EYFS
Hey Squirrels
Home learning - 12/03/25
Learning theme week 1 – Growing and changing: Animals and life cycles
Learning theme week 2 – Growing and changing: Food and where it comes from.
Date set: Wednesday 12th March
Date due: Tuesday 25th March
Phonics / Literacy:
We have almost finished learning all of our set 3 sounds. We only learn Set 1, 2 and 3 in Reception as these take a considerable amount time to embed fully. (there are technically 60 ‘sounds’ to remember). In the summer term we will be mainly consolidating the trickier Set 2 and 3 sounds, however, the more work you can do now on recognition and recall, the better prepared your child will be for Year 1. Below are words with the sounds I would like the children to focus on over the next couple of weeks:
Week 1 Task: dawn (aw), care (are), hurt (ur), letter (er also a double t), clown (ow)
Week 2 Task: snail (ai), goat (oa), chew (ew), fire (ire), clear (ear), cure (ure) another hard one at the end there!
As always, please make sure your child has the opportunity to read at least 3 times a week and don’t forget to add your finished books to the ’30 book challenge’ page in the dairy. Any questions, please don’t hesitate to catch me (Mr Keane) on the gate.
Mathematics: We will be starting to see addition facts as doubles next week (so far, we have been sticking to the ‘5 and how many more’ principle). Doubling is an excellent part of mathematics to bring into home routines and activities, so don’t be shy to use language such as ‘doubled, twice as many, pairs’ to encourage that thinking of increasing by the same amount.
Week 1 Task: For the first week, can the children have a hunt around for things which come in pairs! They can draw pictures in their book showing things such as: socks, cherries, wedding rings etc…
Week 2 Task: For the second week, I would simple like them to practice the mental arithmetic of doubles up to 10. (1+1, 2+2, 3+3, 4+4 and 5+5. There is no need to go higher yet, unless they want to!) Much like we did with number bonds to 5, our Squirrels need to rapidly recall these facts to be ready for Year 1 😊.
A memo will be going up on Monday with all the information about the farm trip. I know you are all excited!
I spoke with a lovely lady called Farmer Cath today and we are all set for a wonderful day on the farm on the 27th. Note that there will be no change in drop off or pick up times.
Kind regards,
Mr Keane
Hi Squirrels!
Home learning - 26/02/25
Learning theme week 1 – Growing and changing: Seasons
Learning theme week 2 – Growing and changing: Growing plants
Date set: Wednesday 26th February
Date due: Tuesday 12th March
Phonics / Literacy: We have started to learn our Set 3 sounds! By the end of this first week we will have done: ea (sup of tea), oi (spoil the boy), a-e (make a cake), i-e (nice smile), o-e (phone home) and . You may have seen new books in the children’s book bags. These are in-line with the new sounds we are learning.
As always, please make sure your child has the opportunity to read at least 3 times a week and don’t forget to add your finished books to the ’30 book challenge’ page in the dairy. Any questions, please don’t hesitate to catch me (Mr Keane) on the gate.
For home learning could you focus on the ‘split digraph’ sounds the children have recently been introduced to. These can be tricky to grasp so would be good to go over as much as possible. I teach split digraphs using the analogy – the two ‘special friends’ (which is what we call normal digraphs) are chatting to much so another sound has to seat between them! Have a go at challenging your children to writing the words below:
Week 1 Task: mate, name, nice, pipe
Week 2 Task: bone, nose, rude, flute (tricky last one!)
Mathematics: We have been counting beyond 20 this week and recognising the pattern – that tens count in order from 0 – 9 as well as the ones. Next week we are moving onto the ‘8-ness of 8’. (remember that by the end of Reception the children need a strong understanding of number to 10). We will be exploring manipulatives and how we show 8 with them, as well as using arithmetic to know that 8 is 5 and 3 more.
Week 1 Task: I would like the children to practise their ‘5 and how many more’ number facts to 8. To do this, try using something easy to count like buttons of dried peas/beans (which is very on theme) and starting with a group of 5. Then ask your child to give you the right amount more to make either 6, 7 or 8. They can then record this by drawing 5 in their home learning book, then writing add ‘x’ more is ‘the total’.
