This half term we'll be looking at Grandad's Island by Benji Davies.

'At the bottom of Syd’s garden, through the gate and past the tree, is Grandad’s house. Syd can let himself in any time he likes. But one day when Syd comes to call, Grandad isn’t in any of the usual places. He’s in the attic, where he ushers Syd through a door, and the two of them journey to a wild, beautiful island awash in color where Grandad decides he will remain. So Syd hugs Grandad one last time and sets sail for home. Visiting Grandad’s house at the bottom of the garden again, he finds it just the same as it’s always been — except that Grandad isn’t there anymore. Sure to provide comfort to young children struggling to understand loss, Benji Davies’s tale is a sensitive and beautiful reminder that our loved ones live on in our memories long after they’re gone.'

The children will be using this book as a stimulus for discussion and writing their own story.

We follow the Read Write Inc. phonics programme, which gives children a flying start in learning to read and write.  Children are assessed regularly and grouped to meet their needs. We teach children the initial sounds, moving into reading 'special friends' such as ng and oo.  Then children are taught to decode and blend to develop their reading skills.  Reading is the key to opening the door to learning.

This half term we will be focusing on addition and subtraction and on  multiplication and division. The children will be exploring these concepts using tens frames and a range of equipment, allowing them to make links between their learning and build a solid understanding of how the methods work before moving onto written methods.

In Geography the focus will be on knowing our locality -  What did Burnham Market used to be like?  The children will look exploring local memories by learning about famous people and places close to where they live.  They will look at the way the local area has changed over time and use maps to identify significant parts of the local area.

In Science we will be learning about living things and their habitats.  We will learn about what living things need to survive and how we can classify them.  We will go on a minibeast hunt around the school and look at why the animals have chosen to live here.  We will discuss ecosystems and how the living things rely on each other  to survive.

Our focus for this half term is the Easter story.  We will be using our speaking and listening skills to retell the Easter story and learning about the Christian beliefs of hope and salvation.

We will be learning about our bodies.  We will learn the correct names for the parts of our bodies and explore how our bodies have changed over time and how they may change in the future.

Art:

We will be exploring collage this term and exploring the different materials and techniques we can use.

DT:

We will be focusing on food technology.  We will be learning different food preparation and cooking skills and making some delicious treats.

We will be learning to perform actions to music and respond to musical signals and themes using movement. We will be exploring and creating rhythm patterns and learning how to use these to create a composition, writing down our compositions.

This half term we will be learning about programming through using the Beebots.   We will learn about algorithms and debugging through practical exploration.

We link a range of learning to our woodland sessions.  The children really enjoy their time in the woods (both learning and wild play time for exploring and following their own interests).  This is a fundamental opportunity for children to develop teamwork skills and build resilience through problem-solving.  It also teaches children about having respect for our environment.

Our woodland session is on a Tuesday afternoon. Please could children wear clothing suitable for the weather, as we are likely to be outside even if it is raining.  They will also need different shoes or wellies to wear in the woods.

Our PE days are Wednesday and Friday this half term. Please ensure your child is wearing the full and correct PE kit on these days.  Could we please also ensure that children are not wearing earrings (where possible) on these days and that long hair is tied up.

In PE this half term we will be doing Ball Skills and Sending and Receiving.

Class Dojo is our main form of communication with parents. If you have not yet signed up for Class Dojo and would like to, please do not hesitate to come and see us.  We are more than happy to help if you are having difficulty in accessing this.  It's a great space where you can view photos, videos and information about all the amazing things that are happening in our classroom and around the school. It gives you the chance to see what your children have been learning in school each week, giving you the opportunity to talk to them at home about what they have been doing.

A home learning menu will be posted on Class Dojo at the beginning of each half term.  These activities are suggestions linked to the Discovery Learning focus for the half term, but you are free to explore other home learning opportunities with your child.

Please ensure your child’s clothing and belongings are clearly labelled.