Squirrel Class

Class teacher’s welcome

Welcome to year 2 and 3 Squirrels Class! This year promises to be an exciting journey of learning, discovery and growth. In our classroom, we celebrate curiosity, creativity and kindness. Encouraging every child to develop their confidence and achieve their best. We will explore a wide range of subjects through engaging lessons, hands-on activities and collaborative projects, while also focusing on building strong friendships and supportive learning community. Together, we will work hard, have fun and make this a fantastic year to remember!

Curriculum news

Autumn 2

- Maths: Addition and subtraction / shape
- English: The Cave Explorer (fiction and nonfiction)
- Science: Animals including humans – nutrition, skeletons and muscles
- History: What were the key changes in Britain from the Stone Age to the Iron Age?
- Computing: (Stop-frame) Animation
- PSHE: Valuing Differences
- Music: Singing Techniques
- Art: Drawing skills –
- Self-portraits / faces
- Colour and oil pastel / soft pastel

Spellings and Phonics

At All Saints’ Primary School, we follow Little Wandle Phonics which then transfers into the Read, Write Inc. spelling scheme in Key Stage 2. You can find an overview of your child’s spellings below.

Year 2s will be focusing on the following during their sessions this half term:

Phase 5 review:

Week 1	/ai/ a-e ai ay a eigh ea ey aigh /ee/ y ea ee e ie ey e-e /igh/ igh i-e i y ie /oa/ ow o o-e oa oe ou	people eye whole
Week 2	oo/ /yoo/ oo u u-e ew ue ou ui /air/ air are ear ere /ur/ er ur ir or ear /ow/ ou ow	through improve move prove shoe two who beautiful their parents
Week 3	or/ or a aw au ore oor al oar our augh aur /zh/ si su /ch/ ch tch ture* /sh/ sh ti ch ssi ci si	thought sure
Week 4	j/ j g ge dge /s/ s ss c ce se st sc /u/ ou /e/ ea /i/ y /o/ a /u/ o o-e /oo/ u oul schwa: er a or ar our re	once again any many friend busy pretty because laugh**
Week 5	ie /ee/ /igh/ y /ee/ /igh/ /i/ ea /ee/ /e/ /ai/ a /a/ /ai/ /or/	friend

Autumn 2:

Week 1	What do I need to know to think about spelling? How do I use the Complete the code chart to help me to spell?	Homophones and near-homophones
Week 2	Why do I double letters at the end of words? Why do I double letters in some longer words ending in -er?	Adding -ing, -ed, -er, -est and -y to words of one syllable ending in a single consonant letter after a single vowel letter
Week 3	Why do some words end in ‘k’ or ‘ck’? Why do some words end in ‘ch’ or ‘tch’?
Week 4	When do I add the suffix -es/-s to words? Why do I double the final letter in some words when I add the suffix -ing?	Adding -ing, -ed, -er, -est and -y to words of one syllable ending in a single consonant letter after a single vowel letter
Week 5	Why do I swap the ‘y’ for an ‘i’ when I add the suffix -ed? Why do I drop the ‘e’ when I add the suffix -ing?	Adding -ed, -ing, -er and -est to a root word ending in -y with a consonant before it Adding the endings -ing, -ed, -er, -est and -y to words ending in -e with a consonant before it

Year 3s:

