3rd September

We had a nice few days getting to know our new classroom and new adults. We talked about how to be a kind friend, sang alphabet songs, danced to number songs and even started to talk about Autumn. 

8th September

This week, we read a book called 'Frederick' by Leo Lionni. We explored how we could use actions and story maps to help us remember the stories. In maths, we worked on our counting to 10 skills. We also explored subitising to 3. In phonics, we started to learn the letters s, a, t and p. We explored how to write them correctly and how to build words with them. In the afternoons, we started to learn all about autumn. We made some autumn collages and also painted buttercup pictures to decorate our new classroom.

15th September

In literacy, we focused on a book called 'The squirrels who squabbled' by Rachel Bright. We explored how we could change small details to make new stories. For example, it could be the cats who squabbled or the dogs that dug. In maths, we learned all about matching and sorting. We explored using numicon, counters and even a pumpkin! In the afternoons, we did some observational sketches of squirrels, learned how to take photos on an ipad, went on a tour of the school and explored mashing and chopping food.

Friday 19th - Art competition opportunity

23^rd September

In literacy, we read a book called ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’ by Michael Rosen. We plotted the story onto a story map to help us to retell the story. In handwriting and phonics, we learned all about i, d, n and m. In maths, we learned all about sorting and grouping. For example, we grouped ourselves into jumpers and no jumpers, 4 year olds and 5 year olds etc. In the afternoons, we learned all about maps. We explored what they were for and how to use them. We had a go at drawing our own bear hunt map. We also explored mark making on large paper and making transient art with carrots.

28th September

In literacy, we thought about our book from last week called ‘We’re going on a bear hunt’ by Michael Rosen. We had a go at innovating the story to make a new one. We tried out different versions as a class such as a lion hunt, a sweet hunt, a rabbit hunt. In maths, we ordered Numicon pieces from 1-10 and wrote numbers to match. We then started to learn about measurement and looked at how to compare size, mass and capacity. In phonics, we had a special focus on the sounds g, o, c, k and on phase 2 tricky words - I, is, the, no, go, to. In the afternoons, we explored leaves, made leaf people, went on a leaf collecting walk around our school playground, explored cutting and threading with leaves and also naming and describing leaves. We spoke about where different animals might live and then we spoke about where we all live. We had a go at making houses out of card. 

6th October

In literacy, we read a book called 'The Enormous Turnip.' We had fun acting out the story and joining in with the repetitive words. We then compared it to a book called 'The gigantic turnip' to see what was the same and what was different. In maths, we learned all about repeating patterns. We had a go at copying patterns, continuing patterns and even making up our own patterns. In the afternoons, we leaned more about autumn. We went on an autumn walk around our school grounds, sorted pictures into seasons, listened to a piece of music called Autumn by Vivaldi, explored rolling conkers in paint and also stretched elastic bands over pine cones. On the 10th, we leaned all about world mental health day. 

Topmarks maths - Repeating pattern shape train game

13th October

In literacy, we carried on our work on 'The Enormous Turnip.' We explored ordering the story and then changing details to create a new story. In maths, we focused on 1, 2 and 3. We worked on subitising, numeral recognition, matching values and representing quantities using different methods including fingers, number lines, tens frames, bead strings, claps, jumps etc. In phonics, we focused on h, b, f and l. We had a go at word building and CVC word reading. We also looked at phase 3 keywords he, she, we, me, be. In the afternoons, we worked on our cutting skills and made autumn wreaths, completed observational sketches of hedgehogs, pumpkins and leaves, explored conker rolling outside using guttering pipes and also thought about our own personal history and looked back at everything we had covered so far this year. 

20th October

In literacy, we read a book called 'Leaf man'. We explored all of the different ways that the author had used the leaves to make the characters in the book. We then had a go at making up our own leaf characters and stories. In maths, we worked on couting forwards and backwards. We also worked on writing numerals to 10. In phonics, we had a special focus on the tricky words he, she, we, me and be. In the afternoons, we learned about Diwali, made playdough, explored making playdough and stick hedgehogs,  made seed shakers and also explored the log rings and apple decay. 

 

3^rd November

We started a new topic called 'Marvellous Machines.' We spoke about the different machines that we had in our homes and at school. We then used one of our school machines (a microwave) to make popcorn! In literacy, we read a book called 'The most magnificent thing.' We had fun guessing how she was going to change her design to improve it. We then spoke about how it is important to keep trying even if things go a bit wrong or get a bit hard. In maths, we explored finding one more and one less than numbers to 10. We used cubes, beads, dots, numicon and our fingers. In the afternoons, we learned all about Bonfire night, Remembrance day and keeping safe online.

10th November

This week, we read a book called 'Car, car, truck, jeep.' We had fun spotting the different vehicles in it and joining in with the repeated parts. In phonics, we had a special focus on j, v, w and z. In maths, we learned all about circles and triangles. We made shape pictures and leaned how to discuss shape properties. In the afternoons, we painted on tin foil, used cups and strings to make a telephone, explored zig-zag patterns, celebrated anti-bullying week and also had a 2 minute silence on the 11th for remembrance. 