Week 2 Task: To consolidate our understanding of 8, I would like the children to order groups of household items to 8. Children can look around the house and find 1 of something, then 2 of something else etc... finishing on 8. Then they can draw the items in their book, carefully counting the amount they need to draw.
Kind regards,
Mr Keane
Hi Squirrels!
Home learning - 05/02/25
Learning theme week 1 - Space: Our Solar System / Stars
Learning theme week 2 – Space: Space Exploration
Date set: Wednesday 5th February
Date due: Tuesday 26th February
Phonics / Literacy: We will continue to revisit our set 2 sounds for the remainder of the half term then move on to the Set 3’s in Spring 2. More ‘red’ common exception words are being introduced over the next couple of weeks and next half term. Currently we are focusing on: the, I, of, he, she, we and me.
All sounds and current common exception words can be found in the reading diary as well as your child’s tin.
As a task to complete, can the children have a go at writing sentences using the red words below. Make sure they are using capital letters and full stops.
Week 1 Task: the, I, he and she
Week 2 Task: the, I, of, me and we
Continue to work on forming capital letters in their books:
L, H, R, J, Y and W
Please continue to read at least 3 times a week at home and write this in your child’s diary. This could be reading one of the paper phonics books, levelled books or practicing the sound tin.
Mathematics: Next week we are dipping into 2D shapes and exploring the properties of squares, rectangles, triangles, circles and as a themed bonus, stars. The children will be making their own Tangrams using 2D shapes and writing fact files for each of the shapes (how many equal and non-equal sides and corners).
Week 1 Task: Could the children have a go at making a Tangram of an animal using 2D shapes they find around the house? Have a goggle for ideas 😊.
Next half term the children will continue to engage with activities that draw attention to the purpose of counting – to find out ‘how many’ objects there are. The children will also revisit the concept of cardinality – the idea that the last number in the count tells us how many things there are altogether. To begin to understand the word pattern embedded within most of our number names, the children will also be given opportunities to practise counting beyond 20. This is intended to support the children in joining in with verbal counts beyond 20 using the repeating pattern of the ‘1s’. Note that the expectation is not that the children should become secure with knowing ALL of the number names beyond 20, but rather that they hear the repeating pattern in the numbers and develop confidence in using the familiar sequence within 10 to count to bigger numbers.
Kind regards,
Mr Keane
Hi Squirrels!
Home learning - 22/01/25
Learning theme week 1 - Space: Our Solar System / Stars
Learning theme week 2 – Space: Space Exploration
Date set: Wednesday 22nd January
Date due: Tuesday 4th February
Phonics / Literacy: We are revisiting our set 2 sounds, ensuring we are really secure with the digraphs and trigraphs before moving onto Set 3.
All sounds can be found in the reading diary as well as your child’s tin.
As a task to complete, can the children practise writing/spelling the words over the next 2 weeks:
Week 1: Play, feet, high, snow, food, book.
Week 2: park, thorn, hair, girl, shout, toys.
These can be written in their book (could you draw lines for them so that they can follow good handwriting practice).
Additionally, the children have been working on forming capital letters. Could the children also have a go in their books writing:
A, D, T, I, N, G, B, F and E
Please continue to read at least 3 times a week at home and write this in your child’s diary. This could be reading one of the paper phonics books, levelled books or practicing the sound tin.
Mathematics: Over the next couple of weeks the children will continue to engage with activities that develop their understanding of composition, or the numbers within numbers. A key focus will be on exploring ways to represent numbers using the Hungarian number pattern (die pattern). These key representations will help to underline the ‘5-ness’ of 5. The children will secure their understanding of the pairs of numbers that make 5, and then use double dice frames to begin to explore 6 and 7 as numbers that are composed of ‘5 and a bit’.
To prepare your children for these ‘higher’ numbers, start looking at groups of 6 and 7’s around the home and explore what other numbers are ‘within’ 6 and 7.
