13th December 2024

What a super week we have had! Our Nativity on Wednesday was a great success and we are so proud of the children for the effort they put into their performance - well done everyone, you are all superstars! Thank you to everyone who came to watch the play and support the children. Thanks also for joining us for our 'Glitter and Sparkle' morning on Thursday - there were some lovely decorations made and it was a really lovely morning.

Another highlight of the week was our outdoor learning session. The children decorated bread using food colouring then we toasted the bread on our fire. We are looking forward to the week ahead and more of our Christmas activities.

6th December 2024

Our rehearsals for the Nativity are going well and the children have tried on their costumes - we are almost ready to perform to the school and parents on Wednesday! We have had a lovely Nativity scene crocheted for us and the children have loved playing with it this week.

In our outdoor learning session, the children had a go at using a flint and steel to create a spark. This is a tricky skill to master so it was lovely to see the children persevering. They have also had a go at using saws with support.

One of our class stories this week was Stick Man - the children love this story and after reading it chorally a few times, we watched the film as a special treat.

29th November 2024

This week we have spent time practising the songs for our Nativity - the children have coped really well so far and have picked up the words quickly; we can't wait to sing to you all very soon! Next week we will begin practising on the stage and trying on costumes; it is all very exciting!

Our focus sounds in phonics this week were f (as in fish) and ff (as in cuff); it is lovely to see the children begin to use these letter sounds to read and write simple words, not only in our phonics sessions but as part of play too.

Some of the children have shown an interest in monster trucks this week. They have created drawings and models of these vehicles, sometimes writing to label their pictures. They have also created road maps on large sheets of paper. Following a 'wow' moment brought in by one of the children, the class also made jam sandwiches for their snack. The best ideas come from the children!

22nd November 2024

What an exciting week! The snow on Wednesday has definitely been a highlight for the children and we just had to stop everything and go straight outside! We were then inspired to create pictures of snowmen using different shapes as part of our maths work.

In phonics we have focused on the letters h and b this week and have practised blending sounds to read words. Some of the children have also had a go at spelling simple words using the letter sounds they know. As part of our morning routine, the children write their name on a sticky note then choose which they like best from two options; this week they have chosen between two different colours, two familiar poems and two seasons. As a class, most children prefer the colour blue, prefer the poem about hot dogs and prefer the season of winter! We count the sticky notes and the children talk about why they have made a particular choice. We have all really enjoyed this activity and it has encouraged a lot of language and discussion.

Have a restful weekend everyone!

15th November 2024

What an eventful week! We began our week with the Remembrance Day assembly and the children did themselves proud, particularly those involved in laying a wreath. They were very respectful during the silence in our classroom despite being the youngest pupils in our school.

They then worked together to create a 'field' of poppies, each child using materials to make a poppy in their own way.

On Tuesday morning the children were very excited to discover we have a new classroom pet! We welcome our axolotl 'Peachy'. Tuesday was spent finding out about axolotls and drawing pictures of Peachy - she really is a fascinating creature! During forest school the children continued to celebrate Diwali - after their activities they tasted vegetable curry made on the fire.

Thursday was spent celebrating the birthday of King Charles - the children made crowns and birthday cards. We finished our week on 'Children in Need' day, linking this to our Jigsaw session 'I'm Special, I'm Me!'

Have a restful weekend everyone!

8th November 2024

It is lovely to see the children back at school after the half term break. We started the week learning about Guy Fawkes and Bonfire Night. The children made some colourful artwork to represent the fireworks. They also used sparklers and we talked about keeping safe during the bonfire celebrations.

We then compared Bonfire Night to the celebration of Diwali. The children used shapes to create rangoli patterns and had a go at making diva lamps using clay.

To keep warm in the colder weather we made soup! The children decided as a class what we would put in it. They spent the morning chopping vegetables then sat together to taste their delicious soup. What a wonderful week!

