The whole school family went to church this afternoon to celebrate the true meaning of Christmas,together. It was wonderful. From Explorers all the way up to Leaders,we all had a part to play. The church was full and families were standing in the aisle. Both cast and audience enjoyed the festive fun and the singing at the end was magnificent. We will do it all again tomorrow.
Author: Scott Grason-Taylor
It’s Christmas
The Christmas Fair was a wonderful event from start to finish. It raised over £560 for our school and a good time was had by all. Mrs Exelby worked jolly hard assisted by lots of other busy elves.
Santa enjoyed chatting to all the children and was delighted to hear how much they enjoyed mathematics and english.
The Leaders helped out on all the stalls and were effective and efficient and we couldn’t have managed without them.
Thank you to everyone who contributed to this memorable event.
Happy Christmas Time
Explorers’ Blog
Exploring with Paint
The Explorers love to get messy and painting is always popular. They explored colours and a variety of textures and just enjoyed the process of finding out what paint does.
Office Work
The Explorers have had a Post Office in the classroom. Lots of fantastic writing has taken place. The class took a walk to visit Mrs Stubbs in the School Office to see where all the real work happens.
Coffee and Cake For Children in Need
Last week Pudsey came to visit and Mr Grason was able to highlight the work done by Children in Need. Today, it was the turn of our whole school family to raise some money for this wonderful charity. Children came to school in all sorts of spots. We got a shout out on Radio 2 in support of our fundraising efforts. Families donated lovely cakes and a good time was had by all.
Come and join us for Yorkshire puddings
Adventurers had a super afternoon making Yorkshire puddings with Millie’s dad, Mr Calder, a chef at the Resolution Hotel.
We invited the whole school to try savoury and sweet Yorkshire puddings with oregano and toffee sauce. They were delicious!
A Very Special Visitor
This afternoon we welcomed some very special visitors to our school. Pudsey Bear and his friend Lucy popped in to say hello to everyone and to help us plan how we might support Children in Need. Pudsey was Flossing while Mr Grason was talking and that did make everyone laugh quite loudly.We put some music on and everyone got up and had a dance with Pudsey.
Chocolate Cake
1st February 2019
What better way to help use our senses to describe than to be able to see, hear, smell, taste and touch a yummy chocolate cake. Here are some of the children’s expanded noun phrases – I hope they paint a picture in your mind of the cake the children saw. We would add a picture but the cake seems to have disappeared… inside some hungry tummies!!
Rachael
The soft, brown sponge with icing oozing like slime.
Scarlett F
The brown, chocolaty icing neatly spread across the top like ice on a car.
Reegan
The chocolaty, squidgy sponge with icing on the top.
Scarlett K
The big, gooey cake with Maltesers like little footballs on a football pitch.
Lucas
The gooey, oozing icing with chocolate chunks on top like a beach.
Declan
The lovely, gooey caramel with chocolate on the outside.
Noah
The gooey, squishy icing with two layers of sponge.
Forest Fractions
18th January 2019
The children in Discoverers have enjoyed their first forest school session of the new year, taking their learning outside into the environment. They collected lots of dry twigs, which will be used to light fires next session, and found a given fractions of their pile. Writing their answers using natural resources was more tricky than the fractions!
Happy Holidays
21st December 2018
Wow, what a busy few weeks! The children in Discoverers have been busy learning their parts for the Christmas performance before joining with the rest of the school to take part in two fantastic performances to parents. They definitely did a brilliant job.
They have also been very busy writing lots of letters, starting with the man on the moon, which is why you may have heard your children singing the John Lewis version of the R.E.M. song, Man on the Moon. They have then written letters to someone special to them.
In Mathematics they have been very busy with some difficult work on division but hopefully all children will now be confident sharing out those Christmas chocolates fairly.
What a Welcome!
21st November 2018
The children in Discoverers have made Mrs Walker feel very welcome and they have been busy getting to know each other. She also had pleasure in meeting many of the parents this week at the meetings after school to share information about what Discoverers have been doing in school.
Discoverers have been busy writing letters about the school including all the exciting things that happen and the fantastic family atmosphere. They are now busy typing up their letters so that they can be put on display.
Book Reviews
22nd October 2018
After enjoying reading and then writing our own Minpin adventures, Discoverers decided to review Roald Dahl’s novel. Below are our reviews. We are really proud of them and hope other children find them helpful when deciding whether or not to read The Minpins!
