Living and Learning: Being similar and being different

During our Living and Learning lesson, we thought about how we are all similar and how we are all different.

To help us to understand differences we enjoyed the story of Elmer the Elephant.

Though he might temporarily want to be just like all the other grey elephants, Elmer realises that being his own colourful self is far more enjoyable – and everyone loves him, just the way he is.

It’s OK to be different.

I like being me.

There is no one else like me. I am special!

The children recreated their own version of Elmer and each one is DIFFERENT!

Help at home by chatting to your child about uniqueness. We are creating our own large Elmer in the classroom and your child can add details about themselves to a template of an elephant.

This can be images of hobbies, a self portrait or whatever they feel makes them who they are.

Please return the finished elephants to school so they can be added to the large template.

Design and Technology: Fresh Fruit Salad

Yesterday, we all made a delicious, healthy fruit salad.

There were lots of skills on show during the preparation such as;

• peeling by hand
• draining through a colander
• segmenting
• claw grip (using a fork to secure the fruit)
• bridge hold
• measuring liquids
• mixing

Why not make this again at home and encourage your child to use the correct cookery skills.

Ingredients

(serves 6)

1 banana

1 apple

1 orange/satsuma

strawberries

seedless grapes

1 kiwi fruit

2 x 15ml spoons orange juice

Weekly Poem

Each week, the children listen to and enjoy a poem. We rehearse the verses daily and read it together. The class participate in short discussions about the text and any particular favourite words or phrases.

By recognising the patterns of rhythm and sound, used in poetry, helps to read using prosody. (reading aloud with fluency and expression)

In class, an adult will model good prosodic reading by reading aloud and adding emphasis to particular words and phrases which can really bring a text to life.

Once children have listened to the the adult example, they then practice reading aloud to one another, responding to the modeled cues. It has been fantastic to hear to the children repeating parts of the poem using  prosody effectively.

Here is the poem for the upcoming week .

Help at home by listening to the poem. Model reading it using some prosody and your child can echo read with you.

Cats 

Written by Eleanor Farjeon

Narrated by Mrs Freeman

Cats

Updated timetable

Please note the change to our PE days. These will now be on a Wednesday and a Friday morning. Our timetable for the next half term is below.

Safer Internet Day

As part of Safer Internet Day, Year 1 listened to a story all about staying safe whilst online. The children have learnt about what personal information is and why it is important to keep it private.

Smartie is a very happy penguin who receives a tablet for his birthday and the story is about the situations he finds himself in as he starts to use his new device. He finds a pop-up wanting him to spend money, his brother goes on his tablet and he also plays a game online too. The key message is to go to an adult for help. 

Following this learning, the class enjoyed making their own internet safety penguins and singing a very important song.

Help at home by talking to your child about the importance of internet safety and how essential it is to talk to someone you trust if you are ever unsure about an online issue.

Here are some resources to enhance this learning further.

What is Jessie and friends?

‘Jessie and Friends’ provides age appropriate, effective and fun learning opportunities which supports young children to enjoy safer, more positive online experiences throughout their lives. https://www.thinkuknow.co.uk/parents/jessie-and-friends-videos/

Here are some books that are a great buy, too.

Getting creative with classical music

Each Wednesday afternoon, Mrs Bald teaches music with Year 1. The children have enjoyed listening to and exploring a new piece of music by a British composer named Gustav Holst.

The class watched and listened to Mars by Gustav Holst, a British composer.

Through this music, the composer is telling a story all about the planet, Mars. The children shared their thoughts and asked a few questions.

I wonder if Mars is big or small?

I wonder what is happening on Mars?

Using drums and other instruments, Year 2 were asked to play them in different ways such as a really smooth way or by drawing circles on the drum with their palms.

After listening to the piece of music again, the children thought about how they would travel to planet Mars.

Of course, by rocket!

We must prepare for take off!

3, 2,1 …………………….

Help at home by listening to Mars by Gustav Holst with your child and discuss the instruments that can be heard.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/articles/14ZjT5yjnKQRdKVsqrLzk1x/mars-from-the-planets-by-gustav-holst

Abbey House Museum

The children represented our school impeccably and we feel very proud of them all. During the workshop, the class learnt about what life was like for people 100 years ago and how household items have developed over time.

Help at home by chatting to your child about the visit.

• What can they remember?
• What did they learn?
• Which part of the museum was their favourite?
• Can they name some differences in the ways people lived 100 years ago compared to now?
• How did people wash their clothes and warm their homes?
• What were the differences between rich and poor households?

Science: We are biologists!

History – Shopping in the past

History is the focus of our topic learning this half term. During this topic, we will be ordering significant events in our lives and we’ll be discussing them using historical vocabulary.

During this exciting topic, the children will discuss how significant things have changed over time: the food that we eat, the shops that we visit and how trade has changed. 

Below is the vocabulary that will be  learnt and referred to throughout the lessons.

Help at home by talking about what shopping was like when you were younger and ask grandparents for their memories too.

Have shops changed?

How were items paid for?

Living and Learning: I know what a drug is.

Happy New Year to you all.

We have been so impressed with the all the children this week. They have returned to school with super learning attitudes.

In Living and Learning, the class learnt about things that can go into our bodies and onto our skin and how this can make people feel.

After drawing around one of the children and labelling the outline,  we thought about  all the different things that might go into or onto a person’s body.
• What things might go into the mouth?
• What might go into the nose or ears?
• What things might go onto the skin?

Next, working in small groups, the children sorted picture cards according to whether the image shown was helpful or harmful, or whether some can be both helpful and harmful to our bodies.

Helpful: fresh air, water, sunscreen.

Harmful: smoke, berries from the garden may be harmful if we don’t know what they are or if they are safe to eat.

Both helpful and harmful: hygiene and cleaning products and medicines must be used safely otherwise they can be harmful; if someone eats too many sweets or drinks too much (fizzy drink) it can damage their teeth or make them feel ill; doctors and nurses use syringes to give injections that help bodies stay healthy but it is dangerous to pick up syringes if we see them lying on the ground.

Things that go onto bodies: make-up, clothes, moisturiser/cream, water, tattoos, hugs/kisses, sand, jewellery, animal hair/licks, smoke, plasters, bubbles, medicines

Things that go into bodies: food, water, fizzy drinks, sweets, medicines, fresh air, insect bites, injections, smoke

Help at home

It is important that young children begin to develop an understanding of drugs. Talk to your child about medicines – they’re helpful drugs, but only when used by the right people in the right way.

Here are a few scenarios for you to discuss with your child.

1.
Amrit has eaten too much ice cream and is feeling a bit sick.
a. Eat more ice cream
b. Drink water and have a rest
c. Jump up and down
d. Something else?

2.
Amrit’s skin has a rash — with little red spots.
a. Don’t tell anyone
b. Use some of mum’s face cream on it
c. Go with an adult to see a doctor
d. Something else?

3.

Amrit has dropped a can of black sticky liquid in the shed — it is spilt on the floor.
a. Leave it
b. Clean it up
c. Tell an adult
d. Something else?

4.
Amrit has fallen over and has a
grazed knee.
a. Wash it with water
b. Rub a leaf on it
c. Put washing-up liquid on it
d. Something else?
5.
Some shampoo has gone in Amrit’s eye by accident at
bath time.
a. Wash the eye with water
b. Rub the eye
c. Hold a wet flannel on the eye
d. Something else?