Inspiring Arctic Expeditions
This week we have learned so much about the polar regions. Looking at the habitat for animals and how they are suited for life in their natural environment has lead to interesting conversations. We have looked at explorers who were the first to reach the South Pole and imagined that we were going on an expedition too.
You have to wear warm clothes so you don’t freeze.-Charlie
You might get to meet a penguin. It might have a baby egg.- Lewi
You will need to pack lots of food and a camera-Eti
We have also watched a video and read news articles about ‘Polar Preet’ (Captain Preet Chandi) the first woman of colour to travel solo to the South Pole. Her inspiring mission finished this January! Follow the link to her website to find out more about her:
We wrote a list of ten things we might see on our expedition. The children’s phonic knowledge is increasing all of the time. The process of hearing sounds in words and writing the correct corresponding grapheme is strengthening and speeding up. Every child is a writer in Reception!
Rainbow Class swam for the first time. We are so proud of our swimmers. They were so confident to get into the pool. We will continue to swim on our rotation every Wednesday.
Identity Day.
Today we have spoken about our choice of outfit, our hobbies, talents, families, likes and dislikes. Mrs Kopiczko is from Poland and she educated us on what Poland is famous for. The children were utterly intrigued.
Have a look at what else we have been up to this week.
Home-link
Can you use your phonic knowledge to write a list of 5 items? Perhaps a shopping list? Take a photograph of your list and send it to our email address.
Say Hello to the Snowy Animals!
We’ve continued our learning on the polar regions this week, by looking at animals you might find in The Arctic. We were introduced to some of these animals through our focus story, Say Hello to the Snowy Animals by Ian Whybrow and Ed Eaves.
We looked at where we would find the Arctic on a map and globe and saw that it was the opposite side of the globe to the Antarctic. We looked at Antarctica and the South Pole last week, as it featured in our story Lost and Found.
Animal observations…
We’ve been observing penguins and polar bears on zoo webcams and pre-recorded videos. We discussed how the zoo environment is different to their environment in the wild. We observed what they look like, how they move and what they like to do in their enclosures.
Swimming…
Sunshine class loved their first swimming session on Wednesday. Rainbow are really looking forward to their lesson next week! Don’t forget, PE days have changed to Wednesdays and Fridays. Children need to wear PE kits on both days and remember to bring your swimming kit on your days:
Sunshine – 12 Jan, 26 Jan, 9 Feb
Rainbow – 19 Jan, 2 Feb, 16 Feb
Dancing…
In PE on Wednesday, Rainbow class watched a short piece of ballet- Waltz of the Snowflakes from The Nutcracker. Afterwards, they were asked to name features of the dance/scene/music. We spoke about the movements and what story we thought the dancers were telling:
“I saw running on their tiptoes”- Ella F
“I saw twirling”- Sofia
“They were jumping back”- Poppy D
“They grow bigger and bigger”- Max
“Bells jingling”- Jack
“They had flowers I think”- Vinnie
“I think they are dancing about snowing ‘cause there’s snow falling”- Charlie
“It like Lost and Found- the penguin is lonely!”- Lewi
In the hall, we practiced movements we had seen. We walked around on our tip-toes (great for our balance and core strength) and made sure that when we moved our arms up and down, they were “floaty” and “graceful”, just like the ballerinas! We moved quicker, to tell the story of the snow falling heavier and twirled to show the snowflakes drifting down from the sky. We combined a few of the moves to create a short dance together.
Can your child show you some of the graceful movements from our snowflake dance?
And more…
Take a look at some more fantastic learning from this week:
eBooks…
Thank you to those that managed to get online this week and read your child’s eBook with them. A new book is issued each Friday. This will be a book your child is familiar with, from their reading in class.
There is a ‘collinsebooks’ app that is available to download on Apple and Android devices.
Please let us know if you are having trouble accessing your book at home.
Home-link challenge…
This week, we have completed our phase 2 sounds in phonics. As well as your eBook, we have sent home a number of additional word book sheets. Please practice these at home as usual. If your child is struggling to concentrate on reading at home, try turning it into a game! Here are some ideas:
- Hide and seek- Take 5 or 6 word book words, write them on a piece of paper and hide them around the room for your child to find. They need to read the word as they find it!
- Tricky word detective- How many times can you find a tricky word on the page/in the book?
- Hear it, find it- ‘Sound out’ the sounds of a word you are looking for first, then ask your child to point to it on the page. Your child may then feel more confident to repeat the word back to you, first segmenting the sounds and then blending independently.
Little Wandle has some great resources for parents, including videos and information sheets. Click here to find out more about supporting reading at home.
Diary Dates…
Friday 28 January- School Nursing Team, Reception classes.
Let’s get swimming!
We have finally had children from Reception and Key Stage 1 swimming in our own pool! Two teaching assistants are now trained swimming instructors and each class has had their first lesson this week. There were some nervous children but also lots of excitement.
I loved going with my class.
I have never been swimming but I liked it.
I can already swim but liked going and being active with my friends.
Barwick Maypole celebration – dancers wanted
The Barwick Maypole Committee (barwickmaypolecommittee@hotmail.com) are looking for primary school aged children to dance at the maypole celebration this year. Please contact the committee on the email address above and they will let you know about rehearsals and how to join in the fun!
Lost and Found
It has been great to see all the children this week and hear about their magical Christmas experiences.
The weather has definitely matched up to our new topic this half term – Fire and Ice.
In literacy, we have been reading the story Lost and Found.
We began by using the title and front cover to make predictions.
I think they might find a pirate ship. Leo
I think they fell off a boat and they have to swim home. Jacob
Someone might find them and bring them home. Lucille
It might be about getting lost at sea and they have to find their way home. Norah
We created a story map and actions to enable us retell the story.
