Hello everybody and welcome to our class page! I really can't believe it is the end of the school year and that I haven't seen you all for such a long time. I can't tell you how much I have missed you all and how pleased I am that we get to spend a week and 2 days together in September. I can't wait to see all of your lovely faces in our classroom again. I know you will all feel differently about coming back to school. Some of you will be excited to see your friends, some of you will be a bit nervous and some of you will be feeling both of these things! I wanted to tell you that both of these things are OK and to try not to worry too much about coming back. School is pretty much the same as it always has with a few little differences. The main thing is that all the teachers who look after and care about you are still here and will be ready to help you settle back into school in September. So please have a fabulous summer and I will be waiting for you in September with a big smile on my face!! 

How to access Espresso: www.discoveryeducation.co.uk Username: student30240 Password: crestwood1

Here is our final picture for you to write about creatively. I hope our summer is hot enough to melt the ice cream vans! I have added some questions to help you to begin to think about it:

1. What has happened to the ice cream van and why?
2. What could the ice cream men and women do to stop this happening again?
3. What did the ice cream man do when this happened?
4. Is the ice cream van in the UK or a different country?

I would like you to use your imagination and can write anything at all, the more creative the better. Here are some ideas that you might like to consider:

- An explanation of why things freeze or melt.

- A story about the ice cream man whose van melted.

- A letter to the ice cream man with some suggestions of how he could avoid this in the future. 

I'm sure you have lots of other ideas of what you could write about and I can't wait to read them. Send anything you write to info@crestwood-p.dudley.sch.uk and I will be excited to see them. 

Here is a new picture for you to write about creatively. I have added some questions to help you to begin to think about it:

1. How big is the whale?
2. What kind of whale is it?
3. Who is the person in the boat?
4. How does the person in the boat feel?

I would like you to use your imagination and can write anything at all, the more creative the better. Here are some ideas that you might like to consider:

-A factfile about whales.

- A book review for 'The Snail and the Whale' (This is still available to watch on BBC iPlayer).

-Watch the story 'Dear Greenpeace' by Simon James on YouTube. Can you write a letter to Greenpeace about whales?

I'm sure you have lots of other ideas of what you could write about and I can't wait to read them. Send anything you write to info@crestwood-p.dudley.sch.uk and I will be excited to see them. 

Here is a new picture for you to write about creatively. I have added some questions to help you to begin to think about it:

1. What happened before this picture was taken?
2. Why is a dog on a skateboard?
3. Whose skateboard is it?
4. What will the dog do next?

I would like you to use your imagination and can write anything at all, the more creative the better. Here are some ideas that you might like to consider:

-A story about the dog and how he ended up in the hedge.

-Instructions on how to use a skateboard for the dog in the future.

-A letter of apology to the person who owns the hedge!

I'm sure you have lots of other ideas of what you could write about and I can't wait to read them. Send anything you write to info@crestwood-p.dudley.sch.uk and I will be excited to see them. 

Here is a new picture for you to write about creatively. I have added some questions to help you to begin to think about it:

1. What is the mouse thinking?
2. What's in the mouse's bag?
3. Where do you think he is going?
4. Why is the mouse all packed up and ready to go?

I would like you to use your imagination and can write anything at all, the more creative the better. Here are some ideas that you might like to consider:

-A story about the mouse and his adventures.

-A speech bubble coming from the mouse: What would he be thinking?

-A description of the mouse or what he can see. 

I'm sure you have lots of other ideas of what you could write about and I can't wait to read them. Send anything you write to info@crestwood-p.dudley.sch.uk and I will be excited to see them. 

Here is a new picture for you to write about creatively. I have added some questions to help you to begin to think about it:

1. Who is the dog's owner?
2. Where do you think the dog has been?
3. What do you think is going to next?
4. How is the dog feeling? How will his owner be feeling?

I would like you to use your imagination and can write anything at all, the more creative the better. Here are some ideas that you might like to consider:

-A story about the dog and how he became so muddy! 

-A speech bubble coming from the dog: What would he be saying and thinking?

-Instructions on how to make the dog clean and sparkly again!

I'm sure you have lots of other ideas of what you could write about and I can't wait to read them. Send anything you write to info@crestwood-p.dudley.sch.uk and I will be excited to see them. 

Here is a new picture for you to write about creatively. I have added some questions to help you to begin to think about it:

1. Why is the lady so small?
2. How did she get in the jar? 
3. Did someone put her in there? If they did then why?
4. How could she escape?

I would like you to use your imagination and can write anything at all, the more creative the better. Here are some ideas that you might like to consider:

-A story about the lady in the jar, including how she got in there and if she manages to escape. 

-A diary entry from the lady about how she feels in the jar and what she might do.

-A newspaper article about the shrunken lady.

I'm sure you have lots of other ideas of what you could write about and I can't wait to read them. Send anything you write to info@crestwood-p.dudley.sch.uk and I will be excited to see them. 

Here is a new picture for you to write about and some questions to get you started:

1. Why is the polar bear on the train? 

2. Where is he going?

3. Where has he come from?

4. How would the other passengers feel about this?

I would like you to use your imagination and can write anything at all, the more creative the better. Here are some ideas that you might like to consider:

-A newspaper report with the headline 'Polar bear on train stuns passengers'

-A diary entry from the perspective of the polar bear explaining where he has come from, why he has boarded the train and what happens when he gets to his destination. 

-A letter written by one of the passengers to their friend who saw the polar bear on the train. 

-An information text about polar bears.

-A story about a polar bear on a train. 

I'm sure you have lots of other ideas of what you could write about and I can't wait to read them. Send anything you write to info@crestwood-p.dudley.sch.uk and I will be excited to see them. 

Here is a new Talk for Writing unit that year 2 can begin to work through at home, Rainbows, Rainbows Everywhere! This is a little bit different to the other units as it is based around non-fiction texts, rather than a story. These documents are lengthy, but this is because they are designed to take you some time. Don't feel that they need to be completed in one session, each one will probably last you at least a couple of weeks. Take time to get to know the texts. Work through the packs one activity at a time, don't try to rush. 

Crestwood Park have made a donation to host these packs on their website. There is no requirement for parents to make a donation themselves.

This is the fourth Talk for Writing at home pack, Superheroes. If you have finished this one you can move onto The Quangle Wangle's Hat if you would like. If you've not yet finished, don't worry, take your time!

This is the third Talk for Writing at home pack, Rainbows. If you have finished this one you can move onto Superheroes if you would like. If you've not yet finished, don't worry, take your time!

This is the second Talk for Writing at home pack, The Elves and the Shoemaker. If you have finished this one you can move onto Rainbows if you would like. If you've not yet finished, don't worry, take your time!

Here is our first Talk for Writing booklet, about Pandora's Box. If you haven't finished this one yet, please don't rush it. Continue to work through and when you are finished you can look at The Elves and the Shoemaker. 

Your new instalment of Little Wolf's Book of Badness! I hope you enjoy!

On purple mash, year 2 have been practising telling the time to o'clock, half past, quarter to and quarter past. You may find this interactive clock useful to practise setting and telling these times. There is an option to hide the digital clock, with this on, it makes it too easy! Espresso also have lots of videos, online and printable activities to support telling the time. Just go to key stage 1, maths and scroll down to the 'time' icon at the bottom. The log in details for espresso are available at the top of our class page.

Here is a link to NRich. This is a maths website with loads of great ideas for problem solving. There are lots of different types of activities. Some are designed to last days of weeks, some that require a few resources from around the home and some which require only a paper and pencil (handy, if you don't have a printer!) The problems are split into age groups, 5-7 or 7-11. As year 2 are on the borderline, it might be that they could dip into either depending on the problem. 

Here is a link to White Rose Hub Home Learning for Year 2.

This contains some really good quality maths lessons, with videos. I have added the activities and answers (PARENTS ONLY!!) as separate documents this week. Begin with lesson 1 on Monday and work through each lesson a day at a time. A challenge should appear on Friday. If you don't have a printer, then please just have a look at the sheets on screen and have a think about them. Enjoy!

Lots of parents ask how we teach their children maths so that they can support them at home. Here are some useful videos to take you through the maths methods we use in Year 2.

As you are all aware, we have been learning about our local area in the past. I have been thinking about this and have three challenges for you...

Challenge 1

Key Question: What would it have been like to be a child in the Black Country in the past?

Use the historical sources below to try to answer the following questions:

What would you have worn? Where might you have lived? Who might you have lived with? What would you have eaten? How would you have travelled? Would you have preferred to have been a child in the Black Country now or then? Why?

Why have you come to these conclusions? Make sure you have found evidence in the sources. 

Challenge 2

We began to consider how it would feel to be a miner in the Black Country before school closed. Use the photographs and document below to find out what life would have been like as a miner. Use this information to write a diary entry as if you are a miner. What would you do during your day? How would you feel? You could use your diary entry to enter Mrs Kennedy's 'Writer of the Week' competition, send it to her at ekennedy@crestwood-p.dudley.sch.uk

Challenge 3

I have been looking at some old photographs of some landmarks in our local area. Can you work out where these photographs were taken? Play spot the difference between these photographs and what is there now!