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Spring Term: Week 7

This week started with the children contemplating what it means to be patient and whether this is a good quality to have. They heard Aesop’s fable The Tortoise and the Hare which teaches us that ‘slow and steady wins the race’. We decided that sometimes it is best to take time when working, to make sure we always give of our best and not rush our work. Patience is especially important with the current situation. We would all love to be back to ‘normal’ as soon as possible; however we do have to be patient for this to happen. The good news is that, with the announcement on Monday, it won’t be long until all the children are reunited in school and having fun together!

Year 2's Bleu made chocolate cornflake cakes

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This week, Year 2 enjoyed their first Spring term visit to Forest School. They noticed so many changes in the natural environment and relished the freedom, space and fresh air. The children melted chocolate on the fire and used it to make chocolate crispy cakes. They also observed the first signs of spring. In English this week the children have been learning about verbs, acting them out with a partner and then finding verbs in an instruction paragraph.
 
Year 1 came back enthused and ready to work after the half term break. They showed great ambition when writing a recount of their half term adventures and also they created story maps and comic strips all about the Runaway Pancake. In science the children explored different materials and in DT they showed great patience as they started weaving – their first project being the body for Daisy the cow! In maths the children have compared numbers to 50, using the vocabulary of greater than, less than and equal to, as well as learning and using the correct signs.  They have also enjoyed chatting to their friends at home via Teams.

Reception have been hard at work learning about different ways to make the number five. The book of the week is The Gingerbread Man. The children have been busy sequencing the events in the story on a story map ahead of writing captions to the pictures. They baked and decorated gingerbread men and used an icing bag to put the features on them. In Forest School they collected items to try and make a raft for the Gingerbread Man to get across the river safely.

Chaffinch and Kingfisher children talked about feelings using the emotions wooden spoons

The Chaffinch and Kingfisher children have been learning about feelings and talking about the different emotions that they have. The ‘feelings’ wooden spoons help them relate to different emotions; ie, by seeing visual cues it helps the children to be aware of their own feelings and the feelings of others. During Circle Time the children took turns to choose the wooden spoon which best expressed how they felt at that time. One of the children said, ‘I’ve got lots of feelings!’ when looking at the selection of emotions on the spoon faces and picked up several! Another child identified with the angry face spoon and said, ‘I feel angry when someone tells me off!’ The children also made pizzas in Cheeky Chefs; everyone was very excited about the fantastic range of toppings and demonstrated great patience as they waited for their turn to select theirs.

Nightingale class enjoyed the sun in the garden

As the weather has been warmer this week the children in the Nightingale class have enjoyed using gardening tools to help out in the flower bed. They loved pulling out weeds, looking for insects and digging holes in the dirt.
 
The Robin children have also been making the most of the milder weather and sunshine. They played outside as much as possible and became engrossed in digging and helping to weed the raised bed in the garden. The children have also enjoyed mark making, gluing and sticking. They did lots of singing, dancing and read and heard stories in the classroom.

The children in the Sparrow class have been showing their creative side this week. They have done ‘cling film painting’ which is an easy, no mess art idea for babies. It is fascinating for little children, as they can’t quite work out why they aren’t getting messy as they squeeze and merge the paint with their fingers. It is great for developing fine motor skills. They also drove cars over the cling film and watched the patterns that were created.

 

Armelle Wilkinson

Head of Pre-Prep and Nursery