Whatever Next!
This week our focus story has been another fabulous book by Jill Murphy
We took our teddies and space helmets into space in our rockets. We had a lovely picnic and saw lots of things on the way too.
Can we go to the moon now? – Blossom
Look it’s an Owl, it’s nocturnal- Elliott
We need to have our picnic now, I’ll get the food – J
I’ve got some watermelon- Avery
Oh no it’s raining, we need our puddlesuit- Oria
We need to go back now to get our bath beacause we are dirty- T
Big rocket- Tate
Help at home: Take a journey to the moon, what will you see?
If you have any empty boxes at home you could decorate it and take your grown-up’s on a journey. Don’t forget to be back in time for your bath before bed.
Have a lovely weekend!
The Nursery Team
Putting our gymnastic skills to the test!
This half-term, our focus in PE is gymnastics. Over the last few weeks, we have been working on some key skills/concepts needed to develop our fundamental movement skills further. Here’s some of the skills we’ve learnt:
- balance
- movement (high and low, fast and slow, moving to a rythm)
- flexibility
- strength
- jumping (how to start and finish safely, along with a variety of jumps)
This week, we utilised the equipment in our school hall and decided to put all our learnt skills to the test! The children had a brilliant time with this – they tested out their skills and had lots of freedom to add challenge to each activity. All children participated safely and worked together as a team. Below are some pictures of our session.
Help at home:
Can you identify and skills (from our bullet point list) being used in the pictures? Talk with your child about the key skills needed in gymnastics and how to develop them.
Living and Learning – I know there are a range of emotions
This week we have been thinking about different emotions that we experience and about how it is normal to experience a wide range of emotions. We used the characters from the Inside Out films to help us identify different emotions and consider how they can vary in strength.
We will continue our learning about emotions to reflect on how each emotion makes us feel and what we can do to manage those feelings if they become too much.
Help at home
It is always great to talk about emotions but if you would like something more structured to support your conversations you might enjoy using this workbook from MindMate:
Year One Topic Review
We ended this week with a review of our previous topic unit, The Great Fire of London. The children were thrilled to welcome some of you to join in the fun and take part in our Great Fire of London quiz.
Everyone worked brilliantly in their teams, answering questions about key events, Samuel Peyps and life in 1666. The children impressed us all with their knowledge and enthusiasm. They proudly showed off their learning, explaining how the fire started, why it spread and how it was eventually stopped!
The children also had the opportunity to show off the painting they have been working on in their new topic, Art. Sharing their knowledge of the artist George Seurat and the style of art he created, pointillism.
Thank you to the parents who joined us—it was lovely to see such teamwork and encouragement. This event was a wonderful celebration of the children’s hard work!
Help at Home:
- Visit your local library to find books about the Great Fire of London.
- Explore online resources together, like videos or interactive timelines.
- Practice timeline skills by talking about events in your child’s own life.
Topic Review – Art Open Classroom
We loved welcoming parents to our topic review where we looked at the work we have done so far this half-term in art. Having reviewed the art we have already created using white pencil on black paper and by using different pens on tracing paper, we trialled a new process using carbon paper.
We will soon be combining all the different processes to make a collage.
Philosophy Friday – 29.11.24
Philosophy is thinking deeply.
Every Friday, we start our day with some time to wonder and ponder.
We’ve a different question each week – there’s no obvious right/wrong answer and no underlying moral message. All children are given the opportunity to contribute their ideas and give reasons for their thoughts.
This week’s question related to our current topic:
This half-term, we’re artists. We’ll develop our art knowledge and skills.
This question sparked some interesting discussion and debate.
It doesn’t even have to be good. You can do anything you want as long as you had a good time doing it.
– Freddy
It’s always going to look nice to someone. I believe you should do whatever you want.
– Izabella
If every painting looked like something, it could be a bit boring. It could just be colours and shapes.
– Olly
It’s the colours that make a painting beautiful.
– Ellis
Our oracy focus this half term is:
Help at home by discussing this week’s Philosophy Friday question with your child. Can you find any examples of art that don’t immediately jump out as resembling something?
PE – Gymnastics
We have been working hard in Year 5 and Year 6 developing our gymnastic skills. We have been performing many jumps and balances and putting together short routines – all whilst maintaing control.
Today we used more of our gymnastic equipment and transferred our skills. We explored, experimented and created ways of moving around the space available.
Help at home – We have some amazing gymnasts in our class. If your child is keen to join a club outside of school, we have many gymnastic clubs in and around Wetherby. Why not give them a go?
Topic – Art
LO – I can use visual and tactile elements to achieve my intentions
In topic this week, we have been looking at artwork by Orla Kiely. We have been annotating her work highlighting visual and tactile elements, such as colour, line, repeated patterns, symmetry and shape.
We then created our own mono prints using a leaf design. The children really enjoyed the activity and showed off their creative sides. The work produced was superb (much better than Mr Kilner’s).
Help at home – Look at designs by Orla Kiely. Ask your child to highlight any repeated patterns or lines of symmetry. Which designs do they prefer, why? How do the designs make them feel?
Living and Learning – I can talk about my feelings
This week’s Living and Learning statement is:
We discussed a range of emotions and the importance of recognising and talking about them.
Emotions are feelings – they can change all the time. We all experience a whole range of emotions, from anger to happiness to fear. This is ok and normal.
Emotions and feelings are our mental health.
We talked about how we can read people’s faces and body language to help us understand how they might be feeling. The children had a go at showing what these emotions might look like.
Everyone has the right to ask for help. If you need help with your emotions, or you notice someone else might need help with their emotions, speak to a trusted adult.
Help at home by discussing this learning with your child. Encourage your child to talk about their feelings – do they know who to speak to at school if they need help with their emotions?
Why not try completing this emotions chart with your child to highlight how emotions can change over the course of a day or event?
Living and Learning: I can talk about my feelings
This week, we’ve been exploring emotions and how they shape our feelings. We’ve talked about how emotions can change all the time and how it’s completely normal to experience a wide range of them—from anger and fear to happiness and excitement. Emotions are an important part of our mental health, helping us understand ourselves and others.
During our circle time on Monday, we focused on specific emotions: happiness, excitement, worry, and tiredness. Together, we reflected on how each of these emotions feels in our own experiences.
- “I felt worried when I stayed at my cousin’s house, and my mum wasn’t there.”
- “I feel happy when I come to school because I love learning.”
- “I felt excited when I went on holiday.”
- “I felt happy when I had hot chocolate while feeling unwell.”
Today, we became “emotion detectives”! We practiced identifying emotions by studying pictures. We carefully examined facial expressions and body language to decide which emotion best fit each character. It was a fun and insightful way to learn how to recognise feelings in others!
Afterward, we all took turns demonstrating how different emotions might look and feel through facial expressions and body language.
proud
surprised
fear
nervous
sad
happy.
Help at home: Take moments throughout the day to check in with your child and ask how they’re feeling. Encourage them to think about their emotions—what might that feeling look like? Does it have a colour, shape, or even a sound? This can help them better understand and express their emotions.