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