This week’s bible story
Jesus in the temple: Matthew 21:12-13
Have ever been really angry? Is there a difference between being angry because we can’t get our own way and being angry because something really isn’t right or fair? Can they think of a story when Jesus was angry?
The following story probably happened during the week leading up to Easter. Jesus had just entered Jerusalem on a donkey. Crowds of people came to see him and cheered him as a hero. Many powerful people were worried about how popular Jesus had become and some didn’t like his teaching.
The Temple in Jerusalem was a place of pilgrimage, especially at the time of the Passover. People would bring offerings, often of animals, as symbols of thanksgiving or of sorrow for past sins. These animals could be bought at the entrance to the Temple. It seems likely that the people who sold the animals, the money-lenders or merchants of the story, were charging too much and cheating the poor. Jesus may have heard about this, although that is not recorded in the Gospels. listen carefully to the story and think about the following:
How they think Jesus is feeling.
What Jesus does.
What he says.
Read the story of Jesus in the temple.
Reflection:
How do you think Jesus was feeling?
What did he do?
What did he say?
Was Jesus putting himself in danger by expressing his anger? are surprised to hear a story in which Jesus expresses anger. Why do they think he was angry? Are there times when it is right to show we are angry? Is it right to be angry about injustice or unfairness? What was Jesus trying to change by his anger?
Think about a time when you have been angry. Was it right to be angry?
Prayer:
God of all creation,
Help us as we try to understand all our feelings.
Help us to recognize when we are angry
and to see when things we do or say make other people angry.
Help us to see the difference between anger that is selfish
and anger that seeks justice for others or ourselves.
Help us to choose our actions with care, courage and love.
Amen.
This week’s bible story
Jacob steals Esau’s blessing: Genesis 27
The bible says that Peace comes through forgiveness and repentance (saying sorry).
Read the story about Jacob and Esau and see how they were not at peace with each other. After Jacob had stolen Esau’s birth right, he ran away and the brothers lived apart for many years.
Reflection:
How could he be at peace with his brother, when he had done so many wrong things? Would they be able to live peacefully? When they met, Jacob tried to give Esau gifts, but Esau just forgave him. This is a beautiful example of peace between two brothers after years of being angry and apart!
Prayer:
Dear God,
Thank you that there are examples in the bible where we can see peace between family and friends. Help us to be at peace with our friends and family.
Amen
This week’s bible story
‘Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you.’ John 14:27
What do you understand by the word ‘peace’.
The Oxford English Dictionary lists various definitions for the word ‘peace’.
– One definition is ‘freedom from disturbance; tranquillity’. Can you use this definition of peace in a sentence. For example, ‘The teacher wanted to have a few minutes’ peace in the staffroom.’
– Another definition is ‘a state or period in which there is no war or a war has ended’. Can you use this definition of peace in a sentence? For example, ‘After the Second World War ended, there was a time of peace.’
In 1981, 37 years ago, an organization called the United Nations set up a very special day called the International Day of Peace. The event is observed by people all over the world on 21 September every year. The aim of the day is to encourage everyone to commit to peace, despite there being many differences among us. People observe the day in various ways. Some people have special parties; others bring everyone together to eat in peace. Some people put up peace poles; others organize peace workshops. One thing that is common to all of the different groups of people is that they aim to have one minute of silence at midday.
The world is spinning on its axis in space. As the world turns, midday occurs at different times in different parts of the world. For example, when it is midday in Paris in France, it will be 11 a.m. in the UK because Paris is one hour ahead of us. When it is midday in the UK, it will be 11 a.m. in Dakar in Senegal, West Africa. This is because Dakar is one hour behind us. Show the maps above to illustrate. This time difference means that different countries will be observing the one-minute silence at different moments across time zones. The idea is to create a ‘peace wave’ that moves around the globe.
Each International Day of Peace has a special theme. In 2018, the theme celebrates the seventieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. When the declaration (agreement) was written 70 years ago, it stated that everybody in the world should have equal rights to life, freedom and security. It didn’t actually say that everyone had the right to peace. This year, it is hoped that the International Day of Peace will again send out a clear message about the importance of peace.
