Wednesday 1st July

Good morning everyone!

I hope you are all still keeping safe and well at home.  

It's been a while since I set you an additional maths challenge, so today you're in for a real conundrum!  A very famous Ancient Greek mathematician called Archimedes created a puzzle called the Stomachion.  

A rectangle is divided into 14 different shapes, and then those 14 pieces are all used to create different shape patterns - it's trickier than it looks!  I've put the challenge in this week's Additional English and Maths file, so if you have a printer at home you could print it directly; otherwise, you could carefully copy the shapes onto a piece of paper.  Good luck!

That's all from me for today - take care of yourselves.

Best wishes

Mrs Vaqueiro

Tuesday 30th June

Hello everyone!

I hope you are all keeping safe and well at home.  Around this time, if we had been in school, we should have been taking our final school trip of the year to the Nature in Art Museum and Gallery at Twigworth in Gloucestershire.  The Gallery is closed at the moment due to the coronavirus, but you can have a look at some of the exhibits on their website - there are some amazing sculptures in the beautiful grounds.  We would normally spend the day doing different art workshops inspired by nature and using natural materials - and there's no reason why you couldn't recreate one of them at home, especially since finding some 'Nature in Art' is one of Year 3's '50 Things to Do at Swan Lane!'

Inspired by the artist Andy Goldsworthy, you could gather together some natural materials - sticks, stones, shells, leaves etc - and use them to make a picture or pattern on the ground.  Think about how you compose your piece - will it be a picture of a particular person or memorable scene, or will it be an abstract pattern?  If you would like to make a pattern, you could make a mandala like these ones.  I've put a short powerpoint about Andy Goldsworthy in this week's folder on the Google Drive, which might also give you some ideas and inspiration!

Have fun!

Mrs Vaqueiro

Monday 29th June

Good morning and welcome to another Monday morning!  

This is now your twelfth week of learning at home (excluding holiday weeks)!  What an achievement - I am really proud of each and every one of you for keeping going and engaging as much as you can with your home learning.  This week's suggested activities are in the 3V Google Drive as usual, and I will keep adding extra ideas every day to help keep you out of mischief!

It's a momentous week for Swan Lane children this week, as very soon your annual reports will be winging their way to your parents and carers, and of course that means you will also find out who your new teacher in Year 4 will be - so watch this space for updates!  I hope you are all excited to come back to school in September, when (fingers crossed!) life might have started to look a little more normal - we will be so happy to welcome you all back to school, and I am sure you will all be looking forward to spending time with your friends again.

Have a lovely day and be kind to one another!

Best wishes

Mrs Vaqueiro

Friday 26th June

Good morning everyone - and well done for completing another week of home learning.  You should be really proud of yourselves for the effort you've made.

Have you enjoyed learning about the Amazon Rainforest this week?  I have discovered this video which you might like to watch.  Called 'Under the Canopy,' the film allows you to move the camera around 360 degrees just as though you were really in the rainforest yourself!  

Why not use the video as a stimulus for some creative writing?

As you watch the film, you could try and think of some exciting positional openers to describe the various features you can see.  Jot them down as you watch the film, and then see if you can edit and improve them.

For example, you might begin with Through the trees.  You can uplevel this simple opener by choosing a verb to describe what is happening through the trees.

Let's say we are Peering through the trees.

It's time to uplevel again by adding in an adverb.  How are you (or someone else) peering through the trees?  Curiously? Cautiously? Gingerly? Excitedly? Fiercely?  It's up to you - and your choice of adverb will very much influence the tone of your description.

Once you have added in an adverb, you might like to add in some Wow Words to describe the trees.  What are the trees like?  Are they tall? Spiky? Green? Overgrown? The choice is endless.

Now you have a fantastic opener for your descriptive sentence - can you extend it further?  What do you see as you peer through the trees?  

See if you can put together a perfect paragraph to describe a rainforest scene - remember to describe not only what you can see, but also what you can hear, and smell, and feel.  Remember you can go back to edit and uplevel your work until you are sure it is the best it can be - and then please do send me a picture!  I am really missing reading all your creative writing.

That's all from me for this week - have a wonderful weekend, and I will be back again next Monday with some more suggested home learning activities for you.

