Writing Stories, Journals, Plays and Menus

Kia Ora Room 19 Families,

As requested here is a blog all about children writing stories.

My children and I have been writing stories, plays and menus to pass the time at home.

The following links can help you write your own story based on story starting prompts:

https://www.journalbuddies.com/creative-writing-2/story-starters-for-kids/

https://www.journalbuddies.com/journal_prompts__journal_topics/kids-short-story-ideas/

https://www.teachersnotepad.com/story-starter/

When you think about writing a story, the first thing you do is draw your picture plan. Then the story you write has to match your picture plan. Remember when we were doing our swimming art?

So imagine this picture on the board is my picture plan. I have drawn a picture of myself in the pool, so I now need to write my story about swimming in a pool. Remember the picture plan needs to match my story. 

We then need to remember to re-read the sentence often as we are writing it to make sure that it makes sense. For example on the board I wrote " I am school", but does this sentence make sense? What word do we need to add in to make sure it makes sense?

Have your parents help you hold a sentence in your head, long enough for you to write it down. Also don't forget your punctuation and finger spaces in your sentences.

Capitals belong at the beginning of the sentences and for names of things. Commas help the reader pause for breath and full stops tell the reader that it is the end of that sentence.

Here are the butterfly cards if you don't have them at home:

For the year 2 children and anyone on Purple and Gold levels, your goal is to develop your writing story telling ability. So I suggest looking at pictures and coming up with your version of what is happening in the picture. For example:

Who is in this picture? Two penguins and Polar Bear and a Seal right? But what are their names?
Where is the story set? On an iceberg drifting out to sea? In Antarctica?
What is the problem? Are the hungry? Do they just like to fish? Are they learning how to take turns and share since there is only one fishing rod?
Once you have decided on the problem, how will you solve it? What will the characters do/learn in order to fix the problem?
Finally how will you end the story?

Congratulations! You have successfully figured out how to write an interesting story with a beginning, middle and end!

Once you have come up with your own ideas, and written you own story on this picture, scroll down and see my story.

One day Sam the polar bear was hanging out at home on his ice berg, in Alaska, when his friends Freddie and Frankie the penguin twins and Tania the seal came over to play. They wanted Sam to teach them how to fish. 
Uh oh there is only one fishing rod, and Sam loves to fish. Sam also didn't know how to teach anyone to fish. He thought that they would learn just by watching him, so he started fishing, while his friends watched. 
Soon everyone but Sam was bored and not having any fun. Sam didn't want his friends to leave, so he thought about what he could do differently. 
Finally he remembered that his Mum told him that it is fun to share with his friends and to take turns when they play. Sam decided to let his friends have a go at fishing with the fishing rod. 
Now all of his friends were having fun trying to get fish with the fishing rod. Even Sam was having fun watching his friends splashing, and wobbling around trying to catch wriggly wobbly fish. 
They all had such a great time catching fish, that the decided to do it again the next day. 

The more practice you have expanding and growing your stories the more interesting they will become.
So here are our remember to's:
Write a beginning - saying who, were, when and why
Write a middle saying what happened, using words like first, next, after, then, last.
Write an ending saying what I (you) thought about the event.



That is enough for today, if you want to do a play or write a menu, google has plenty of options and tutorials. Please make sure you share with me what you are working on and how you are doing.

Join us in our next blog for sight words and phonics activities. Have a wonderful weekend. Take care and be safe.

Sending you all big virtual hugs and best wishes, from my family to yours. Enjoy this photo of me (Mrs Futcher) as an avocado!

                                                                  

Reading Reading Everywhere!!

Kia Ora Children, Parents and Whanau,

Firstly I want to say a big thank you to all of you who have sent me emails, videos and pictures letting me know how you are and what you have been up to. It gives me big smiles and makes me so happy to hear and see you!

Here is Shayaan doing an excellent job of teaching a morning mat time reading session to his little sister. You are an amazing super teacher Shayaan - keep up the great work!!

And here is Elijah doing a reading session with Sunshine Classics which can be accessed here: 

https://www.sunshineclassics.co.nz/

For parents who want to extend their child's learning in reading: 

In order to gain confidence and fluency in reading, it is best that children read each evening for five to ten minutes. 

While levelled readers are listed on the Sunshine Classic App, your child certainly is not limited to reading just those! Some readers will be instructional (i.e. needing your support) and some will be independent (your child can read them to you without much support). There are different ways reading time can be enjoyed:

 • You read to him/her. 

• You read with him/her. 

• They read independently to you. 

• They read by themselves. 

Here are some suggestions to help your child when he/she is having difficulty reading the text on their own: 

• As you read, point to each word to make the oral language and print connection. 

• Give a few seconds of wait time to see what attempts are made. 

• Ask what would make sense in that sentence. 

• Use picture clues. 

• Skip the word and come back. 

• Go back to the beginning of the sentence and try again. 

• Sound the word out with your child.  

Jolly Phonics Song for sounding out letters

Always talk about the book with your child.

Reading Prompts & Questions:  

The following are some questions and prompts to help your child gain a deeper understanding of the text. 

