Rabbits' blog 3
Date: 19th Sep 2024 @ 4:23pm
Thursday 19th September
'Settling in' period is technically almost at an end in as much as we have got to grips with the routines and sitting at tables, using books and what a context label is etc. There is still LOADS to learn about the classroom rules and expectations but I'm really happy with their progress and learning behaviour attitudes; now to work on noise level! We have spent a lot of time these last couple of days at trying to understand and manage our whisper vs indoor vs outdoor voices with a lot of modelling from me. I don't shout and they have already started to realise that I don't need to but that does not mean that I am not the boss- quite the opposite! Ray of the Day has been the person who has generally used the appropriate voice level at the right time.
I wonder if they have told you about:
- hands up for silence?
- our glue pots (far more environmentally- and budget-friendly than pritt sticks
- capital letter, subject, verb, finish the idea, full stop
- Meesha
- the Torah
- Go Noodle
- new learning partner and carpet space
Things you could ask them about over tea maybe.
It's hard to write about what we have learnt this week because even with a slimmed down curriculum (as we settle down into Y1), we have learnt LOTS.
Today we had an iPad each and learnt how to log on, edit our avatar and log off to Purple Mash (our computing programme). They have their log in details in their Reading Records so you can now access this learning facility at home. I will be putting some work in the To Do folders throughout the year which will aid their learning. In the meantime, just practising how to manipulate the cursor, find capital letters and log in would make my life easier and soles of my shoes wear out a lot less quickly!
We have learnt the adjectives: frustrated, worried and comfortable this week thanks to our English text. I am blessed with many great actors in the class who are happy to help me explain how to manage those feelings and how to help our friends. We also practised saying (in reply to:'Can I play with you?') Errr, not today; maybe tomorrow. The focus is more on the way you say it, not just the words. And also we came up with a special Rabbits code that if someone says: 'I can't find anyone to play with. Can i play with you please?', the answer will be yes. And they are a friendly bunch.
Reading is still a massive focus. We are about to move onto Phase 5 GPCs (Grapheme Phoneme Correspondents= this is the letter and here is its sound) next week. The new GPCs will come in thick and fast. I will be sending home a list of the Phase 3 GPCs that they are not recognising immediately soon so that you can work on them at home. We must fill gaps! I am fortunate this year that I often have a (brill!) TA in the classroom, but not always so your support is really, really appreciated.
Fancy a quick maths game to consolidate learning over the last 2 weeks? Choose a number (3,4,5,6,7) and play: 5 or not 5 (etc). You get objects, fingers, drawings and they subitise (recognise without counting individually) and give thumbs up - yes 5! or thumbs down - not 5! A lot of our work has been around 5+1= 6, 5+2 =7 so they learn the number bonds. (Don't bother with the written number sentence, focus on verbal language: 7 is made up of 5 and 2).
Until the next time..
Mrs H
