeping your library at a manageable level.
Clicking on the read button below the book will take you to this screen:
On your first go, it will ask if you want a tour. Click Yes and it will explain the function of the different buttons on the main reading screen.
Supporting Your Child's Reading
Hearing your child read little and often is crucial to their progress but there are other things you can do to support reading development. In the top right hand corner of the front cover of each book is a small blue screen button:
This shows you a short video about helping your child read at the colour level that they are on. This will give you a good overview about the key features of text and reading skills at that level.
Every book also has a "Before Reading" page at the beginning:
We hope you find these Big Cat books a great help in finding books that are engaging and accessible for your child. If you have any questions or feedback please send us an email. Happy reading!
Maths
As mentioned last week, your child now has a maths homework book (also coming home today) that they can keep at home to work through. We will put the pages we suggest you do each week in the weekly blog.
There is a 4 page mini test at the beginning - this is optional, do this if you wish.
From page 6, the book has an explanatory page on the left which will explain key vocabulary, strategies and explanations of the mathematical concept being covered and a page on the right for your child to do.
This week we are asking your child to complete page 7 and page 9.
The Plan When Learning Has To Be At Home
As mentioned in both the news letter and a previous blog, this is the plan if (for whatever reason) your child has to stay at home:
As a school we will be using the DfE approved programme, The National Academy (https://www.thenational.academy/). Here there are daily lessons for each Year Group which cover a range of subjects. There are a number of other online sources that you can use to complement this site:
https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/members-area/kids/
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/primary
https://whiterosemaths.com/homelearning/
Use these websites as a means for providing home learning for your child. If a whole class has to stay at home, this plan still applies. Your child's teacher will blog a reminder of this on the first day of the whole bubble being off and will make email contact with you all on a weekly basis.
Fingers crossed we can all stay safe in school!
Take care and have a lovely weekend;)
Your KS1 Team
