Welcome to the Katie Jayne Tutors Junior blog number 10.
We find ourselves hurtling towards the end of the academic year. A time to wish our friends and classmates a fun summer holiday, time to thank our wonderful teachers for all of their hard work and time to think about having some time to relax and make plans for the coming eight week holiday.
At this time of year I always get quite emotional saying goodbye to my work colleagues, students and teachers. It is a time to slow down the pace of work slightly, arrange for the classroom animals to be taken home by a member of the school community and time to plan ahead for the next school year. A school without pupils is a very quiet place indeed, so I always look forward to September when I know lots of fresh faces will come walking in through the school gates ready to bring energy and life back into the school.
You probably have lots of activities planned for the summer, a much slower start to your day and the freedom to do some of the things that you love. We would love you to keep in touch with us and let us know what you are getting up to. During the summer holidays we are going to produce our blog every two weeks, but there will still be some great activities, fun ideas and competitions to get involved in.
Take a look below to see what this week’s blog has in store for you.
Thanks for joining us.
Sam
Save Our Summer
Holiday time may be a little different this year, but there is no reason why you cannot keep busy and take part in some really good activities. We wanted to take a look at some of the great things that you can do over the next eight weeks. If you have something fun planned and you would like to share it with us, just ask your parents to get in touch at info@katiejayne.co.uk.
Escape To The Great Outdoors
Lockdown restrictions are easing and there are new guidelines for camping holidays this summer. Campsites in England will be allowed to reopen on July 4th, just in time for the summer season. The Camping and Caravan Club have outlined some safer camping tips to ensure all visitors are kept safe. Hotels and Air BnB’s will also be opening, so the opportunity to dust off the cobwebs and have a change of scenery are there for us all.
If you have room you could pitch your tent in your own back garden, using it as a base for the summer hols. You don’t need to sleep outside, as your own bed will be much more comfortable, but the tent will be a great place to chill during the long summer days. A quiet place where you can read or draw, or perhaps a spot where you and a friend can play at a metre distance apart.
Swimming pools will not be opening up for a while yet so this is the perfect opportunity to get your paddling pool out, give it a good clean off and fill it up ready for water fun. We inflated our paddling pool a couple of weeks ago and remembered to place it on a level part of the garden, and we always have a small bowl or bucket by the outside of the pool so that before you step into the pool you can wash off your feet (we hate grass in the water).
Competition
The Great Exhibition At Home
In the spirit of Prince Albert’s original Great Exhibition, which showcased the most exciting Victorian technology and inventions from 1851, students across the country will take part in engineering challenges and create their own Great Exhibitions at home!
This competition is targeted at 7-14 year olds. The whole project is designed to last for the whole summer term, culminating with an entry for the great exhibition. There are 7 weeks worth of activities in the project and even a Facebook group to support entrants.
To take part in The Great Exhibition at Home competition all you need to do is submit a 1 minute video presenting your Great Exhibition at Home, which explores the question:
How can engineering help protect the planet?
Take part in The Great Exhibition at Home Challenge to be in with a chance of winning fantastic prizes including: £500 worth of equipment to supersize STEM subjects in your school, the opportunity to video chat one with an inspiring engineer and more!
The deadline for entries is 10th September.
Visit the Big Ideas website for more information.
This is how we thought we would create an exhibition at home… use your available space, perhaps the garden or a spare room. Don’t forget to think about how you would show engineering protecting the planet… What does the planet need protecting from? Perhaps you want to use engineering to stop global warming or for conservation. You do not have to be able to build your idea, you just need to create an exhibition to explain your idea.
Katie Jayne’s Interesting Facts
Katie became a qualified teacher in 2006 and received her degree in English and Psychology before completing her Post Graduate Certificate of Education at the University of Exeter.
