What a busy week!
On Monday we began to celebrate the Olympics taking place in France this year. We learnt about what we would be doing on Tuesday for our Olympic themed sports day as well as making some finishing touches to our kites which we will be flying on Rainbow day on Friday. In maths, we are focussing on number names and number formation and today we also reviewed our knowledge of odd and even numbers. We drew representations of odd and even numbers, wrote odd and even numbers, manipulated magnetic numbers and even used sand to draw numbers in with our fingers or tools. Tuesday was sports day and after a fantastic opening ceremony (just like the real Olympics), the children worked their way around the different activities with children from other year groups in their house team. The children's attitude, behaviour and stamina was excellent and they thoroughly enjoyed the morning. We all had lunch on the field and then competed in running races in the afternoon. The children 'Reached for the Stars' in the closing ceremony - it was a super day and was so well attended by parents, grandparents etc - I hope you enjoyed the day as much as we did! Wednesday- Phonics, maths and drawing club followed by learning about the Olympics and France! We looked at a map, role played how we might travel to France, discussed and built the Eiffel Tower and sang a song! Thursday- Phonics, maths and drawing club followed by a talk about the General Election, democracy and voting. We decided to vote for our class story by placing a counter in the box next to the book we wanted! We discussed how voting in this way was 'fair'. During the afternoon Marion popped in and we read a new story, recalled our words with actions, followed by a game of French charades! Friday- Rainbow Day! Wow, everyone looked amazing. We finally got to fly our kites with the rest of the school, "Different together" was our theme and we talked about diversity, similarities and differences. We read the story 'My shadow is pink' and it is well worth a read! A gorgeous book, with a wonderful message about how it is ok to be different and we can be anything we want to be! We painted and created rainbows, sang songs, danced and had a wonderful day of being together. A fun packed week full of a whole host of learning!
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This week we have been travelling around the world and exploring the animals that live on different parts of the planet.
This allowed us to recap on the continents, on habitats and environments and to also think about similarities and differences in climate, language, culture and food. On Monday, we journeyed to Australia where we learned about marsupials, crocodiles, kookaburras and the duck-billed platypus. Mrs Ware convinced us that Koalas are NOT bears and taught us a song about Kookaburras. We also created some animal pictures using aborigine inspired dot painting. Of course we also worked hard on our phonics, maths and drawing club on Monday morning. As we are preparing for transition, we have begun going out to play rather than having a break and snack in the classroom. The children all did this really sensibly for the first time on Monday and enjoyed being outside with the rest of the school. Tuesday's exploration took us to The Arctic and Antarctic to discover which animals live in the polar regions. We learnt how many animals change colour at different times of the year to camouflage amongst their white environment. We made penguins from black playdough, pipe cleaners, white fluff and googly eyes. The children enjoyed playing with animals from the polar regions in our tuff tray, using the resources provided to create suitable environments. Children also tried to see how many animals they could fit onto an 'iceberg'. Our drawing club text this week is one of Mrs Ware's favourite's: Little Rabbit Foo Foo and we have drawn the Rabbit as well as the Goblins in their 'habitat'. In maths on Tuesday, we explored patterns within numbers to 10, practising doubles and thinking about how quantities can be distributed equally. As usual, the children worked really hard in their phonics lesson too. Wednesday and Thursday took us to Africa and in particular 'The Gambia' and 'Kenya'. We explored the stories of 'Fatou fetch the water' and 'Handa's surprise' and we explored the different animals, foods and clothes there. We made pictures of animals in their habitats, played with animals you might expect to see on safari and listened to another child in our school who used to live in Africa and they told us they had seen crocodiles, monkeys, giraffes and antelopes! We continued working hard in phonics, drawing club and maths, where we have been focusing on number formation. On Thursday afternoon Marion popped in again and read a French story about French school fetes (very apt for Fonts Fest this weekend) and we compared similarities and differences. We then had a sack race (a traditional game in France at a school fete) where we all raced against each other and Arlo was crowned our winner! In our creative lessons we have designed and begun making our kites in preparation for Rainbow Day next week! Lets hope they fly! We have had another busy and lovely week in school. Have a great weekend! Miss Ruby and Mrs Ware. This week, we continued exploring the world within our topic of Ready Steady Go! This week we asked the children "Where shall we go?"
