Year 2

Due to a technical  issue we have been unable to upload photographs this week.

Over the past few weeks, we’ve been diving into the wonderful world of Frog and Stranger. This book has not only sparked our imaginations but have also helped us become stronger writers!

In class, we’ve been working hard on writing single clause sentences and then learning how to join them together using conjunctions like:

• and – to add more information

• but – to show something different or opposite

• or – to offer a choice

We’ve also been practising how to self-correct our work. Before we say a sentence is finished, we always check for our non-negotiables:

•  Capital letters at the beginning

•  Full stops at the end

•  Finger spaces between words

Another important skill we’ve learned is making sure every sentence includes a who and a what – this helps us make sure our writing makes sense and tells a clear story.

🏡 3 Things You Can Do at Home

Here are three fun and simple ways to support your child’s writing at home:

1. Talk in Sentences Together
   Ask your child to describe what they’re doing using full sentences. For example, instead of “playing Lego,” encourage them to say,
   ➤ “I am building a tower with my Lego and it is very tall.”

2. Frog and Stranger Story Time
   After reading a Frog and Stranger story (or any story!), ask your child to retell part of it using sentences joined with and, but, or or.
   ➤ “Frog wanted to help but Stranger was scared.”
   ➤ “They had tea and they talked about their day.”

3. Check the Checklist Together
   After your child writes something – even if it’s just one sentence – read it together and ask:

   • Is there a capital letter?

   • Is there a full stop?

   • Are there finger spaces?

   • Who is the sentence about?

   • What are they doing?

Exciting Start to Year 2: Firefighters Visit and Great Fire of London Learning

We are thrilled to welcome our Year 2 children into Swan and Heron classes this term! It’s been an exciting first week back, packed with engaging learning experiences that have sparked curiosity and enthusiasm.

A highlight of the week was a special visit from the local firefighters. The children had the unique opportunity to explore a real fire engine and learn about the various tools that firefighters use to keep us safe. They examined the protective clothing worn by firefighters and discussed important safety messages, such as how to stay safe during a fire and the role of smoke alarms in our homes.

This visit tied in perfectly with our history topic which is the Great Fire of London. Earlier in the week, the children compared modern fire engines to those used back in 1666, exploring how firefighting technology and methods have evolved over time. It was wonderful to see the children connecting history with real-life experiences, making their learning both meaningful and memorable.

How Parents Can Support Learning at Home

1. Talk About Fire Safety: Reinforce what the children have learned by discussing fire safety at home. Show them where smoke alarms are located and practice a family fire drill, so they know what to do in an emergency.

2. Explore History Together: Encourage your child to share what they’ve learned about the Great Fire of London. You can read age-appropriate books or watch short educational videos to deepen their understanding of the event and its impact.

3. Visit a Fire Station: If possible, plan a family visit to a local fire station. Many fire stations offer tours and interactive activities that can further engage your child and bring their learning to life. The open days of local fire stations in Hertfordshire can be found here: https://www.hertfordshire.gov.uk/services/fire-and-rescue/request-a-visit-from-the-fire-service/request-a-visit-to-your-home-or-school.aspx#opendays

🌟 Looking Back on a Wonderful Year in Year 2! 🌟

What a fantastic year it has been in Year 2! As we reach the end of the school year, it’s amazing to look back and see just how much the children have grown – not only in their learning but also in their confidence, independence and kindness towards one another. They’ve worked so hard, shown brilliant curiosity and enthusiasm, and achieved so much to be proud of.

✨ Highlights from Our Learning This Year

It’s been a year full of exciting lessons and hands‑on experiences. Here are just a few of our favourite moments from across the curriculum:

✏️ Incredible writing in English – the children have developed their storytelling voices, planning imaginative plots, describing characters in detail, and editing their own work to make it even better. They have also created lovely poetry, written explanation texts and recounted their own experiences.

🔢 Tackling numbers up to 100 in Maths  – we’ve loved seeing their confidence grow as they added, subtracted, and explored halves and quarters of different amounts. We have also learnt how to multiply, divide and find fractions of amounts. We explored geometry, identifying lines of symmetry and naming 2D and 3D shapes.

🔥 Discovering the Great Fire of London in History – this topic truly came to life from our making of Tudor houses to our special visit from a firefighter, who shared how fire safety has changed since 1666.

