This week and next week the home learning ideas will look a bit different. As it is the Easter Holidays I am aware that perhaps other family members who have been going to work maybe at home, you maybe celebrating religious holidays or simply wanting to relax a bit more. For that  reason I will not post a daily Maths and Literacy activity, but a list of ideas that you can work through as you wish over the week.

Literacy Ideas

• Continue to read using Bug Club. I am able to check the reading activity and add new books as needed, so please keep using this amazing resource!
• Keep up with the tricky words – make it as fun as possible, I spy games, pairs, playing teachers, beat the timer, toe tap game, adults getting them wrong and so on. Mix it up so there is a balance between reading and writing the words.
• Whole name writing – ensuring letters are formed correctly, capital letters are only used at the start of names and letter reversals are corrected.
• It would be lovely if you could make and write Easter cards this week. The children know about writing who a card is to and from. They will need support in choosing who to send the card to and in writing their ‘Happy Easter’ message. Perhaps you could walk and post your cards?
• Here are some Easter Card ideas. 
• Find some funny pictures and ask your child to write about them, using the ‘I can see…’ sentence starter.
• Read a story to your child and talk about the beginning, middle and end of the story. Ask them to draw and write about their favourite part.
• Chalk writing or water painting on the ground/wall/fence in your safe outdoor area.
• Dip the pointy end of a carrot into some paint and use this to draw or write with instead of a pen!

Maths Ideas

• Using a number line or a 100 square, challenge your child to find a certain number. Make it harder by giving them clues instead of saying the number. For example “Find the number that is 1 more than 14”.
• 0-20 number line
• 100 square
• Do a daily maths workout – 10 star jumps, 20 air punches etc. Complete the count to 100 song and actions
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TgLtF3PMOc&t=30s 
• Play board games that involve counting along a board a certain number of spaces.
• Look for numbers or shapes when you go on your daily walk.
•  Play shops with your child again – talk about the money, what it looks and feels like. Can they identify the numbers on the coins?
• Roll two dice or turn over two playing/number cards. Use these numbers to work out addition or subtractions.
• Play number toss – make a line of plates or sheets of paper with numbers on them (any numbers your child will recognise). Ball up a pair of socks and toss them to land on a number. What number has it landed on? Try again, will the number it lands on be more or less? Can you add up the numbers you land on? Can you find the number on the 100 square? And so on… Older or younger siblings would also enjoy this activity. The picture shows paper plates and beanbags being used, but sheets of paper and balled up socks will work just as well!
• Other Ideas
• 
• Make some Easter nest cakes. – Melt some chocolate either in the microwave or in a bowl over hot water. Mix in some breakfast cereal and stir so the cereal is covered. (I have used Rice Krispies, Cornflakes, crushed Shreddies, crushed Weetabix and Shredded Wheat and all work well.) Spoon the mixture into cake cases. Add some small chocolate eggs (or jelly beans will also work). Put the cakes into the fridge to harden.
• Use dry pasta and glue to decorate egg shapes cut out of cardboard or paper. When dry they can be painted.
• 
• Use lego at bath time! Can the children build a waterfall? A lake? Can they catch any water?
• Can the children take plastic dolls into the bath? Perhaps wash Barbie’s hair?
• Use paint (or nail varnish) to paint rocks. They could be any design, perhaps easter eggs or insects? Or you could paint some ‘o’ and ‘x’ on some to play noughts and crosses. Either chalk the grid onto the floor or make one using tape or sticks.
• 
• Make a ‘no sew ‘Easter Bunny! Here is a link.
•  https://dynamicdad.uk/activities-craft/how-to-make-a-no-sew-sock-bunny
•  

I hope that you all have a good week, and thank you again to those who have contacted me with work their children have been doing at home. I hope you have a Happy Easter.

On Thursday Ted and Pup were finding different ways of making 10. They created this piece of work.

Today you need to be the teacher and check that all their calculations were correct. Do all of their numbers add up to 10? You could check by using small bricks, counters or coins.

Try a rainbow scavenger hunt…..

What is in the box?