Best wishes,

Mrs Vaqueiro

Thursday 25th June

Hello everyone!

I hope you're all well and keeping safe at home. 

Can you guess what today is?  Apart from 25th June, that is...

Apparently, it's Global Beatles Day today - who knew?!  I didn't even know there was such a thing until I began researching ideas for this Blog, and you all know how much I love the Beatles!  So, hot on the heels of last week's Beatles-themed homework in honour of Sir Paul McCartney's birthday, I bring you another activity linked to the Fab Four!

In 1967, the Beatles released one of their most famous albums: Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band.  The album was musically groundbreaking but perhaps the most famous thing about it was the design on its cover.  The artist Peter Blake used collage to create an iconic image of the Beatles standing in front of a crowd of famous and memorable people. Peter Blake used 9 waxworks (including the four Beatles in younger days) and 57 photographs to create the scene.

So now, over to you.  Why not create your own collage artwork in the style of Peter Blake?  You could cut photos out of magazines (please ask first!) or print pictures of people who are important and memorable to you, and arrange them in a group, just like the cover of Sgt. Pepper.  You could also add extra decorations such as flowers, just like Peter Blake did.

Maybe you could listen to some of the Beatles' music while you work - it will be just like being at school!

Have a 'fab' day!

Mrs Vaqueiro

Wednesday 24th June

Good morning - or bom dia, as they say in Brazil!  

I hope you are enjoying learning a little about Brazil this week.  Although our time together in the classroom ended rather sooner than we planned, I think you were with me long enough to know that I like to find an excuse for cake as often as I can... all in the name of your education, of course! 

Together, we've made chocolate rocks, and tried Portuguese chocolate salami... now it's your turn to try making a Brazilian carnival treat - chocolate brigadeiros!  These little chocolate truffles are delicious but definitely not for every day as they are very sugary indeed!  You can only make these sweets with a grown up's help as you will need to use the cooker.

You will need:

1 397g can of condensed milk

3 tablespoons of unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tablespoon of butter (plus a little more for greasing)

A pinch of salt

Some chocolate sprinkles 

A grown up to help you 

Method:

1. Grease a plate with some butter (or use non-stick paper)

2. Put the condensed milk, cocoa, salt and butter in a heavy-based saucepan and heat it gently over a low heat, stirring all the time with a wooden spoon.

3.  Gradually the mixture will thicken up - it's very important to keep stirring all the time or it will stick to the pan.  Soon you will be able to see the bottom of the pan when you scrape the spoon through the mixture.

4.  When the mixture is thick like a dough, rather than runny like a batter, give it about a minute more (stirring all the time) and then take it off the heat.  

5.  Carefully tip the mixture onto the greased plate, cool it slightly and then put it in the fridge to set.

6.  When the mixture is completely cold, pull pieces off the dough and roll them into little balls.  You might find it easier (and less sticky) to do this if you put a tiny bit of butter on your hands first.

7.  Roll the balls in the sprinkles so they are covered all over.

8.  You can serve them in mini paper cases, or on a pretty plate... if you can resist them that long!

Enjoy your day!

Best wishes

Mrs Vaqueiro

Tuesday 23rd June

Good morning everyone!

I hope you are all well and enjoyed making a start on this week's suggested home learning.  Did you find out anything new about the Amazon Rainforest?

The rainforest jungle served as inspiration for a famous French artist, Henri Rousseau.  Although he never actually visited the rainforest in person, he visited the botanical gardens in Paris and used the plants he saw there in his very vibrant paintings.  He also included a huge variety of colourful and exotic animals and birds in his work.

I've put a Powerpoint presentation all about Rousseau in this week's folder of suggested activities - perhaps you could have a go at creating your own artwork in the same style?

Have fun today, and enjoy the sunshine as much as you can!

Best wishes

Mrs Vaqueiro

Monday 22nd June

Hello everyone!  Welcome to another week of home learning!  I hope you had a relaxing weekend and are still staying safe and well at home.  

During the summer term, if we were at school, our geography work would be based on learning about the city of Rio de Janeiro and the Brazilian Rainforest.  Today is World Rainforest Day, so it's a good opportunity for you to find out more about this fascinating subject!  I've put a folder of different Rainforest-themed resources in this week's suggested home learning, which you can dip into through the week.  You can take a quiz about Brazil, look at some amazing photos, and learn about the threat of deforestation.  Perhaps you could use the resources to write a fact file about Brazil, or write a persuasive piece to urge people to look after the environment.