Can your child spot key events in these story maps?
In Maths, we have explored numbers to five. We have used Numicon to partition numbers to five.
In the classroom this week, the children have enjoyed freeing the penguins from the ice, creating frozen themed narratives, drawing penguins, feeding the penguin words and lots of other fun learning activities.
Home Link
How fast can you melt an ice cube?
What happens if you put the ice somewhere hot/cold? What happens if you put salt on it? How different does it look after 10 minutes?
You may choose to record your results using drawings or use a timer.
Notices
New PE days – Wednesday and Friday
We are beginning our swimming lessons next week! Your child will go on alternate weeks. PE kit should be worn on both swimming and non-swimming weeks.
Swimming dates
Sunshine – 12 Jan, 26 Jan, 9 Feb
Rainbow – 19 Jan, 2 Feb, 16 Feb
Please ensure your child is in their PE kit on these days, including trainers.
New eBooks will be added to child’s online library on Friday. This will ensure they have read the text at least three times in school.
It’s Christmas
Christmas spirit has definitively been in full swing this week!
In Literacy, we have been reading the Christmas story. This has deepened our knowledge of how people celebrate traditions and special times.
The wise men followed the star.
Baby Jesus was born.
There were shepherds. They look after the sheep.
In Maths, we have used part, whole models to partition numbers up to five. We created number stories and represented them in a part whole model.
In Phonics, we have focused on reading words.
We have all enjoyed the Christmas themed areas. There has been dressing up, playing in fake snow, creating candy canes and many more. Just take a look…
We had a special visit from Professor Myers. She had a very special Christmas investigation for us.
How strong is a candy cane?
First, we made predictions. Then, we tested them out using lots of objects around the classroom.
We had an exciting video to watch. It was Santa! He had been in our classroom whilst we were all at home. Santa left a sack full of presents for us to share.
Our last day has been full of dancing and fun (and a little bit of sugar).
Have a wonderful Christmas break. We look forward to seeing you all in the new year.
We have sent home your child’s change of clothes to check and restock for next half term.
Festive Fun!
It has been fabulously festive this week!
Show time!…
We’ve recorded our Very First Christmas Play! The children all looked amazing in their costumes. Thank you to parents/carers for providing costumes and to those who helped their child/ren to learn their lines. We really hope you enjoy it!
The journey of a letter…
This week, we read The Jolly Christmas Postman by Allan and Janet Ahlberg. We’ve been learning what happens to our post after we put it in the letterbox and what we need to do to our letters, to make sure they get to their destination. We may have even created our own special post to be delivered to our homes (shhh!) Let us know if you receive anything special in the post!
Would your child like to watch The Journey of a Letter again? Click here to be taken to the video.
Christmas dinner…
On Thursday, Reception had their special Christmas dinner and got to visit a very magical Christmas wonderland in our school hall:
Maths…
In maths this week, we’ve been learning about the parts that make a whole. We started by thinking about the parts that go together to make a whole toy and the parts of us that make our whole body. Later in the week, we thought about the parts that make a whole number (the numbers within numbers) We will continue this learning into next week.
More festive fun…
Here are some more snapshots of our learning this week:
Next week, we will be learning why Christians celebrate Christmas, through the story of The Nativity.
Home-Link Challenge…
We’ve been learning about how some other countries around the world celebrate Christmas. See what your child can remember from our learning, by asking the following questions:
-Which country that we looked at, use paper lanterns as decorations at Christmas time?
-In Denmark, why is it so great if you find the almond in the rice pudding dessert? What does it mean?
-Which country have the legend of ‘La Befana’, the old, kind witch who helped the Three Wise Men on the way to find the baby Jesus?
-In Australia, what does Santa wear and what pulls his sleigh instead of the Reindeers?
Diary dates…
Monday 13 December- Links to Nursery & Reception’s production emailed.
Friday 17 December- Non-uniform and Reception Christmas party day.
Christmas fun in the hall
A massive thank you to Mrs Pennock and all the lunchtime staff who created a fabulous atmosphere for Christmas dinner day today. The children and staff had a lovely time!
Wake Up Shake Up (WUSU) Club
WUSU Club have had a successful series of sessions after school this half term. They have made two new dances for you to enjoy and learn:
Dance Monkey and and Christmas Special, One More Sleep
WUSU club will be continuing after Christmas. Keep an eye out for letters about after school clubs so you can decide if you’d like to join in with any.
Toys, toys and more toys.
Our interactive workshop with Abbey House Museum on Tuesday was very educational. We learned about how different toys work. Some push, pull, use gravity, or need squeezing. Identifying the differences between old and new toys was a new skill that we used too. Old toys are often made from different materials to our new toys. Can your child remember some of the differences between the two? The toys workshop was very inspiring and our children really enjoyed writing about the toys that they had seen.
In our learning environment, Santa’s workshop has been in full swing. Our elves have been building and wrapping toys. There have been many letters written to Santa this week too.
Our focus in Maths has been on ‘one more’ and ‘one less’ from 0-5. The children are so impressive! We are really proud of their learning.
A little flutter of snow and ice made for great learning about the seasons. What does your child notice when you go outside?
Home Link.
Can your child show you ‘one more and ‘one less’ with items in your home?
Reminders:
Please ensure your child has their Christmas play costume in school by Monday 06.12.21. We are having our dress rehearsal and filming early on in the week.
Our Christmas party day is Friday 17.12.21 Children are allowed to come to school in non-uniform. Please ensure that your child wears something that is appropriate for them to be comfortable in all day. (See school uniform policy if needed). Your child can also bring a few party type snacks to eat on the day. We kindly ask that all snacks are nut free. Children will still eat their usual school meal.