Secretly put something into a box so it cannot be seen. If you do not have a box to use, try using a bag instead or even hiding the object under a towel.  Your child tries to guess what it is by feeling the object (no peeking!) Or you could try describing the object so your child has to listen carefully to the clues you give and guess what the object is. Swap roles so your child hides an object, and you either feel to guess what it is or your child describes it to you. If your child finds it difficult to describe the objects, you could ask them questions about the object and try to work out what it is from their answers.

Does it float?

Using a washing up bowl, find objects that float or sink. Discuss floating and sinking. Then sort the objects into two groups, those that float and those that sink. This activity could also be done at bath time! Objects you could use might be: a stone, plastic brick, a sponge, a sock, a spoon, a plastic cup, plastic toy animal or dinosaur, a leaf or a small ball.

Read a story with your child today. Discuss the story with them. What was their favourite part? Who was their favourite character? What happens at the start of the story? What happens next? What happens at the end of the story?

Ask your child to draw a picture from the start of the story and write what happens. Repeat with what happens in the middle of the story and what happens at the end of the story. Some children may want to do more than this and draw/write a few parts from the middle of the story. Remind them to sound out and spell words carefully. Make sure any tricky words used are spelt correctly. Remind the children about finger spaces and punctuation. Their work should look similar to this.

Practise reading the tricky words – can they find any of them in the story you have just read?

Cheeky Challenge!!!! Beat the timer – set a minute timer on your phone – how many tricky words can your child read before the alarm goes off? Try it a few times and see if they can get quicker!

Warm up by joining in with this song again. Count along and join in with the actions!

Practise counting up to 20. Don’t just start at number 1 though, tell your child any number (or write down a number and show it to them) and that is where they start to count from! We do this in class, and they are really good at it!

Challenge your child to count backwards from 20 to 0. Most can do backwards from 10 easily, from 20 it’s a bit tricky getting through the teen numbers. It might be helpful to show them a number line (printed off from here, shown on a screen or written out yourself) to help them. I did send home a number line a few weeks ago (February half term work) – perhaps you could use that if you still have it?

0-20 number line

Play number puddle jump. Make some puddles on the floor using paper. Write some numbers on the puddles.

Challenge your child to jump into a certain number puddle. You could extend this by asking them to jump on the puddles that work on their doubles knowledge. For example, ask them to jump on the number that is double 2. Or you could ask them to jump on the puddle that is 1 more than 13 or 1 less than 9.

Another way you could extend this is by using numbers your child is not so confident with. If your child needs practise with their teen numbers, only make puddles with those numbers on them. If your child is confident with numbers to 20, make a set of puddles that have the numbers between 20 and 30 on them.

Happy Jumping!

Ted and Pup have been busy again. Today they have been trying to find different ways of making the number 10. They have shared 10 Lego bricks between their two plates and have written all the different ways they did it.

Today I’d like you to do the same with two of your toys. Find 10 small objects and two plates. Find different ways of sharing the objects between the two plates and write out the number sentences.

Today I would like the children to read these sentences.

Now I’d like the children to think of and write some sentences. I’d like them to write three sentences. Discuss these three pictures. Help your child to think of a sentence they could write about each one. Remind the children to hold the sentnce in their heads. Practise saying the sentence a few times so the children are famiiar with what you want them to write. Remind them to carefully sound out the words they want to use in the sentence. Remind them to use finger spaces and punctuation.

Please practise first name and surname writing with your child. Remind them to only use a capital letter at the start of names. Please encourage correct letter formation and correct any reversals.

Here is a link to an online reading game your child will enjoy. Your child needs to help the alien. To do this they will need to identify a picture and then put the letters in the correct order to spell the word that matches the picture.

https://www.phonicsbloom.com/uk/game/alien-escape?phase=3

Write out the alphabet using capital letters on a piece of paper. Ask your child to write the correct lowercase letter next to your letters. For example, next to the B they write b, next to the H they write h and so on.

Play letter I spy. Using a cereal box, page from a magazine or a page from a story book, pick a letter you can see and say “I spy a ‘c’.” Challenge your child to find and point to the ‘c’ on the page or cereal box! Repeat with other letters. (Remember to use letter sound not name, so ‘c’ is said as ‘cuh’ not the letter name ‘see’)

Set up an indoor scavenger hunt. Here are some ideas.

It would be great if today you could either play a board game with your child, or help them to complete a jigsaw. If you do not have either of these, teach them to play noughts and crosses!