Science – Plants (light and dark)
As we donned our science hats to start 2024, we turned our attention to plants and their requirements to survive and thrive.
Our enquiry question has been:
Do plants grow healthier in the light or dark?
The children have planned a comparative fair test to observe the results for themselves. They have made their predictions and are looking forward to seeing what happens!
We have chosen to plant cucumber seeds (the fantasy of a fruitful harvest proved irresistible) and will keep 2 plants in the sun and 2 plants in the cupboard. This morning, we gathered our equipment and – one (cu)cumbersome bag of compost and a few plant pots later – planted our seeds.
The children will be observing the plants and recording their progress… watch this space!
Help at home by discussing the investigation with your child:
- What was their prediction?
- Why did they make that prediction?
- How have we made sure our investigation is fair?
- How often will be observe the plants?
- What will we measure?
A Trip Back in Time – Abbey House Museum
Last week, we had the privilege of spending the day at Abbey House Museum.
We spent the morning wandering through authentically recreated streets, exploring Victorian shops and houses. As we toured the museum, we considered how living standards have changed, particularly considering the similarities and differences in shopping then and now.
In the afternoon, the children learned about how household items have changed since the Victorian era. From personal hygiene and heating the home, to cleaning carpets and washing clothes – we were astounded by how much easier things are for us today!
Help at home by asking your child about our visit. How might life have been different as a child in the Victorian era?
Living and Learning: “I know what a drug is and that some drugs can be harmful.”
In Living and Learning, we have been learning about things that can go into (and onto) our bodies and how they might help or harm us. The children have shown fantastic knowledge of when and how to use medicines safely.
“You shouldn’t take tablets if you don’t know what they are.”
“Follow the instructions on the packet. You could ask an adult to help if you’re not sure.”
“Make sure it’s the right medicine for the type of poorly you are.”
We sorted some picture cards into ‘helpful’ and ‘harmful’ and were surprised to see how many products would fit into both categories:
- Hand sanitiser is helpful for cleaning our hands but is very harmful to put into your body.
- Sweet treats can be enjoyable in moderation but can lead to tummy ache and tooth decay if consumed in excess.
- Sun cream protects your skin from the sun but contains poisonous ingredients that mustn’t be ingested.
Help at Home
Discuss these scenarios with your child. What could the characters do to prevent danger?
Welcome Back
A Belated Happy New Year…
We hope you’ve all had a fantastic start to 2024. Year 2 have returned to school ready to impress; super learning attitudes have been in plentiful supply and everyone has achieved!
We started our year with a moment of reflection, celebrating success and considering what we’d like to change. The children impressed me with their maturity and have shown patience and ambition as we’ve established new routines.
Reading and Writing
We have been practising our inference skills! We decided together that inference is:
“using clues to make a sensible guess about something we don’t know”
We used some inspiring illustrations to stimulate our discussions and had great fun interviewing one another in character. I (Mr Nash) had a bit too much fun playing the part of a baby owl!
“How do you feel about taking your first flight?”
Maths
We have been adding and subtracting 2-digit numbers, using base ten to show what we know.
Science
We are biologists! To start this term, we’re investigating whether plants grow healthier in light or dark. We’ve observed plants and labelled their parts, working like scientists by asking questions.
We braved the chilly conditions to see what we could observe. The children found an array of plants. Some had fur or spikes – others had flowers. We even found a tennis ball covered in moss!
Help at Home
Daily reading with your child is key to developing fluency and stamina. Your child’s e-book (including chapter books) will be assigned on a Friday – if there are any problems using the app, please let me know.
Encourage your child to engage with a variety of texts – perhaps a child-friendly news article will generate a spirited debate!
Continue to use NumBots to consolidate number fluency. We have set a (conservative) weekly target of 20 minutes to start the year but recommend a little and often approach. If there are any barriers to accessing this resource, we can provide an alternative.
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
We’ve had a busy week in Year 2. We’ve enjoyed making our calendars, Christmas hats and table runners for our Christmas dinner on Friday.
We enjoyed a visit from Santa, our Christmas party and playing some Christmas games.
We’d like to say huge thank you for all of your support this term. The children are working so hard both in school and at home.
We hope you all have an amazing Christmas break and enjoy lots of family time together. Thank you to everyone for our lovely Christmas things.
Mrs Palmer, Mr Nash, Mrs Bye and Mrs Walton.
English: Reading and Writing
In English, we have been enjoying reading the book Not Now Bernard by David McKee (This is a YouTube link. Top tip for watching YouTube with your child: go to the settings cog along the play bar and turn off autoplay – this avoids an inappropriate clip coming up automatically, and helps to discourage your child from passively watching clip after clip). From this, we have been looking at different pictures of monsters and thinking of nouns and adjectives to describe them.
We then designed our own monsters, thinking carefully about their key features. Look at some of our wonderful writing below:
Help at home:
Use the pictures and word mats below to think of some sentences to describe the monsters. Write some sentences about the monsters. Bring them into school to share with us.
Topic: Art
We have started the practical sessions in our Art learning. We created our own print block, taking inspiration from artwork by Paul Klee. He used lots of shape, lines and bright colours.
We then used our print block to roll on some paint and make our own printing. Have a look at some of our amazing prints below.
Help at home: Use the vocabulary to describe Paul Klee ‘Senecio’.
Spring Attendance Competition
St James’ CE Primary is a happy and healthy place to be – and maybe even a lucky one, too!
Look out for our attendance competition next half term. All pupils with attendance of 96% or higher will be entered into a prize draw to win a £50 Love to Shop vouchers!
So… for the full Spring 1 half-term, Monday 08 January to Friday 09 February (five weeks), if your child reaches a good level of attendance – that’s 96% – their name will be entered into a prize draw. We’ll select one lucky winner on the last day of the half-term (Friday 09 February).
Remember, arriving late for school counts as an unauthorised absence. This affects a child’s overall attendance figure, and that might mean they lose out.
So far this term, 40 pupils have 100% attendance and 80 pupils have over 96% attendance – well done to the children and their families!
PE: Gymnastics
Year 2 have been enjoying their Gymnastics sessions this half term. We’ve been moving our bodies in lots of different ways. We’ve been thinking about how we can change the height of our body.
Topic: Hepworth Museum
On Friday, we had a lovely trip to the Hepworth Museum. We spent the morning exploring the art gallery. We carefully observed the drawings, paintings and sculptures. We focused on the different colours, tones, textures and shapes.
After lunch, we met Sarah, an artist at The Hepworth. We went back into the gallery and created a picture, taking inspiration from the artwork and scenery around us.
We then worked with Sarah in her workshop to do some print making. We used a variety of different materials to create our print and used the rollers to roll the paint on.
