Summer 2
As the year draws to a close this last half term we are learning all about water and how we use it in our topic Splish Splash Splosh. This science based topic allows us to spend time having lots of fun with water in many different ways. As sand and water play works alongside each other so well we shall be messing around with sand too, learning lots along the way.
Week one begins with looking at rain using umbrellas, welly boots and rain macs while we splosh around in puddles. We shall create an indoor cloud and raindrops using our window as a backdrop while in maths we will be filling and emptying, using containers of all sorts of sizes. Our songs we shall be learning for the first couple of weeks are “I hear thunder” and a counting song “5 little raindrops”.
Week two moves onto ponds, rivers and lakes and the creatures we can find there. We shall be counting fish in maths, messing around with hook a duck and making a variety of splashy marks using squirty bottles and our fingers. The week will culminate in a trip to the park to see the ducks on the pond.
Next our focus will be boats and things that float (and sink). We shall be testing a group of objects in a tank of water to see what happens, making boats from paper and in maths, matching boats by colour and shape. We shall begin our story for the half term which will be “The Flying Bath”, a story about how water is used for many purposes.
Taking our lead from the story the following three weeks will be covering using water to wash with, water to drink and water for plants. We shall also look at the creatures that live in water and in the sea.
A busy but exciting topic!
Summer 1
The first part of the summer term saw a topic focus of Down on the farm. We learnt all about farm animals, the noises they make and the places they live. We enjoyed a trip to the farm and the children had great fun feeding the animals. The goats were very greedy and the rabbits were soft and cuddly.
In order to encourage the children to play with a greater range of toys we also explored play dough and lego. We are very keen for the children to learn to occupy themselves in a positive way. These free activities that are available most afternoons help the children to explore through play.
In maths lessons we used animals to help us count, to learn about big and small and to match and sort animals into different types. Some children are getting very good at making groups of up to three animals and recognising the numbers to match the quantity.
Our story this half term was “What the ladybird heard” and the children experienced using switches to take part in the story telling by making the animals sound at the appropriate time. Some of the children were able to mimic the animal noises and a few were able to join in at the correct time without prompting.
Spring 2 - Leave your mark!
This half term is a very short one, so not much time in which to squeeze lots of fun activities. This topic is an art and DT topic and will include plenty of mark making in various ways.
We shall be making a class sculpture and will try some junk modelling. The art projects will combine the use of materials with using our senses; smelly paint and smelly play dough; materials that feel different to the touch, some messy, some not; painting while listening to different styles of music to see if this effects how the children approach their art; and creating (and quite possibly tasting) art with food.
In cookery this half term we are focussing on using a story to be help the children become creative artists in the kitchen. The story “The Toys Party” from the Oxford Reading Tree collection will encourage our children to think differently about making a cake. We are hoping for some very creative additions to the basic cake recipe! The story is available to watch on You Tube
We shall be learning about colours and how to use red, yellow and blue to make orange, green and purple. We will then move on to the different kind of marks we can make using a variety of tools, and exploring colour in various mediums, such as corn flour, shaving foam, play dough as well as paint, of course!
Maths will continue with the creative approach, matching by colour and creating patterns with lego. We shall use shapes to make pictures and match shapes. Here a couple of examples that we hope to create;
This half terms Science is returning to exploring the world using our senses. Starting with touch and a mixture of wet and dry materials, moving on to smell which will include good and bad smells.
Week three will cover taste, so we are hoping to provide a selection of items sweet, sour and savoury for the children to choose from and demonstrate to us whether they like or dislike the foods.
Finally we shall explore sounds, playing a sound game with environmental and animal sounds, creating and playing with musical instruments.
Spring Term – Showtime!
This half terms topic is Showtime! This topic provides the children with an
opportunity to perform. As a class we are hoping to video the work we are doing
and turn the videos into a mini film. We are basing the work we do around the
woods, and so have chosen Where the Wild Things Are as our story. You can find the animation of the story on you tube or by clicking on this link;
We shall be using the story as a basis for our performance and will use music to act out being a Wild thing, sailing a boat and having a wild rumpus. We shall be making some masks, boats and crowns as props for our story and will be learning to sequence the story.
In Science we are learning about materials and will be exploring man made and natural materials including wood, metal, plastic, water, cloth and fur. Some
children will be able to name the material as soft or hard, smooth or rough.
