Swallows Class Blog - 17.9.20

Date: 17th Sep 2020 @ 9:30pm

Welcome to Swallows Class Blog. We will be in touch weekly to keep you updated with all that is happening in our class. It has been fantastic having everyone back in school and welcoming back our brand new, sparkly Swallows! Mrs Elson and I are thrilled to be back in school with our wonderful class. They have been brilliant and we are so proud of how well the children have settled into our new classroom.

Thank you to all of you for your continued support during lockdown and since we have returned to school. It is strange not to be able to talk to you each morning and evening but I am always here at the end of the phone or via the admin email address if you need me. 

We are working on our whole school topic ‘All Together Now’ celebrating being back together as a class and reflecting on past experiences through art work, mindfulness, circle time and other nurturing activities.

In Maths we are working on Place value, being able to read and write numbers to 100. We are learning how to represent numbers in different ways and how to partition two digit numbers into tens and ones. We are also revisiting counting forwards and backwards from different points up to 100.  

In English we are using the book ‘Look up!’ as a stimulus for our writing. We have loved learning about Mae Jemison and have been thinking carefully about our own hopes and dreams for the future. Next week we will be writing space themed poems, writing recounts and using drama to help us to describe a flight into space.

In RE we are currently reading the story of ‘Moses and the burning bush’.  We will be exploring the Christian value of ‘Thankfulness’

In Science, we will begin our new topic – materials. We will be exploring materials and considering the scientific vocabulary that we can use to describe what a material looks and feels like.

In Music, we will be learning how to play the ukelele this half term. We have had two fantastic sessions with Dan so far where we learnt about the different parts of the Ukelele and how to play along with the brilliant song 'Get Funky'. 

Home Reading

Swallows are excited to be bringing home their first Read Write Inc books this Friday 18^th September. The children will bring home their Read Write Inc story book, as well as a book bag book. Swallows have enjoyed their first week of Read Write Inc phonic lessons and have really impressed us with their love of reading.

Read Write Inc - Blue Group

This week we have been reading the exciting story ‘Barker’. We have been focusing on ‘Fred Talking’ unfamiliar words. We have to remember to spot if there are any special friends, ‘Fred Talk’ and then say the word. Please remember to answer the comprehension questions at the back of the book.

New sounds: ea – Cup of tea, oi – Spoil the boy, a-e – Make a cake, i-e – Nice smile

Read Write Inc - Yellow Group

This week we have been reading the beautiful story ‘The Duckchick’. We have been focusing on ‘Fred Talking’ unfamiliar words. We have to remember to spot if there are any special friends, ‘Fred Talk’ and then say the word. Please remember to answer the comprehension questions at the back of the book.

New sounds: ay - May I play, ee - what can you see, igh - fly high, ow - blow the snow

Read Write Inc – Grey Group

This week we have been reading the lovely story ‘Rex to the rescue’. We have been focusing on ‘Fred Talking’ unfamiliar words. We have to remember to spot if there are any special friends, ‘Fred Talk’ and then say the word. We also thought carefully about spelling our new sounds this week. We applied our knowledge of the suffixes –s, es, ed and ing. Please remember to answer the comprehension questions at the back of the book when reading at home.

New sounds: ea – Cup of tea, oi – Spoil the boy, a-e – Make a cake, i-e – Nice smile

Read Write Inc – Pink Group

This week we have been reading the lovely story ‘Scruffy Ted’. We have been focusing on ‘Fred Talking’ unfamiliar words. We have to remember to spot if there are any special friends, ‘Fred Talk’ and then say the word. Please remember to answer the comprehension questions at the back of the book when reading at home. To develop fluency, it would help your Swallow if they were to reread familiar texts. We want them to develop their sight vocabulary and to begin to read with increasing speed.

New sounds: ay - May I play, ee - what can you see, igh - fly high, ow - blow the snow

Read Write Inc – Red Group

This week we have been reading the lovely story ‘Pin it on’. We have been working on being able to Fred Talk unfamiliar words independently and understating what we are reading.

New sounds: m, a, s, d, t

Please continue to write in your Swallow’s reading diaries as a record of reading completed at home. The children can still earn a raffle ticket for three reads or more and comments in their diary. I am currently unable to write in the diaries however a green stamp lets you know that I have read your comment. If you write me a note in there that requires feedback from me, I will call you to discuss any little problems or concerns that you may have. 

Here is a selection of recommended reads for Year 2.

• The Cat Who Lost His Purr- Michelle Coxon
• Frightened Fred- Peta Coplans
• Friends- Kim Lewis

• Mog Stories - Judith Kerr
• Mr Wolf’s Pancakes- Jan Fearnley
• Frog is Frog - Max Velthuijis
• Cat and Mouse Story - Michael Rosen
• The Snow Lady - Shirley Hughes
• Grace and Family - Mary Hoffman and Caroline Binch
• The Adventures of Captain Underpants - Dav Pilkey
• The Diary of a Killer Cat - Anne Fine
• Little Wolf’s Book of Badness - Ian Whybrow
• The Magic Finger - Roald Dahl
• Mrs Wobble the Waitress - Allan Alhberg
• Pirate School: Just a Bit of Wind - Jeremy Strong
• George’s Marvellous Medicine - Roald Dahl
• The Giraffe, Pelly and Me - Roald Dahl
• The Guard Dog - Dick King-Smith
• Emily’s Legs - Dick King-Smith

Our PE day is Friday so please send your child to school wearing their PE kit on that day. 

Water Bottles - Just a reminder to send your child with a named water bottle (with water and not juice) which they have access to throughout the day.

As always, if you have any questions or queries please do not hesitate to contact the office who will arrange a phone call with myself.

Once again, your children have been amazing and it is just magical to be all back together again as Year Two Swallows. 

Have a wonderful weekend.

Miss Gillam and Mrs Elson