LEARNING AT HOME

During the school closure period, all the staff at Hughenden Primary are pulling together to ensure that all our families have access to online learning via this section of the website and other websites/programs that we use. 
 
Below are some resources that you can start using at home. We will be uploading more onto each tab every day. If you have any queries or need a reminder of your login details, please contact the school office.
 
We fully appreciate that accessing online learning platforms can be tricky for parents who are struggling to work at home themselves with limited devices.  Here are some ideas that don't require any technology!
 
Reading - 15 minutes a day
Play a board game with a sibling (if possible or appropriate)
explore the garden: build a bug hotel, plant seeds/bulbs, leaf and bark rubbing, outdoor arts and crafts using leaves, fallen petals/leaves (please don't pick growing flowers!), nature walk around the garden
play eye spy - indoors or outdoors
arts and crafts - repeating patterns,
junk modeling - we all have plenty of recycling whilst the collections are on hold!
create an outdoor obstacle course
put on a puppet show
explore different ways to paint: blow through straws, 
make playdough figures
creative writing
make a comic board strip
write a short story and draw accompanying pictures
make a maze with masking tape - blow a pom pom, ping pong ball, play cars, etc and try and get the car out of the maze - boost logical thinking
playing outdoor ball games
 
Please note these are only ideas.  We don't expect our parents to become teachers overnight.  Our main aim is to stay safe and protect each other.

How to Support Your Child’s Learning During COVID-19 School Closures

Here are a few tips on what you can do to keep your child happy and educated during school closures.  One of the easiest pastimes is reading – we encourage you to do 15 minutes everyday.

My Child’s School is Closed - Now What?

Let’s talk about it

It’s important to take into account that being pulled out of school can be quite alarming for any child. Their daily life is disrupted and they might get worried about COVID-19, especially with the amount of press coverage it’s receiving. It can be reassuring for children to ask questions and have more clarification on the subject, no matter how random or dramatic. There are some great resources to be found that can help to explain: This comic by KQED, for example, explains the situation in a reassuring and informative way. KidsHealth has written an article with great tips on how to talk to your child about the Coronavirus as well.

“Who can I play with now?”

Another big change that children may experience, is that they won’t be able to see their classmates for a while. This can potentially cause children to get lonely and/or bored. Depending on what your child’s school has prepared they might talk to their class only once a day or even once a week.

Now, we don’t have to tell children about the online world. They probably know more about it than we do. But how can you, as a parent, make sure your child is using appropriate means of communication? Internet Matters has gathered social media platforms that are made for children and are safe. If your child is already using mainstream social media (Instagram, WhatsApp, TikTok, Snapchat etc.), it might be worth reminding them of online etiquette and talking to them about cyberbullying too. It will always be hard to monitor children’s online activities, but we can educate them on the pros and cons of being online.

Help! I Don’t Feel Prepared to Keep My Child Motivated for Schoolwork!

Don’t worry! There are tons of tricks and resources that can help you through this time.

Tips on how to keep your child focussed on school

Your kid is at home, but we completely understand if you’re not able to sit with them to do their school work all day. Keeping your child motivated by themselves can be quite a challenge. We have listed some ideas to implement that can make this a bit easier for you and your child:

Set up a learning centre

This sounds complicated, but we really just mean finding a place without distractions where you can establish ‘learning time’. Your children might normally do homework in their rooms, but that doesn't mean it's automatically the best place for them to learn full time. Establishing a learning centre makes it very clear when it’s time to learn, and when it’s time to relax.

Plan together

Depending on what the school has organised, you might end up having to plan your child’s learning yourself. Giving children a choice can be a great motivator for them which is why we recommend you plan their learning days together. Being able to choose in which order they do their work can give children a sense of control, which can be reassuring in such an unpredictable time. Here are some great planning tools listed.

Take frequent breaks

A 5 minute break every 25 minutes (the Pomodoro Technique) can significantly improve performance. You can set a timer so your child knows when it’s break time and when they have to start working again.

Balance on and off-screen time

It’s important to alternate between on and off-screen time. If the school requires children to be online, breaks can be a great time to take some time off-screen. It's an opportunity to spend some time together with your child and do something fun!

Support for a full (and fun!) learning experience

If your school’s already using certain books, worksheets and/or online resources, we recommend you use these as a basis as to keep your child’s education as close to normal as possible. Additionally, we have gathered some great tools you can use for a complete distance learning experience for your child:

Literacy Planet - This English learning tool includes every literacy aspect: reading, writing, speaking and listening.

