The Cygnets have a had a fantastic start to the Summer term. They have come back ready for the new term invigorated and ready to learn.

In Topic, we have started our Turrets and Tiaras topic. We introduced this topic through watching a clip from Harry Potter. We looked at Hogwart's Castle and are enthused to learn everything we can about castles including why they were built, how long does it take to build a castle, who lives in a castle and what are the features of a castle. These are only a few of the brilliant questions the children came up with that they would like to find out about over the next five weeks. 

In Computing we started our Scratch Junior programming unit. We tinkered on Thursday with the app and it was amazing how much the children can work out independently by exploring different actions. This unit will put our understanding of algorithms into practice, connecting and progressing their learning from previous units this year.

In RE, we began exploring how everyone is unique and loved. We enjoyed playing some circle games talking about how we are different individually but also how what wonderful qualities we have from the perspective of other children in the class. We will explore some bible stories specifically parables that will show how everyone is loved and valued by God.

In English, we began our 'Tiaras and Turrets' book, Rapunzel. We have been rewriting the story, discussing and describing characters and retelling the story with actions. We are focusing on writing with stamina and the children are doing really well with this target.

In Maths, we have been making arrays with concrete apparatus, drawing arrays, looking at repeated addition and investigating multiplication. We are revisiting addition, subtraction and multiplication and division with a prime focus on number work.

In Phonics' lessons, the children are doing really well with their special friends, Fred talk and reading the words. They are becoming much more fluent and responding to their reading teachers really well. Please remember to read to your children and listen to your children read as much as possible, our aim is to make your children the best possible readers they can be which will help them across the curriculum. 

 

And in the Nest....

Reception has come back from the Easter holidays bursting with energy and enthusiasm.  The weather has been warmer with glorious sunny mornings and we have been both inside and outside again, at last.  For the next fortnight we are looking at plants and growing and are enjoying The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle.  As the tiny seed, we have travelled through his glorious illustrations up to the sun and over icy mountains, along the ocean and across the dry desert. We are still here - not too hot, too cold, too wet nor too dry.  And safely on the ground, the seed has germinated growing roots, a stem, some leaves and a bud for flowers.  The petals blow off, the seed pod bursts, the wind carries the seeds and the lifecyle continues - a super concept and fabulous vocabulary.  The children have understood and sequenced the events, supported by "The Seed Song" which they act as they sing.  They have planted 'cress heads' in paper cups on which they drew their own smiling faces.  These are lined on the window sill, the tiny cress seeds on damp cotton wool in the warmth and sunshine.  Germination is imminent and we are watching and waiting and looking forward to a crop of strong straight green 'hair'. 

We have been spotting doubles in Maths.  It is thumbs up or thumbs down as we look at two dice.  Are they equal?  What double can you see?  We are also consolidating number bonds to 5 and 10 using dominoes and playing cards, finding the hidden part of the whole and singing "Five Currant Buns" and "Five Speckled Frogs".  I hope recall of these number facts will become quick and spontaneous and any and all practice at home would be a real bonus.

The morning at Forest School was delightful.  The sun shone as we crossed the woods to the pond - a dew pond - with a lidded bucket.  Inside, under the algae, we were shown frogspawn: the eggs and embryo and a few new tadpoles.  We watched as it was poured carefully into the pond and we will revisit to notice the pond and its life develop through the coming weeks.  Back at base camp we enjoyed the warmth and the dry at snack time and had a terrific play for rest of the session.  The children each have their favourite areas.  They make the most of them, conferring with their friends or on a lone mission, continually deepening their experiences and learning.

Term 1, Week 2 and 3

The year one and two children have settled beautifully into a learning pattern this week. They are full of enthusiasm and are tackling each learning task with diligence. 

They are enjoying our Under the Sea topic and have been exploring Turner's famous Seascapes and creating their own using watercolours. We are continuing learning how to stay safe online and will make E Safety posters too. 

Year ones have been counting and ordering numbers carefully and Year twos have been making two digit numbers, exploring place value further and ordering numbers from small to greatest. 

In English, the children have been storymapping and creating their own wonderful stories based on 'Tiddler' by Julia Donaldson. They enjoyed picking through the text and spotting the features of this text. 

In RE, we have continued to read a range of parables from the Bible focusing on the key values of forgiveness and kindness to others. We have created a Harvest display and have drawn and written all the wonderful things we are grateful for this Harvest. 

The children are thoroughly enjoying taking part in all of the enhancements and enjoying the outdoors in between lessons. Well done children and parents/ guardians, a wonderful start to the year! 

 

… and the Nest 

We have had a glorious couple of weeks in the mellow September sunshine. Everyone is now settled and happy and, as Reception, we are already a comfortable, cohesive unit. 

As we are Getting to Know You, we are thinking All About Me.  We have had one week of looking at ourselves and our features and another at our interests, our likes and dislikes. We have each made careful observational pencil drawings of our faces looking into mirrors and will follow these with self-portraits in paint. The children all brought in photos of themselves as babies and have proudly shown the group and used great descriptive language and oracy skills to talk about themselves.  We looked at the children in All about You by Catherine and Laurence Anholt and compared ourselves, and enjoyed fun stories recounting the precocious anecdotes of Simpkin by Quentin Blake and Avocado Baby by John Burningham.  Do You Like by Ruth Mertens encouraged the children to think about what they like and what they like even more - and they have drawn super illustrations.  I am looking forward to talking together about what the children dislike and dislike less.  I rather think that is going to be very expressive...

We have started learning our first sounds using the Read, Write, Inc. phonics scheme. The children are wonderfully quick to spot 'm', 'a', 's', 'd' and 't' as well as to write "Maisie, mountain, mountain" and "slither down the snake".  I am encouraging mark-making at every and any opportunity and we have fun using passcodes and messages on post-its in play. 

 

A highlight of each week has been Forest School. Last week, the children had a fabulous introduction to Macaroni Woods, Sue and Basecamp and made the most of all that the woodlands offered as they explored and discovered.  This week, we looked at the features of an oak tree.  We were each given three acorns to dig and hide - and then find again after snack.  Do you know, the squirrels are much cleverer than us!  Noone found all three of their acorns!