Cbeebies - Remembrance day

17th November

This week, we read a book called 'No bot, the robot with no bottom.' We read the story, plotted it onto a story map and had a go at describing the main character. In phonics, we focused on z, zz, y and qu. We also introduced the tricky words: all, was, you, they, are, my and her. In maths, we explored positional language and had fun playing lots of different games to improve our skills. On Friday, we also had a whole school maths morning. In the afternoons, we explored floor robots, magnets, transient machine art, colour mixing and also looked at what different machines do all day long. 

24th November

This week, we read the next book in the series called 'No bot, the robots new bottom.' We read the story, retold the story and had a go at describing different things in the story. In phonics, we focused on the digraph 'ch'.  In maths, we learned all about 4 sided shapes such as squares and rectangles. In the afternoons, we made a class advent calendar, explored remote controlled toys, printed in paint using machine parts, explored bendy wires and used tennis balls to make robots.

1st December

This week, we read a book called 'Rosie Revere Engineer'. It had lots of new words in so we we had lots of fun working out what they meant as a class. We then thought what it would be like to be an enginner. We designed and made our own robots by following our designs. In phonics, we had a special focus on 'sh'. In maths, we explored numbers to 5. We subitised, represented numbers and even explored the composition of numbers e.g. 5 is a 2, 2 and 1 but it can also be five 1s. In the afternoons, we rehearsed our nativity performance, drew pictures of our families, started our class advent calendar and learned a little bit about Hannukah and Kwanzaa. 

8th December

This week, we read a book called 'Winnie' New Computer.' We spoke about what computers were for and how they worked. We discussed the main character and the story setting. In maths, we focused on one more and one less. We used different equipment, used our fingers and even had a go at instant recall. In the afternoons, we made playdough robots, drew patterns in pretend snow, made a string and tube machine and talked about machines. We were also very brave this week and did two dress rehearsals of our nativity to the school and then two performances to the parents. 

15th December

This week, we had a Christmas-themed week. We learned more about the nativity story, learnt about Christmas around the world, made repeat pattern decorations, made cards and calendars, explored snow patterns and snowmen and many more exciting things. We even had a special visit from Father Christmas, a virtual pantomime, Christmas jumper day and Christmas dinner day. What a busy week!

 

5th January 

This week, we started our new topic called 'Long ago.' We looked at some of the key vocabulary that we would cover and we explored the difference between in the past and in the present. In literacy, we read a very old book called 'The tiger who came to tea'. We spoke about similarities and differences to our lives today. We then did lots of fun tiger-themed activities. In maths, we focused on numbers 0-5. We looked at how to write them, represent them and subitise them. We also spoke about the importance of zero. In phonics, we reviewed all of the phase 2 and 3 sounds that we have covered so far. We then introduced the digraph 'ee'. In the afternoons, we explored seasonal changes, made new years resolutions, discussed dinosaurs, discussed black and white photographs and spoke about our own weekly routines. 

12th January 

This week, we read a book called 'Rosie's Hat' by Julia Donaldson. We thought about the order of the story and spoke about it using words such as first, next, then, finally. We also had fun thinking about what type of hat we would want to wear. In phonics, we had a special focus on 'ai' like in snail, main and rain. We also started to learn some of our phase 4 tricky words. In maths, we worked on our one more and one less skills. We also explored the composition of numbers. For example, 4 can be made up of 4+0, 3+1, 2+2. We explored this using real objects, fingers and drawings. In the afternoons, we thought about clothes from the past, painted pictures using black, white and grey, thought about how we had grown and changed from being babies and also learnt about old buildings. 

19th January 

This week, we read a book called 'Coming to England' by Floella Benjamin. We spoke about how the little girl had grown and changed in the story. We also explored where and how she had travelled. We spoke about how some of us have travelled to and from different countries, some of us have moved house and some of us have stayed in the same place. We spoke about how everyone in the world lives a different but special life. In phonics, we had a special focus on the 'oo' sound like in moon, balloon and zoom. In maths, we learnt about mass. We used balances to compare things and we then used cubes to see which things were heavier and which were lighter. In the afternoons, we explored recipes from long ago and then made cakes. We explored sculptures from long ago and then had a go at using dough to make our own sculptures. We talked about grandparents and how things have changed over time for them. We had a go at making family trees. We also sorted old and new transport pictures and spoke about how and why things change. 

Click here to find out more about our whole school artist of the term competitor:

26th January 

This week, we read a book called 'Major Glad and Major Dizzy' by Jan Oke. We explored how the story moved through history and we talked about what stayed the same and what changed. We used words such as long ago, in the past, in the present, now etc. In phonics, we had a special focus on the 'oa' like in boat sound. In maths, we explored 6, 7, 8 and 9. We explored different ways to make up these numbers e.g. 0+6=6, 1+5=6, 2+4=6, 3+3=6. In the afternoons, we thought about what job we would like in the future. We explored how people washed clothes in the past. We explored the royal family and made crowns. We also made old fashioned wooden pegs into peg dolls just like they used to do in the past. 

