first 100 keywords            second 100 keywords

As many children are absent from school and we face a time of uncertainty, many parents are asking for work at home. As a result, I have attached lists of keywords to this post and ideas on how to teach spelling at home. The lists attached are:

1. The first 100 keywords (suitable for children who are starting to read/write)
2. The second 100 keywords (for developing/ more confident readers/writers)

Please do not try and teach all the words to your child. Most children need to practice spelling and reading words many times to remember them! Here are some ideas of how to make spelling fun at home:

• Make flashcards of no more than 3-4 spellings at a time, practise reading and spelling them until your child has learnt them. Don’t worry if it takes a bit of time- this is perfectly normal. 
• Add 1-2 new flashcards to the pile when your child has grasped the first few. Don’t forget to keep going back to the previous words.
• Hide the cards around the house and play find the spelling!
• Write the words in a tray of sand, shaving foam, washing up liquid. This is messy but fun!
• Write the words as big as you can and as small as you can.
• Use rainbow writing to practise your words – each letter can be written in a different colour.
• Make collages of the words with cut out letters.
• Write a ‘silly’ sentence with the words!

If your child is a confident reader and speller and knows the words on the lists try the following ideas:

• Challenge them to find 2-5 new words a day in the dictionary/online. They can use the ideas above to learn to spell and read the words. 
• Ask them to make ‘collections’ of words e.g. to describe size (tiny, minute, enormous, gigantic, looming), colours (scarlet, ebony, turquoise), movement (stagger, flounce, scamper). Again, use the ideas above to learn, read and spell these new words.

The latest Government on Coronavirus has changed. This will affect the way you approach any illness. Please do stick to this – children cannot return to school early, even if they do seem well. The new advice states:

• if your child has symptoms of coronavirus illness (COVID-19), however mild, they must stay at home for 7 days from when the symptoms started.
• if anyone else you live with  has symptoms of coronavirus, then all household members must stay at home and not leave the house for 14 days. The 14-day period starts from the day when the first person in the house became ill.

At the moment, teachers are not able to prepare work for individual children who are at home, either in self isolation or by parental choice. This is because they are still preparing work for children in school and it will change if the school closes completely.

However, the following are some ideas and suggestions of things you can do/websites to access if your child is at home now:

1. Please hear your child read or encourage them to read for at least 20 minutes every day
2. Baking or cooking gives opportunities to practise reading (recipes) and measuring (ingredients)
3. Board games or card games often teach reasoning, strategy, turn taking etc.
4. Gardening can be used to support scientific knowledge e.g. what do plants need to grow? How tall has your plant grown? How can we stop it being eaten by slugs?
5. The websites below provide some ideas that may be useful:

https://www.thespruce.com/activities-for-kids-parents-enjoy-together-4069734

https://www.topmarks.co.uk/

https://www.nationaltrust.org.uk/50-things-to-do

https://www.actionforchildren.org.uk/support-for-parents/things-to-do-with-your-child/

https://www.oxfordowl.co.uk/for-home/advice-for-parents/fun-ideas-learning-at-home/

https://www.sciencekiddo.com/kitchen-science-experiments/

coronavirus2

Please see the latest information about how school are planning for Coronavirus.

newsletter 9

There have been some rumours that a member of staff at Crynallt Primary School has been tested as positive for coronavirus. Please rest assured that this is not true. All staff are well and in school, and no one has been tested or shown symptoms.

In school, we are reminding children of the importance of washing their hands and coughing/sneezing into tissues. You can help us by reinforcing this message at home.

We have no information in school other than that provided on the Public Health Wales website. I have attached the advice for parents and schools to this post. Please rest assured we will remain vigilant and keep you informed directly if there are any developments.

PHW Novel Coronoavirus (COVID19) guidance for schools

Please find attached our latest Newsletter.newsletter 8