 

The mornings start with Fine Motor activities to build manipulative and writing skills. These can relate to the work we are doing, like loose part portraits, or another aspect that I would like to introduce or assess, such as cutting skills.  The children have also threaded beads, made peg boards, sorted numbers to five, copied marks and initial letters and stickered them.  These activities stay on the tables forming part of the day's Continuous Provision. The children are becoming very familiar with the layout out the classroom and the Continuous Provision both inside and out. It is fabulous to watch them interact and intervene, showing and sharing and each building on their own and others' experiences so they are learning exactly as they should.  I will co-play at every opportunity for the comraderie, involvement and the golden momentary chances to slip in next steps and challenges. 

 

Term 1, Week 1

It has been a very successful start to our new school year and wonderful to see our children return to school; happy and excited to be back. Our new little ones are getting on so well and our classroom is buzzing from morning until afternoon. 

This week, we began our new topic, Under the Sea. The children took a ride on a seaplane and we travelled over the United Kingdom where we found out the names of the different oceans, channels and seas and then managed to discuss them and label them. We also began talking about our personal details and how to keep them safe when online. In RE, we talked about our amazing world and Reception drew their favourite animals and things about our world that they love, year ones and twos explored, the parable, 'The Prodigal Son'. We have got off to a strong start with our reading and phonics and the children have loved reading, story mapping and acting out 'Tiddler', our key text in English. Year ones have thrown themselves into using tens frames and are accurately counting to twenty and back again! Year twos have been using base ten resources to make two digit numbers and are deepening their understanding of place value. An excellent start to the Autumn 1! Well done Cygnets, your teachers are so proud of you and enjoy a well earned rest this weekend. 

And in the Nest..

Reception has hit the ground running! What a fabulous group of children. They all came in for their first day reticent but smiling and by the end of the morning they were beaming, confident and playing to the full. Using sweatshirts passed on from the Year 6s, Mrs Smith makes the most wonderful Southrop teddy bears for the new children. These were handed out after Break. We tied on name tags, read My Friend, Bear by Jez Alborough and enjoyed the rhyme Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear as we cuddled our new bears. What a wonderful start.

We are focusing on Getting to Know You this term. We are all learning about each other. We have enjoyed The Colour Monster and The Colour Monster goes to school and talked about our feelings and emotions and our experiences. The children have coloured monsters, collaged monsters and drawn their own.  

Play is key to the children as they settle in and establish friendships and classroom familiarity. It has been fascinating to watch them choose: role play, construction, playdough, mark making, sand, water, mud kitchen. Their interests and abilities are already apparent but I am sure there is lots more to discover - by us all. I am delighted by the gorgeous group and very excited for the weeks to come.

Newsletter updates - 2021 - 2022

Term 6 Week 7

The children have been very busy the last couple of weeks.  We have been to Lemhill Farm and met Farmer George and Millie.  They explored the wildflowers and listen to bird song and they all got the opportunity to climb into the combine harvesters and tractor.  The trip was topped off with a biscuit and drink.  We also went to the Swans play, lots of giggles from the cygnets. Then to top the week off we have had our sports day.

There have been two move up mornings where we welcomed our new reception in and everyone else moved up a year.  The children again rose to the challenge and helped the younger ones where they could.

During lesson time the children have been continuing to learn to tell the time.  We are now down to being able to tell the time to 5 minutes.  Please keep this going over the holiday, they are all so close to being able to do it! The Year 2s have been working with Mr Jones as well for maths focusing on fractions of number.

In English we have been writing poems about the seaside.  They have thought about rhymes, rhythm and repetition.  We have just moved onto looking at fiction text that express feelings. 

Mrs Tipple, Mrs Blackburn and myself would like to say a huge well done to the Cygnets.  This year has been a fabulous one.  We have seen such development in both their learning and in maturity.   The last couple of years have been tricky for all and we are so pleased that everything is feeling a little bit normal for all! We wish you all a very lovely holiday.

… and the Nest

It has been a fun but fragmented fortnight of learning for Reception. The children have had moving up days and been Year 1s while next year's Reception cohort have visited and joined in with the classroom routines.

In English, we have enjoyed Stanley's Stick by John Hegley and Neal Layton.  Stanley picks up a stick and plays with his stick, he has lots of "stick activity" and he gives his stick different names.  We have done the same and the children have been hugely imaginative in their stick ideas and games.  We now have Moosicalstick, Rocketeestick, Chip and Fantastick.  

Outside, in our garden, we have continued to work with sticks and have been patiently whittling green twigs with vegetable peelers.  The flower bed is to become a mud pit for next year's Reception and the children have carefully dug up the bulbs and gently uprooted the plants so that they can be replanted and it is all cleared and prepared. 

We had a kind invitation to re-visit Arthur's puppies to see how they have grown - and they have. They are big and busy and outside in the garden. They are all very different and beautiful and it was delightful to watch, carry and cuddle them. Back in school, it was a super opportunity to talk about how the puppies have changed and to write thank you letters. 

We have been looking for number bonds, subitising and counting carefully playing classic games in Maths, such as Dominoes and Shut the Box.  It has been a great way to show off our learning to each other. As Year 1s, the children spent time in the playground in the sunshine, scribing numbers on the tarmac and jumping along chalked number lines. 

It could not have been a more lovely morning for Sports Day. The sun shone but there was a gentle breeze and the Reception children gave their all to their events. They enjoyed sprinting and long jump, egg and spoon and relay races.  Well done, all of you, for your fabulous effort and your competitive but generous spirit - and a lot of fun. 

Term 6 Week 2

 

….  the Nest

The sunshine has coincided with a fab fortnight of Mr Gumpy's Outing and exploring capacity, all smattered with play and chat about the number 10.  We have read a glut of wonderful John Burningham stories about journeys - by boat, car and train. We focussed on his trip punting on the river, picking up animals along the way, always with a few words of caution. The clever Reception children predicted a disaster as the boat became overcrowded and, splosh! it capsized. But Mr Gumpy is a kind man and everyone scrambled up the bank, dried off in the sun and walked back to his house for tea - with an invitation to come again.  We made masks for each of the animals and the children independently built a stage set of a river and a long boat, with an amphitheatre of seats (almost) for the Year 1s and 2s to watch their show - having issued carefully scribed invitations to each one. The children learnt the story and recorded it as story maps to retell and act out. They were a bossy group of directors and I was given the part of Mr Gumpy.  I had very little else to contribute or organise. The show was much enjoyed - perhaps rather more by the aspiring actors than the patient audience. Thank you to all.

