This week we have started learning about dinosaurs.
We have collected facts we already knew and things we would like to find out. We have made class books where we illustrated a dinosaur and wrote a sentence all by ourselves.
In our investigation area we have been looking closely at fossils and have been making rubbings of them.
We have been searching for dinosaurs in the sandpit and following a trail of dinosaurs to a bucket which was the hook for our literacy text, “Harry and his Bucketful of Dinosaurs.” We will be learning to, “ Retell the story, once they have developed a deep familiarity with the text, some as exact repetition and some in their own words,” (Development Matters 2021) and making up our own Harry and the Dinosaurs stories over the coming weeks.
We used the construction to make dinosaur footprints. We had to estimate how big they may have been:
In Mindful Monday we have begun looking at the work of Yayoi Kusama. We enjoyed discussing her art work with one another. This week we practised making dots on paper using a variety of media and experimented with colour and size. We really enjoyed this.
Phonics
The new phonemes we have learned this week are:
These are the mnemonics we use to remember them:
ar: A far star
ur: Turn in the surf
oo: Scoop with a spoon
or: Order some popcorn
Maths
In maths we are continuing to subitise amounts to 5 and describe patterns we notice, for example 3 is made of 2 dots and one dot. We are learning to, “ Put objects into five frames and then ten frames to begin to familiarise children with the tens structure of the number system,” (Development Matters 2021).
How you can help at home:
Draw out a tens frame such as the one you can see in the picture. A tens frame is a grid with 5 spaces at the top and 5 at the bottom. Roll dice and collect a matching number of objects. In the pictures here you can see we used dinosaurs. Take turns to roll the dice and each time remove or add objects so that the amount on the dice is the amount on the tens frame. Encourage your child to work this out and tell you each time how many they will add or remove to have the correct amount on the tens frame. For example, if you have 5 objects on the frame and roll 2 you will need to remove 3 objects so that 2 remain on the tens frame.
Have a go and send us some photos of you playing this on Tapestry.