🎨 Moulding and creating sculptures in Art – from sketching to shaping clay, the children showed such creativity and care in their work.

(And that’s not all – we also mixed and tasted our own dips in DT, explored how things grow in Science by planting cress seeds, and enjoyed so many experiments along the way!)

🌈 Special Events and Trips

Our learning has been enriched by some very memorable experiences this year:

• Our trip to the RAF Museum, where we saw real aircrafts and linked our DT projects to history.

• A magical visit to the Roald Dahl Museum, inspiring us to be even more creative in our writing.

• Celebrating Purple Up Day, showing our support and understanding for military families.

• And of course, our end‑of‑year performance, where the children sang, acted and shone with confidence – what a way to finish the year!

💛 Thank You to Our Parents and Carers

We simply couldn’t have done it without you. Thank you for your ongoing support – from reading at home and helping with projects to encouraging your children every day. Your partnership has made such a difference to their progress and happiness.

🌱 Keeping Learning Alive Over the Holidays

The summer break is a well‑deserved rest, but there are lots of fun ways to keep those curious minds ticking over:
📚 Read together every day – stories, magazines, anything they enjoy!
🌳 Explore outdoors – go on nature walks, look for insects, talk about plants and animals.
🎲 Play games that use numbers and words – board games, word searches or apps can be great fun.

Here’s to all the achievements of this year and to an exciting year ahead. Well done, Year 2 – we are so proud of you all! Have a wonderful summer! ☀️

This term in Year 2, we have been exploring religious artefacts from three major world religions: Judaism, Christianity, and Islam. Our focus has been on recognising and understanding some of the special objects used in these faiths and why they are important.

We’ve spent time drawing, writing about, and discussing a variety of artefacts. This has helped us connect with different beliefs, respect religious traditions, and understand that while each religion is different, they also share many values like kindness, prayer, and community.

✡ Judaism

We looked at objects like the menorah, Torah scroll, and the kippah (a small cap worn during prayer). We learned that the Torah scroll is written in Hebrew and contains stories and laws important to Jewish people.

✝ Christianity

In Christianity, we explored items such as the cross, Bible, and chalice. We learned that the cross is a symbol of Jesus’ sacrifice and love, and that the Bible tells the stories and teachings Christians follow.

☪ Islam

From Islam, we learned about the prayer mat, Qur’an, and tasbih beads. We talked about how Muslims pray five times a day, and how the Qur’an is treated with great respect because it is believed to be the word of God.

We’ve really enjoyed using art to draw these special objects, and our classroom displays are looking wonderful!

🏠 3 Things You Can Do at Home

Here are some fun and simple ways to keep learning going at home:

1. Create a Mini Museum

Choose one religion and work together to make a mini “museum box” with drawings or small models of 2–3 artefacts. Label each item and explain what it’s used for.

2. Story Time

Read or watch a story from the Bible, Torah, or Qur’an (child-friendly versions). Afterwards, talk about the message of the story – was it about being kind, forgiving, or helping others?

3. Draw and Talk

Ask your child to draw their favourite religious artefact from the religions we have learned about, and describe it to you. What does it look like? What is it made from? Why is it special?

This week in Year 2, we’ve been learning all about symmetry — and what an exciting topic it’s been!

What Is Symmetry?

We discovered that symmetry is when something looks the same on both sides — like a perfect match! We talked about the line of symmetry, which is an invisible line you can draw down the middle of a shape or picture to see if both sides are the same.

What Did We Do?

🟠 Folding Fun – We folded shapes in half to see if the sides matched. If they did, they were symmetrical!
🔵 Mirror Magic – We used little mirrors to check if letters, shapes, and pictures were the same on both sides. It felt like magic!
🟢 Sorting Shapes – We sorted shapes into symmetrical and asymmetrical groups (asymmetrical means the sides are not the same).

We even looked at our faces in a mirror and asked: Are our faces symmetrical? We found out that most faces are almost symmetrical, but not perfectly — and that’s what makes each of us unique!

🏡 Try These Symmetry Activities at Home!

Here are 3 fun symmetry ideas you can do at home with your grown-ups:

1. Symmetry Drawing

Fold a piece of paper in half and draw half a heart, butterfly, or monster on one side. Then unfold it and try to draw the matching half! Can you make it symmetrical?

