Author: Mrs Bye

Our Year One children have amazed us with their beautiful performance of Mary’s Knitting! After weeks of practice, they overcame their nerves to stand confidently in front of their families and share the true spirit of Christmas.

From learning their lines to singing with joy, every child worked so hard to make the performance a success. All their preparation truly paid off, as the show ran smoothly and was a delight to watch.

We are so proud of each and every one of them for their courage, teamwork, and dedication. Well done, Year One and the whole of KS1!

This week, Year One has been learning about 3D shapes. A 3D shape is solid and has depth, width, and height.

We’ve identified spheres, cubes, cuboids, cones, cylinders, and pyramids, then explored our classroom to find them in real life!

Help at home

At home, you can support your child by spotting 3D shapes in everyday objects like cans, boxes, or balls. Ask: “What shape is this?” and explore together.

This week, Year 1 have been busy writing character descriptions for Cyril the Squirrel from The Squirrels Who Squabbled by Rachel Bright.

The children focused on using adjectives to add more detail to their writing, making Cyril come to life with words like “cheeky”, “fluffy”, and “playful.”

They independently wrote sentences to describe Cyril, being careful to include our must dos, which are capital letters, finger spaces and full stops.

They are becoming super noun and adjective detectives!

Help at home:

• Play “I Spy” with adjectives e.g. “I spy something soft and yellow.”
• Describe favourite toys using adjectives e.g. “My teddy is cuddly and brown.”
• Read books together and spot adjectives in the text.

We ended this week with a review of our previous topic unit, The Great Fire of London. The children were thrilled to welcome some of you to join in the fun and take part in our Great Fire of London quiz.

Everyone worked brilliantly in their teams, answering questions about key events, Samuel Peyps and life in 1666. The children impressed us all with their knowledge and enthusiasm. They proudly showed off their learning, explaining how the fire started, why it spread and how it was eventually stopped!

The children also had the opportunity to show off the painting they have been working on in their new topic, Art. Sharing their knowledge of the artist George Seurat and the style of art he created, pointillism.

Thank you to the parents who joined us—it was lovely to see such teamwork and encouragement. This event was a wonderful celebration of the children’s hard work!

Help at Home:

• Visit your local library to find books about the Great Fire of London.
• Explore online resources together, like videos or interactive timelines.
• Practice timeline skills by talking about events in your child’s own life.

This term, Year 1 have been diving into the wonderful world of George Seurat and pointillism! Last week, we explored Seurat’s paintings, noticing how he used tiny dots to create beautiful scenes. The children were fascinated by how these little dots come together to form a bigger picture.

This week, they became pointillist artists themselves! Using bubble wrap and Q-tips, they experimented with primary colours (red, blue, and yellow), dabbing dots of paint to create textured masterpieces. They also explored colour mixing, discovering new shades and tones as the dots overlapped.

Help at home:

• Encourage your child to create dot art using cotton buds or paint brushes.
• Look at nature – leaves, flowers, or clouds – and discuss how tiny details create a whole picture.

This week in PE, Year One started their gymnastics unit! The children have been exploring how their bodies can move in low positions, thinking about balance, coordination, and creativity. Some brave gymnasts have even challenged themselves to try forward rolls.

To be creative, the children thought about how animals move and worked on imitating these movements. They practiced slithering like snakes, hopping like frogs, and crawling like bears. Everyone worked hard to move with control, especially when traveling in straight lines. What a fantastic start to gymnastics!

Help at Home Tips:

•  Encourage your child to practice moving in different low positions at home—can they crawl under a table or slither across the carpet?
• Play a game of “Animal Moves” and guess which animal they’re imitating!

Our new spellings focus on the days of the week, each containing one of our Phase 5 sounds: “ay”. The children will have their test on Friday 8th November.

• Monday
• Tuesday
• Wednesday
• Thursday
• Friday
• Saturday
• Sunday

Help at home

• Practise writing each day of the week, reminding them that days are proper nouns and need a capital letter.
• Say the days aloud together, emphasizing the “ay” sound.
• Use flashcards.
• Look, say, cover and check!

Regular spelling practise at home can make a real difference!

This term in Year 1, we have been learning about Christianity and the Creation Story. The children have explored how Christians believe that God created the world in seven days, shaping everything from light to animals and people. We discussed why the Creation Story is important to Christians, focusing on the idea that the world is a gift from God.

“Thank you for the world so sweet, thank you for the food we eat, thank you for the birds that sing, thank you Lord for everything. Amen.” – End of day prayer

We discussed why we say the end of day prayer and what this means to us.

We have also been thinking about ways we can look after the world too, such as recycling, saving water, and protecting nature.

Help at home

– Talk about ways you can care for the environment together.
– Try a nature walk and discuss how you can protect the plants and animals around you.
– Encourage recycling at home and talk about why it’s important.

Take the caring for our world quiz with your child here!