Join The Silly Squad for this Year’s Summer Reading Challenge

With the disruption caused by COVID-19 and the impact of social distancing on schools and public libraries,
The Reading Agency’s annual Summer Reading Challenge has gone digital for 2020.

The Summer Reading Challenge encourages children aged 4-11 to read during the long summer holiday with
research showing that children’s reading can ‘dip’ severely during the summer if they do not have regular access
to books. This year’s theme will also encourage children to read anything that makes them happy – whether it
be a comic, joke book, poetry, fiction or non-fiction, in digital or print format, from e-book lending through the
public library service or from what they already have at home, with the Summer Reading Challenge official book
collection as a guide.
The new digital Challenge launches today with a whole host of virtual (super silly) events
with guest celebrities and authors. The website is free to access, featuring games, quizzes and
downloadable activities to encourage children and their families to take part in the Challenge at
home. Although library buildings are closed, libraries will also continue to deliver the Challenge through virtual
services and e-lending platforms. You can sign up and get started here.
We’d love you to get involved this summer and join the #SillySquad2020. Head over to the Summer Reading Challenge Facebook page for the virtual launch party from 4pm today, hosted by Sam & Mark from CBBC.

Logic Puzzles

Good morning, everyone! For today’s activity, I’ve been inspired by our Year 6 children. A few weeks ago, they were solving logic puzzles so I thought I’d share one with you all today.

 A hunter has a lion, goat and carrot and he wants to cross the river taking all three along. There is a boat that can fit him plus either the lion, the goat, or the carrot. He is confused because if the lion and the goat are alone on one shore, the lion will eat the goat. If the goat and the carrot are alone on the shore, the goat will eat the carrot. Help the hunter by finding a way to bring all the three things to the other side of the river.

Clue – the hunter will have to make lots of trips back and forth across the river. You might find it easier to draw a diagram.

If you think you can solve it, or you have a puzzle of your own, please email website@cannonpark.coventry.sch.uk

Good luck!

 

Animation

Good morning, everyone! I’ve spent quite a bit of time creating animations using Scratch with Year 3 this year. You can also create an animation without a computer by using only paper and a pencil. If you have post-it notes, they will work even better, but you can use paper as well. Watch the video below to learn how to create your very own paper animation:

Empathy Day Activity Pack

Next Tuesday is Empathy Day, where the focus is on how reading can help children (and adults) to build empathy.

Empathy has been described as a human superpower. It’s our ability to understand and share someone else’s feelings. Empathy is made up of three main elements:

  • feeling,
  • thinking
  • acting.
This video shows the difference between sympathy and empathy.
In the run up to Empathy Day, Empathy Lab have created a lovely activity pack of things you can do to build an understanding of what empathy is and encourage it at home.

Download [1.41 MB]

Tennis

Well done to everyone who joined in with Week 2 of the Virtual School Games. The focus this week is tennis. There are two activities to try out – the attachment has the instructions for KS1 and KS2. Don’t forget to enter your data by 1pm on Friday 5th June via this link.

Mrs Amphlett

Download [2.05 MB]

Rain Before Rainbows by Smriti Halls and David Litchfield

Walker Books has released Rain Before Rainbows by Smriti Halls and illustrated by David Litchfield as a free eBook to raise awareness for Save the Children’s Save with Stories campaign which is helping children most affected by the coronavirus pandemic.

The rainbow has become an incredible symbol of hope and optimism during this time and we hope that this uplifting story can be a source of comfort and light to children and families, and that it inspires anyone who is able to do so, to donate to the Save with Stories campaign.

You can download this beautiful free book from here.

Online Safety

With children spending more time online at the moment, it is more important than ever to ensure they are safe online. The link below takes you to a website called ‘Thinkuknow’, where there are lots of age specific 15 minute lessons to do with your child. The aim is for parents/carers to do them with the child, talking them through together. For more information, please click on the image below: