Class F

What we have been learning:

This week we have continued our learning on the topic of Amazing Animals and we have:

• Explored what a nocturnal and diurnal animal is and identified some within our country.
• Looked at what makes ‘dirunal’ animals different such as better eye sight and hearing.
• Visited Woolly Animals farm and learnt how to look after different animals, care for and feed them.
• Thought about some animals that may be coming out of hibernation as the season turns to spring.

We have also:

• Made Easter cross suncatchers to link with our RE learning.
• Talked about the importance of keeping clean in Jigsaw. We then washed toys using soapy water and brushes.
• Enjoyed a fantastic trip to Woolley Animals. Everyone had great fun feeding, stroking, and holding the animals. Check out the pictures on Tapestry.

Reception The children have been revisiting some of the phase 3 sounds. We have looked at ow, oi, ear and igh. In maths, the children have been thinking about weighing with scales and have also thought about time using the words, first, then and last.

Nursery The children have begun to think about the ‘initial’ sounds of some words and have explored what these initial sounds look like ‘the grapheme’ such as p…s…t… In maths they have been exploring the number 5 and its relation to the numbers 1,2,3 and 4, that we have looked at so far, by using a part-part whole model and beginning to think about what this looks like in abstract sums.

What we have been learning:

This week we have continued our learning on the topic of Amazing Animals and we have:

• Been continuing to look at habitats and climates. We have investigated African Elephants this week and how they are suited to their ‘habitat’ and ‘climate’.
• We produced another non-chronological report on Elephants to contrast with our one in the previous week on Polar bears.
• We have also looked at the Amazon rainforest and what it is like there.

We have also:

• Had a visit on Wednesday from Helena the Oral Health Educator to link with our Healthy Me Jigsaw topic. The children had open discussions about what food and drink may be good or bad for our teeth and at what times.
• Had a visit from Emily from the Dogs Trust who taught the children about the rules to keep dogs happy and comfortable. She taught them actions to go with rules to remember how to keep safe. Ask your child to show you!
• In outdoor learning we created an Easter garden in a tuff tray to link with our RE learning. We will use this to role play what happened on Easter Sunday when Jesus came back to life.
• In Jigsaw, we discussed sleep and why it is so important for keeping us healthy.

What we have been learning:

This week we have continued our learning on the topic of Amazing Animals and we have:

• Been discussing what a ‘habitat’ and what ‘climate’ is.
• We have been using a Polar Bear as a case study to investigate further what their habitat is like and the climate where they live. We used this information for some non-fiction writing in the form of a ‘non-chronological report’.
• We looked at animals that adapt to their different habitats using camouflage such as Chameleons, Deer, Owls and Cheetahs and considered the different reasons this may be – hunting/hiding.

We have also:

• Found out about the Hindu festival Holi, also known as the festival of colours. The children drew around one of the children in the class on a large piece of paper and then used spray bottles to cover the piece of paper in paint.
• In our RE learning, we learnt about what happened to Jesus on the lead up to Easter Sunday when the tomb was found to be empty. We will be revisiting this next week in outdoor learning when we made Easter Gardens.
• For our Jigsaw and outdoor learning, the children discussed food that is healthy for us and helps us to be strong. They then made a fruit salad with pears, apples, bananas, kiwi and grapes.

07.03.23

What we have been learning:

This week we have continued our learning on the topic of Amazing Animals and we have:

• Thought about endangered animals like Rangtan and why their homes are at risk
• Learnt about palm oil and how this is in lots of the products we have at home
• Created our new safari role play area by drawing animals to add to the area and thinking about what we might need – like our sun hats and binoculars!

We have also:

• Made homes for animals in our Outdoor Learning session
• In our RE learning, we acted out the Palm Sunday story using a donkey mask, a crown for Jesus and palm leaves we made last week using our hands. We also shouted ‘Hosanna!’ and banged percussion instruments.
• For our Jigsaw learning, we took part in a game and thought about the way our bodies react when we have been running around.

Notes/Reminders:

• Outdoor Learning will be on Fridays this half term instead of PE.

Reception  We learnt the new sounds short oi, ow and ear. We formed the letters that make up the sounds, read and wrote words containing the sounds. In maths, we started our shape and space topic. We have been thinking about 2D and 3D shapes for example, we have looked at the properties of the 2D shapes such as a triangle and we went on a shape hunt around the school.

Nursery In their phonics learning, the children have been looking at their new book ‘All Sorts of Art’. They have been looking at the different types of art in the book, traced patterns and used paint to copy patterns thinking about the sounds the paintbrushes and the paint makes.  In maths, the children have been finishing learning about the ‘threeness’ of three. They are now able find three objects independently, recognise what ‘makes’ three using a part-part whole model and have traced and written the abstract number three itself.

