We had a fantastic time joining schools across the country for The Big School Workout with Joe Wicks during Mental Health Awareness Week.

The children loved taking part in the live workout and showed brilliant enthusiasm and energy. There were lots of smiles as we exercised together and thought about how being active can help us feel healthy in both our bodies and minds.

We talked about how exercise can help us:

• feel happier and calmer
• build confidence
• improve our focus and concentration
• look after our mental wellbeing

It was wonderful to come together as a class and enjoy such a positive shared experience.

Help at home by taking a short family walk, dancing to music in the kitchen or doing a quick workout together. Even a few minutes of movement can help boost our mood and energy levels.

We’ve been exploring non-fiction books in our reading lessons this week. We enjoyed learning how to navigate different texts to find information quickly and independently.

The children practised using:

• contents pages to find the right section
• headings and subheadings to help locate information
• glossaries to understand technical vocabulary

  

Help at home by encouraging your child to use the contents page when exploring non-fiction books. You could also look for unfamiliar words and explore their meanings using the glossary.

This week in maths, we’ve been developing our understanding of measuring length and height. We learnt that length tells us how long something is from one end to the other, while height tells us how tall something is from the bottom to the top. The children enjoyed exploring these ideas practically and were keen to investigate objects around the classroom.

We began by discussing how people can measure using non-standard units. The children discovered that we can use almost anything to measure, as long as we follow some important rules:
• the units must all be the same size
• the units must be placed in a straight line
• the units must touch each other with no gaps

Using multilink cubes, the children measured a variety of classroom objects including books, pencils and pens. They worked carefully to line up their cubes accurately and count each unit correctly. We quickly noticed that if the cubes were not touching or were different sizes, the measurements would not be fair or accurate.

The children enjoyed comparing objects and discussing their findings using mathematical vocabulary such as longer, shorter, taller, smaller, longest and shortest. It was wonderful to hear so many thoughtful mathematical conversations taking place in our classroom

As our learning developed, we explored what happens when an object does not measure exactly to a whole number of cubes. We discussed how mathematicians sometimes need to measure to the nearest unit. The children showed great perseverance when estimating, counting carefully and deciding which measurement was the closest.

We then introduced centimetres as a standard unit of measurement. The children were fascinated to learn that centimetres are always the same size, wherever you are in the world. This helped us understand why standard units are so useful when measuring accurately and fairly. Using centimetre cubes, the children measured a range of objects and began recording their measurements in centimetres.

It’s been lovely to see the children demonstrating fantastic curiosity and enthusiasm for their learning, working collaboratively with one another.

Help at home by looking for opportunities to measure objects around your home together. You could begin by using non-standard units such as blocks, coins or paperclips before moving on to a ruler to measure in centimetres. Encourage your child to compare objects and describe them using mathematical vocabulary. You could also challenge your child to estimate the length or height of an object before measuring it carefully.

This week in Living and Learning, we’ve been learning about how to stay safe and who to talk to if we have worries. The lesson focused on 2 key messages:

• every child has the right to be safe
• if something is wrong, it is never the child’s fault

What is harm?

We learnt about different types of harm and how to seek help. We explored the five ways a child can be hurt:

• Bullying, such as being left out or called names repeatedly
• Hitting, which can leave marks like bruises
• Hurting feelings, which may not be visible but can be very upsetting
• Not being looked after properly, such as not having enough food or care
• Privates not being private, when something makes a child feel uncomfortable or unsure

Bullying

When we’re talking about bullying, don’t forget what STOP means in our school:

• the definition: Several Times On Purpose
• the solution: Start Telling Other People

Trusted Adults

We listened to a story about a character called Sam who felt worried and unhappy but was able to feel better after speaking to a trusted adult. This helped reinforce the important message that speaking out can lead to support and positive change.

We then focused on identifying our safe adults. The children thought carefully about who they trust and who they could go to for help both in school and at home. They discussed people who listen, help them feel safe and take their worries seriously. We learnt that children can keep speaking out until they are heard and supported, and that there are always people who want to help them.

Key Messages

To finish the session, we revisited the key messages in a fun and engaging way through a game and class discussion. The children confidently shared their understanding that:

• All children have the right to be kept safe
• It is never their fault if they are hurt by someone else
• They should speak to a trusted adult if they are worried
• Help is always available, including from Childline

Help at Home

• Talk to your child about who their safe adults are and encourage them to name a few people they trust
• Remind them that they can speak to you about anything, even if it feels small or confusing
• Reinforce that if something feels wrong, they should keep telling someone until they get help
• Reassure your child that they will always be listened to and supported

These conversations at home help to strengthen the important messages from school and support children in feeling safe, confident and ready to speak out.

