First Week Back of a new Term

It has been lovely to welcome Robins back after a well-deserved half term break and they all enjoyed telling us about their pumpkin picking adventures!

Back in class we started the week learning a new number rhyme ‘5 little peas’, which the children simply loved! They really enjoyed using the peas and putting them into the pea pod as well as putting actions to the rhyme by using their fingers to represent the peas. This rhyme really supported the children with deepening their understanding of 5 as a quantity and helped to explore ways of making 5, why not have a go at saying the rhyme together at home?

Five little peas in a pea pod pressed

One grew, two grew and so did all the rest,

They grew..and grew..and did not stop

Until one day the pod went POP!

On Tuesday afternoon we created our very own Autumn trees using dyed pumpkin seeds to create Autumn coloured leaves. The children took their time to place the ‘leaves’ carefully, “Look Mrs Brown, my leaves are falling from the tree!”.

When we weren’t busy recreating Autumn trees we were busy making the Squirrels that live within them or rather baking biscuits in the shape of them! The children loved mixing together three simple ingredients; dairy free butter, flour and sugar to make their very own Squirrel biscuit and with a little bit of magic they even made the sugar disappear into the butter and the flour disappear into the butter! Who knew there was such magic in baking!!

On Wednesday, we learnt about Guy Fawkes and the meaning of the rhyme "Remember, Remember the 5th November, gunpowder, treason and plot!"

As I was teaching the children about this historical event, I had to try really hard to hide my smile......I was smiling at their faces, they were absolutely mesmorised, their mouths were dropped open and their eyes were wide, hearing all about the plot to kill King James 1st, the plan of the plotters, the 36 barrels of Gunpowder being hidden under the Houses of Parliament, the letter to Lord Monteagle who then showed it to the King and the King sent his soldiers to find the plotters and found Guy Fawkes who was just about ready to light the gunpowder....the excitement and tension was palpable!

Here are just some of the books we have used to support our learning. 

On Thursday, Ms Munday (and Rascal), who is not only the teacher in Owls and Assistant Head but also the Maths Lead in our school, popped into Robins to talk to the children all about their Maths learning. The children had plenty to say as they told Ms Munday how they have been subitising, counting, learning about days of the week, months of the year etc and were really keen to show her how they use all the resources available to them in class to help support their learning.

And then on Friday....there was a very special event....we all headed into the hall to listen to our Red Kites present their speeches in the hope that they become leaders in their chosen area......House Captains, Sports Leaders, Singing Leaders, Reading Champions, Health and Safety Leaders, Art Leaders - there were many roles up for grabs. However, the Red Kites did not make it easy for us. Their speeches were superb, they were punchy, they were passionate, they were serious they were humorous and each and every one of them delivered with confidence and a desire to make their voices heard! When all the speeches were finished, we had the extremely tough job of having to vote for who we would like as our leaders. I believe the results will be out next week so watch this space.

Well done Red Kites, what a fantastic and entertaining way to end our week.

And finally.....

In Phonics, we have come to the end of Phase 2 and next week we will begin Phase 3. Please keep using the keyrings of Phase 2 sounds and tricky words that are in the reading wallets, we go over these every day and next week we will be putting a lot more sounds that the children have already learnt onto the keyrings! We have to say that the reading is coming along really well, we have been very impressed at how much reading the children are doing, how much they are enjoying it and how willing they are to read! Keep it up Robins, you are fantastic!!!!!

Next week, on Thursday at the end of the Library session, we are starting Show and Tell. This is always a favourite and well supported lesson. We have a timetable / rota and will let the children know a week in advance when it is their turn, there will also be a slip in the Home/ School book to let you know too. 

So, for Show and Tell, we welcome most things no matter how big or small. In previous years we have had favourite toys, costumes, special objects such as riding helmets, bikes, hobbies, certificates etc, videos of singing dogs (yes, we really have had Poppy the singing dog), holiday photos, family photos, I could go on and on, the children have even found fluff in their pockets and have managed to turn it into something exciting for Show and Tell. If you wish to rehearse at home with your child (we encourage this) then please support your child in using full sentences and giving as much detail as possible - the more they say the more we learn and we just love learning!

Have a wonderful weekend and if you are going to see some fireworks please stay safe!