As a task, could the children make groups of the following numbers and separate them into 2 parts. Then record this in their books using a part. part, whole model. (you may print a model off google or simply draw it for the children).
Week 1: groups of 6 (5+1, 3+3, 4+2)
Week 2: groups of 7 (5+2, 6+1, 4+3)
Have fun!
Mr Keane
Hi Squirrels!
Home learning - 08/01/25
Week 1 (06.01.25)
Learning theme - Space: Planet Earth
Phonics / Literacy: We are continuing on with learning our Set 2 sounds with or, air and ir this week. We have also started ditty book 2, which involved pair reading and practicing fluency.
A paper copy of book 2 can be found in their book bags to practice at home. Please continue to use your sound tins as new Set 2 sounds will be added this week and next.
Our new text in Literacy for the next two weeks is called: Look Up by Nathan Bryon.
Please continue to read at least 3 times a week at home and write this in your child’s diary. This could be reading one of the paper phonics books, levelled books or practicing the sound tin.
Mathematics:
The children will use their perceptual subitising skills (seeing the quantity without counting) in increasingly complex arrangements, moving from dots in a line and arrangements of 2, to a focus on standard dice arrangements. For larger quantities, the children will begin to use skills of conceptual subitising, beginning to quickly see the sub-groups within these larger numbers.
Also, the children will be encouraged to continue representing quantities in different ways, including by showing amounts on 1 hand ‘all at once’. There will also be a new focus on the symbolic representation of number and the children will work on their recognition of numerals to 5, matching numerals to correct quantities with various manipulatives, such as numicon, counters and rekenrek.
The children have a sheet in their home learning books to support this. In the space next to the numerals, have the children find different representations of the numbers around the house and draw them in the box. This could be 5 lines on a ruler, a numeral 5 on a clock, 5 dots on a dice or 5 raisins in a packet.
Week 2 (13.01.25)
Learning theme - Space - Astronauts
Phonics / Literacy: To complete our set 2 sounds: ou and oy and start the set 3 sounds: ea and oi. We will also start Ditty book 3.
The children will be learning about what makes a sentence (as we have only been writing captions so far) - A sentence is made of a ‘naming part’ and an ‘action part’. For example: The horse is fast. ‘The horse’ is the naming part and ‘is fast’ is the action. We will also be learning the rule - All sentences start with a capital letter and end with a full stop!
Have a go at writing some sentences with your children in their home learning book, using a naming part and an action part. A good way to approach this is to write down 4 or 5 animals such as pig, rat, cat, dog, bat. Then write some actions like, ran, jump, flap, snort, scratch… I look forward to reading what you guys come up with! Don’t forget those capital letters and full stops.
Mathematics: A key focus this week will be the stable order principle – rehearsing the order of the first 5 numbers and understanding that the position each number holds in our number sequence does not change. While continuing to work with numbers to 5, the children will develop their understanding of the ordinal aspect by investigating the difference in value of consecutive whole numbers. They will spend time discovering that each number has a value of 1 more than the previous number. Using blocks and squares to order quantities from 1 to 5 will help to embed this key understanding.
Building staircases is a great example of this as, although there is 1 step each time, in order for each step to be higher than the one before they need to build on the one prior, increasing the overall quantity.
It’s great to have you all back!
Kind regards,
Mr Keane
Hi Squirrels!
Home learning - 04/12/24
Week 1 (09.12.24)
Learning theme - Transport - Christmas
We will, of course, be checking out Father Christmas’ sleigh! We will be doing a 3-step plan to design our own sleighs, considering the resources we will need and the order of construction. We will also be making decorations and props, ready for the Nativity. We can’t wait for you to see it!
Please reach out if you have any queries about costumes. If your child has 2 roles, such as Guard and Inn Keeper, I would focus on the inn keeper costume as they can pop a sword in their hand to become a guard for that scene.
Phonics: We have learned all of our Set 1 Sounds! We will be assessing the children on their sound recognition and blending, ready for their phonics groups and home books in the Spring Term. I have added all set 1 sounds to their tins for you to regularly go over at home. We need to know all of them confidently before we move on to Set 2.