 

We started capacity by pouring cupfuls of rice in the classroom ensuring containers were full, half full, empty or, even half empty.  But as the sun shone, we went outside and estimated how many bottles might fill the water tray.  We guessed 20 and, remarkably, we sloshed 20 - keeping tally as we went.  Then it was fabulous play - making recycled boats: whose could hold the most marbles? float or sink? testing a selection of classroom objects, and balancing drain pipes to effectively tip and pour.  Of course, there was lots of wet but lots of opportunity to dry off as well. And lots of learning on which side of the water tray to start and stand.  

 

Today is our big day out at Blenheim Park.  We are visiting the Walled Garden on the miniature train with the Butterfly House, Hedge Maze and Adventure Playground.  It will be hot but we will be prepared and it is just the full-on summer end-of-term jolly that my amazing little group so deserve.  I am delighted to be spending the day out with them :-).

Term 5, Week 5 

An excellent two weeks in Maths, in Year 1, the children have been exploring number facts up to 18. In Year 2, we have been working on reading scales to measure mass in a range of contexts. The parents, children and the majority of the school community have been eagerly popping in to our classroom to watch our caterpillars on their journey of transformation. Our caterpillars have shed their skin and have formed a chrysalis and will be going home with the capable Reception children today for half term. We cannot wait to find out how they get on.

Last week the Year 3 children and some other children joined us in the Cygnets. We visited Sevington Victorian School in Wiltshire last Wednesday. We had a fantastic day and felt like we really stepped back in time to 1897. We cannot wait to share what we learned at our Show n Share today. Thankfully Miss Squire didn't have to use her cane or Dunce hat! We also made Ferris Wheels linking back to Victorian times when Fairgrounds became quite popular. Our Ferris wheels spin and have rotating pods. The children did a fantastic job of working as a team and researching, designing, making their Ferris wheels. 

This week, we have been busy learning all about Queen Elizabeth II and today we will be making afternoon tea at Kitchen Club run by Melanie and Anna. We look forward to seeing you later for our Jubilee party. 

…. and the Nest

Having planted sets of runner beans, Reception have enjoyed stories in anticipation of the shoots and growth of their plants. Jasper's Beanstalk by Nick Butterworth showed us that our little seeds are very resilient and with hard work and against all odds, our efforts will pay.  We were also able to revise the days of the week and consider length in Mick Inkpen's wonderful illustrations. The classic tale of Jack and the Beanstalk gave a magical twist to the growth of the beans - just as ours started to sprout. We very much enjoyed the giant's booming refrain and the wit of Jack as he clambered away with golden coins, eggs and the harp. We experimented with blue and yellow paint to make different greens and embellish lots and lots of loo rolls and paper leaves to thread our own beanstalk. Over night it grew! There is a glorious beanstalk that twists and turns and crawls up and over the ceiling of the Nest. Meanwhile, the sun and rain have germinated our pods and we will be taking home crops for planting over half term. 

This week has been devoted to HRH Queen Elizabeth II. The Queen's Knickers introduced us to the magnitude of her role, the range of events she attends and consideration she gives each one - even down to her choice of knickers. We each designed a pair of knickers that the Queen might wear were she to visit us for our tea party at Southrop. The children chose decorations of swans, daffodils, orange and purple stripes and flowers. We also looked at The Queen's Hat and followed her chase with the wind across the sites of London. The children have taken every opportunity to dress up and have embellished their favourite frocks and superman suits with strings of pearls, diamond necklaces and brackets that sparkle and shine. It has been interesting how their deportment has complimented their grand attire as they assume new roles. We have bejewelled our own crowns, coloured Union Jacks and anticipate a splendid day of cookery and preparation for the Jubilee Tea Party this afternoon. 

Within the frenzy of our weeks has been the calm and order of Forest School. The children have had two sessions of observational drawing where they have stopped and looked and looked - and looked again. They collected small woodland items (this time they were allowed to pick) and drew them. But then they compared their sketches and the objects to notice the precise details - five petals not twelve, feathery leaves not round, spots on the stones not smooth. And yesterday we pondered one of the woodland oak trees and noticed that it was actually lots of Y shapes, heavy with leaf and its bark was rough and knobbled. I was delighted by the expression, concentration and careful pencil work. Both the children’s descriptions and their drawings were superb. 

Term 5, Week 1 and 2

The children have come back refreshed, healthy (dare I say) and ready to learn. We have hopped straight back into learning starting with Maths. Both year groups are exploring repeated addition to show multiplication, counting in steps of 2, 3, 5 and 10 and arrays. We have returned to daily Math's fluency in order to build our accuracy and speed in arithmetic. In English, we are enjoying some fiction texts like 'Harry and the bucketful of dinosaurs' and will be discussing nonfiction texts and the features of this particular text type. We will be writing fact files focusing on dinosaurs. We will continue to follow our phonics' and guided reading programme and work hard on our comprehension skills. The year one children will focus specifically this term on reading nonsense words practising their phonic knowledge. In RE, we have started our new unit exploring, what is the 'good news' Christians believe Jesus brings. This week we will be listening to the stories of Jesus' disciples. In Computing, we will be focusing on accessing the internet to research in a safe way. The children will learn how to do this using ipads and laptops. In topic, the children have really enjoyed learning about the Victorians. There is plenty of discussion and excitement and lots of conversation about how different life is now. We hope you had a wonderful Easter holiday and well done to all the Cygnets who have come back with such a wonderful attitude to their learning. ….

 

And the Nest....

It has been lovely coming back to school in the Spring sunshine - even if it had some time off for the last few days. Our first task was to deadhead the daffodils in our Cygnet garden. The children snipped off the heads and the beds are looking full and happy for their trim and tidy. The faded daffodils were instant ingredients in the Mud Kitchen, mixed into soup and pies and baked in sand - waste not, want not. We have opened the Nest and have started learning in there again. We very much enjoy our independence and connection with outside. We are looking at Eric Carle's The Very Hungry Caterpillar. It links superbly with our study of lifecycles in Science, is giving us lots to talk about on healthy foods and 'sometimes foods' and we are familiarising ourselves with the days of the week and what we do when, both in school and at home. We have a basket with a knitted caterpillar and all of the fruits and scrummy Saturday delights he enjoys and we retell and act out the story - as well as the caterpillar's lifecycle. We have been looking at all aspects of the number 8 and use the cubes to make eight-part caterpillar after eight-part caterpillar using different combinations of two colours. We are getting very good at number bonds to 8. Our other favourite game is to spot the 8s in a pack of cards. We know there are four and the anticipation and tension as we turn the cards is thrilling. We then race to collect pairs that make eight. Playing cards are golden for so many aspects of Maths. I do encourage you to share a pack and play some simple games together. Forest School was delightful. We enjoyed a warm, still morning under a new, resplendent green canopy. The children all picked an adjective from the woodland bucket and foraged to match it. In the Reception display was fuzzy bark, a bumpy twig, a smooth feather and a prickly beech nut husk. Great finds, Reception!