2nd February

This week, we read a book called 'Once there were grown ups' by Martin Waddell. We spoke about how the book wasn't about real giants and that the giants were just adults. We explore children sitting and standing to see how giant we could make each other look. We also learnt all about how people grow and change from babies to toddlers to children to teenagers to adults to elderly people. In phonics, we had a special focus on the 'ar' like in bark and farm sound. In maths, we explored odd and even numbers. We also explored doubling numbers up to double 10. In the afternoons, we painting pictures of our grandparents, matched old items to new items and spoke about why they had changed, thought about our own personal history and looked through our school scrapbooks and ordered pictures in age order. We also celebrated mental health week and learnt all about the colour monster book. 

9th February

This week, we read a selection of non-fiction books about growing and changing. We explored how they were similar and different to story books. We had fun learning new facts and information. In phonics, we reviewed all of the sounds that we have covered so far this year. We then had a go at using them to write simple sentences and phrases. We tried really hard! In maths, we explored length and height. We learnt how to compare different things and also how to use length and height related vocabulary words such as long, short, tall etc. In the afternoons, learnt about Chinese New Year, made Valentine's day cards, re-created stamps from the past through drawing and also explored old and new technology. On Tuesday, we celebrated safer internet day with the whole school and learnt how to stay safe when using computers, tablets and the internet. Our main lesson we learnt was to always ask a grown up if we are unsure of see anything that makes us worried or feel uncomfortable. On Friday, we had a whole school kindness day and even got to decorate biscuits. Yum! 

 

23rd February

This week, we started our new topic called 'Ready, Steady, Grow!' We explored our topic posters and learnt some of the new vocabulary that we might hear over the next few weeks. In literacy, we read a book called 'Pig in the Pond.' We had fun reading repeated words and describing the main characters. We learnt about farm animals and had a go at writing the names of different animals. In phonics, we had a special focus on 'igh' like in night and bright. In maths, we focused on number 9 and 10. We learnt how to compare them, represent them and subitise with them. In the afternoons, we learnt about pancake day, learnt about Ramadan, planted seeds, sorted seeds, learnt about sheepdogs and also had fun in the school swimming pool. 

2nd March

This week, we read a book called 'Flooded' by Mariajo Ilustrajo. We explored what was happening with the animals and the water and learnt about the word 'flood'. We then thought about what we would have done in the same situation. We also listed all the different animals that we could think of. In phonics, we had a special focus on 'ow' like in cow and town. In maths, we explored number bonds to 10. We found lots of different ways and we used numicon to record these in our maths books. In the afternoons, we checked on our sunflowers to see if they had grown, we went swimming again, we explored the taste, smell and appereance of fruits and vegetables, we explored floating and sinking with vegetables and we had great fun celebrating world book day on Thursday with the rest of the school. 

9th March

This week, we read two books. We read one called 'Titch' and one called 'Jasper's beanstalk.' We spoke about similarities and differences. We also explored how both books related to our plant growing. In phonics, we had a special focus on 'oi like in coil and join.' In maths, we explored 2D and 3D shapes. We spotted the flat faces on 3D shapes and pressed these into playdough. We then learned about 3D shape names and properties. We explored which ones were best for building towers. In the afternoons, we did another plant diary entry, made Mother's day cards, sorted healthy options and not so healthy options and also worked on our printing skills by using fruits and vegetables in paint. 

16th March

This week, we read Handa's surprise and Oliver's vegetables. With Handa's surprise, we explored similarities and differences between life in Kempston and life in Africa. We also spoke about the different animals and fruits. With Oliver's vegetables, we explored the names of vegetables and also thought of different words to describe them such as crunchy, sweet, soft etc. In phonics, we had a special focus on 'ur like in burn and purple.' In maths, we continued to learn about 3D shapes. We also reviewed repeating patterns and had a go at using 3D shapes to make our own repeating patterns. In the afternoons, we made our last plant diary entry and then planted the seedlings in our outside area. We explored the life cycle of a sunflower and we made transient art using fruits and vegetables. We also explored artwork by Giuseppe Arcimboldo and then had a go at making our own fruit and vegetable faces. 

23rd March

This week, we read books about Spring and books about Easter and the Easter story. We had a go at writing our own stories and we also had a go at writing some 'I can see...' sentences. In phonics, we reviewed all of the phase 2 and 3 sounds covered so far. In maths, we consolidated our learning so far. We reviewed number bonds, Numicon identification and also worked on our one more and one less skills. In the afternoons, we matched animal parents to babies, explored weaving, ordered events in the Christian Easter story, made Easter cards and completed Easter and spring themed crafts.