Before Reading Look at the front cover: 

• What do you think this story will be about? 

• What makes you think that? 

• What clues does the title give us? 

• What could be interesting about this story? 

During Reading:

• What do you think will happen next? 

• How is the character feeling? How do you know this? 

• What is making the character feel this way? 

• What is happening? Tell me in your own words. 

• What would you do if you had this problem? 

• Have you ever experienced…? 

• Why did the author do this to the text? (E.g. bold writing, use of ellipsis, use of exclamation marks.) • What is another word for…? 

After Reading:

• What did you like or dislike about the story? 

• How did the story make you feel? Why? 

• Does the story remind you of any other story? 

• How could it have ended differently? 

• What was your favourite part? 

• What did you learn from reading this text?

Alternatively check out the Twinkle Learning Hub (https://www.twinkl.co.nz/home-learning-hub) for more interactive stories like this one: 

The Bear who came to babysit

As always stay safe, take care and keeping sending in your messages, pictures and videos.

Aroha nui and big virtual hugs from my family to yours!

Mrs Futcher 

Activities at home

Hola Friends and Families,

It's raining today, so my children and I are stuck inside - unable to kick the ball around outside, or go for a much needed walk.....so what can we do?

Here are some ideas for you all, if like us, you are stuck inside:

You could draw your toys like this:

You could ask your parents to tape you a road on the carpet for you cars, lego and building toys:

You could visit the San Diego Zoo:

https://kids.sandiegozoo.org/animal-cams-videos

or do some of their activities...

https://kids.sandiegozoo.org/activities/prehensile-play

or play some of their games....

https://kids.sandiegozoo.org/index.php/games

Or visit this site for fun ideas when it's raining:

https://www.mykidstime.com/things-to-do/50-fun-rainy-day-activities-for-kids/

Things like: Make a fort, create a town in a cardboard box or maybe instead of visiting a library (cos we can't do that) maybe you could create a library at home out of your books, or create a shop and sell goods to your customers (family). Monopoly money - or creating your own money is fun to use and helps you learn Mathematics counting.

In the twinkl home learning hub - search for shop labels to give you ideas of what you can create or for those with a printer you can print your own.

https://www.twinkl.co.nz/home-learning-hub

You could even have a Lego building competition!

The possibilities are only limited by your imagination. Whatever you end up doing, I hope it is fun, whimsical and dramatic. Don't forget to share with me via email/pictures/videos. 

Join us next time when we will explore Writing Fun!

As always take care, stay safe and keep having fun/making beautiful memories with your loved ones. 

Sending you big virtual hugs from my family and I, to your family and you. 

Kia kaha, and aroha nui, from Mrs Futcher 

Tutorial In How To Leave A Comment On The Blog

Home Learning Hub

Kia Ora Children, Parents and Whanau!

Here is Noor working on some awesome activities at home! Fantastic job Noor, it is awesome to see your creativity and happy smiling face whilst you work on making a caterpillar and planes.

I have managed to find a Home Learning Hub from twinkl for those that are interested in resources for Phonics, Maths, Fitness, Story Time to name a few. 

Please know that your child does not have to do any of this work at home, as they can learn through playing games with you and on their own, and interacting with the family at home. This is here for those of you that want to do something fun, challenging and educational. 

Twinkl Home Learning Hub

Also David Williams has set up a story reading site: 

Elevenses story reading site

In saying all this, here is something important everyone with children should consider: 

You might be inclined to create a minute by minute schedule for your kids. You have high hopes of hours of learning, including online activities, science experiments, and book reports. You’ll limit technology until everything is done! But here’s the thing...

Our kids are just as scared as we are right now. Our kids not only can hear everything that is going on around them, but they feel our constant tension and anxiety. They have never experienced anything like this before. Although the idea of being off of school for weeks sounds awesome, they are probably picturing a fun time like summer break, not the reality of being trapped at home and not seeing their friends.

Over the coming weeks, you will see an increase in behavior issues with your kids. Whether it’s anxiety, or anger, or protest that they can’t do things normally - it will happen. You’ll see more meltdowns, tantrums, and oppositional behavior in the coming weeks. This is normal and expected under these circumstances.

What kids need right now is to feel comforted and loved. To feel like it’s all going to be ok. And that might mean that you tear up your perfect schedule and love on your kids a bit more. Play outside and go on walks. Bake cookies and paint pictures. Play board games and watch movies. Do a science experiment together or find virtual field trips of the zoo. Start a book and read together as a family. Snuggle under warm blankets and do nothing.

Don’t worry about them regressing in school. Every single kid is in this boat and they all will be okay. When we are back in the classroom, we will all course correct and meet them where they are. Teachers are experts at this! Don’t pick fights with your kids because they don’t want to do math. Don’t scream at your kids for not following the schedule. Don’t mandate 2 hours of learning time if they are resisting it.

If I can leave you with one thing, it’s this: at the end of all of this, your kids’ mental health will be more important than their academic skills. And how they felt during this time will stay with them long after the memory of what they did during those weeks is long gone. So keep that in mind, every single day.

