Willow Class Blog: Week of 19th November 2024
Hello Willow families!
Here’s a quick update on all the exciting things happening in our class, including some home learning tasks for our snow day!
Snow Day Home Learning ❄️We hope you’re all keeping warm and safe! For any Year 3 or Year 4 students who are looking for some maths home learning to keep them busy during the snow day, here are the details:

• Year 3: The home learning task is about subtracting up to two 4-digit numbers across a 10. Students should be able to complete the first 6 questions independently and check their work with a calculator. For those who feel confident, questions 7 and 8 provide more of a challenge. For an extra challenge, children can use the inverse to check their answers instead of using a calculator. For example, after completing a subtraction, they can work backwards using addition to check their work. Please check Dojo for the task.
  
• Year 4: The task is similar, focusing on subtraction with 4-digit numbers. As with Year 3, the first 6 questions should be straightforward, and children can use a calculator for checking. Questions 7 and 8 offer a higher level of challenge.
  

Please encourage your child to try using the inverse strategy if they want to go above and beyond!
Homework Reminder 📚Some parents have asked for clarification on our weekly homework routine. Here’s a quick breakdown:

• Every Friday, children are given a maths and reading comprehension task in their blue books. These are due the following Friday and should take no longer than 30 minutes to complete.
• Spellings are also stuck into the homework book each week. Please encourage your child to practise these daily, and try to ensure they are reading for at least 15 minutes each day. It’s really important that they can talk about what they’ve read.

Thank you for your continued support in keeping up these routines – it really makes a difference to their learning!
Sewing Skills in DT 🧵We’ve had our second sewing lesson, and the children are really enjoying learning how to tie knots, thread needles, and use running stitch. They are doing an amazing job, and we’re looking forward to using these new skills in upcoming projects.
Greta’s Button Workshop 🌱There’s an exciting opportunity coming up for the children! Greta's Button Workshop is offering some wonderful learning experiences over the next few weeks. If you’re interested, there’s a poster with more details available – check it out!
That’s all for this week! Stay warm and enjoy your snow day, and please don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions or need further details about the homework tasks.
Mrs Hoole and the Year 3/4 Team

Willow Class Blog: Week 12th November 2024
Hello Willow families,
What a fantastic week we’ve had in Year 3/4! The children have been busy with a range of exciting activities, and I’m thrilled to share all the highlights with you.
Bookery Visit and New Books 📚On Monday, we had a lovely visit from The Bookery in Crediton. Each child was given a free book to keep, and the Bookery team took great care in helping the children choose something they would truly enjoy. It’s been wonderful to see the children so excited about reading, and we’ve already heard them chatting about their new books. A big thank you to FONTs (Friends of North Tawton School) who also kindly donated books for our school library – they will be available to borrow very soon!
Published Legends in English ✍️In English, we’ve been working hard on our legend stories, and we’re so impressed with how they’ve turned out! The children have not only written some fantastic pieces but have also illustrated the borders of their work beautifully, matching the themes of their stories. It’s been a pleasure to see them so engaged in their writing, and we can’t wait to see how they continue to develop as writers.
Maths – Addition, Subtraction & Practice at Home ➕➖In Maths this week, we’ve been focusing on addition and subtraction, and the children have been working hard on column methods. A helpful tip for practising at home: please encourage your child to work on quick number facts like adding and subtracting 1-digit numbers (e.g., 7 + 8, 9 - 5). This will help them feel more confident when working with 3-digit numbers.
Book Club – Book Reviews 📖We’ve finished our latest book in Book Club, and today the children wrote their book reviews. The ending was a bit of a surprise for everyone, which was a fun twist! The children were so thoughtful with their reviews, sharing what they liked, didn’t like, and how the story made them feel. It’s been a joy to see their critical thinking and reflections grow.
History – The Romans and How They Changed Britain 🏛️In History, we’ve been learning all about the Romans and their impact on Britain. The children have enjoyed exploring how Roman culture and innovations changed life in Britain. They also used the internet to research and completed a quiz to test their knowledge. It’s been great to see their enthusiasm for the topic!
Learning to Sew 🧵The children had a go at learning some practical skills today. They learned how to tie a knot, thread a needle, and do running stitch. It was a great way to develop their fine motor skills, and we hope to use these skills in future projects.
Music – Jumble Jams 🎶In Music, we’ve been learning to play Jumble Jams. We discovered that the song is in G major and spent time learning to play the G, C, and D chords. The children had a blast playing along to the 12-bar blues, and we’re looking forward to making more music together this term.
A Quick Reminder about Christmas 🎄As Christmas approaches, I’d like to gently remind everyone that different families have different beliefs and traditions. Some children have been discussing Father Christmas at school, and we need to be mindful of the fact that this is a magical time for many families. Let’s keep the spirit of awe and wonder alive for all the children in the class, regardless of their personal beliefs.

That’s all for this week! Thank you for your continued support, and I hope the children are enjoying their work as much as we are. Wishing you all a wonderful week ahead!
Mrs Nuthall
Year 3/4 Willow Class Teacher