Family Album

Our new topic this half term is 'Family Album'. It will focus the children on the chronology of their own lives and their families. Over half term, we hope you have enjoyed collecting family photographs and talking about funny and memorable moments in your lives! We look forward to you sharing some of these with us.

To kick start our topic we will be visiting St Fagans National History Museum this Wednesday 7th November to help the children explore how people lived in the past.

Curriculum News

Language, Literacy & Communication Skills

 Interview parents and grandparents about their childhood.

 Read and listen to stories about families. Retell through drama and play using puppets, dolls, figures and small world play.
 Write an imaginary story about their own family in familiar settings.
 Write a diary entry of their trip to St Fagans.

 Write a diary entry as though they were their grandparents growing up.

 Display books, artefacts and items from their grandparents’ generation to look at and read independently.

Personal & Social Development, Well-Being & Cultural Diversity

 Talk and write about their own special qualities. Talk about what they contribute to the class and to their family.

 Discuss the different roles within a family.

 Explain why their family is special.

Mathematical Development

 Sort and classify information about the class into simple charts and tables.

 Put each other’s birthdays and ages in order, including making timelines.

 Make height charts to show the varying heights of children in the class. Make charts and diagrams to show the range of hand spans and shoe sizes.

Physical Development

 Use their bodies through interesting ways through gymnastics and play.

 Understand the importance of keeping fit and agile as we get older.

Creative Development
 Make own family album making choices about the best materials to use.
 Use ICT, writing, photography and art to present information in the family album.
 Make prints of hands on basic squares using a range of coloured paints. Decorate with a range of embellishment, materials and sew together to make a ‘Class Family’ wall hanging.
 Sing songs they remember from being a baby.
Knowledge & Understanding of the World

 Make structured family trees putting dates and birthdays of family members in chronological order.
 Find out about some of the events that happened in their family.
 Make a timeline of their own lives.
 Compare life now to the life of parents and grandparents – think about schools, clothes, toys and music.
 Place everyday items from the last 20 years in chronological order.
 Visit a museum to see how people lived in the past. Make drawings and take photographs of how family life has changed.
 Understand and talk sensitively about human life cycles. Talk about how people change as they grow from babies to an elderly person.

Welsh Language Development
Language Patterns –All previous taught patterns and:
• Beth wyt ti’n gwisgo? Dw i’n gwisgo/Dw i ddim yn gwisgo …… achos mae hi’n heulog/oer etc
• Revisit clothes and adjectives when describing clothes e.g. hir, byr, mawr, bach, hen, newydd.
• Beth mae …… yn gwisgo? Mae …… yn gwisgo …. Dydy …. ddim yn gwisgo

Thank you for your continued support.

If you have any queries please don't hesitate to contact us.

Talk Homework

Monday 5th November

This week the children will be writing a diary entry to reflect on their personal experience of their trip to St Fagans.

Please talk about the following:

• what they saw, in particular the artifacts in the houses and describe these using wow words
• their thoughts and feelings, consider what it must have been like to live in a house like the ones they visited
• similarities and differences between the houses they saw and their own house e.g. furniture, toys
• similarities and differences between the houses they saw and the ones that you (mum, dad, grandad etc) lived in and share any knowledge and memories about the type of house, artifacts within them
• what life was like when you were younger, the toys and games you played with
• the most interesting thing they found out or learnt at St Fagans

When talking with your child encourage them to use:

• first person, 'I saw...' 
• past tense
•  time words, (connectives) such as First... Later... Next... After that... When I... As I...

Enjoy talking!

Don't forget to use your Treasury Books if you would like to record any thoughts or ideas etc.