2. Mirror Explorer

Use a small mirror and hold it up to letters, numbers, or shapes around the house. Does the mirror show a symmetrical shape? Try it with kitchen objects or your toys too!

3. Face Symmetry Challenge

Look in the mirror and draw a picture of your face. Then fold it down the middle — are both sides the same? Ask someone to take a photo and fold it in half for a fun comparison!

Throughout history, there have been brave individuals who stood up for what they believed in and made a lasting impact on the world. In our recent topic, we explored the lives of three such inspiring people: Rosa Parks, Marcus Rashford, and Greta Thunberg.

🚌 Rosa Parks – The Mother of the Civil Rights Movement

In 1955, Rosa Parks made history by refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger on a bus in Montgomery, Alabama. Her quiet courage sparked a powerful bus boycott and became a turning point in the fight for racial equality in America. Rosa showed that one small action can lead to big changes.

⚽ Marcus Rashford – A Voice for Hungry Children

Marcus Rashford isn’t just a football star – he’s also a hero off the pitch. During the COVID-19 pandemic, he led a campaign to make sure children in the UK didn’t go hungry. He convinced the government to continue free school meals during the holidays. His determination proved that young people can use their voice to fight for fairness.

🌍 Greta Thunberg – Climate Warrior

Greta Thunberg began protesting alone outside the Swedish parliament at just 15 years old, calling for stronger action on climate change. Her “Fridays for Future” movement spread across the globe. Greta has spoken to world leaders, reminding them that the future belongs to the youth and that protecting the Earth is urgent.

🎨 Our Class Project: Making Posters

After learning about each person, we created posters to celebrate their work and impact. We looked at how their actions helped make the world a better place. Then, we had a discussion and chose who we thought was the most important and why. It was hard to pick just one – all three have done amazing things!

🏠 3 Ideas to Try at Home

Want to keep learning and taking action like Rosa, Marcus, and Greta? Here are some fun ideas:

1. Create Your Own Hero Poster – Make a poster about someone you admire. It could be someone from history, your community, or even a family member. Share what makes them inspiring!

2. Start a Kindness Jar – Just like Marcus helped others, you can too! Write down small acts of kindness you can do each day (e.g., helping with chores, calling a grandparent). Pick one out each morning.

3. Eco-Challenge at Home – Follow in Greta’s footsteps by starting a family eco-challenge. Can you go a day without using plastic? Or maybe reduce electricity by turning off lights when not in use?

These three people show us that you don’t have to be famous or powerful to make a difference – you just need courage, kindness, and a passion to help others. 🌟

If you’re a fan of Roald Dahl’s magical stories and looking for a hands-on adventure that brings them to life, the Roald Dahl Children’s Gallery in Aylesbury is a must-visit. Recently, we spent a day exploring this treasure trove of creativity and imagination, and it was nothing short of gloriumptious!

Crafting Our Way into Dahl’s World

Our visit began with a fun and creative workshop where we made our very own bags inspired by our favourite Roald Dahl books. From Matilda’s library to Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory, everyone picked a different theme and decorated their bags with colours, drawings, and characters. It was the perfect way to start our journey into Dahl’s magical universe!

Exploring the Gallery

With our bags in hand, we stepped into the gallery, and it truly felt like entering the pages of a book. Each room was themed around a Roald Dahl story and packed with exciting, interactive displays:

• Fantastic Mr. Fox Tunnel: Crawling through this tunnel was an adventure in itself, just like Mr. Fox sneaking through his underground world.

• James and the Giant Peach: We climbed into a giant peach and explored its surreal, oversized interior—great for children  (and adults!) who love a bit of fantasy.

• Victorian Toys and Dress-Up: In another room, we explored what life was like during Victorian times. From spinning tops to stilts, the toys were so different from today’s gadgets—and just as fun!

Exploring Illusions and Early Animation

The gallery also dove into the magic behind storytelling on screen:

• Illusion Room: We discovered how early film animations were created—using flip books, zoetropes, and clever visual tricks.

• Shadow Room & Puppets: Using shadow puppets, green screens, and mirrors, we created scenes and effects just like filmmakers do. It was a fascinating look at how storytelling has evolved from page to screen.

The Grand Finale – The Great Glass Elevator

To end the day with a true Dahl flourish, we took a ride down the Great Glass Elevator, inspired by Charlie and the Great Glass Elevator. A thrilling ride and a perfect way to say goodbye to such a wonderful place.