Time for reflection
The International Day of Peace encourages people all over the world to think about the importance of peace. In many parts of the world, people are living in situations where war and unrest make peace seem unlikely or even impossible.
It may seem that we can do little to help change the world. However, each of us can do things that encourage peace in our own small parts of the world. All of us can help to create peace in school or in our homes. Each of us can try to live peacefully with one another. Each of us can listen to other people’s opinions and learn about our differences.
Think about what peace means in the context of the school.
– Is our school a peaceful place?
– Are there things that we can do to make school more peaceful?
– How could we make our classrooms more peaceful? What about our playgrounds? What about dinner times?
We may feel like we can’t make a massive difference to the whole world, but each of us can do little things that together make a big difference.
Prayer
Dear God,
We pray for people in parts of the world where there is no peace,
Where there are wars and unrest.
We pray for peace.
We pray for the people we come into contact with each day.
Please help us to live in peace with them.
Help us to recognize that we are all different and that everyone’s opinions matter.
Amen.
Marvellous minibeasts
Literacy
This week, the children had fun writing their own versions of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. They came up with some fantastic ideas.
BI – The Very Hungry Bee
CW – The Very Hungry Ant
CW – The Very Hungry Worm
HD – The Very Hungry Spider
BA – The Very Hungry Dragonfly
Next week, we’ll study the artist Alexander Calder and create our own representations of his butterfly work.
BREAKING NEWS!
On Monday, Mr Atkins brought us a box – it was our caterpillars! The children were so excited. When they arrived, they were amazed at how tiny they were. Throughout the next few weeks, the children will be observing them on a daily basis and writing in their caterpillar diaries. This week, we’ve been learning about the life cycle of a butterfly.
Ask your child if they can remember the four stages of the life cycle. 
The minibeast learning continued in the areas…
We went looking for minibeasts in our outdoor area. We talked about what they look like and their habitats.
We painted symmetrical butterflies.
We used natural objects to create minibeasts.
Diary dates
Friday 13 May – School closed: training day
Friday 27 May – Jubilee celebrations in school
Thursday 23 June – Moving from Reception to Year 1 transition meeting. This one is in person – not by Zoom (finally!).
Tuesday 05 July – Sports Day (morning)
Friday 08 July – PTA Summer Fair
Home-Link Challenge
I hope you all have a happy and healthy bank holiday.
See you on Tuesday!
This week’s bible story
Jesus calms a storm: Mark 4:35-41
Have a think about what peace means to you. Is it a time without conflict or is it calmness? Today, we’re going to hear a story about Jesus and his disciples who were stuck on the Sea of Galilee in the middle of a storm.
Time for reflection:
Think about the times when it seems like you’re in the middle of a storm; perhaps when there are arguments or when things seem confusing and difficult or when things are frightening. Think of Jesus being there, saying, Peace, be still. Take a moment now to hear those words, and enjoy the peace they bring.
Prayer:
Dear God,
Help us to remember, even when we’re in the middle of a storm and life seems hard, you are always there to help us feel peace.
Amen
Welcome back!
I hope you all had a lovely Easter break.
It was lovely to see lots of smiling faces when I opened the classroom door on Tuesday.
Literacy
This week, we’ve been reading The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle. To help them remember the order of story, the children made story maps. Next week, we’ll be getting creative with our writing. They’ll have a go at making their own versions. To make our learning more exciting, we’re hoping a special delivery comes next week… watch this space!
Maths
This week, we continued to focus on the purpose of counting – to find out ‘how many’ objects there are. The children revisited the concept of cardinality – the idea that the last number in the count tells us how many things there are altogether. While consolidating their understanding of the word pattern embedded within most of our number names, they also had fun hearing and practising the key differences in the number names when counting to 100!
