We've enjoyed welcoming the children back after half term, despite the unexpected day's closure due to the storm. The Halloween costumes on Tuesday were brilliant! 

We have started a new topic in English based on Jack and the Beanstalk...but not as you know it! Over the coming weeks, ask your child about how they are going to twist the well known tale. 

In reading, we have continued to explore Cloud Tea Monkeys, putting our inference skills to good use by picking out clues about the Overseer. The children were brilliant at identifying evidence (e.g. 'ugly laugh') and making inferences about what sort of person he is (e.g. mean, cruel, controlling). When you read with your child at home, do encourage them to practise this skill with the characters they are reading about - what are the clues in the text? What does this tell us about the character?

We are continuing to work on addition and subtraction in maths, focusing on mental strategies such as adjusting the addends to make numbers easier to work with. For example, instead of trying to work out 139 + 46 mentally, we can adjust the calculation to 140 + 45. Much more efficient! 

Our National Parks unit is well underway in geography, following our fabulous New Forest trip. The children have been exploring OS maps and comparing the physical and human features of the New Forest with Yosemite. Do ask your child for their opinion on whether the two places should be twinned, based on what they know so far.

We hope you have a lovely (storm free) weekend,
 

The Year 4 team