Have a brilliant day and be kind to one another.

Mrs Vaqueiro

Friday 19th June

Hello everyone - can you believe it's Friday again already?

Let's finish our tenth week of home learning with something fun!  Since lockdown began all those weeks ago in March, the children's author and illustrator Rob Biddulph has been producing online drawing tutorials to help children learn new art skills.  You can find his 'Draw with Rob' cartoon tutorials here and there are lots to choose from!

That's all from me for this week - have a wonderful weekend and I will be back again on Monday with another selection of suggested home learning activities for you to try.

With very best wishes to you all,

Mrs Vaqueiro

Thursday 18th June

Good morning everyone!

How are you?  I hope you are all well and staying safe (and sane!) at home.

Today is 18th June, which, among other things, marks the 78th birthday of Sir Paul McCartney, who was the bass player in one of the most famous bands of all time... that's right, my favourite band, The Beatles!  Paul McCartney wrote the vast majority of the Beatles' songs together with his band mate and songwriting partner, John Lennon.  I am sure you will already know a lot of their music from having spent time in the classroom with me, but maybe you could listen to some Beatles tracks today to celebrate?  Let me know which ones you like best.

One of the Beatles' most famous songs was the first thing to be broadcast live worldwide via satellite, on 25th June 1967 - which links quite neatly (if a little tenuously!) to this week's Space topic.  The song was called 'All You Need is Love' and you can listen to it here.  Listen carefully to the words - there are lots of really inspiring messages there alongside the main theme.  Why not make a poster or piece of art reflecting the words from the song?  Don't forget to send me a picture if you do!

If all this Beatles-themed work has inspired you to find out more about the best band in the world, you could always check out the educational resources from the Beatles Story Museum in Liverpool, which can be found here.  The resources are designed for teachers to use in class so you might need to ask an adult to help you with some of them.

Have a wonderful day!

Mrs Vaqueiro

Wednesday 17th June

Hello everyone!

I hope you're all still keeping safe and well at home.

Do you watch Blue Peter on the TV?  It's the longest running children's television programme in the world, having been broadcast for the first time on 16th October 1958!  That's nearly 62 years ago, so not only your mums and dads but maybe even your grannies and grandads might have watched it when they were children - maybe you could ask if they remember it?

If you're a keen Blue Peter fan, you might already know that you can win special Blue Peter badges for different kinds of achievements - there are eight different kinds of badge altogether.  If you have a Blue Peter badge it entitles you to lots of different treats, such as free entry to zoos, theme parks and stately homes, so it's well worth trying to win one!  You can find out more about the different badges, and why they are awarded, by checking out the Blue Peter website.  Why not use this time in lockdown to see if you can earn a badge?

That's all from me for today - look after yourselves!

Best wishes

Mrs Vaqueiro

Tuesday 16th June

Good morning everyone!

I hope you are all keeping safe and well and enjoying learning a little bit about space this week.  

Would you like to do some space-themed art work today?  If you have some wax crayons and paint at home you could have a go at doing some crayon-resist painting, like this - you draw images with crayon first, and then paint over the whole sheet.  The paint won't stick to the wax crayon part so the results are really effective.

You could even take this a step further if you like and use the wax resist technique to write secret messages or draw a surprise picture.  Instead of using wax crayons to write or draw with, you could ask an adult if you can borrow a white candle to use instead (or just use a white crayon, if there is one in the pack).  Your secret picture or message will only appear when it is painted over!  I used to have lots of fun doing this when I was little, and so did my children when I showed them how to do it too.

I hope you have a brilliant day!

Best wishes

Mrs Vaqueiro

Monday 15th June

Hello everyone!

Welcome to your tenth week of home learning!  This week, our study theme is all about space.  There are lots of different space-themed activities for you to choose from, so have a look at the suggested resources in the 3V Google Drive, and maybe begin your research into the different planets in our solar system by visiting the website of the National Space Centre - the education section is here.  There is a lot of fascinating and detailed information to look through.