On Monday, the children recalled their knowledge of the continents and countries and we considered the different environments including the climate and the landscape in those countries. The children thought about what they would need to take with them and cut out and stuck appropriate items into a suitcase. They wrote postcards home or wrote about where they would go and why. Of course, as usual, we had our daily phonics and maths lesson and the children were delighted with our drawing club film this week which was a Minions mini-movie. Mornings now consist of mostly structured learning, ensuring that children are ready for the transition to year one. On Tuesday in our maths lesson, the focus was on assessing and deepening the children’s understanding of our counting system. The activities provided opportunities for further counting experiences. On Tuesday afternoon in our P.E. lesson the children practised some of the activities they will be doing on sports day. They worked well as a team and enjoyed the challenge of the different activities. We also thought about holidays especially beach holidays and the children enjoyed playing with our beach themed tough tray and used shells to print into clay to see what patterns they could create. On Wednesday we continued with phonics, independent learning time, maths and drawing club, followed by French with Marion during the afternoon. We spent some time recapping words and actions, listening to French nursery rhymes and then playing a game. As usual the children loved it and wanted to play it all afternoon. We then enjoyed some time outside and took part in Singing assembly, where we started to learn a new song to sing for our Sports Day. On Thursday we continued with phonics, independent learning time, maths, drawing club, followed by R.E in the afternoon. We shared some children's Bibles with the class, discussed how they were different and similar and then shared the story of Noah's ark. Some of the children decided to build ark's out of blocks and draw pictures of the animals inside it! On Friday we continued with phonics and independent learning time, but then went outside on the field for P.E. We practised sprinting and long distance in preparation for Sports Day. During the afternoon we focused on sun safety, by watching a short video and looking at what we do to keep us safe in the sun! Slip, slap, slop! Have a wonderful weekend! Thank you. On Monday this week all the children worked really hard in their phonics' lesson. All the children are now learning the set 2 sounds which are ay, ee, igh, oo, oo, ar, or, air, ir, ou, oy and some have also moved on to the set 3 sounds which are: : ea, oi, a-e, i-e, o-e, u-e, aw, are, ur, er, ow, ai, oa, ew, ire, ear, ure. All the children are now bringing home book bag books to read with you at home linked to the sounds they are learning at school. We hope you are enjoying listening to your child read regularly at home and also continuing to share your child's favourite stories. In maths we reviewed the number skill of comparison by deciding who had more and who had fewer (cubes or toys etc.) In music we were exploring tempo - how slow or fast the music was - we used movement as well as playing instruments at different speeds to try out the musical element following a simple musical score. In the afternoon, we finally had the opportunity to have a go at creating our own bee hotel. With support, the children cut some bamboo canes and stuck them inside a large cardboard roll to create a suitable home for solitary bees to lay their eggs. With any luck, the females will lay their eggs inside the stems of our hotel. If they do, each egg will be left with a store of pollen for the grub to eat when it hatches. The egg is sealed up behind a plug of mud, in a ‘cell’, and one cane may end up with several ‘cells’ in it. On Tuesday, we continued our hard work in phonics and maths as well as exploring the story of the magic porridge pot, our drawing club story this week. After retelling this story the children invented a home for the wizard from the story and used their phonic skills in their adventure code, many of them choosing to use the magic words: "stop little pot stop". On Tuesday afternoon, after our PE lesson exploring the weather, we went outside and made our own 'magic porridge'. The children absolutely loved playing with the gloopy mixture. We also painted our bee hotel to try and attract bees. On Wednesday we had a busy