 

Term 4 Week 5 and 6

The last two weeks have been busy! We have been getting to grips with multiplication and touching on division whilst the year one children work through their addition and subtraction number bonds to 15. A main focus these last couple of weeks has been Math's fluency and we have been taking 10 - 15 minutes a day to practice what we have been learning so that we become completely fluent in Mathematics. We have read many of Flat Stanley's adventures and are on our way to completing our own adventure story with a focus on a beginning, problem and resolution. The children have built up a vocabulary list and are experimenting with the use of commas and speech marks. They are excited to share these stories with the Swans next week. In RE, we spent the afternoon questioning the Swans and finding out more about how Christians celebrate Easter and how the Church prepares for the Easter celebration. We had many excited little ones talking about the prospect of going back to Church this Easter. Many lessons have been learned from the Easter Story and it is safe to say the Cygnets have remembered every detail of what happened many years ago. In Computing, we have been logging on to the laptops and practicing our word processing skills including some typing. We are getting more familiar with how to use a computer as opposed to a touchscreen device. The children have had a lovely time at Forest School this week albeit a little bit cold with a range of different weather conditions in one day. We also managed to complete Assessment week in Maths, Reading, Writing and SPAG. Well done to all the children who focused so well. We have had many children off this week and we hope you and your family begin to feel better soon. We look forward to welcoming as many of you back as soon as possible. ….

 

And the Nest

Reception has had great fun looking at fictional Superheroes. The children have been wonderfully vociferous and eager to inform me, and to retell tales of clandestine misdemeanours and heroic feats. We have hugely enjoyed the Marvel Avengers books and I was introduced to Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, Black Widow and Hawkeye. The children have told me lots more about my favourite, Spider Man, too. We have a superb collection of outfits and were visited every day by these now familiar characters. The children have made their own superheroes, painting costumes onto their own outlines so they are life-size and very chic. We have Lightning Man, Spider Girl and Black Widow Hulk. The Cygnet class learnt about Inside our Wonderful Bodies and cut and stuck perfectly-sized organs (brain, lungs, heart, stomach, small intestine, large intestine) onto the superhero figures. It has been a rather smaller group of Reception children this week but the superhero enthusiasm hasn’t lessened. Lightning Man now wears a mask and a gizmo and carries a shield (all from the junk modelling corner) and bears lists of superpowers, supersnacks and secret messages. We have made up our own superhero story and I can tell you that Lightning Man saves the day by shooting his lightning at the evil money robot in the bank. Hurrah!! I am delighted by the vivid imagination, careful graphics, simple sentences and charming, confident oracy. It has been a fabulous topic. The number 8 has been our focus in Maths and we have included it in much of our superhero work. We have built towers with blocks and counted windows in cities, as well as grouping the teams - Avengers and friends. We have also looked at 2D shapes, making tangrams and colouring shape pictures.

Term 4 Week 3 and 4

In Cygnets, we are finishing up our computing unit on Programmable Toys. The children can tell you what an algorithm is, direct and program the Bee-Bot using the arrow buttons and debug their sequence if needed. They have loved learning how to do this and also enjoyed writing out their own instructions in symbols and then following them by programming the Bee-Bot.

Last week, the children enjoyed reading and writing about Farmer Duck by Martin Waddell and recounted some of the animals' days then they wrote their own recount independently. Yesterday, we begun a new genre in English. We started by sorting books into categories, we then picked out adventure stories and discovered the wonderful

book Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown. We began reading it yesterday and acted out the beginning to show how Jeff Brown builds up excitement in the first two pages. The children are excited to read more! 

In our topic lessons, we have been focusing on Superheroes around the World. We learnt how to sing the song, 'Seven Continents' (the song can be found on youtube). The children are confident with the names of the seven continents and can also put them in order of size from biggest to smallest. We have explored Europe, North Pole, South Pole and Africa so far and look forward to finding out more about our world. 

In RE, we have been looking at the signs of Spring and new life which has led us on to the Easter story. The children are now very familiar with the events of Holy Week and they have been reading, drawing, acting, sequencing and crafting so that they internalise the events of Holy Week. We are also learning about the importance of Easter to Christians and how this story teaches us to be more and follow in Jesus' footsteps. 

In PE, Miss Belcher has been teaching the children Gymnastics. They have been learning how to roll safely and effectively. The children have enjoyed forwards rolls, teddy bear rolls, pencil rolls and sideways rolls. It is wonderful to watch the children as they grow in confidence and do the perfect roll. 

Don't forget to continue reading daily! We have a huge selection of Accelerated Reader books and have purchased some more books from the Madhatter's Bookshop for reading for pleasure. We hope the children enjoy visiting the library daily and choosing books to share with you all at home.    …. and the Nest

Reception have been focusing on food and instructions for this fortnight.  We had great fun reading the wonderful Giant Jam Sandwich with its clever rhyme and amusing illustrations.  We admired the villagers cunning plan to trap the wasps and followed them step-by-step.  We enjoyed making paper sandwiches of ridiculous concoctions but then a giant jam sandwich of our own which we shared with the Cygnets for breaktime snack. We discussed recipes, understanding they are instructions for cooking, and recognise the merit of simple, clear, ordered explanations.  And we can spread a pat of butter and spoon and smear a jar of jam in a trice.

This week, the Gingerbread Man has given us lots of opportunities to run in the playground in the March sunshine.  We have enjoyed the traditional tale but have also explored how we might make traps for him.  We have written instructions to make it clear, so be careful how you tread in our Reception Garden - look out for sticks and leaves that might conceal a hole...  We have a ginger root to plant and place in a sunny window and ingredients and cutters to follow a recipe and take home some Gingerbread Men of our own for weekend tea.

We have started Set 3 sounds in Phonics and are talking about chatty friends as well as special friends.  Chatty friends need someone between them - a and e are chatty friends in a-e, make a cake.  They need the k to separate them.  We have a few of these to come.

In Maths we are looking at the composition of 7 and calculating within 7.  We have been spreading numicon, pairing playing cards, grouping counters and building towers.  We have also been sequencing and thinking about time and what we do when in the day - the order of events.  