In science, we’ve been learning about plants. We’ve been finding out about the different parts of a plant and what they are called. We now know the main parts are:

• roots
• stem
• leaves
• flower

We explored real plants and dissected them so we could take a closer look. We worked like real scientists by observing closely. We stayed safe by washing our hands after touching the plant parts.

Help at home by going on a walk to look for plants. Encourage your child to point out the roots, stem, leaves and flower.

What an exciting half term we’ve had! The children have been fantastic and have really helped to make our school a happy and healthy place to achieve and believe.

• In maths, we’ve been adding and subtracting, and using generalisation to help us on our way to being number facts super stars!
• In reading and writing, we’ve enjoyed Nothing by Mick Inkpen and Naughty Bus by Jan and Jerry Oke.
• In phonics, we’ve learnt lots of alternate phonemes and words with schwa (lazy sounds like the ‘o’ in dinosaur).
• In handwriting, we’ve been practising capital letters. Many of us have enjoyed the challenge of writing in new narrow-lined books.
• In RE, we’ve been learning about Matthew the tax collector and the people Christians believe Jesus helped.
• In science, we’ve been looking for signs of spring, taking particular interest in the weather…
• In topic, we’ve been computer programmers, using BeeBots to learn about computers, algorithms and staying safe online.
• In PE, we’ve continued to develop our fundamental movement skills.
• In Living and Learning, we’ve learnt about helpful and harmful substances, handwashing, sleep, and healthy eating.

Thanks for all your support this half term. We’ve got so much to look forward to in the summer term.

Mr Nash and the Year 1 team

This week, in Living and Learning, we’ve been learning all about how to keep our bodies healthy and strong. One of the most important things we’ve talked about is eating a balanced diet and making sure we get our 5 a day.

What is a healthy diet?

A healthy diet means eating a variety of foods so our bodies get everything they need to grow, learn and play. We’ve been discussing different food groups and why they’re important.

Here’s what we’ve learnt:

• Fruit and vegetables help keep us healthy and full of energy
• Carbohydrates like bread, rice and pasta give us energy to learn and play
• Protein foods like eggs, beans, fish and meat help our bodies grow strong
• Dairy foods like milk, cheese and yoghurt help build strong bones and teeth
• We should only have small amounts of sugary treats and fizzy drinks

The Eatwell Guide is a great visualisation of a balanced diet.

Thinking like scientists

We’ve also linked our learning to science by exploring what fruits and vegetables actually are. Fruits grow from flowers and contain seeds like apples, tomatoes and cucumbers while vegetables are other parts of the plant such as roots, stems and leaves, like carrots, broccoli and lettuce. It’s been great fun sorting foods and thinking like scientists, and it’s helped us understand where our food comes from as well as why it’s good for our bodies.

Have a go a this eating the seasons quiz.

What is 5 a day?

5 a day means we should try to eat at least five portions of fruit and vegetables every day. We’ve learned that this helps our bodies stay healthy and fight off illness.

Some examples we talked about:

• An apple, banana or orange
• A handful of grapes or berries
• Carrot sticks or cucumber slices
• Peas, sweetcorn or broccoli with dinner
• A small glass of fruit juice or a smoothie

We’ve also learned that fresh, frozen, tinned and dried fruit and vegetables all count.

Packed lunches at school

We’ve also been talking about how to make healthy choices in our packed lunches, too. Our guidance encourages children to include a variety of foods such as a starchy food like a sandwich or pasta, some fruit or vegetables, and a source of protein like cheese, eggs or meat. We also encourage water, milk or pure fruit juice instead of sugary drinks and ask that sweets and fizzy drinks aren’t included.

Help at home by trying a 5 a day challenge. See if your child can spot how many portions they’ve eaten in a day. You could:

• Add fruit to breakfast cereal
• Pack veggie sticks for a snack
• Let your child help choose fruits and vegetables at the shop
• Try a new fruit or vegetable each week

This half term, in computing, we’re computer programmers. We’ve been learning all about algorithms and debugging, using Bee-Bots to help us understand how to give clear instructions and what to do when things don’t go to plan.

We started our week by welcoming our adults into the classroom for a Topic Review session where we really enjoyed designing some games together. We then wrote algorithms and tested our games, following instructions like real life computers!

Later in the week, we had lots of fun with the Bee-Bots, creating courses for them to follow. We thought carefully about each step and the order of the commands in the algorithm.

The children really enjoyed testing and debugging their Bee-Bot routes. When something didn’t work, they showed great perseverance in finding what went wrong and fixing it. We saw lots of fantastic teamwork as the children worked together to build courses and test their ideas.

Help at home by writing algorithms! Perhaps you could prepare some simple instructions to guide someone around a room or to build something step-by-step. Encourage your child to debug (find and fix) any mistakes if the instructions don’t quite work the first time.