In circle time this half term the children will be learning to wave Hello and we
shall continue our work on recognising our names and some will continue to learn to write their name. Our song for this half term is “One Little Finger” which you can find on You Tube using the following link:
In PE we will continue with gymnastics which includes moving using hands, arms,
feet and knees. The children will also be encouraged to climb the gym ladders
learning to come down independently. This work helps to develop upper body
strength which has an impact on the children’s ability to help dress themselves
and learn to write.
The children will also be working hard to develop their fine motor muscles,
which again helps with fiddly finger work such as doing up buttons and zips. This
will also aid their development in holding and manipulating a pencil.
In cookery we are focusing on learning the ingredients and then mixing them to
make simple cakes. Some children will be able to name all the ingredients needed
for a cake by the end of this half term. The children will also be encouraged to
mix the ingredients independently and to help place a spoonful of mixture into
each cupcake case.
Check back for more updates.
Chrissie and the red class team.
Autumn 2
The second half of the autumn term is a science based topic that covers light and dark. This also allows us to take a closer look at all the festivals at this time of year. We shall be celebrating Halloween, Bonfire night, Diwali, Hanukah and Christmas.
The science part of the topic will lead us to explore dark places and use glow sticks, torches and fluorescent gloves. We will be learning about shadow puppets and trying to re-create the cbeebies shadow puppet story of Rama and Sita. http://www.bbc.co.uk/cbeebies/stories/lets-celebrate-diwaliperformance .
The children will help us to decide what activities we do in the daytime and what we do at night and also the things we can see in the daytime and creatures that come out at night. On a sunny day we hope to go outside and play with our shadows.
Our story this half term is Jack and the Beanstalk, we shall be learning all about the story in a sensory way to help the children understand the sequence of events. There will also be lots of sensory activities, collaborative artwork and links into the topic by making puppets.
We shall have more puppets in our Expressive Arts session, where we shall be encouraging the children to engage with the puppets, copy their actions and perhaps having a go at leading the play.
Our songs for the half term are incy wincy spider, wind the bobbin up and a rhyme call “Open shut them” which is a simple action rhyme designed to encourage the children to mimic our actions. We shall also be looking at the autumn leaves video;
We will have a play based focus on construction this half term to help the children develop their play and be able to occupy themselves in an appropriate way with bricks and lego. We hope to develop this over the course of the year so the children have a variety of activities they recognise and know how to play with. It is also important to help them along a little with their play as this helps their learning and encourages a curious, creative and explorative nature.
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Autumn 1
I hope you all had a fabulous summer and the children are excited to return to school. This term our topic is “All About Me” and includes some fun activities for the children to learn all about themselves.
We shall be using photographs of the children and their families to build a family tree for each child so will need some family photos sent in from home. We shall also be looking at what the children looked like as babies and what they might look like when they are older (so we also need baby photos sent in please).
The song we shall be learning for this half term is Head, Shoulders, Knees and toes. We shall also be learning 5 naughty monkeys swinging from the trees and there is a video you can share with your child below
We shall be creating a topic book that will include all the things the children like in terms of food, toys and activities and it will also include some activities such as making a jigsaw of their face and learning about eyes, nose, mouth etc.
In science we are learning all about our senses and shall explore a variety of things we can see, hear, touch, smell, taste as well as moving in a variety of ways.
Cookery this term explores bread and dough making and the children will learn to mix the ingredients together and to knead the dough. Hopefully they will then be happy to taste a little of what they have made.
We will be trying to teach the children to label their feelings using symbols, makaton and some physical demonstration of their emotion eg stamping their feet for angry and clapping hands for happy. In addition to this we shall be teaching the children to recognise their name using a variety of exciting and interesting activities.
We shall also be working very closely with the children to help them use PECS for the vast majority of the day, but we shall also be using Makaton to help with their understanding. We shall continue to send home pictures of the makaton signs we are learning in the home school books to use at home. If you would like any PECS symbols or schedule symbols to use at home, please make a list of them in the book and we shall get to them as soon as possible.
We are looking forward to another year of learning and development.
Chrissie (class teacher)
Nikki (Lead teaching assistant)
Linda (teaching assistant)
Sharon (teaching assistant)
Sarah (teaching assistant)
Amelia (teaching assistant)