I also have some good news... children might remember me telling them - way, way back in September - that in my class we plough through spelling tests every week (even when other classes in school have a week off for the beginning and end of each half term) so that we can finish our spelling tests 'early' and have the last few weeks of term without any spellings left to learn for the year.  Well, that happy day has come! Last week's spelling test (Week 32) was officially our last one for Year 3!  

Normally, this would mean we had some extra free time on a Thursday afternoon - and I would usually use this time for some fun outdoor activities like nature study, storytelling in the outside classroom or just a game of rounders.  Unless you have a very big family, a game of rounders is probably off the menu, but if the sun shines this week you could take a book outside and read aloud to your family (or your cat, or your teddies...) or do a detailed observational drawing of a tree or flower, paying close attention to the light and shade. Enjoy the moment: you've earnt it!

That's all from me for today - take care of yourselves and be kind to each other.

Mrs Vaqueiro

Friday 12th June

Good morning everyone, and another happy Friday to you! 

 

You've just completed another week of home learning - well done!  Whether you've managed to complete all the challenges this week, or just had a go at something new, be proud of yourselves.  We find ourselves living through a most extraordinary time, and your commitment to home learning - whatever form it has taken - over these past weeks is a real achievement. Don't worry if you haven't been on top form every day; that's natural and normal - everyone has their ups and downs, and not every day is picture perfect.  Whenever I am feeling down, I try to think of at least three good things about the day - you can always find something positive to be grateful for, even if it is something very silly or small!

Looking back over the past few weeks of lockdown, see if you can think of some positive things that have happened.  Maybe you learnt a new skill, like cooking or gardening, or you found new ways to stay in touch with family and friends (I certainly would never have discovered video calls without lockdown, while both my children enjoyed writing and receiving letters through the post the old-fashioned way!) - or maybe you just enjoyed not having to get up early for school on a Monday morning!  I've put a reflection resource in the Google drive for you to use to help you focus your thoughts and ideas, if you would like to.

Have a wonderful, positive weekend, and I will be back on Monday with some new home learning suggestions for next week.

Take care,

Mrs Vaqueiro

Thursday 11th June

Good morning everyone!

I hope you are all still keeping well.  I have a challenge for you today - to write a show-stoppingly exciting book review!  Hopefully, you've all been reading something every day, or listening to some of the free children's audiobooks that I have suggested for you.  Once you've finished a book, you can create a review to help other people decide whether or not to read it too.

In school, we use a specific template for our book reviews - I've put a copy in the Google drive in case you want to use it, but if you fancy a different challenge, why not follow this link?  The LitFilmFest company has put together some helpful video instructions for writing a book review, and there are some examples of reviews written by children in schools (before lockdown happened, as you'll see!).  The children in the video clips do a fantastic job of reading their reviews very expressively - maybe you could have a practice at home and even record yourself if you have access to a phone or tablet.  You could even add to your performance with drawings and props to help you bring the story to life and encourage others to read it!

Let me know how you get on!

Best wishes

Mrs Vaqueiro

Wednesday 10th June

Hello everyone!

I hope you are all well and enjoying this week's music-themed activities!  Music is such a great mood-lifter, whether you are playing an instrument, singing along to your favourite songs, or just dancing around your sitting room, so hopefully this week's school work will keep a smile on your face!

Today is 10th June, which is an important day in my family, as it's Portugal Day!  It is a bank holiday in Portugal and normally people get together with friends and family to celebrate all things Portuguese.  This year, the celebrations are likely to be a little different because, like us, Portugal has been affected by the Coronavirus and people are just beginning to come out of lockdown.

Do you remember when we celebrated European Languages Day back in the autumn term?  We learnt a little bit of Portuguese and tried making some chocolate salami, which is a party food traditionally enjoyed by Portuguese people whenever they can find an excuse to make one.  If you would like to have a go at making one at home, you could try this recipe - you can swap the nuts for different dried fruits if you prefer. When we made our version in school, we used dried apricots, glace cherries and raisins, but you can use any combination as long as the weights are the same. I guarantee this will be nicer than the Roman honey cakes!

While you're enjoying your cake (or waiting for it to set in the fridge), you could find out a bit more about Portugal itself - I've put a powerpoint presentation about Portugal in the Google Drive, or you could visit this website for more information and some different colouring and craft activities with a Portuguese theme.