Week	Focus	Example Words
8 Sep	The or sound spelt a before l and ll.	almost, already, chalk, small, stalk, talk, altogether, Red Words: above, after, again
15 Sep	Soft c .	Circus, city, concert, excellent, exercise, fancy, notice, pencil, Red Words: any, anyone, are
22 Sep	Adding the suffix –y (1)	Dotty, muddy, spotty, runny, sunny, yummy, foggy, funny Red Words: ask, bath, beautiful
29 Sep	Special focus 1: Red words. Common exception Special Focus 2: Homophones.	1: where, could, there, want, was, would, what 2: See/sea, son/sun, blew/blue, knight/night, saw/sore
6 Oct	Adding the suffix –y (2)	Breezy, crazy, curvy, greasy, simply, spiky, wheezy, Red Words: behind, both, bought
13 Oct	Adding the suffix –ly	Bravely, foolishly, happily, loudly, nearly, softly, warmly Red Words: break, brother, buy
20 Oct	The n sound spelt kn and gn.	Gnash, gnaw, gnome, knead, knee, knock, knit, Red Words: caught, child, children
28 Oct	– HALF TERM	–
3 Nov	The *igh* sound spelt y.	Butterfly, horrify, July, multiply, my, nearby, reply, Red Words: Christmas, class, climb
10 Nov	Adding the suffix –ing (1)	Beginning, clapping, dropping, gripping, nodding, shopping, tripping Red Words: clothes, cold, come
17Nov	Special focus 3: Red words. Common exception Special Focus 4: Homophones.	3: money, people, busy, half 4: There/their, no/know, right/write, to/too, week/weak
24 Nov	Adding the suffix –ing (2)	Baking, cracking, phoning, racing, shading, tickling, writing, Red Words: does, door, down
1 Dec	The j sound.	Adjust, bridge, charge, energy, gentle, large, urgent, Red Words: even, every, everybody
8 Dec	The o sound spelt a after w and qu.	Quality, quantity, squash, wallet, wander, wasp, watch, Red Words: eye, fast, father
15 Dec	Special focus 5: Contractions and apostrophes.	5: I’m, I’ll,

Home Projects:

Science & History Combined Projects

Stone Age Meal vs. Modern Meal

Activity: Create a comparison chart or plate showing what a Stone Age person might eat vs. what we eat today.
Extension: Discuss which is healthier and why.
Learning: Nutrition, food groups, historical diet comparison.

Build a Skeleton Puzzle

Activity: Cut out and assemble a paper skeleton. Label key bones (e.g., skull, ribs, femur).
Extension: Compare human bones to animal bones used in the Stone Age (e.g., for tools or jewellery).
Learning: Human anatomy, bone names, structure and function.

Stone Age Nutrition Poster

Activity: Make a poster showing what nutrients Stone Age people got from their food (e.g., protein from meat, vitamins from berries).
Extension: Link nutrients to body parts (e.g., calcium for bones).
Learning: Nutrients and their functions, historical context of diet.

Strong Bones Experiment (at home)

Activity: Soak chicken bones in vinegar for a few days to see how calcium keeps bones strong.
Extension: Link to why Stone Age people needed strong bones for hunting and survival.
Learning: Bone structure, calcium importance, simple scientific observation.

Design a Healthy Iron Age Warrior

Activity: Draw or model an Iron Age warrior and label what foods they would need to stay strong and healthy.
Extension: Include muscles and bones used in battle or farming.
Learning: Muscles, bones, nutrition, historical lifestyle.

Be Creative! You can make a scrapbook, a giant poster, a PowerPoint slideshow or even a video diary. Add drawings, photos, maps, charts, and anything else to make your project exciting and colourful.

Please bring your home project during the week beginning 13th October. The suggested projects are just ideas. You are welcome to create anything you like based on what we’ve learned this term.

Dates for the diary

PE days: Tuesday (Mrs Siddons), Thursday (Mrs Ed-dakhissi)

Forest School: Just a little reminder that Squirrel Wednesday the 1st of October 2025. Their last session will be Wednesday 15th October 2025. Please check the letter for details of what your child will need to wear.

Squirrel Class Collective Worship and class visit: Wednesday 26th November 2025

Squirrel class Church Visit: Thursday 2nd October

Parents evening consultation: Tuesday 14th October and Thursday 16th October 2025

Carol Service year 3 at All Saints’Church: Tuesday 16th December 2025

Carol Service year 2 at All Saints’Church: Wednesday 17th December 2025

Links to support learning

Reading

Please encourage your child to read daily for a minimum of 10 minutes. At least 3 reading sessions per week should be recorded in the school Reading Record. Children should all have a school reading book (that can be changed regularly) but should be encouraged to read other material as well.

Maths

Year 2 Numbots (login on inside front cover of Reading Record) – Children work through the different levels to help secure their calculation skills and number facts.

Times Table Rock Stars (login on inside front cover of Reading Record) – Y3 introduces 3, 4 and 8 multiplication tables, as well as building on 2, 5 and 10 (from Y2)

Written methods for addition, subtraction and multiplication are taught as in the pictures below.