day of phonics, drawing club, maths, R.E and outdoor activities. In R.E. we brought in our favourite books from home to share and tell our friends why they were our favourites. It was a lovely thing to do and some of the children even drew their front covers. We also began our Father's Day cards too! On Thursday we had another busy day of phonics, drawing club, maths and French with Marion. This was a wonderful lesson and we created a class masterpiece all about 'Father's Day', or 'Bonne Fete Papa!' We recapped words we have learnt in the past, read a story about colours and then by playing a listening game about parts of the face, we drew pictures of our dads and collated them together to create a beautiful work of art. Thank you Marion for giving up your time! The children love your sessions and have learnt so much in such a short space. On Friday we continued with phonics, drawing club and a maths activity. P.E. was cut short due to the weather. During the afternoon, we discussed weather and the seasons and then continued to have independent learning. The children have worked very hard this week and we have had a wonderful time together. I think our photos say it all! Welcome back to the final half term in Oak Class for you and your child. This half term we will be doing a lot more in terms of transition to year 1 so that they will be ready to hit the ground running when they return in September. This week for example, the children have started lining up and collecting their own lunch in the dinner hall instead of having their lunch brought to them. They have managed this really well and no accidents - so far!! In line with transition and moving on, our overarching theme this half term is called "Ready Steady Go". On Monday, we began thinking about this theme by talking about where we live and what it is like here in England before we start thinking about travelling to other places. The children began making their own little 'homes' with lolly sticks which they then drew their families inside. In drawing club, we read a familiar story - The colour Monster, a story all about feelings and the colours which match those feelings. This led us to talk about the learning zones which are used throughout key stage one and two. In music on Monday, the link to our theme was through transport. We began learning a new song and added some sound effects of trains, boats and cars. We also used the Beebots (programmable toys) to travel around a map and this involved moving the Beebots forwards and backwards and turning left and right. On Tuesday, our role play area became a train station where the children had fun buying tickets, waiting at the station and then boarding the train - many of them said they were going to Hollywood! We have been using the Rekenreks in maths which are counting frames, similar to an abacus. It has ten beads on each row, five white and five red which supports the development of number sense. On Wednesday we learnt all about D Day, why we remember it, why this year was so important and looked at where Year 6 have gone on their residential in France. We then all made parachutes with a Union Jack on the top and let them go from the top of the decking to watch them glide onto the field. This created so much enthusiasm! As part of our ongoing transition to Year 1 the children will now be attending every Wednesday assembly. This is usually a singing assembly, but today I led assembly all about D Day and we listened to a special song called the longest day. On Thursday we spent some time learning French with Marion. We were introduced to the month of June and French traditions that happen then. We learnt some new key words with actions and revisited old ones! The children were able to recall a wide range of words! Then we listened to a story about colours, which involved all the children and was great fun! Finally we went outside to all find a 'magic wand' (stick) that we could use in our abracadabra game. This was a lovely way to end our French lesson. We continued to play and finish off our parachutes outside before attending assembly with Mr Cutler, who spoke to us about D Day- and sacrifice. On Friday we ended the week with a fantastic PE lesson on the school field in preparation for our Olympic themed sports day (2nd July). We practised bean bag throwing, balancing, passing, running and had a great time with lots of smiles! Congratulations to Vinnie, our star of the week! Buzzing with Excitement!
