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*Introduction to Weekly Homework Tasks* ​

Message for the children from Ms Murray! 

Click on any of the images below

Thank you to everyone who completed the survey last week. I'm delighted you all feel able to engage in 'distance learning'. The point of the challenges below are not so much for learning and doing work. They are about making a connection between your home and our school community, during this very difficult time. My main concern is for the wellbeing of your child, we can catch up on the learning when we're back in school. I think that hearing a familiar voice and seeing a familiar face may help reduce anxiety and reassure the children that, as a class we are all safe and thinking of each other. The amount or quality of the work doesn't matter so much. Share pictures of what you get done if you can (send images to zaramurray@gmail.com), and leave as many comments as you like (click on the 'COMMENT' at the top of the post). The communication will help me as much as the children! Thank you.

Complete as many or as few of these tasks as you wish over the week in any order! Send me some pictures of your work to zaramurray@gmail.com and I'll share them with the class if you like! Save your homework in the folder that was sent home. I'd love to see it when we get back to school!
(*Please note for GDPR I will not share pictures of the children on their own or identify the owner of any work I share)

So, We never got a chance to give our stick insect a name! So for this challenge I want you to choose from two different names below and drop your choice into the comments section below! Hopefully we'll be able to choose the most popular name. 

Will we name her Zippy or Twiglet?

We all love Cosmic Yoga in rm 6! Find yourself some space in a quiet room and practice your STICK INSECT yoga! 

If you don't have pipe cleaners, try using scrunched up strips of tinfoil? If you can't find a stick in the garden use a straw or pencil. And you could draw eyes on paper and stick them on! 

Write about your own Super Stick Hero! Click on the image below to download a blank template. Make up your own one or you can copy mine!

Make up your own story about your Super Stick Insect! Remember every story has characters, a setting, a problem and a solutuion! Send me your stories and I'll pick a few to read out on the blog! 

Enjoy all the challenges and I look forward to hearing from all the boys and girls and seeing how you get on!
Have a great week,

Ms. Murray

9am every moring over on his you tube channel. Click here!

Please understand that you are under no pressure to complete all of this work. You may even decide that you will not engage with these weekly tasks, and do you own thing completely. While I do encourage you to try your best to continue with some simple revision and routine, I also very much understand that each household is different and we are going through extremely challenging times. So please only do what you can, this blog is meant to be a support for you and your child, not add to what is already a stressful situation.
You may find that the children will be happy to complete some tasks that have been set by 'Ms Murray'! for this reason I will make a video for the children to watch each week. That said, please feel free to drop in and out of the 'Weekly Tasks' as suits you. I will completely understand if one week you do them and another week you don't. Also, if you are a working household, you may find that the weekends work better to complete tasks, as opposed to the weekdays. Whatever works for you. ​

I will be using a selection of websites for assignments. Please visit the following sites and register for free if required. Check out the video above where I guide you through registering for these sites.
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​Folens.ie - Register for free using the code: Prim20​


Séideán Sí - There is a range of activities and games to revise simple Irish vocabulary. No registration needed. 


​Oxford Owl - Homework Readers. 
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Get Epic - I will send you an invitation via email.

It is unfortunate that with no notice of closures, we didn't get a chance to make up proper homework packs. So I understand that you may not have the following resources. But if you can try and source them somehow that great, don't worry if you can't. I suggest you keep these resources together in a box for 'School Work' time. 

• paper or copy
• pencil
• colours or crayons
• rubber
• small scissors
• access to internet
• printer

Most of our daily learning is done through play every day! So make as much time as possible to include playful games and activities. Just try to take any opportunity during play to practice learning. Counting, pattern, colours and shapes. Language and vocabulary is very important during the infant years so use plenty of it during your playful chat. Ask lots of questions.

Reading should be prioritised over other tasks. Regular practice of phonics, sight words/tricky words and readers is essential to keep them on track. You can choose the reader from the Oxford Owl site mentioned above. ​

We had just started revising back over our letter formation from the start because some of the children had got in the habit of incorrect formation. So each week, I will assign one focus letter and post a video showing the correct formation. Please supervise this task and if you need to, you can guide their hand at times.

Each week I'll set some simple number work and an area of focused topic work.

I've recommended the above site for revision that you can work away at your own pace. At this moment, you won't be set specific tasks for the week. 

Any other activities that might be fun and help cover themes we would have been doing in school. 

We can try and communicate through the blog as much as possible and please send pictures of work to zaramurray@gmail.com. Please let me know if you're happy to have me share your child's work with th erest of the class. We will see how this goes and review as needed. I will do my best to make sure weekly homework tasks are posted each Monday for the week ahead. 

Thank you for your support,
​
​Ms Murray

Hello Everyone! 
Just touching base with my super little class and hoping that this message finds everyone well. I know that a lot of you might be feeling a little uneasy in these uncertain time, I know I am! But I hope the children are in good form and not picking up on our anxiety. 
So, I will be making every effort to support you and the children as much as possible. I am stuck at home with my own two girls, aged 6 and 8, so I feel your fear! 😅 I want to get your feedback on how you would like me to support you so I'm going to ask you to have a think about a few ways in which we can communicate through this blog and maybe email. We all need to ease into this new reality, in order to avoid adding to the stress. So here are a few ideas that could work for you and me.

For me the most important thing is that we stay connected in some way, also that we look out for all the children in our little classroom family. I am going to await your reply to this messgage to see if people are getting it? Please leave a simple "Hello' in the comments box and if you can let other parents know I am here. Does anyone know if there is a group What's App for my class? Maybe that would be a good way to tell people. 
I very much understand that everyones situation is different and while it may be difficult for you to keep routine with a lot going on, I honestly believe that routine will be what keeps the children feeling well. 

I am honestly extremely upset that I can't be with my class, teaching infants is so much more than just giving direction. It requires touch, emotion and a sense of presence more than any other class level. I hope that you can work with me to bridge that connection over the coming weeks and months.

Yours,

​Ms Murray x