 

Term 4 Week 1 and 2

The Cygnets got off to a great start to Spring 2. Year Ones are busy learning and exploring properties of 3D shapes. Year Twos are beginning their multiplication journey. In English, we are learning the features of recounts through the book 'Farmer Duck'. The children have used time connectives to add more information to their sentences about all of the Duck's daily jobs. We have also hot seated the duck and questioned him intensely to find out how he really felt about doing all the work. This week we have had lots of conversations about how we prepare for Easter. We loved our pancake races and learned lots about Ash Wednesday and what we can do to be more during Lent this year. 

We have also had a busy week full of book activities to celebrate the 25^th Anniversary of World Book Day. Each morning we have started our day with a book activity, Tuesday morning was one of our favourites. The children loved guessing who the Masked Reader was and Oscar and Charlotte guessed the best! Lovely Kim from the Madhatter's Bookshop gave us a wonderful £75 voucher to spend in Burford at her shop and some of our children will visit next Wednesday to do this. Thank you to the wonderful Lesley, Kathy, Gareth, Duncan and Kelly who all came in to read to the children. The Mystery Reader may be a regular event as it was extremely popular with the children. 

On World Book Day, the whole school came together for an assembly featuring riddles, rap songs and books. The children enjoyed numerous activities such as sharing a story with hot chocolate, scavenger hunts, dressing up as their favourite book characters, quizzes, comic writing, finding Wally, readathons and a daily Mystery Reader. World Book Day featured Mr Smith with a telehandler at the Jubilee field, he showed us what this piece of machinary can do and also raised our Headteachers to the sky. We all enjoyed storytime around the telehandler and the children had many questions to ask including how much a telehandler may cost! 

We also are really enjoying our new topic Superheroes Around the World! What a great first week back, well done Cygnets. 

…. and the Nest

This week started with Shrove Tuesday and Reception has focused on pancakes and recipes.  We've loved it!  We have centred our learning on the clever story of Mr Wolf's Pancakes.  We admired his persistence and resilience in making "a huge pile of delicious pancakes on the table, all ready for eating" - all by himself, and considered why each of his neighbours were disinclined to help him.  We also very much enjoyed the surprise ending!  We have looked at recipes in cookbooks and know about ingredients and method and the importance of clarity and order.  We used a recipe to make maple syrup and cinnamon playdough to roll and toss as pancakes.  It smelled delicious.  We also talked about why we eat pancakes on Shrove Tuesday and looked at traditions in other parts of the world.  We will finish with the story of Mama Panya's Pancakes, set in Kenya, and compare our two books, their characters - and sharing. 

We have been comparing numbers in Maths - building towers to see whose has more or fewer bricks, or are they equal?  We have made piles of large objects and others of small ones and worked out which has more by counting.  We are also looking at sequencing and considering events in order.  We coloured, cut and pasted pictures to show the correct process for cleaning our teeth from turning on the tap to rinsing the toothpaste.   

Reception is making great ground with Phonics work and will start Set 3 sounds next week.  They are racing through Book Bag Books and very much enjoying their reading.  That is super work, Reception :-).   

Term 3 Week 4

The last two weeks, we have been reading and exploring 'The Whales' Song' by Dyan Sheldon and Gary Blythe. We also had a go at writing our own stories about animals. 

In Computing, we have been learning about algorithms and we have made Lego models and written and followed instructions to make each other's models. We have thoroughly enjoyed finding out about Queen Elizabeth I and Queen Victoria, this week we focused on what sort of queens they were and whilst listening to Classical music did pencil drawings of our favourite Queen. We then looked at colour mixing and used watercolours to paint our portraits. 

 

In Maths, the children have been focusing on number facts and column subtraction, which they are mastering beautifully. The Year 2 children also enjoyed a spot of bird watching in the Great Big Birdwatch and made bar charts to represent the different species and amounts they saw. 

In RE, we have been learning about Judaism and have talked about Shabbat, the Shema and the Torah. Ask your children to find out more! They have taken part in many activities discovering Judaism and how it differs but is  also very similar to Christianity. 

 

… and the Nest 

Reception had a hugely enjoyable time reading The Owl who was Afraid of the Dark by Jill Tomlinson.  We considered Plop's apprehension of the dark countered by the support and encouragement of his mother and of the friendly characters he met.  His new friends shared their love of the dark with clear descriptions and beautiful illustrations.  We discussed our feelings about the dark and what makes us comfortable and confident.  We chose adjectives to include in a sentence about the dark and drew super illustrations of our own.  Afterwards we made gorgeous soft, cotton-wool owlets, careful tissue-paper collaged barn owl masks and scurried into a blacked-out den under the classroom tables with torches and glow stars.  

 

This week we have been looking at dinosaurs. The Reception children know lots already and are identifying different dinosaurs with ease.  We have a collection of non-fiction books and are considering questions and what more we would like to know about dinosaurs.  We have named our own - we have a Smithosaurus, Gorjosaurus, Reainbowsparklasaurus and a Blooasaurus - and written questions using super phonics skills ready to investigate next week.  ‘How meny spices (many spikes) does a stegosaurus have?’ ‘How hevee iz a tee rex?’ ‘What did the dinosaur do when the hubivre et meet (herbivore ate meat)?’  ‘What kind ov dinosaur eats mit?’

In Maths, we have looked at the composition of 5 in every which way.  We have played games, used counters on number lines, sheep in a jeep and dinosaurs in the mud.  We have looked at one more and one less than 5 and how many remain when some are taken away.  We are learning that if we know that the whole is 5, we can work out which part is in and out of the jeep, or frolicking in the mud and resting on the bank. 

We made seed and lard covered pinecone bird feeders in Forest School last week and crossed the woods with compasses this week.  On Tuesday, Reception all visited the SCARF Life Education bus and talked and learned about their bodies.  They were model pupils, sitting beautifully for a long session and responding with interest and enthusiasm.  It has been a very busy and productive fortnight and I am proud and delighted.  Well done, Reception

Term 3 Week 2

This term the children are thinking about people that were ‘ Famous for Five Minutes’.  They started by learning about Ernest Shackleton and will move on to Queen Elizabeth I, Queen Victoria and Queen Elizabeth II.  The children will also learn about William Shakespeare and a trip has been arranged to Stratford on the 15^th February.    This topic is history based and the children will be learning about timelines.