Mangahigh For Home - Our maths learning tool for home is fully curriculum aligned and uses gamification to keep maths fun and engaging for students. It can be a much needed change of pace for students and keeps them motivated to learn maths. The platform has a reports feature so you can also track your child’s progress in realtime.

Muzzy - The BBC created this video based tool for learning several different languages. They offer animated, story-based videos that teach children English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Chinese and Korean.

Fiction Express - This tool modernizes reading books by connecting children to professional authors and giving the choice of the direction of the story to the children.

Twinkl - This website offers tons of free offline resources for different subjects and fun activities to do in breaks.

Physics Central - This organisation has created a historically accurate physics comic book about Nicholas Tesla. It’s a fun way to get your child interested in physics.

Physics Classroom - On this website you can find tons of online and offline resources surrounding physics. From handouts to video’s and interactive concept builders, there is sure to be something that your child will like.

 
We have recently purchased Number Gym for children to use at home. It is loaded with numeracy activites and supports what children have learnt in class. Number Gym is also accessible in school as well as at home. 
 
Along the left-hand side are plenty more resources to explore!
 
Please view the document below which will give you all the information you require to support your child's learning at home.

Premier Sport - FREE activities

Check out our FREE of charge YouTube channel, where each day we will be releasing a new video containing an online extra-curricular club for children & parents!

So far we have released Dance, Basketball & HIIT Workout sessions! Today’s new topic will be released at 3:30pm.

These sessions are perfect for home learning and staying active! We hope you can share the below link with all parents from your school. 

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLNV8D56t6RV0wbsPnbnYeA

 

Competitions!
 
Medicspot is calling all primary school children to share their creative ideas to help encourage frequent hand washing – the best way to keep yourself and others safe from coronavirus. Find out how you can enter and win £500 for Hughenden Primary School here: www.medicspot.co.uk/handwash
 
Music Activities from Mrs Sumner
 
Please see the resources and worksheets below for Years 1, 2, 3 and 4 so you can carry on your music fun at home! 
Mindfulness Activities from Miss Donaldson
  1. A poster competition for all year groups - please choose either KS1 or KS2 document.
  2. Some mindfulness activities to help the children remain calm and de-stress - mindfulness colouring sheets, mindfulness 'brain break' cards and mindfulness activities including 'Gratitude A-Z', 'Good News', 'Hand Washing Meditation' and a breathing exercise.
  3. A weekly timetable to help the children structure their days at home to ensure they keep up-to-date with learning but also make some time to look after themselves.
  4. A 'Getting to know your brain' activity sheet for upper KS2.
Password: Explorify!
Children can sign in to Numbots website with their TTS Rockstars logins.
This was kindly shared with us by a parent who home schools their children. Some of the resources might be US based but definitely worth a look through!

Online resources:
- BrainPop
- Curiosity Stream
- Tynker
- Outschool
- Udemy
- iReady
- Beast Academy (Maths)
- Khan Academy
- Creative Bug
- Discovery Education

YouTube Channels:
- Crash Course Kids
- Science Channel
- SciShow Kids
- National  Geographic Kids
- Free School
- Geography Focus
- TheBrainScoop
- SciShow
- Kids Learning Tube
- Geeek Gurl Diaries
- Mike Likes Science
- Science Max
- SoulPancake
- The Tween boys

Lots of board games, library books (and Kindle), tinkering/upcycling with household junk, etc.
Some resources to help with kids at home:

*Scholastic has created a free learn-from-home site with 20+ days of learning and activities.

https://classroommagazines.scholastic.com/support/learnathome.html

*Pretend to travel the world. Go on a virtual tour of these 12 famous museums.

https://www.travelandleisure.com/attractions/museums-galleries/museums-with-virtual-tours

Other websites for more fun learning! 

https://www.starfall.com/h/

https://www.abcya.com/

https://www.funbrain.com/

https://www.splashlearn.com/

https://www.storylineonline.net/

https://pbskids.org/

https://www.highlightskids.com/

https://kids.nationalgeographic.com/

https://www.coolmath4kids.com/

http://www.mathgametime.com/

https://www.uniteforliteracy.com/

http://www.literactive.com/Home/index.asp

http://www.sciencekids.co.nz/

https://www.switchzoo.com/

https://www.seussville.com/

https://www.turtlediary.com/

https://www.e-learningforkids.org/
A new daily Phonics resource for children in EYFS and Key Stage 1 
Ruth Miskin Training provides outstanding literacy training to primary and secondary school teachers in the UK and Internationally. Our mission is to teach e...
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