This week in our Geography we have been looking at the United Kingdom. Firstly we talked about what the word united means and the children had lots of great ideas and examples such as football teams that have united in them and that it means together. We then looked at the 4 countries that make up the United Kingdom. Our year 2 children labelled the 4 countries on a blank map whilst the year 1 children put together a cut up map of the UK and named the different countries.
This week in Art, we created some spectacular firework pictures using black card and a wonderful selection of colourful chalks in different shades and thicknesses.
To get our creative ideas flowing, the children watched videos of exciting firework displays and talked about the beautiful colours, patterns and shapes that light up the dark night sky. We were amazed by the bright bursts, sparkling trails and colourful explosions!
In our writing lessons, we also became firework poets! The children had great fun creating their own firework poems, using lots of exciting adjectives and onomatopoeic words to bring their writing to life. Words such as banging, crashing, crackling and popping helped us to imagine all the sights and sounds of a spectacular firework display.
The children had lots of lovely ideas to share and were excited to talk about the different firework displays they would be enjoying over the next few days. We certainly brought a little fireworks magic into our classroom!
To round off our Animal Kingdom topic this half term, we made some exciting links between our learning in Geography and Science.
We thought back to what we had learnt in Geography about the Equator, the North and South Poles, and how these affect the climate in different parts of the world. We then used our Science knowledge of different animals to think about where they might live and why certain habitats suit them.
Using a jigsaw of the world, the children worked hard to match different animals to the parts of the world where they might live. They did a fantastic job completing the puzzle and, even more importantly, explaining their thinking!
For example, we discussed why polar bears live in the Arctic. The children thought about how polar bears are adapted to live in such a cold environment, with thick fur and a layer of fat to help keep them warm. We also considered why animals such as camels live in hot, dry deserts, where they are well adapted to cope with the heat and find ways to survive with very little water.
It was wonderful to see the children using their knowledge, sharing their ideas and making connections between different areas of their learning. What a fantastic way to finish our topic!
Our Year 1 and 2 children have been busy exploring addition and doubling through practical, hands-on activities. They used a range of resources to help them add two numbers together and recognise doubles, building their confidence and developing their mathematical skills.
The children also enjoyed playing a doubles game in pairs! They rolled two dice and, if they rolled a double, they scored one point. The first person in each pair to reach three points was the winner!
It was fantastic to see the children practising their maths skills while having fun, learning together and developing their problem-solving skills.
Some of our children have been busy getting creative in our DT area, making their very own mammals using a variety of different materials. They explored different textures, shapes and ways to join materials together to bring their creations to life.
It was wonderful to see their imagination, creativity and problem-solving skills in action as they carefully designed and made their animals. The children showed great enthusiasm and enjoyed sharing their finished creations with others.
This week, the children explored the work of artists Wassily Kandinsky and Molly Haslund, looking closely at their use of circles, spirals, lines and shapes.
Inspired by the artists, the children then created their own artwork on large sheets of paper. Using crayons, pencils and pastels, they experimented with making different-sized circles and spirals, exploring how the lines could move, overlap and fill the space.
It was wonderful to see the children getting creative, trying out different ideas and enjoying the freedom of making their own marks!
Today we had a very exciting visit from Lion Learners! The children had the fantastic opportunity to get up close to a range of fascinating animals linked to our animal kingdom topic.
They were incredibly brave as they held and touched a snake, tortoise, tarantula, guinea pig, bearded dragon, cockroach and giant African land snail. Michaela shared lots of interesting facts about each animal, helping the children to learn more about where they live, what they eat and what makes them special.
It was a wonderful hands-on learning experience, and the children showed lots of curiosity, excitement and bravery throughout the visit. What a fantastic way to learn about the amazing world of animals!
This week, our Year 1 and 2 children became animal sorting experts! We looked at a variety of animals and sorted them into groups using our own criteria.
Some children sorted animals into can swim and can’t swim, while others grouped them by features such as fur, feathers or scales.
It was wonderful to see the children explaining their choices and discovering that animals can be sorted in lots of different ways! 🔬🐾
On Thursday afternoon, all of Key Stage 1 came together in the hall for our Booknic!
The children mixed with different classes and year groups, enjoying time together to explore some of our favourite books. They shared stories, looked at illustrations and chatted enthusiastically about the books they love.
It was wonderful to see children of different ages coming together to share their love of reading and enjoy books with one another. A lovely afternoon was had by all!
This morning, we were lucky enough to enjoy an amazing live event with the wonderful author Julia Donaldson!
We listened as Julia brought her story, The Gruffalo, to life, acting out the story alongside a group of actors and illustrator Axel Scheffler. She then answered some fantastic questions from the live audience before giving us a very special treat — reading her brand-new book, Gruffalo Granny.
We were incredibly excited to discover that we were only the third audience Julia has read the new story to! What a special experience for our children and a wonderful way to celebrate our love of books and reading. 📖✨
1/2CN have had a fantastic first three days settling into their new class! We’ve been spending lots of time getting to know one another, as well as learning our new classroom routines, rules and expectations. The children have picked everything up incredibly quickly, and we’re so proud of how well they’ve settled in.
This week we have been reading The Colour Monster, a story about a monster whose different emotions are all muddled up into a colourful mix. In the story, his friend helps him sort each emotion into its own jar.
Inspired by the story, we have introduced our daily emotional check-in. Every morning, the children find the lollipop stick with their name on it and place it into the coloured jar that matches how they are feeling that day. This helps us celebrate happy and excited feelings, and it also lets us know if anyone is feeling sad, worried or upset so we can spend some time checking in with them and offering support.
We also learnt a simplified version of The Colour Monster story using actions to help us remember the words. The children had great fun practising the story together and quickly became really confident at retelling it. Have a look at the video to see 1/2CN in action!