The children have been focusing on books from different settings.  Their first book Fox by Margaret Wild is based in Australia.  They have had to describe either the Fox, Magpie or Dog using their wonderful adjectives.   In Maths the children have been continuing with their understanding of number up to 3 digit numbers.  They have also been learning about subtraction.  The year 2s are getting very whizzy at using their number facts to help them.  In science we are thinking about different materials and the children have been on a hunt for them around the classroom.  They also had to use their senses to find out their properties.  The children found it amazing that some plastic was really soft and others were really hard! In RE the children will be learning about Judaism and how Jewish people live.  They will have a zoom lesson from a synagogue in Cheltenham.

… and the Nest 

Reception very much enjoyed coming back to school, anticipating the trip to the theatre for Rapunzel.  There was great excitement and we loved reading the fairy tale and learning about pantomimes, so that we were very ready for dames, jokes, singing and sweets. It was an ideal opportunity to explore height and length, as we built towers and plaited string and chanted the chorus of the witch and prince to unsuspecting Rapunzel.  

This week we have been feeling the chill and looking at signs of Winter. We have read about what we can see and what we can feel in information books and have been outside to look for ourselves, taking photographs in the playground and Wildlife Garden. The sun was shining and we have beautiful representations of ice, frost, holly, evergreens and our wonderful oak tree with bare branches. In Phonics, we have started Set 2 sounds and are delighted to be learning ay, ee, igh and ow as these appear often in our winter sentences in see, feel and snow. 

We are having a lot of fun in Maths using dominoes, playing cards and counters to subitise and partition up to number 4.  We are also working on number formation, and looking at patterns - as colours and shapes, dabbing paint and ordering cubes. We will be looking at one more and one less in the next few sessions, ready for number 5

Term 2 Week 8

The last couple of weeks have been super busy with … Christmas.  Assessments were done and out of the way so that the children could enjoy the run into Christmas.    The children started with Experience Christmas.  A magical time at St Peter’s Church together learning about the different parts of the Christmas story and then the wonder of the gift of Jesus.  Thursday morning saw all of the Cygnets at the Woods in costume exploring the Christmas story, hunting for chocolate coins, making Christmas decorations followed by a well-deserved hot chocolate and marshmallows toasted on the fire.  One of our Governors, Mr Morris joined us for this wonderful experience.

The afternoon was filled with Christmas crafts gratefully prepared by Mrs Woodhams and Mrs Martyn. We then started working on our Christmas nativity, The King is Born!  The Year 2 children stepped up to the roles of narrators, the Year 1’s singing solos and the Reception children absolutely loving the experience of being a shepherd, Caesar, Mary and the Innkeeper.  The children kept us all entertained with an all singing extravaganza.  We hope you all enjoy your hand sewn Christmas cards and calendars that were created with the New York Ballet performance of the Nutcracker on in the background. If you are still stuck for Christmas gift ideas, the children loved the magical version of the Nutcracker, ‘The Story Orchestra’ book. Please don’t forget to pop by the Village Christmas tree to see if you can spot your child’s snowflake. Yesterday started with making Christmas crowns, sharing some wintery Christmas stories followed by the Christmas party in the afternoon with a surprise visit from Father Christmas.

… and the Nest 

Reception could not have been busier! Wow! We took a last look at Goldilocks and the Three Bears with hot seating and a very sorry Goldilocks making amends to - kerpow! - Christmas! The children have embraced everything brilliantly from Experience Christmas in St Peter's church, to Forest School, Nativity in the Woods, live The King is Born Nativity action in the village hall - two performances, no less, and Carols. There has also been much making, cutting and sticking - decorations, cards, calendars and Christmas party paraphernalia. The children listened to the story of the Nutcracker, watched some snippets of ballet and enjoyed some Tchaikovsky tunes. I hope and think this will be a very special, memorable time for them all, and I wish them, and their families, the jolliest Christmas and a very happy New Year.

Term 6, Week 1 and 2

The children have been exploring the beloved series of Percy the Park Keeper by Nick Butterworth giving us a perfect starting point to explore wildlife and also get outdoors! The children have already visited Southrop park and used simple fieldwork and observational skills to study the geography of our village and simple mapwork to describe routes to and from school. Today we are off to visit Pittville Park, a very different park. Not only will the children be discussing the differences and similarities between Southrop and Pittville but they will also be tree spotting, bird watching, stopping for ice-cream and a play but also discussing ways to improve our village park alongside really getting to know the role of a park keeper.

In English, we are thoroughly enjoying reading about Percy and all of his adventures but we are also delving further and further into non-fiction texts. The children are now experts in what nonfiction texts are and they can tell you the features of a non-fiction text, therefore we thought it would be only fair for all of the Cygnets to produce their own information book based on a park animal, plant, tree or flower. The children have started planning, physically making their books and will be writing and illustrating these books over the next week. It is wonderful to see the children happy, content, engaged and ready to learn!

In Science the children have been using the Percy stories as a starting for an investigation about different materials. At the end of term the children will be designing a waterproof outfit for Percy. Yesterday the children read Badger’s Bath. The badger has spilt a lot of his bath water onto the floor around him, the children had to find the best material to clean up the spill. It was the perfect weather to play with water!

In Mathematics the children have been focused on telling the time. The Year 2 children have made fantastic steps in their learning and can tell the time to 5 minutes quite accurately now. The Year 1s have been looking at the different ways to tell time and are telling the time o’clock and half past. All children would benefit from telling the time regularly on an analogue clock or watch so please keep asking the time at home.

Reception Update

Reception have made the most of the glorious sunshine (until today!) and taken every opportunity to be outside. We are very much enjoying learning about parks with Percy the Park Keeper and are each writing our own non-fiction books on park animals. Our little garden is our Reception Park for this term. We have swept it and weeded, cleared the flower beds, cleaned out the sand and water trays and every day keep it spick and span. We had a park opening party during Golden Time at the end of last week and invited the Cygnets to come and play. The Park looked splendid and the afternoon was all the more fun with Mrs Tipple’s bubble machine and biscuits, cakes and juice. There will be lots of ideas to bring back from our visit to Pittville Park.

 

Here are some pictures from their very soggy day.

Term 5, Week 5 and 6

The children have been creating their own castles.  They started off learning different skills to make towers, turrets, drawbridges, doors, arrow holes and windows. They then decided who to work with and started designing their castles, quickly moving onto the construction stage where the children put into practise their newly acquired skills.  They finished off the project by taking a photograph and evaluating their building. 

In English all the children have been using the story The Queen’s Knickers.  They have designed their own pair of knickers for the queen, thought about what might happen if she came to visit, written some questions, and a newspaper report.  They also wrote an information poster about castles, making sure they had added a diagram, labels and a fact box.

