Chestnut

Welcome to Chestnut class!

I hope you all had a amazing summer holiday. I am looking forward to an exciting and fun filled term. I am really looking forward to getting to know all of the children Chestnut Class. Make sure to follow our learning on Twitter!

We will start the year by looking at two books. The first one we will look at is I am too absolutely small for school by Lauren Child and then we will read Amazing Grace by Mary Hoffman. These books are great stories about children overcoming difficulties and worries at school. We will be doing activities which link to characters and events in these books.

Our topic question is ‘How have toys changed?’ We will be using our knowledge in Science, Design and Technology and History to help us explore and answer this question. We will start by looking at old and new toys to understand the difference between them. Children will sort pictures of old and new toys and look at other forms of entertainment such as Punch and Judy. In Design and Technology, children will be designing, making and evaluating a toy which they will make from recyclable items. Children will be selling these toys at an end of term toy sale.

After the first two weeks we will be looking at the book Dogger by Shirley Hughes in our English lessons. Children will have a chance to respond to the book with character descriptions and letters before learning this text in preparation to write their own story. Children will also be writing posters, invitations, captions and labels for the end of term toy sale to celebrate the children’s learning.

In Maths we will start the term by ensuring children recognise numbers 1-20 and can order these numbers correctly. Children will also be partitioning numbers 1-20 and learning key number facts to develop their confidence in mental maths. We will begin by learning how to add 1 to a number before learning doubles to 5 and adding 2 to number. All of these skills are crucial for children’s ability to add and subtract confidently in their head and will play a key part as children learn to calculate larger numbers mentally.

I cannot stress enough how important it is that children have a chance to read with an adult at home every day. Children who are confident readers are more confident across all of thier learning. Please ask your children questions about the books they have read. Another great activity is counting in 2s,5s and 10s- you could do this in the car or as you walk to and from school!

If you have any questions or concerns or if you would like to volunteer to hear readers then please let me know.

Miss Mortished

Key Info

- PE
- Please ensure your child has NAMED PE kit in school. They will need: trainers, white socks, black shorts, white t-shirt and a long sleeved tracksuit top and long, warm tracksuit bottoms.P.E will be in on a Tuesday this term.Please keep PE kits at school until the end of term as it is sometimes necessary to swap PE days.
- Reading
- Children should be reading at home as often as possible and reading records need to be signed each time you read. We regularly check reading records and reward those children who show evidence of reading at home. Please bring book bags to school every day and encourage your child to change their books themselves as needed.
  
  In Year 1 children need to know how to count in multiples of 2,5 and 10, please practise these at home. Perhaps as you walk to and from school!
- Forest school
- Children will attend forest school fortnightly. Please make sure you have wellies and a waterproof coat in school!