What we have been learning:

This week we have been immersing ourselves in our topic of Amazing Animals with a focus on ‘Extinct animals’. We have talked about what it means to be ‘extinct’ and examples of some species that are such as dinosaurs. We have become ‘Palaeontologists’ hunting for bones and fossils and have explored how these can help tell us about what a species was like.

We have also:

• Learnt about Shrove Tuesday and read the book Mr Wolf’s Pancakes before tasting pancakes.
• Enjoyed our first Outdoor Learning session where we explored the outdoor learning area.
•  Started our RE learning on the question ‘Why is Easter special to Christians?’. We looked through Miss Andrew’s special bag containing items and tried to guess what our learning would be about. We then listened to the Palm Sunday story and made a crown for Jesus and palm leaves using our hands which we will use to act out the story.

Welcome back after half term, the children have started their learning on the theme ‘Amazing Animals’ (please see the other documents sent out for more detail). We are starting with ‘Extinct Week’ and have already been thinking about what it means for an animal to be extinct, and what evidence there may be to tell us what a species was like before its extinction.

We will also be learning:

• This term they will also be starting their new topic in PSHE entitled ‘Healthy Me’. The children will think about healthy food, how to keep their bodies healthy, the importance of sleep and germs. This will also include a visit from the dentist to think about oral hygiene.
• In RE, the children will think about the question ‘Why is Easter special to Christians?’. We will think about the stories linked to Easter such as what happened on Palm Sunday and think about the religious symbols that are linked with Easter. During this topic we will be visited by Rev. Martin Warren to speak to the children about what the most special parts of Easter celebrations are to him.

Reception We will continue to learn the phase 3 sounds this half term using our new scheme Bug Club. The children will continue to learn the formation of the letters that make up the sounds and write words with the sounds in.  In maths, we will continue with our learning on Pattern before moving on to Shape and Space.

Nursery The children will continue to look at their book ‘A Wet Walk’ before moving onto their next book called ‘All Sorts of Art’.  In maths, the children will be continuing to look at number and are currently focussing on three.

What we have been learning:

This week we have continued our learning on the topic of Space. We have:

• Looked at spacesuits from a long time ago, the space suits that astronauts wear now and spacesuits that scientists think might be worn in the future.
• Watched a video of the moon landing.
• Learned how Craters are formed and tried to make some ourselves
• Read our class text of the ‘Whatever Next’ story and made a simple story map to help us remember it so that we can adapt it ourselves.

We have also:

• Enjoyed our big PE session using coloured hoops to play a game called ‘Shark attack!’. The children had to find an island (hoop) before the sharks caught them.
• On Thursday, the children undertook some challenges in family groups with the KS1 children. In their groups the children took part in a scavenger hunt and tried to make their jigsaw puzzles before an adult shook the tambourine.

What we have been learning:

This week we have continued our learning on the topic of Space. We have:

• Been looking at Aliens through our book ‘Beegu’ and debating what it means to visit somewhere you haven’t been before.
• We have discussed what it means to be lost on a different planet and how this would make us feel.

We also celebrated Chinese New Year by learning about the different zodiac years, how they celebrate, why, and trying some traditional Chinese food that we cooked ourselves.

We have also:

• Enjoyed our big PE session playing a new game called ‘Farmers, sheep and wolves’.
• Continued to think about ‘special places’ in our RE learning and learnt about the special holy place that Christians go to called a Church.
• Looked at Chinese New Year in which the children role played a Chinese restaurant and then made their own food to taste.

Reception

We started using our new Phonics scheme ‘Bug Club’ and we have revised some of our Phase 3 sounds through segmenting and blending CVC words and writing short sentences in our phonics books. In maths, we have continued learning about patterns and have enjoyed making AB and ABC patters with a variety of different resources within and outside the classroom.

Nursery

The children have been continuing their Phase 1 phonics and have been introduced to our new Phonics scheme ‘Bug Club’. The children have started looking at their book ‘A Wet Walk’ and their phonics learning will be based on this for the next few weeks. In maths, the children have looked at 1 and 2 through singing songs, playing games and using resources such as animals.  

What we have been learning:

This week we have continued our learning on the topic of Space. We have:

• Been scientists and carried out a planet experiment to create a planet using baking soda, water and vinegar.
• Created our own planets on paper plates with paint and glitter.
• Made a list of items we would want to take to space with us.

We have also:

• Enjoyed our big PE session playing a new game called ‘Tickly cat’.
• Continued to think about ‘special places’ in our RE learning and looked at the lovely pictures on Tapestry of the other children’s special places or the pictures they have drawn of their special place.

What we have been learning:

We have started our new topic ‘Space.’ The children had a session on Tuesday deciding what they would like to find out during their learning this half term. They have found out about the different planets and listened to ‘the planet song’. Later on in the week we started our new Jigsaw topic ‘Dreams and Goals’ during which the children were given a challenge of being blind folded and trying to pick out a certain type of sequin from a tray of different types of sequins. We also started our new RE topic ‘Which places are special and why’ and had our Big PE session on Friday in which the children took part in running games.