In Maths there has been a complete focus on fractions.  The children have been finding ¼, ½, 2/4, and 1/3 of shapes and numbers.  The Year 2s have also been thinking about equivalent fractions.  Ask the children to show you their skills with a chocolate bar!

Our lovely RE lessons have continued on the field after PE.  The children have been learning about how they should care for others and the world and why this matters.  They thought about friendship and families, and have learnt about what Christians believe about caring for the world through the story of the Good Samaritan and the Creation story. They learnt how Hindus show they care for their brothers and sisters during the festival of Raksha Bandhan.  They also learnt how Mother Teresa cared for the world. 

The children’s unit on Turrets and Tiaras has concluded with a trip to Sudeley Castle today… we will pop some more photos on the website later of their trip!

 

Reception Update

Reception have been having so much fun with English.  Continuing with our term topic, Turrets and Tiaras, we have explored everything about the Queen using The Queen’s Knickers, by Nicholas Allan, and information books.  We know the Queen lives in Buckingham Palace and has homes across the British Isles, she enjoys riding, broadcasts to us all at Christmas, has garden parties, walks with her corgis and had happy times aboard the royal yacht, Britannia. We all decorated some knickers especially for the Queen and there is a delightful string across the classroom - some sparkly, some themed and some collaged.  This week we have looked at poems by AA Milne - The King’s Breakfast and Buckingham Palace.  We had lots of fun chanting the lines, know all about Alderney cows and very much enjoyed watching the changing of the guard on the classroom screen.

 

In Maths we have made lots of addition stories using First, Then and Now.  We are beginning to think about subtraction in the same way too.  We are counting well beyond 20 and using number bonds wherever possible.  We have tussled with tangrams and made pictures using 2D shapes. 

 

We have finished our castles in DT, ticking off important criteria such as strong construction, doors and windows.  All are very different but each one is super.  Our trip to Sudeley Castle will be a fabulous finale to a great topic and a fun way to mark the half term break.

 

Term 5, Week 2 and 3

“Another best day ever!” A quote from a child yesterday! The last fortnight has been packed with so much learning and obviously so much fun. Yesterday the children had a STEM morning learning about coding and robots. The children were able to practise their computing, design and maths skills which resulted in a moving and talking robot that could travel across the classroom or along a map.

The children have been thinking about different habitats. They have been using their investigation skills and research skills to discover what lives where and why. They have started to create their posters about these habitats in mixed aged groups. There has been some fantastic work and the Year 2 children have really stood out as fab leaders.

In English the children have been thinking about fairy tales and traditional tales. They have looked at a range of texts, recognising that the stories are not always the same and found other versions of the stories in different settings. Snow White in New York was a favourite. They are now creating their own traditional tale based on The Three Billy Goats Gruff.

In Maths the children have been thinking about pattern, shape and movement. Ask you children the best way to remember clockwise and anticlockwise, or left and right. They have also been practising their sharing and grouping skills.

On top of all this they have also had a hula hooping lesson, swimming, balanceability, PE at the field, ocarina and Numbers Day!

Reception Update

Reception have made the most of our temperate sun and rain. We have been very much enjoying Jack and the Beanstalk, and as well as telling and retelling the story in our Reception garden, we have planted beans and sunflowers (in the photo here) and are eagerly watching and waiting for shoots. We have threaded green pasta tubes onto spaghetti stems, laced golden harps, and rolled a super long stalk pressed with forty leaves from playdough.

Now we are listening to the story of Jim and the Beanstalk, a ‘sequel’ to Jack’s adventures. We have been reflecting on the sad Giant who is toothless, short-sighted and bald but is happily assisted by kind young Jim as he scales up and down the beanstalk visiting the oculist, dentist and wigmaker. We will measure our Giant’s head for glasses, new teeth and a wig and will write a thank you letter to Jim from the delighted, fully restored Giant.

We have had super ‘extra’ activities. We all picked up hula hooping very easily with great guidance and swung the colourful rings in games and challenges. The sun shone on us until the skies opened and we were sent inside by hailstones! Numbers Day was great fun. Having chalked around each other in the playground and measured and compared heights, we marched off to the fields and made shapes with flowers, leaves and twigs. After lunch, the Swans used their capacity learning to mix smoothies in the playground and we counted coins to pay for them. Thursday was coding robots - wow! First, we built a chicken with the clever robot blocks and then programmed it to move and turn and cluck. Next, we used the blocks to make a cat and steered it on a course around a map. It was a lot of fun and a fabulous all-round learning experience.

 

Upcoming trip to Sudeley Castle and Gardens

We will visit Sudeley Castle Gardens on Friday, 28th May. Sudeley Castle and Gardens, is setting the scene for a mighty migration of elephants grazing the grounds. We will get to see all thirty enormous, life-sized elephant sculptures from a trail through the gardens. We will be some of the first people to see the elephants before they mobilise to form a 100-strong herd in London's royal parks this summer. We will enjoy the beautiful gardens and will picnic beside the wonderful adventure playground that stands tall in castle form enhancing our knowledge from this term's topic, Turrets and Tiaras. Please ensure your children have clothes appropriate for the unpredictable weather. Thanking you, Mrs Tipple x

 

Term 5 Week 2 30/04/21

Our topic is Turrets and Tiaras.  The children are learning about kings and queens through British history and different types of castles.  They will also be focusing on nursery rhyme and fairy tales.  The children will be learning about the different characters in fairy tales, heroes and villains and making sure they add wonderful adjectives to their own versions.

The Year 1 and 2 children have started their swimming lessons.  Although there was some anxiety about this the children have been amazing and the swimming teachers can see some great learning too.  Please be mindful that all the children are doing a lot of sport this term so please make sure they have their water bottles, sun hats and sun cream in school.

In Maths the children will be focusing on in grouping (multiplication) and sharing (division), looking at parts of shapes and number (fractions) and making sure they know their left and right.  Ask them about the special trick!

In science we are thinking about what makes us ‘alive’.  The children have loved the word excretion! The children will be learning about different life processes and habitats.

In RE the children are learning how they are all special and why Christians believe God loves all of his children.

We are hoping to visit Sudeley Castle.  The Kitchen Club started off this topic fabulously with a feast fit for kings and queens.  The children are also be learning to play the ocarina.  