Be sure to look on Seesaw for the class photos!

https://seesaw.com/ 

3 Things You Can Do at Home to Keep the Magic Going:

1. Create Your Own Character Costume
   Choose your favourite Roald Dahl character and design a costume using things you already have at home. Don’t forget to act out a scene from the story!

2. Make a Flip Book Animation
   Grab a small notebook and draw a simple animation—like a ball bouncing or a bird flying—by changing the drawing slightly on each page. Flip through quickly to see it come to life!

3. Write a New Adventure for a Dahl Character
   What would happen if Matilda met the BFG? Or if James found a new magical fruit? Write a short story where characters from different Dahl books go on a new adventure together.

This week in Year 2, our classroom transformed into an aircraft hangar as we took to the skies—through design and technology! Building on our History of Flight topic, where we learned about the incredible achievements of the Wright brothers, we explored the design of early aircraft and brought our own flying machines to life.

The Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, made history in 1903 with the world’s first powered flight. Their famous aircraft, the Flyer, was a biplane, which means it had two wings stacked one above the other. We learned that this design helped provide extra lift and stability. As aircraft design evolved, engineers began to favour monoplanes—planes with a single pair of wings—for their speed and efficiency.

In DT, we put our knowledge into action. Children were challenged to design and build their own model aircraft using materials such as cardboard, paper straws, lolly sticks, and glue. First, we looked at key features of biplanes and monoplanes, then sketched out our designs, thinking carefully about structure, balance, and wing placement.

The classroom buzzed with creativity and collaboration as we tested different shapes and materials to ensure our planes were both strong and aerodynamic. Some of us chose to replicate the Wright brothers’ biplane, while others experimented with monoplane designs. We even held a mini “test flight” session to see which designs flew the furthest—or stayed up the longest!

This hands-on project helped us deepen our understanding of historical innovation and the principles of flight, all while developing our problem-solving, sketching, and construction skills.

We’re so proud of the children’s imaginative designs and how confidently they linked their learning across subjects. The sky’s the limit for Year 2!

How to help at home

If your child has been inspired by our DT and history work, here are some fun and simple ways to extend their learning at home:

Try a Paper Plane Challenge
Experiment with different paper plane designs together. See which ones fly the furthest or stay in the air the longest. Talk about why some designs work better than others—just like real engineers do!

Read Together
Look for books or videos about the Wright brothers or the history of flight.

Get Creative with Junk Modelling
Use recycling materials like cereal boxes, tubes, and bottle tops to create your own model aircraft at home. Encourage your child to think about how to make it strong and balanced.

This term in Year 2, we’ve had a fantastic time diving into the wonderful world of habitats and food chains! 🌍🐛🦊

🏡 What is a Habitat?

We started by learning that a habitat is a place where animals and plants live. Different animals live in different habitats, depending on what they need to survive — like food, water, shelter and the right temperature. Some of the habitats we explored included:

• Forests

• Oceans

• Deserts

• Arctic regions

• Ponds and rivers

We discovered that animals have special features that help them live in their specific habitats. For example, polar bears have thick fur to keep warm in the Arctic, and camels store fat in their humps to survive in hot deserts.

🔗 Understanding Food Chains

We then looked at food chains, which show how animals get their energy. Every food chain starts with a producer (usually a plant), followed by consumers (animals that eat plants or other animals).

Here’s an example of a simple food chain we learned:
🌿 Grass → 🐛 Caterpillar → 🐦 Bird → 🦊 Fox

We also learned some scientific vocabulary:

• Producer – A plant that makes its own food using sunlight.

• Consumer – An animal that eats plants or other animals.

• Predator – An animal that hunts and eats other animals.

• Prey – An animal that is eaten by another.

🧠 What We Enjoyed Most

The children loved sorting animals into their habitats and creating their own food chains.

One pupil said, “I didn’t know sharks were predators. They’re at the top of the ocean food chain!”

🏡 How to Help at Home

Here are some simple ways you can support science learning at home:

✅ Nature Walks – Go for a walk in the park or garden. Look for birds, insects, or plants and talk about where they live and what they might eat.

✅ Watch Nature Videos – Programmes like Planet Earth or Andy’s Wild Adventures are great for exploring habitats around the world.

✅ Build a Mini Habitat – Try making a bug hotel or a small pond (with help!) to attract wildlife.