A key focus this week, has been to develop their confidence in counting strategies when counting larger number of objects, including things that cannot be moved. On Wednesday, Gary (our counting puppet) found it really difficult to count the children when they were sat on the carpet – he kept forgetting who he counted! The children came up with some super counting strategies!
LW – Sit down when Gary taps you on the head.
PB – Gary could tap us on the head.
MC – We could stand in a circle.
BI – We could stand in a straight line.
The children had a go at using these strategies when collecting/counting their of objects.
PE
The children started learning how to skip. They had lots of fun using the big rope!
Here are some more highlights from this week…
Home-Link Challenge
This week’s bible story
11 I have told you these things so that you can have the true happiness that I have. I want you to be completely happy. 12 This is what I command you: Love each other as I have loved you. John 15: 11-12
Have a think about an occasion when you have argued with someone and found it difficult to resolve.
Do you know of any conflicts or wars taking place anywhere in the world? Unfortunately, conflicts are continuously occurring as humans try to share the world.
Whether an argument occurs between two people or between nations, the situation is still a conflict. Having conflicts is part of being human. If we did not have differences of opinion, we would never see anything in a new light or change a view that we have wrongly held. However, what is extremely important is the way in which a conflict is handled. If conflicts between large groups of people get out of hand, they can become bigger and bigger until they become wars. The way in which we manage conflict can enable people who have different opinions to work peacefully together for the better.
When we think of peace we often think of:
– freedom from war
– freedom from disputes
– freedom from worry and anxiety
– peace of mind
– quietness, silence, stillness
In the Bible, in Matthew 5.6-8, it says that people who work for peace are happy. In John 15.11-12, Jesus says that we will be happy if we care for others.
Most world religions value the importance of peace.
Reflection:
How could you contribute to peace around the world? Maybe you could try harder to listen when someone has a different opinion to your own. Maybe you could walk away if you feel angry with someone. There are many little things that we can do to contribute to the peace of the world.
Prayer
Dear God,
Thank you for giving us the ability to make others feel better.
Help us to share our lives together in peace.
Help us to love and care for those who need us.
Help us to care for our families and friends.
Please help us to play our parts in encouraging peace in the world.
Amen
Farm visit & Easter
As you all know, a mobile farm visited us on Monday. It was an amazing experience for all the children. They got to see a wide range of farm animals. Once we’d been introduced to all of the different animals, we got a chance to take a closer look. We were able to stroke them, brush them and, play fetch with Meg the sheepdog. 
This week, the children had fun completing Easter chilli challenges.
On Wednesday morning, the children were very excited when they saw some Easter treats in their baskets!
I hope you all have a fantastic half-term and a lovely Easter. Don’t forget to email me some pictures of what you get up to!
I look forward to seeing you all again on Tuesday 19 April!
Easter egg competition
It was great to see how creative the children had been when decorating the eggs. There were some amazing ideas – it made the judging very difficult! Well done.
This week’s bible story
Jesus is friends with Zacchaeus: Luke 19: 1-10
Have you ever heard the story of Burglar Bill – Bill goes out every night. Getting into houses through open windows and taking things. Until one night, Bill found a baby, and that changed his whole life …
There is a Bible story about a man who stole from other people. He took extra money when he gave them their tax bills and became very rich on all the money that he stole. Zacchaeus was a little man and that small people can’t see in crowds. Read the story of Zacchaeus to find out what happened to him.
Reflection:
Jesus loved everyone when he lived on the earth. It didn’t matter how bad people were, Jesus was always there for those who needed him. This is true for us too – no one is so bad that God doesn’t love them. And the more time we spend with God – praying, thinking about him, finding out about him, the more we want to be like Jesus; kind, helpful and good. Just like Zacchaeus, Burglar Bill changed his ways and tried to be more like Jesus by loving those around him. Even though Burglar Bill and Zacchaeus made the wrong choice, God forgave them and continued loving them.
Prayer:
Dear God,
Thank you that Jesus loved Zacchaeus even when he wasn’t making the right choices. Help us to love all of those around us.
Amen