1/2 A Mainstream 

What we have been up to: 

As the term wraps up, Year 1/2A has finished off their integrated focus on ‘Belonging and Our Community’. The citizens of Thistle Mountain met with the giant to ask why he threw tantrums. They then gave some great solutions to help him calm down when he felt angry, these included balloon breathing, counting and singing a song. They insisted they would include him in the future, so he wouldn’t be lonely. The villagers then finished with playing a game of Heads Down Thumbs Up and all gave him a hug. The giant was very happy; the townsfolk were very happy and the problem of the tantrum throwing giant was solved -YAY! 

The imaginary Thistle Mountain role play helps children develop vocabulary and understandings of what it means to belong to all sorts of different communities, as well as the rights and responsibilities of the citizens of those communities. Our integrated learning never really stops, and we will continue to be the best citizens of our various communities as best we can!

Maths:

Children have been working on developing an understanding of place value through exploration and game play. Place value is an integral building block for further mathematical skills and concepts. We have been learning to determine the value of a numeral depending on its position in a number. For example, we now know that in 34 we have 3 tens and 4 ones, in 210 we have 2 hundreds, 1 ten and 0 ones, and beyond. 

Literacy:

As part of our phonics program, classes have continued to learn Little Learners Love Literacy  Stage 7.1 sounds. These sounds include: –y as in silly, igh as in night, ie as in pie, ea as in meat, -y as in fly, and oa as in float. 

1/2A continued their introduction to the writer’s process with a focus on publishing one of the Thistle Mountain inspired recounts or narratives worked on over the term. 

What’s to come in the next two weeks:

The school holidays will finally be here! While we are not at school together, here are some ways families can support learning during the holidays:

• Continue our home reading program. Record any books that you read from the library or your own collection. 
• Take notice of place value concepts in the world around you, like at the supermarket, the numbers on letter boxes or in the kitchen.
• Use any opportunity to practise counting and number sense! 
• Have discussions about what it means to be a responsible citizen.

Have a wonderful holiday!