Understanding Division in Year 2

This week in Year 2, we’ve been diving into the world of division—and it’s been a lot of fun! We’ve explored different ways to divide, helping us to understand what it means to share and group numbers. Here’s a little peek into what we’ve been learning and how you can help at home.

Dividing by Grouping – Using Beadstrings

We began by using beadstrings to help us see what division looks like. For example, we looked at 20 beads and asked: “How many groups of 5 can we make?” The children grouped the beads into fives and counted how many full groups they had. This showed that:

20 divided by 5 equals 4 (20 ÷ 5 = 4)

Using real objects like beadstrings helps children visualise what dividing into equal groups means.

Dividing with Arrays

Next, we used arrays—rows and columns of objects—to show grouping in another way. If we had 12 counters and arranged them into rows of 3, we could see how many groups we had. This reinforced the idea of division being about equal groups:

12 divided by 3 equals 4 (12 ÷ 3 = 4)

It also helped us see how multiplication and division are connected!

Linking Multiplication to Division

One of the big ideas we explored is how  multiplication and division are the inverse of each other. For example:

• If 5 × 5 = 25, then 25 ÷ 5 = 5

• If 3 × 4 = 12, then 12 ÷ 3 = 4

Understanding this link helps children move confidently between multiplying and dividing.

Sharing and Remainders

We also discussed dividing by sharing, where we shared objects between people or groups. Sometimes, we noticed that not everything could be shared equally—this introduced us to the idea of remainders. For example:

• If we have 10 sweets and share them between 3 people, each person gets 3 sweets, with 1 left over.
  That’s: 10 ÷ 3 = 3 remainder 1

Try These at Home!

Here are three simple things you can do at home to support your child’s understanding of division:

• 🔢 Use household items (e.g. buttons or pasta) to make groups—ask questions like “Can we split these into groups of 4?”

• 🎲 Play the inverse game: Give your child a multiplication fact and ask them to provide a division fact using the inverse e.g Adult: 2 x 5 =10. Can you use the inverse of this multiplication to give me a division fact (using the same numbers)? Child: 10 ➗ 2 = 5.

• 🍏 Snack sharing: Share out fruit or crackers between family members and ask, “How many does each person get? Are there any left over?”

Division can be fun, hands-on, and practical—keep exploring it together!

Year 2 have been busy getting creative and colourful in their recent art lessons, inspired by the vibrant work of Tanzanian artist Edward Tingatinga. We’ve had so much fun exploring his unique style, full of bold patterns, bright colours and imaginative animals.

To begin our unit, we studied some of Tingatinga’s most famous paintings. The children looked carefully at the shapes, colours, and patterns he used, and then had a go at copying a piece of his work. This helped us to really understand his style and the techniques he used.

Next, we began to design our own Tingatinga-inspired animals. We thought carefully about the shapes we wanted to include and how to use pattern to decorate the animals in eye-catching ways. The children were incredibly imaginative, and their sketches were full of personality!

To add colour, we used a mix of pastels and watercolours. The pastels helped us create bold outlines and bright details, while the watercolours gave our backgrounds a lovely soft wash. The combination worked beautifully and brought our animal artworks to life!

It’s been amazing to see how confidently the children have experimented with colour, shape and pattern. Their finished pieces are full of energy and joy — just like Edward Tingatinga’s original work.

Well done, Year 2 — you’ve created some truly stunning art!

How to help at home:

-Practise your sketching skills by drawing an animal at the park.
-Learn about an artist of your choice and create your own piece of artwork inspired by them.

This week in Maths, Year 2 have been very busy learning to multiply by 5, following our previous learning of how to multiply by 2 and 10.

The children have been excited to learn the mathematical  terms ‘factor’ and ‘product’ and to know that multiplication is ‘commutative’ which means you can multiply the factors in any order and get the same product.  The children in Bears and Giraffes are very proud to be able to talk like a mathematician!

The children have been counting in 5s forwards as well as backwards, looking at equal groups of 5 (arrays) and filling in missing numbers for equations and solving word problems involving the multiplication of 5.

How you can help at home:

• Practice counting in 5s- tapping knees as you count.
• Make arrays of 5 objects ie pencils, pasta shapes and marbles and count them (we often ask the children, “What do you see? What do you notice?” which really helps them explain their thinking)