Previously Head of Lower School for an International School in Austria, Katie has worked with families from all over the world throughout her teaching career. Not only has she taught in several countries, but she has also taught in both the state and independent sector here in the U.K, giving her a depth of knowledge and understanding of the education system which supersedes many. She is an experienced private tutor and has been recognized in many circles as the ‘go to’ person to provide quality, qualified tutors.
Teaching has been a life long love for Katie and she hopes to continue her career within education for many years to come. Katie thoroughly recommends teaching as a profession as she has made many friends, helped hundreds of children and had fun along the way.
Thought For The Week
For many pupils this may be the last week of term, with lots of schools shutting up for the summer as of tomorrow. I am sure that this end of year will feel a little like a non – event this year, but you do still have the summer holidays to look forward to. No Zoom lessons for a while and no home learning. I know that many of you will continue to study to ensure that you are ready for the academic year ahead, so I wish you luck with that. But, our thought for the week is this… how about making or sending your teacher an e-message or card to say thank you for their hard work this year? Many teachers have been juggling a home life, teaching their own children, looking after loved ones, teaching on Zoom or Google classroom and still managing to motivate and inspire pupils…. a thank you from you and your classmates would be a wonderful way to end the year.
Cook’s Corner
Raspberry Jam
Ingredients
1.2kg Strawberries
1.2kg white cane sugar, granulated
1 lemon
You may need to ask an adult or older sibling to help you to sterilise the jam jars and don’t forget jam can be very hot, so be careful.
Method
Layer the strawberries and sugar in a large preserving pan, add the juice of the lemon and leave overnight.
When you are ready to make the jam, place two or three saucers into the freezer beforehand – to check the set.
Place the pan over a low to medium heat, and allow the sugar to dissolve slowly. As soon as the sugar has dissolved, turn the heat up and bring the jam to a rolling boil. Allow to boil for about 10-15 minutes, stirring it every now and then, until a set has been reached
After about 5 minutes, check for a set. Take one of the cold saucers out of the freezer, take the jam off the heat and place a teaspoon of the jam on the saucer. Allow it to cool for a few seconds then push it with your finger: if a crinkly skin has formed on the jam, then it has set. If it hasn’t set, boil it again for another 5 minutes and do another test.
When you have a set, remove the preserve from the heat and allow it to settle for 5 minutes. Stir the jam and pour into the warmed sterilised jars.
Seal while still warm and label the jars when cold.
You can use any fruit that you and your family like. We used raspberries for our jam and then filled our freshly made victoria sponge with it….Mmmmmm delicious.
Walk On The Wild Side
Ready for a really active walk this week? We decided to turn our WOWs into an obstacle course….. I know! Exciting!
As you take your walk this week, add jumps, running sections and climb stops into your walk. You can jump over any fallen logs or low benches, have short running spurts to a tree and back, climb up a hill at pace (or perhaps a climbing tree if you happen upon one that looks good), make a pit stop to do twenty star jumps, give each other piggy backs, add a section for leapfrogging and hop for twenty metres. All very tiring indeed… you will probably need to stop for some water during this WOWs.
If your walk takes you on a more urban route, you can jump over cracks in the pavement, hop scotch onto paving slabs on the path, sprint to the nearest lamp post, hop down one street, leapfrog down another, give your brother or sister a piggy back and stop at a local park to do star jumps.
This was really good fun. You can make your obstacle walk as difficult or easy as you like, don’t forget to consider other walkers and also your parents, who may be a little more out of breath than you.
We treated our obstacle walk like a challenge, afterwards we felt energised, slightly tired and very happy. Have fun on your WOWs and let us know how you mix your walk up to make it an obstacle walk.
Educational Activities
Audible Story time
Ever wondered how and why the animals came to be as they are? These magical tales, written by Rudyard Kipling gives some wonderfully imaginative explanations.
How do animals experience pain?
Watch a TedTalk about how animals experience pain and understand their experience.
Maths
KS2 What are negative numbers
English
KS2 Pre-fixes and Suffixes