Oak Class has been buzzing with excitement this week! We’ve embarked on fantastic adventures and engaged in creative and educational activities, all centred around our theme of bees. Here’s a look at what we’ve been up to: The children all really enjoyed our visit to Rosemoor Garden with the nursery class on Tuesday this week. In the morning, we were free to explore the garden, smelling the flowers, discovering herbs and spotting all the colours of the rainbow in and around the pond. The children really enjoyed playing in the ‘Brash’ especially zooming down the slide! The highlight of our visit was the workshop on bees, where the children learned a little bit about bees and their role in pollination. After making bee hats and learning how to do a ‘waggle dance’ they had the opportunity to look for bees in their natural habitat and look for plants that honeybees (with their short tongues) and bumble bees (with their long tongues) might land on to suck up the nectar. Some children wrote about their favourite parts of their day at Rosemoor using their phonic skills to write about their experience. Back at school, we continued our bee theme with some fun and engaging activities. Throughout our bee-themed activities, we have been emphasizing the importance of bees in our ecosystem. The children learned about pollination, how bees help plants grow, and the significance of protecting these vital insects. Understanding the importance of providing safe habitats for bees, we embarked on a project to make mini bee hotels. Due to the weather conditions we were not able to make the bee hotels planned for the outdoor space but we will return to this project after half term in order to reinforce the needs of bees and the importance of conservation. In our continuous provision, the children were able to choose from a variety of bee themed activities such as threading yellow and black beads to make bee decorations. This activity not only reinforced the colours associated with bees but also helped improve the children's fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. The children have also been expressing their creativity by drawing and colouring bees. We also had a delicious activity where the children made honey sandwiches. They loved spreading the honey and tasting the sweet treat. This was a fun way to connect with our bee theme and discuss the process of how bees make honey. Phonics In our phonics lessons, we are continuing to learn and review sounds and to read them in words and sentences. The children continue to make good progress and are showing the ability to focus for longer periods of time on a structured lesson which is an important part of their transition to year one. Skills. Maths Lessons on Length and Height Our recent maths lessons have been all about understanding length and height. Using vocabulary such as short, shorter, shortest, long, longer, longest, tall, taller, tallest, and the same length/height, the children have been comparing and measuring various objects around the classroom. They especially enjoyed comparing the lengths of different items and using blocks to build towers of various heights. These activities have helped them grasp these important concepts in a hands-on and engaging way. Thank you for your continued support! We have had fun this week learning more about minibeasts. We have done minibeast hunts inside and outside. We lifted logs and tubs and watched as hundreds of minibeasts jumped and scuttled away. Some children also made some careful observation of minibeasts to draw and paint their own pictures. We have also created some caterpillars from egg boxes and planted cress seeds on the top to grow hairy caterpillars. The children learnt about and identified different minibeasts and found out about the features of insects and other invertebrates.
Our drawing club text this week has been the story of the little red hen. The children enjoyed joining in with the telling of the tale and jumping around to our “get up, stand up vocabulary”. This week our words included: ingredients, concocting, collaborating and just deserts – which is what the unhelpful animals got! We drew the hen, the farm and an unusual animal on the farm, a disgusting topping for a piece of bread and invented a new character to the story. On Monday and Tuesday, Year 5 children came down to help us with our drawings and sentences – a lovely collaboration. In maths this week, we used activities that helped the children to develop an understanding of the magnitude of numbers. Previously, the children have reasoned about the size of numbers through comparing sets of objects and identifying which set has more or fewer. This week, they focused on ordinality: considering where numbers to 10 are in relation to each other. Through practical activities and games, the children reasoned about numbers and thought carefully about which is more or less. They used linear number tracks to play games that encouraged them to compare numbers that are far apart, near and next to each other. (For example, 10 is a lot more than 2 but 5 is only 1 more than 4.) The children continue to make great progress with their phonics. It makes me very proud to listen to them reading fluently in their partner practice and to see them using their phonic skills to write independently and read things independently in their environment. Next week, we will be assessing the children as we do at the end of each half term to check on progress. PE, RE and music In PE this week, the children practised their ball skills with Mrs Jordan. In R.E. we learnt about another special place – a place of worship for Jewish people – a synagogue. We tried to remember some of the items that are special in this place such a the Torah(The Jewish holy text) and The Ark which is the holy place where the Torah is kept in a synagogue. In music, we listened to sounds from nature – some which were recorded and some in real life. We went outside and listened really carefully to which sounds we could hear which were from nature and identified others which came from a human-made source. We’re looking forward to our trip next week to Rosemoor where we are going to learn about bees and how important they are. We will also have