Hi to Silver Birch class,

We hope you're all ok and have had a good Bank Holiday weekend.

I celebrated VE Day with my family outside our house having a 'social distancing' party with the neighbours.  We had cream tea (after my second attempt at making scones - the first attempt were more biscuits!) and lots of cake.  We observed the 2 minute silence and sang along to 'We'll meet again.'  Such a poignant and reflective day.  We look forward to seeing pictures of your own celebrations that you may have sent to Mr File.  

Many parents have emailed us lately to express concern about children becoming less and less motivated with their learning.  I think we are all feeling this way as time goes on, and there are certainly good and bad days in my house too.  If there are days where no formal learning is taking place, it is ok, take a break and try again another day.  Please email us if you ever need any reassurance or have any questions.  Also, we can arrange a phone call to you or the children, and the children can email us themselves.  

Enjoy the learning this week (There is art!) and remember that we are all doing our best within a bad situation.

Take care,

Mrs Hall and Mrs Hams

Art - Drawing techniques

Google the artists; Oenone Hammersley and Henri Rousseau and look at their rainforest pieces.  

Look at the way they draw their animals and plants.  Take one of the pictures and copy it yourself using pencil.  If you have shading pencils, use these to show depth and detail.  They do not need to be coloured (but can if you wish).  

PE

The Kent School Games website has many challenges that can be completed through the #StayHomeStayActive campaign.  

Choose one, have a go, and let us know how you got on.  There are recording sheets that can be used.

https://www.kentschoolgames.com/stayhomestayactive 

RE - How do Christians show their beliefs about God through prayer?

*Revisit the 'Grace' prayer.

 The blessing asks for God to be with people who hear the prayer.  That for Christians, this sense of God being with them, all around and even within their lives is a part of believing in God the Holy Spirit. 

* Use the song  Stephen Fischbacher’s song ‘God behind, God beside, God ahead’, which expresses Christian belief about the presence of God the Holy Spirit in everyday life, to explore this idea. Play it , and ask them to write an additional verse to express their ideas about where God is found (if anywhere).

*Some Christians like to have wall plaques or fridge magnets or posters to remind themselves of key verses — including ‘the Grace’. (Look at www. thechristiangiftcompany.co.uk/ for the kind of thing some Christians use.) Ask children to think about the best way to help Christians remember the blessing, and where they would most need to be reminded of it. Ask them to design (and make?) an artefact as if for sale to Christians, expressing the ideas (but not necessarily the full words) of the Grace. What symbols, colours or images might work well to help Christians remember?