Here is virtual tour links for those children who want to explore it virtually: 

https://www.wearethemighty.com/MIGHTY-SURVIVAL/free-virtual-field-trips-quarantine

https://www.popsugar.com.au/parenting/virtual-field-trips-to-take-with-kids-47316884?utm_medium=redirect&utm_campaign=US:NZ&utm_source=www.google.com

https://www.weareteachers.com/best-virtual-field-trips/

I hope you find this information useful. Please leave a comment letting me know how you are getting on, what you are doing in your days at home, and if there is something you would like to see posted on the blog next :) As usual sending big virtual hugs from me (Mrs Futcher) and my family to you and your family. Be safe, take care and have fun. 

Mathematics and Matific

Kia Ora Everyone,

Elijah is at home enjoying his Mathematics learning on Matific!! Great job Elijah, it is wonderful to see your happy smiling face :)

Matific develops mathematical excellence and problem-solving skills through playful interaction & games. Below I have posted in the links for Apple and Android devices. Please note you will need your student login to access this program and to get the activities I have assigned you for your stages. The login and password details are in your home links books, however if you cannot find this please email me and I will send it to you. 

Matific App Link for Apple Products

Matific App Link for Android

Parents: In your child's home link books will be a Maths checklist which tells you what stage of Mathematics your child is at - for example:

Stage 0 and 1 Maths: 

I am learning to: 

Read numbers to 5 first and then to 10:   0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Count forwards to 5 first and then to 10: 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10
Count backwards from 5 first and then from 10:  5, 4, 3, 2, 1
Say the number after a number (in the range 1-5) 3, 4, ____
Say the number before a number (in the range 1-5) ____ 4, 5
Order numbers to 5 first and then to 10 5 3 1 2 4

This means that your child would benefit from learning how to read, write and count from 5 to 10 in multiple ways. You can use counters, toys, fingers, playing cards and other small counting collection materials to help your child practice counting to and from 5 and 10.

Remember Maths is everywhere! 

Baking:

When you bake with your child have conversations about quantities needed - How many people do we need to feed? How many cookies will this batch make? What does a quarter of a cup look like? How are we going to measure it out? What does the recipe say?
In this one moment you are teaching/learning language, measurement, quantities, fractions, plus a whole lot more, in a fun and natural way.

Board Games and Playing Cards: 

Playing games like make 21, solitaire, aces to kings - card games, monopoly, connect four and Simon says for example teaches your children many skills not just Mathematics. Learning to wait your turn, share, strategies, use logic, and planning are also valuable traits the board games teach everyone. Children should learn the nice way to win and lose at games, which prepares them for the realities of life - you can's always be the winner.

Hop Scotch, Hand Ball, Pool, Elastics, Basketball/Netball Hoops:

All of these games teach children angles, distance/velocity, spacial awareness (throwing, jumping, landing).

Learning about Mathematics doesn't have to be worksheets, equations and statistics. There are lots of fun ways you and your family can explore Maths at home and out in nature. Dandelions for example are fractal symmetry spirals - google provides a wealth of information about dandelions.

For those who have a printer please follow the link for Maths connect the dot printouts:

Google Maths Connect the Dots Printouts

Please leave a comment letting me know if you do or do not find this useful and if there is anything you want to see in these posts.

Sending you big virtual hugs from me (Mrs Futcher) and my family to you and your family. Keep well and safe, until next time when we will be exploring reading at home. Also let me know if you would like me to record a bed time story and/or other stories read by me for you all to listen to.

Recipes, Scavenger Hunts and Lego Challenges

Kia Ora Room 19 Children, Parents and Whanau,

I hope you are all well, safe and enjoying this special time at home with your loved ones. I definitely miss seeing all your wonderful happy and beautiful smiling faces, so please do not forget to send me some pictures/videos of you, your family and your learning/fun activities that are keeping you occupied. I have received wonderful pictures from two students already, so I will be making a post soon to share with you all. I would love you all to be a part of it.

As promised yesterday here are some fun and safe recipes you can create at home to make play dough, paint, slime and blocks. The reason I decided to send the non-toxic edible recipes for these resources is because some of you have brothers, sisters and pets at home that might be tempted to put these things in their mouth. I won't everyone to be 100% safe, as I know your parents do too.

NB: If the recipe calls for something you don't have at home, please use google to see if there is an alternate item you can use - for example if you don't have glue at home, you can make it with flour and water.  Google the recipe if you need it. :)

Below you will find the recipes for the paints, slime, play dough and blocks

Here is the 30 day Lego challenge:

Here is the indoor and outdoor scavenger hunt:

As a bonus idea for drawing (to follow on from yesterday's drawing blog) check this idea out:

The great thing about this type of drawing is that you can use anything as your template: Cars, animals, toys, food - the only limit is your own imagination and exploration skills. Give it a go, and share with me your results!

I hope these ideas help alleviate the boredom and give you ideas for being in your backyard getting fresh air and fun.

Just us for our next blog where I will be talking about fun Mathematics activities and Matific.

Sending you big virtual hugs from me (Mrs Futcher) and my family to you and your family. Keep well and safe creating wonderful memories with your family.