Mathematics: This week, the children will continue to engage with activities that draw attention to the purpose of counting – to find out ‘how many’ objects there are. The children will revisit the concept of 1:1 correspondence by making sure that they match collections of objects to their representations. They will develop their understanding of the concept of cardinality – that the last number in the count tells us ‘how many’ things there are altogether – and begin to apply this concept to count more abstract things, such as claps and jumps.
The children will also begin to explore verbal counting to larger numbers. Counting together to numbers larger than 20 will begin to expose the pattern of number names beyond the tricky ‘teen’ numbers.
Week 2 (16.12.24)
Learning theme - Christmas
Full on Christmas crafting this week as well as baking a Christmas cake with Mrs MacDonald, yum! I will leave the crafts as a surprise for you all…
Phonics: Consolidating our Set 1 sounds and ensuring we can use them confidently to write CVC (consonant - vowel - consonant) and CVCC words. Honing letter formation is also key.
For a home learning task, I have included a letter formation sheet (from Letter-join our handwriting scheme) to practise formations. Please do these regularly, with special attention to ascenders and descenders.
Kind regards,
Mr Keane
Hi Squirrels!
Home learning - 06/11/24
Week 1 (11.11.24)
Learning theme - Transport Around the World
Our text in literacy at the moment is a book called Wheels on the tuk tuk, which is a perfect example of differing transport methods and their uses. For example, because of the heat in India, tuk tuk's don't have windows or doors. We will be looking at various other modes of transport and thinking about the adaptions they have made for their environment. As a task, the children will invent their own mode of transport using Lego, catered to a specific environment. E.g. A snow mobile without wheels to glide across ice.
Phonics: We will be learning the sounds 'v' and 'y'. As well as the Red word 'is'
Home Learning: Continue to practise your tin sounds as well as reading 3 times a week.
Additionally, I would like the children to continue to hone their letter formation for the 'around' letters. These are 'c, a, o, d, and g'. you can use your home learning books to practice as these have the correct lines.
Mathematics:
The children will be encouraged to compare the number of objects in 2 sets by matching them 1:1. Seeing that objects in some sets can be matched without any being left over will draw the children’s attention to instances when the quantities of objects are equal.
Language is a key focus and adults will need to reinforce the language of ‘more than’, ‘fewer than’ and ‘an equal number’ to describe how many objects there are in each set. As the focus this week is on countable things, ‘fewer than’ is used rather than ‘less than’ and ‘more than’ is used rather than ‘greater than’.
Week 2 (18.11.24)
Learning theme - Transport from the past
We are going to be exploring modes of transport from the past, such as horse and carts, penny farthings and steam trains! Which will lead us beautifully to exploring Verwood's old railway station, which we all recognise from the old arch at Albion pub, right? Verwood railway is taught as a history topic in Year 4 but is also a wonderful link and talking point for our Squirrels. We will look at pictures from the past and explore what it was like to have a railway in Verwood. We are then going to draw some 'black and white' pictures of trains for our 'drawing club' lesson.
Phonics: We will be learning the sounds 'w', 'th' and 'z'.
Home Learning: Have a go at writing some captions! A caption does not need any punctuation and can be a simple 'sentence'. The caption needs to start with 'I' can describe an action they are good at.
For example:
I can run
I can jump
Mathematics:
This week, the children will begin to explore composition by focusing on the preliminary skills: the concept of ‘wholes’ and ‘parts’. By investigating their own bodies and familiar toys they will begin to understand that whole things are often made up of smaller parts and that a whole is, therefore, bigger than its parts.
Key language in this area can be tricky; clarity around a ‘whole’ and how it is different from a ‘hole’ especially. It would be great to use this terminology at home. You can use a gesture - like a large circle around a whole, to support this.
Kind regards,
Mr Keane
Hi Squirrels!