Have a wonderful day!

Mrs Vaqueiro

Tuesday 9th June

Good morning everyone!

I hope you are all well and still keeping safe.  I am really missing seeing you all every day in the classroom - although I do get to see some of you on the days when I am in school, it's not quite the same thing.  Still, we have to make the best of things, and try to keep in touch when we can.

School itself looks rather different to normal at the moment.  Mr Batts, Mr Forrester and Mr Jones have been working really hard to organise everything to keep everyone safe as we welcome more and more children back to school.  As you know, the Reception and Year 1 children have already been allowed by the government to go back into school, but they have to keep to smaller group sizes than usual, so they are using some extra rooms to make sure they keep safe.  We have some children from Reception using our classroom at the moment, so it looks very different! 

Some children, whose parents are Keyworkers, have been able to come into school to be looked after by the teachers all along.  This is the group of children that I look after on the days when I am in school.  

We call all our different groups of children 'Bubbles,' and it is really important for the people in each Bubble to stay safely apart from the people in other Bubbles.  This is to help stop the spread of any germs, and keep everyone in school healthy and well.  It does seem quite strange to begin with, but everyone is being very sensible and grown up about it.

All this talk of bubbles reminded me of how much I used to love bubble mixture when I was little - and how much my children loved blowing bubbles when they were your age!  Did you know you can make your own bubble mixture?  You can find a recipe here!  It's really simple to make (you just need some washing up liquid and some water).  I love spotting the rainbow colours in each bubble and watching them floating gracefully in the air.  You can even use the bubbles as inspiration for some poetry writing: have a read of this home schooling blog for ideas.  

That's all from me for today - stay safe and be kind to each other.

Best wishes

Mrs Vaqueiro

Monday 8th June

Friday 5th June

Good morning!

It's Friday, which means you've completed another week of home learning!  I hope you are enjoying the more relaxed pace, and finding some positives about staying safely at home.

Have you enjoyed spending more time outside recently?  The warm, sunny weather makes being outside a real pleasure, and the quieter atmosphere has made it easier for us to spot different kinds of wildlife.  

The Wildlife Trusts operate a '30 Days Wild' challenge every June - if you want to take part this year, you will need to sign up on their website for a free pack which can be downloaded.  You must check with a parent or carer before you sign up - have a look at the website for more information here.

That's all for this week - have a wonderful weekend, and be kind to each other.

Best wishes,

Mrs Vaqueiro

Thursday 4th June

Good morning and welcome to another exciting day of home learning!

I hope you are all well and remembering to be helpful at home if you can - it makes a big difference if we all try to help out with chores when we can.

After yesterday's rather serious and academic suggested home learning, I think it's time for some fun and games.  Have you ever played Top Trumps?  It's a card game, and there are hundreds of different themes available; my children have gathered quite a collection over the years, and we always take a pack or two on holiday to stave off any sign of boredom.  

If you haven't got a set at home, you can always make your own!  I have put a set of blank card templates in the Additional Resources folder on our Google Drive which you could print out if you have access to a printer, or just use for guidance in making your own on paper.  You can choose your own theme, or look at the official Top Trumps Website for some inspiration - but do please check with parents or carers first.

Let me know how you get on!

Kind regards

Mrs Vaqueiro

Wednesday 3rd June

Hello again everyone!  

I hope you are all well, staying safe and enjoying the sunshine!

How are you enjoying this week's topic 'Around the World'?  The world around us is fascinating - I love finding out more about different people's cultures and customs, as well as different beliefs.  

Normally during this part of the summer term we would be learning more about the Hindu faith - focusing on the concept of pilgrimage.  A pilgrimage is a special journey that someone takes in order to help them understand and deepen their faith.  It is an important part of many different religions around the world.  There is a film clip on BBC Bitesize which you could look at alongside the resources in the RE Folder on our Google Drive.  There is a specific activity pack for Hindu Pilgrimage, but I've also included some extra resources relating to other faiths which you can also explore if you wish to find out more. 

That's all from me for today - look after yourselves, and try to help as much as you can at home today - your parents and carers will appreciate it!

Best wishes

Mrs Vaqueiro

Tuesday 2nd June