25th October 2024

What a super final week of the half term! The children, parents and grandparents really enjoyed our pumpkin decorating afternoon. A highlight was definitely making s'mores around the campfire in our wildlife garden! We are very proud of the children and the way they have settled into school. We are very much looking forward to the next half term and all of our exciting learning opportunities.

18th October 2024

This week in our maths sessions we have been looking at patterns in the environment and the children have made repeating patterns in different ways. We went for a walk around our school grounds to spot patterns and the children were very observant! Our outdoor learning session this week was lots of fun - Mrs Thompson set up a pumpkin hunt and the children followed clues, with little tasks along the way, to find the hidden pumpkin. The children listened carefully to the instructions and really enjoyed this activity. 

In the garden, the children used hoops to make up a game - it was lovely to see them working together to decide the rules.

One of our stories this week was Funnybones; we read this book together as part of our choral reading and then some of the children made skeletons in the creative area. 

The children have settled into our daily phonics session and have been taught the sounds for the letters s, a, t, i, p, n, m, d, g, o so far. Next week our new letters/sounds are c and k. They are also really enjoying our morning dough disco to strengthen their fingers ready for lots of mark making! 

We are looking forward to our pumpkin decorating afternoon on Tuesday. Have a lovely weekend everyone!

27th September 2024

This week, the children have learnt the sounds for the letters t and p in our phonics sessions. They had a go at blending together the sounds they have learnt to make simple words e.g. sat, pat, tap - we pretended to be robots to make the sounds then practised putting the sounds together; this is something the children will be doing a lot over the coming weeks. 

In our maths sessions, we have continued matching and sorting objects and pictures. The children had to ‘guess the rule’ when looking at sets of objects; they particularly enjoyed getting into groups of children with similar features e.g. sock colour, length of hair or whether or not they were wearing a jumper! 

To practise drawing a person we used wax crayons this week - we have some wonderful pictures now displayed in our home corner. We have also made prints with Autumn leaves the children collected. During outdoor learning, the children followed trails around our wildlife garden; they loved continuing the trails by sprinkling flour on the ground for everyone to follow, then we all enjoyed a calm time listening to the sounds around us as we sat at the base of the trees. They of course enjoyed decorating a biscuit at our Macmillan coffee morning and it was lovely to see those of you who were able to attend.

Please can I mention that the children should bring water to school rather than juice; we have had some quite strong juice drinks recently and whilst we want to encourage the children to drink well during the school day, we do encourage water as the healthier and ‘tooth kind’ option. Thank you.

20th September 2024

This week we have started our daily phonics sessions. The children have learnt the sounds for the letters ‘s’ and ‘a’, we have practised forming the letter shapes and have played sorting games, listening out for the sound at the beginning of different items. In our daily maths sessions the children have played matching and sorting games, looking carefully at objects and pictures to see similarities and differences. As part of our ‘Jigsaw’ lessons we talked about feelings and the children named some familiar feelings such as happy, sad, excited, angry, tired and calm. Outdoor learning was fun - the children used wax crayons to make rubbings on objects around the wildlife area, they worked together to create a large scale picture using natural materials and enjoyed playing in the branches. What a super week!

13th September 2024

The children have been very busy this week. We have started our new topic ‘Being Me in My World’’ and have talked about the ways in which we are similar and different. The children have loved using musical instruments and sound makers as part of our listening activities and handled these instruments carefully - we have seen some lovely sharing and turn-taking too. Outdoor learning on Tuesday afternoon was brilliant; we practised fire safety before collecting sticks of different sizes for the fire. We had a lovely walk around our school grounds followed by s’mores around the campfire. We have had lots of stories and have begun learning some new rhymes, songs and circle games. The children have all had a go at mark-making and drawing as well as practising writing their first names, forming the letters correctly. Another super week.

6th September 2024

What a super first week at school we have had! The children have spent the week settling into school life and exploring the classroom and outdoor areas. We are really impressed with the way the children have picked up our daily routines; they have listened well and followed instructions brilliantly too! It has been a pleasure to get to know them all this week and we are very much looking forward to the year ahead and all of the exciting learning opportunities we will have.

Well done everyone!