Say 'Hello'

For PSED this week we thought about how we welcome our friends. We talked about how people come from different countries and they use different words to say hello. We gave the star award to Alice because she has a very welcoming smile.
In Maths we had a focus on the number three. We used the language of more and less, we talked about odd and even numbers and we did lots of counting.
We were busy making our decorations to sell at the Christmas Fair. I hope to see lots of you there on Saturday between 11 and 2 when you can buy your own decoration as well as visiting Father Christmas.
In Literacy we all continued our work on 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff'. We thought about the ending of the story and what really happened to the Troll. Maddison thought he had floated down the river and out to sea and had arrived in South Africa! All the children had a go at writing some words or writing a sentence. The children are making great progress with their writing.
Our Home Learning this week is to look at the blog and comment on it. I am looking forward to reading your comments and sharing them with the class!

Where are you?

This week in Maths we have been learning to use positional language. We read the story of 'The Three Billy Goats Gruff' and we talked about where we could see the goats and the Troll. We used language such as next to, beside, between, to describe their position.
We all used the blocks to build bridges. There was some amazing 'Characteristics of Effective Learning' seen while they were building such as problem solving, concentrating and testing their bridges.
It was Philosophy day on Thursday and we had a philosophy session. We posed a question and the children had to think and discuss the answer. One of the questions was 'Should the big goat have pushed the Troll into the water?'
On Friday it was Children in Need and we all dressed up in spots and stripes. We decorated a big Pudsy Bear with our own patterns.
Our Home Learning this week is to talk about the different ways that we celebrate and record it. Perhaps you could draw a picture and write about it?

Starry Night

This week we have had an artist as our focus. We have looked at a picture by Van Gogh called 'Starry Night' and we all had a go making our own interpretation of the picture. Some children also took their learning further by drawing and painting the picture in their Learning Through Play.
We read the book 'Katie and the Starry Night' a story based on the paintings of Van Gogh and all the children did some writing. Some children also wrote their own book in Learning Through Play.
In Maths we have been looking at pattern. We have been learning to copy, continue and devise our own patterns. The Home Learning this week is to create your own repeating pattern and to photograph or draw it. May be you could also look for patterns when you are out and about.

Welcome back!

We have all had a relaxing break and are ready to begin our learning again. Many of our children completed the Autumn challenge over the half term. It's amazing how many different things will fit into a match box.
We have been learning one less this week in Maths. We have practised saying one less than...is... We have sung lots of counting rhymes and we used counting beads to help us with our learning. It would be fantastic if you could continue this learning on at home.
We went to Woodlands this week for the first time in Willow class. We had a very enjoyable afternoon collecting resources for a whole class collage. Some children were able to have a go at writing words using their phonics and we also looked at a book to help us match the leaves to the trees. We all also had fun in the Muddy Kitchen. Please see photos that are on our web site.
We have been practising throwing and catching with bean bags and balls in PE. Our home learning this week is to practise these skills at home with your child.

Africa!

We have had a fantastic cultural week this week. Stephan's family come from Kenya and he brought in some Kenyan beaded jewellery to show the class. We all made our own necklaces.
We had a focus on pattern for maths and made patterns on our necklaces and the clay tiles that we made. Mrs. O worked with some children to copy the patterns off African textiles. We all had a go at writing books about Africa.
We had an African Dance workshop. We learned how to dance to African music. Look at our website for a picture. We learned some Swahili. 'Jambo' in Swahili is 'Hello'.
We read the story of Handa's Surprise and then all the children made fruit skewers using the African fruits from the story.
It is half term next week so our home learning is to do the Autumn challenge to make money for the school, which has been sent home in the book bags.

Little Red Riding Hood

This week we read the story of Little red riding Hood. We looked at different versions of the book and Ola also brought one in from home. We read a rhyming story and talked about rhyming words. Many children found it difficult to continue a rhyming string so perhaps you could practise this at home.
In Maths we have been learning to say the number that is one more than a given number. We used the words 'one more than...is...' We read a lovely story called The big Red Bath and we talked about one more through that. Stories can be a great starting point for maths activities.
This weekend's home learning is to go on an Autumn walk. The weather is meant to be lovely and warm so this will be a great opportunity to go out and about!

Celebration!

We celebrated the school's 50 birthday on Monday. We all made crowns and we had cake with the whole school in the hall.
We followed along with the theme of Birthdays and read Kipper's Birthday. We all had a go at drawing pictures of the things that we need for a party and writing labels.
For Maths we learned about careful counting and we practised counting objects carefully.
We had our Harvest Festival celebration on Friday. We sang the song that we have been learning and the Reverend Will came and led an assembly for us.