Home learning - 16.10.24
Week 1 (21.10.24)
Learning theme - Our Community Through the Year continued
Next week we will be continuing to learn about how our community changes throughout the year, this time with focus on past and present. We will be thinking about the word 'past' and what that means - how that can mean 'last week' as well as 10 years ago. This is a tricky concept for 4 year olds! To support this, we will look at photos of when Trinity was first built, as well as some old photos of Verwood from the library archives. The children will do some sorting of 'modern' and 'in the past' photos and draw a picture recalling a fond memory from the past. For home learning ideas, explore some old photos of family members or even familiar places. Then you could make a then and now poster in you home learning book, highlighting differences.
Phonics: We will be learning the sounds - 'l' and 'h' as well as learning our first common exception word - the!
Home Learning: You may have noticed in your children's book bags a small tin. This contains 5 of the sounds the children need to have memorised completely by half term. Before we break up I will add another 5. These tins will be regularly updated as the children are introduced to more sounds. Please practise these 'little and often'. Some ideas for encouraging your child to engage with these are: Sound splat using a hand or (for proper fun) a fly swatter. You say the sound and the child swats it. You could also time your child and try to beat it.
Mathematics:
The last week of the half term we will be consolidating our subitising skills as well as exploring repeating patterns.
Week 2 (04.11.24
A new topic! Trains, planes and cycle lanes!
Starting with the questions - What is transport? How does it help us? We will be looking at the different methods we use to get to school and exploring how we might travel further away!
Phonics: We will be learning our first digraph: 'sh' as in shop
A digraph is a sound made of two letters. We will also see 'r' and 'j'
Please continue to read regularly and fill out your reading diary as well as practise your sound tins.
Mathematics:
The children will continue to engage with activities that underline the purpose of counting – to find out ‘how many’ objects there are altogether. They will reinforce their understanding of cardinality – that the last number in the count tells us ‘how many’ things there are altogether in a set of objects – and they will further practise their 1:1 correspondence skill, by counting numbers at the same time as moving or tagging objects.
A key focus this week is deepening their understanding of 5 as a quantity by linking the number itself to the 5 fingers on one hand. The children will also begin to explore ways to represent numbers to 5 using both their fingers and the Hungarian number pattern (a 5 on a dice). These key representations will help to underline the ‘fiveness’ of 5.
Kind regards,
Mr Keane 
Hi Squirrels!
Home learning - 02.10.24
Week 1 (7.10.24)
Learning theme - People Who Help Us!
Next week we will be learning about people who help us, such as nurses, firefighters and teachers. Excitingly we will be having a visitor to discuss how they regularly help people in the community!
As an activity, I would like the children to write the first sound they can hear for these helpful heroes!
a a ambulance driver
d d doctor
t t teacher
n n nurse
p p police officer
They may draw a picture next to the sound if they like, however, the primary focus is the letter formation. Please refer to your reading diaries for the mnemonics.
Phonics: We will be learning the sounds - c, k and u, honing sound recognition, blending and letter formation.
Mathematics:
This week, the children will build on their subitising skills. They will continue to use ‘perceptual’ subitising (instant recognition) by saying the number of sounds that they can hear without needing to count.
The children will also be encouraged to represent quantities in different ways by using a number of fingers on one hand. Some children will be able to show an amount ‘all at once’ while others will need a lot more practice to be able to do this. Build confidence by allowing the children to ‘grow their fingers’ – putting up one finger at a time – before showing them, and gradually introduce the idea of making an amount ‘all at once’ when they become more familiar with finger patterns.
Week 2 (14.10.24)
Learning theme - Our Community Through the Year!
For this week we will be thinking about out community and how it changes throughout the season! We will be discussing that it is autumn now and the changes we can see and feel.
I would love the children to try some leaf rubbing in a page of their books, using thick crayons and differing sizes of leaves. If you are unsure how to do this, there are some fantastic Bitesized videos on the BBC website .
Phonics: We will be learning the sounds - b, f and e, honing sound recognition, blending and letter formation.