a chance to explore the gardens and have a play in the play area. We will foloow this trip up with lots of bee - themed activities next week too. Have a great weekend! Life-cycles have been our focus in the wider curriculum this week. We have learnt about the life-cycle of frogs and other animals which go through metamorphosis like butterflies. As part of this learning, the children had a great time pond dipping and studying the creatures that were found. They saw pond-skaters, a dragonfly nymph, a water flea and a newt amongst other creatures that Katie and the children tried to identify. The children used their new knowledge to order the stages of the life-cycles as well as drawing and labelling those stages. We used playdough to make eggs on a leaf and caterpillars and we used paint and printing by folding to make symmetrical butterfly wings. We loved sharing Felicity’s book ‘We are the Wibbly’ which was a very amusing take on the life-cycle of the frog. In drawing club this week, we read Oi Frog and you will see in the gallery some of the wonderful drawings the children did which were also accompanied by some really good writing, some of which was totally independent! Very impressive – this creative way of bringing in the literacy curriculum does seem to inspire and excite the children and we have seen such a dramatic improvement in their drawing and mark making skills. Maths This week, the children reviewed the composition of the numbers 6 to 9 using the ‘5 and a bit’ structure, and begun to explore how 10 can be composed. They also developed a sense of the ‘ten-ness of 10’ by making their own collections of 10 objects. The focus was on developing the children’s ability to subitise the parts in structured arrangements. A key representation to support this was the double dice frame, which allowed them to build on their experiences. The children were encouraged to recognise a larger part of 10 when it is presented in the ‘5 and a bit’ structure, and then subitise the smaller part. They were also encouraged to see how finger patterns can be used to represent 2 parts of 10, using the ‘fingers up and fingers down’ approach. The children were also given opportunities to see the composition of 10 represented on a 10-frame. We used the stem sentences: “9 is made of 5 and 4; 5 and 4 make9.” And: “6 needs 4 to make 10; 10 is made of 6 and 4.” Music, PE, RE In PE with Mrs Jordan this week, the children practised their ‘circus skills’. They balanced on a tightrope, tried juggling balls and hopped skipped and jumped ocer stepping stones. We have also been able to use the outside area this week and have been active – running, jumping, climbing and rolling. I was impressed with the children’s musical skills this week in which they showed the ability to recognise and also use their own visual representations of sounds. We listended to sounds from the environment and thought about the pitch and tempo of the music as well as how to move to the sounds and draw the sounds. We continue to think about ‘special places’ as part of our RE learning by thinking about where is a special place for believers to go and what makes this place special? This week we have focussed on moving and growing in our wider curriculum work. We learnt about how the skeleton grows with us and supports our bodies and helps us to move. The children looked at x-rays of the human skeleton and we enjoyed watching the Funny Bones as well as singing ‘dem bones. Using great fine motor-skills as well as a lot of patience and perseverance, some children cut out and connected the bones of a skeleton using split pins so that the limbs could move.
We also thought about animals and their young and played games where we matched baby animals to their mother. The children drew, coloured and cut out and matched animals, while outside in the orchard, we used clay and natural objects to make a variety of minibeasts and other animals. As usual, the children enjoyed using various construction to imagine and create and used modelling dough to create a revolting breakfast inspired by our drawing club visual text this week – Trapdoor – I’m sure you remember this old animation. They are enjoying drawing club more and more and the detail in their drawings and the ideas they have are amazing. Some children are really challenging themselves and writing sentences about their pictures with and sometimes without adult support. We are continuing to think about special places in our Religious Education focus and this week we began learning about different places of worship including, churches, mosques, synagogues and gurdwaras. The children enjoyed using musical instruments this week in music using call and response type activities as well as copying rhythms. We had our weekly dedicated weekly PE session with Mrs Jordan this week and the children showed imagination and control in their movement skills. Thankfully, we did get an opportunity to use the outdoor area where plenty of physical exercise takes place including rolling, climbing, swinging and lots of running around. Maths Our focus this week was consolidating the understanding of the composition of 5. This was practised through the rhyme 5 kittens jumping on the bed; the children were able to identify how many kittens were on the bed and how many were not, therefore learning number bonds to five using sentences such as 5 is made of 3 and 2, 3 and 2 make 5. Later in the week we went on to think about the composition of 6, 7, 8 and 9 as ‘5 and a bit’. In maths, we use rhymes, visuals (including Numberblocks clips) as well as games and opportunities for the children to hone their maths skills in the continuous provision. Reading and phonics The children are making great progress in our daily phonics lessons and it is a pleasure to hear children reading fluently and to see them trying so hard with their writing. We also enjoy daily stories, chosen by the teachers or sometimes brought in by a child. This week we read The invisible string brought in by one of the children from home. I thought this was a beautiful book and one I would recommend others to read with their children especially if they find separation difficult. |
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