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Home Learning
Learning at home should be enjoyable, valuable adding aspiration and excitement for new knowledge.
Home learning is anything children do outside the school day that contributes to their progress. For example, parents who spend time reading stories to their children before bedtime, talking with them at the dinner table or takes them to a museum are helping with their learning at home. At Meadowbank Primary School we see home learning as an important aspect of the partnership between teachers and parents. One of the aims of our teaching is for children to develop as independent learners and we believe that learning outside of school, along with class based work is a key way in which children can achieve this.
Developing a love of reading, building spelling skills, practicing number facts and oracy development are essential for all learners and children need time invested in each of these aspects alongside following their individual personal interests to achieve their potential.
What does home learning look like for Meadowbank families?
Foundation Stage
Reading
Children are given a reading book and library book to take home and read with their parents each night as soon as teacher’s feel that they are ready for them.
Parents are invited to a reading workshop where we give guidance to parents on achieving the maximum benefit from this time spent reading with their child.
Spelling
Learning key words when they are sent home
Number facts
Parents are asked to do daily counting activities with children using numbers up to 10 – for example, counting the knives and forks when setting the table.
Oracy
Talk, Talk Talk! Engage regularly in conversations with your children about their interests and curiosities. Build in time to talk with children each day, to model listening skills, to build vocabulary and language skills.
Years One and Two
Reading
Children are given a reading book and a library book to take home and read with their parents each night and are expected to read for 10 to 15 minutes per day.
Spelling
Children are given weekly spellings to learn well – in mixed lists and in sentences. Spellings should be thoroughly learned and used within writing rather than learning a list by rote.
Number facts
Children are expected to know the 2x, 5x and 10x division facts & multiplication number facts thoroughly when they leave Year Two. Practice regularly at home so that they can be recalled at speed and used to solve problems.
Oracy
Talk, Talk Talk! Engage regularly in conversations with your children about their interests and curiosities. Build in time to talk with children each day, to model listening skills, to build vocabulary and language skills. Use these conversations to challenge and extend their vocabulary.
Years Three and Four
Reading
Children are given a reading book and a library book to take home and read with their parents each night for 15 to 20 minutes per day.
Spelling
Children are given weekly spellings to learn well – in mixed lists and in sentences. Spellings should be thoroughly learned and used within writing rather than learning a list by rote.
Number Facts
Children are expected to know all of the division facts &multiplication number facts thoroughly when they leave Year Four. Learn and over learn the multiplication fact. Practice regularly at home so that they can be recalled at speed and used to solve problems.
Oracy
Talk, Talk Talk! Engage regularly in conversations with your children about their interests and curiosities. Build in time to talk with children each day, to model listening skills, to build vocabulary and language skills.
Years Five and Six
Complete occasional unfinished work from class that may be sent home
Reading
Children are given a reading book and a library book to take home and read with their parents each night for 25-30 minutes per day.
Spelling
Children are given weekly spellings to learn well – in mixed lists and in sentences. Spellings should be thoroughly learned and used within writing rather than learning a list by rote.
Number facts
Children should be using their embedded knowledge of number facts (multiplication and division up to 12x table) to solve more complex mathematical problems. Practice regularly at home so that they can be recalled at speed and used to solve problems.
Oracy
Talk, Talk Talk! Engage regularly in conversations with your children about their interests and curiosities. Build in time to talk with children each day, to model listening skills, to build vocabulary and language skills.
In addition a number of high quality website links are shared with parents that can be accessed at home to move learning forward.
Advice on reading with your child each night
School expects children to build a growing resilience to reading and to read for longer periods of time as they progress through school.
School believes that it is vital that children read every day and are supported to develop a love of reading, as this is a proved route to academic success. We ask that parents support their children in reading daily and record their reading material in school diaries regularly. We will always ensure that reading remains high profile within our curriculum so home and school’s partnership will ensure an emersion in books and literature. Each child will have a school reading book and a library book however; all reading materials are valued. Therefore, we encourage children to have a varied diet of reading that extends beyond school issued books.
Examples of other reading materials that children should enjoy:
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- Books linked to children’s hobbies
- Favourite stories and books shared by adults and older siblings
- Stories from around the world, different cultures, faiths and world history
- Comics
- First News (Children’s newspaper)
- Recipe books
- Poetry
- Plays
- Joke books
- Traditional stories and classics
- Different genres – e.g. science fiction (experience of stories in genres that they would not usually choose)
- Visits to libraries
Advice on following your child’s interests in learning
Our children have many ideas about how else they would like to follow their interests whilst learning at home
Our children say:
(this list is not exhaustive)
- Do my own research about my interests
- Read thick books
- Go out somewhere fun
- Go swimming, gymnastics, horse riding
- Learn to cook, cook with my mum
- Play with my brothers and sisters
- Help my mum do jobs
- Exercise, walk my dog
- Go to my Dad’s
- Go to Brownies
- Learn about the Egyptians
- Write poems
- Practice dancing
- Play the piano
- Ride my bike in the park
- See my cousins or go to Grandma’s
- Learn to knit
- Write in my journal
- Play with Mum and Dad
- Make a comic
- Go to clubs
- Do my tutors homework
- Go for sleepovers and spend time with my friends