Mathematics:
The activities this week will focus on developing comparing quantities, as children are encouraged to look carefully and use the language of comparison to describe sets of objects that they can see. Language is a key focus and adults will model the language of ‘more than’ and ‘fewer than’ to describe how many objects there are in each set. ‘Fewer than’ is used rather than ‘less than’ because the focus is on countable things.
Hi Squirrels!
Home Learning - 18.9.24
Week 1 Learning Themes - My Family and Myself!
Understanding the World - Human's change over time & Families grow and change over time. At the start of the week the children will be learning about how our bodies change as we get older and that we have a life cycle - Newborn, toddler, child, teenager, adult. We will then be sharing what we might like to be when we are older. With this, I would like the children to bring an outfit or accessories which represent what they would like to be! This will be on Thursday and will also tie-in with our first 'changing' sessions, so could the children arrive in their PE kit as normal with their 'grown-up' gear in a bag. then we will change ourselves out of our PE kit and into our various outfits . Of course, if you have any queries or concerns, don't hesitate to grab me on the gate or send me an email.
Phonics - m, a, s, d, t. To continue to support your child's sound acquisition, you may wish to make flashcards of these sounds and do some rapid fire sounds! Additionally, the children have been learning how to correctly form these letters. I have found this video to be the most succinct on YouTube, however, please just practise the sounds we have learned so far. Ensure your child is starting in the correct place and forming the letters as shown in the video.
Mathematics - Subitising to 5. A great way to practice subitising (seeing an amount and recognising it's quantity without counting it) is by rolling a dice! This is something we have done at school already and the children love racing each other to see who can say the amount quickest. Have a go at home!
Week 2 Learning Themes - Where I live!
Understanding the World - I know where my school is. We will be discussing our school and it's relation to our local community. We will then be exploring a local map of Verwood and sharing how we get to school from out homes! It would be lovely if the children could draw a map of their journey from home to school, including any landmarks they see. (This would make a great first page in their home learning book! See the Tapestry memo for more info).
Phonics - i, n, p, g. Please refer to last posts videos to correctly support your children .
Kind regards,
Mr Keane
Hey Squirrels!
Home Learning - 10/09/24
Welcome to our class page!
Every Wednesday this page will be updated with the next two week's learning themes, Phonics sound and Mathematics focuses. When relevant to do so, I will also share ideas of how you might like to support the children's learning around the various learning theme's we explore throughout the year. For example, a visit to a local pond to support the learning of amphibians.
A copy of the weekly information will also be stuck into the children's Home Learning Books (to be explained and introduced next week).
Notices:
- Recycling! As you can imagine, we get through a lot of materials in our Arts and Crafts area... Therefore, we are accepting as much quality cardboard, clean plastic bottles and interesting shaped rubbish, like bottle caps and loo rolls, you are able to gather !
- Please double check all items of clothing are named. We will be having a 'getting ourselves dressed' day in the near future and items tend to wonder off during these sessions.
- Sought After Donations: We would love any old baby bottles, new born grows and hats for our toy baby's at home. The babies are the main attraction in our home corner this half term and a little freshen up of their attire would be great!
Next Week’s Learning: All About Me
- Learning Theme - Our body has different parts. The children will be learning about our amazing bodies and the various different parts it has! We will of course be singing heads shoulders, knees and toes, as well as exploring our 5 senses.
- Phonics - We will be starting our first Phonics Sounds! These will be 'm', 'a' and 's'. Here is a link to a great video of a child demonstrating how to correctly pronounce the sounds phonetically (without schwa-ing - saying 'muh' instead of 'mmm') The YouTube channel is the official Ruth Miskin Phonics one, if you'd like to further investigate the Phonics scheme we use at Trinity.
- Mathematics - We will be starting our Math's Mastery lessons, starting with... 1! This will involve exploring what makes number 1, number 1, by using a manipulative called a Tens Frame. Tens frames are used to show that, regardless of where an object is placed, it is retaining its quantity. They also support subitising (seeing a quantity and knowing its amount without having to count) One of these would be useful to have at home to support the children this term.
Kind regards,
Mr Keane