Reception 

We are having great fun with our fabulous term topic, Turrets and Tiaras.  It is the perfect entry into an exploration of traditional tales.  We have read, re-read, acted, told and written the story of the Princess and the Pea, as well as given it our own twists, and enjoyed a rather tense rendition of Rapunzel at story time.  Now we can sing together again, we are enjoying nursery rhymes and have learned all the verses of Sing a Song of Sixpence.  We have the most beautiful Princess dresses and are playing castles outside in our special garden.  We have made sparkly crowns, playdough pies and pea cakes for the King and are integrating our Maths, counting out twenty at every opportunity.

Next week we will start on Jack and the Beanstalk.  Our castle will become the giant’s home with golden coins, eggs and harp.  We have already explored mixing greens and painted paper sheets ready to cut into beanstalk leaves to grow up to the classroom ceiling.  We will plant our own beans both inside and out in the garden and watch how they develop.

We are getting super active with Forest School, Balanceability and PE lessons up at the field.  We are a very busy, very lucky and very happy team

 

Pictures of: Southrop Castle -  enjoying a hoola hoop workshop - making castles in the clouds! 

Term 4 Week 1 26/02/21

The topic this term is “We Are Britain”, looking at the geography, traditions and values of our countries. In English we are learning how to write fantasy stories through sharing stories about Dragons. They are enjoying listening to, analysing and reviewing three books, The Dragon Machine, George and the Dragon and The Paper bag Princess. They will be exploring and using descriptive, imaginative language to describe characters, settings and plots. They will create their own fantasy books complete with writing, illustrations and a blurb. 

In Maths Y2 are looking at shape and Y1 number facts to 50.

Reception

The children are continuing their phonics work and are now starting to read – how exciting as a whole new world opens up! They are looking at the Stanley’s Stick story and making dens with sticks.

Term 3 Week 1 08/01/21

We all started our Amazing Africa topic with an African day.  The children in school arrived in a range of African animals and we saw some amazing photos of the children at home. The children are sharing this topic in school with the Swans.  They have been making animal and tribal masks, dance moves and drum music, and have been learning about significant African people.  In English the children have been learning about counting books based on Handa’s Surprise, these will be put together into a book when we are all back in school.  Our maths work has been focused on addition, subtraction, multiplication and division, with the reception children thinking about measuring.   It has been wonderful to have Mrs Tipple back and also having Mrs Williams teaching.

Term 2 Week 5 04/12/20

In Maths we have been using money – recognising coins, adding up the cost of items to buy and calculating change. Cygnets, why not have a go setting up a toy shop at home to reinforce what you have been learning at school? In English we have been continuing our work on the poetry of Edward Lear and writing stories in the style of Mrs Armitage and her bike. In Science with Mr Gordon we have been investigating which materials are waterproof, to make good umbrellas. In PE lessons at the hall with Miss Belcher have been devising a space dance routine. Much of the rest of our time has been taken up with rehearsals for the play.

Miss Davieseception Class

It has been great to be back in the Reception classroom again and learning together.  We are building our confidence with all things 4 and 5 and one more, one fewer in Maths. We have collected sets of items, counted each other on and off the bus and enjoyed well-known number rhymes.  

Reception has continued looking at traditional tales. Following The Three Billy Goats Gruff, the children have been building new homes for The Three Little Pigs and very much enjoyed the construction site outside, kitted with high vis jackets, red and white hazard tape, road traffic cones and new sand. The Three Bears’ cottage has settled cosily beside the book corner this week and been visited by Goldilocks. We have made porridge, mended bowls, designed new duvet covers and will be writing some full sentences with suggestions for how else Goldilocks might make amends.

We have camels, shepherds, an innkeeper and the star as roles in the Cygnets Christmas Play.  Everyone is learning their lines and enjoying rehearsals.  The next couple of weeks will be very busy but lots of fun.

Term 2 Week 1 06/11/20

What an exciting start to the new term, when a whole crew of astronauts arrived in the Cygnets! It has really enthused the pupils about the topic, if not the Smash mashed potato, the food of aliens, which they sampled on Monday! Since then we have been learning about the planets and listening to the Planets Suite by Holst. In Maths we are consolidating number facts. In English we have been writing further adventures for Baby Bear, based on the book Whatever Next by Jill Murphy. Science this term is the study of materials. In RE we are studying Festival Matters Gifts and Giving, studying festivals of giving in the Christian and Muslim faiths.

Term 1 Week 6 09/10/20

The Reception children have been very much enjoying telling us about themselves and their families.  There are super playdough cut outs of each of the groups andw e have all listend to careful explanations of homes, holidays and jobs.  I am pleased to say we all know each other very well now!  We have been matching and sorting in Maths.  How Uesful!  There have been brilliant suggestions for the presetnations of lunchtime cutlery and, at last, it looks like the brushes and pencils will have an easy-to-find system.  I am also very hopeful for a fantastic Friday Tidy.  Next week we will be going on a Bear Hunt and, in preparation, have started to collect Autumn in abudnace.  The classroom is looking especially colourful. 

Mrs Blackburn

It has been another busy week in the Cygnets classroom .... 

We have been having a Maths' focus this week.  The Year 2's concetnrating on place value and oclumn addition, using base ten to ensure they have a really good understadning of exchanging the tens!  The Year 1's have been busy thinking about subtraction using part, part whole models and counting back on number lines. 

The children ahve really enjoyed learning some new Maths games and I'm sure they will be happy to show you how to play greates number wins, roll it, draw it, write it and the snail race!  Learning maths whilst having plenty of fun has definitely been the order of the day! 

We have been lucky that the weather has held out enough for us to get out for PE this week and teh children have been focusing on the accuracy of their throwing skills as well as developing a great sporting attitdue. 

For our topic work this week the Year 1 and Year 2's have been continuing to learn about fossils and this week we had a history focus learning about Mary Anning.  In the afternoons this week we have all been busy recreating our own Literature festival, taking part in some of th eonline draw along with illustrators and enjoying listening to authors talking about some of their new books.  Each of our Claude the Dog illustrations was unique and special in its own way! 

Mrs Dawson

Week 2 10/9/20

What is under your feet?  That is our topic for this term! The children will be thinking about all the wonderful things that they would find if they just dug a little deeper, fossils, bones, insects, mud and lava.  They have made are start by looking at mini beasts, thinking about what is dead and alive.  In RE the children are thinking about God’s creations and what Christians think God is like.  The children have also been reading and writing letters.  In Maths the Year 1 children have been counting up to 100 and remembering how to write their numbers and Year 2 have been counting to 1000 and practising their skip counting in 2, 3, 5, and 10.  Reception children have had their first two days and they have enjoyed the new water tray, painting and number skittles.