Amelia’s review
The tall, mighty, towering and terrifying trees stand like a house in the distance. The Minpin book made me a bit sad and emotional. I would recommend The Minpins because it is exciting. I really liked it when Billy met Minpins and all the amazing adventures. By Amelia
Amelie’s review
At Sleights, we have the book the Minpins and it is a very good. The book just gives you excitement and when Spiller ran after Billy it gave me butterflies. The book is very exciting and we think it is the best book in the school. The Minpin book made me feel excited and magical. In the Minpin story, you will meet lots of characters, but the main character is a little boy called Billy. Billy is a boy who lives with his Mum and Dad. By Amelie
Autumn’s review
The Minpins book made me feel happy excited and it made me shiver like my tummy was shaking. It felt weird. My hand was shaking. The happy bit was when Billy made friends with the Minpins. And he found a nice lake. It made me shiver because of the orange monster and when he was walking there could have been other fires. The monster bit was scary. By Autumn
Leila’s review
At Sleights school, we have a terrific, exciting and amazing forest. At the bottom of the huge playing field, it was old and big just like in the story.
Plot Billy went to the forest of Sin, and he met a lot of good friends, about a million. My favourite part of the story is when Billy fought the Gruncher .
Character Don Mini is important, clever and he likes helping other Minpins .Billy is kind and likes making new friends.
Setting In the middle of the dark gloomy forest live the Minpins. The Minpins live a very tall and mighty tree.
How did the book make me feel? The book made me feel happy, emotional and good. By Leila
Corey’s review
When I saw the book I thought it would be really good, but it was even better. I really liked the book and I really want it at my house Roald Dahl is really good at writing interesting books.
Plot Billy flew with Swan as fast as lightening and a bullet mixed together over the deep lake to home!
Characters Meet Billy! He is the main character. He is the most popular character in the story. There is many other characters.
Meet Swan. He is Billy’s secret aeroplane. His last adventure was to America. By Corey
Declan’s review
The front cover of the book reminded me of our forest at Sleights School. I like the Minpin book because Billy is a young boy, just like me.There are many characters in the book. My favourite is Billy. He had lots of adventures on his journey.
When the Spitler chased Billy it was quite scary. I would recommend this book to a friend and I would give this book ***** By Declan
Freddy’s review
Billy escaped into the forest and he finds the Minpins. They are small people. There are also monsters in the forest. Don Mini is in charge of the Minpins and he is proud of his home. Billy is a small boy. By Freddy
Hollie’s review
The book made me feel excited, comfortable and scared, but nervous when the fire came. I would share this book with others. It was really exciting when Billy went in to the forest and met lots of other characters. The Minpins were my favourite characters. The best part of the book for me was when Billy met the Minpins. By Hollie
Review
I like this book because the forest is like ours at Sleights. We thought the forest on the front cover of the Minpins because it looks like a big adventure to the forest and a boy who is lost in it. We thought that it might be really good because it’s by Roald Dahl. We thought it looked exciting, mysterious and very funny.
Plot Billy was bored and he traveled to the gloomy forest and he met the Minpins. He went on Swan to have a massive adventure and see the world beyond.
Characters Billy is the main character and is a little boy. Along the way, he met good, bad and weird people. Billy’s Mum is tall. Billy goes into the forest and meets Minpins. He meets a special Minpin called Don Mini. He is special because he is the leader of the tree. Swan was waiting for Billy, so he could go on his back. They went into the forest and destroyed the monster.
Setting The main setting is the Forest of Sin. It’s very gloomy, dark, horrid, muddy, slimy, disgusting, deadly and sloppy. It doesn’t look nice, but up the trees, it’s like a new world of green. It’s like another world up there than it is down at the bottom of the tree where it’s horrible. It’s like a muddy world at the bottom of the tree and the really green world, so it’s bad and disgusting.
How did the book make me feel The book made me feel like I was one of the Minpins because there is so much of them. It also made me feel like the monster was real and it came out of the book. It was really interesting and I wanted to find out what the monster looks like if it’s a mixture of animals, or just one massive monster. I really hope there is a Minpins 2 and that you can find out what the monster is.
Would you share with a friend? Yes, I would recommend it with a friend because it’s very exciting and mysterious and the book is a good story. It will be very good to see what my friends would say about it, so that’s why I would recommend it with a friend. I would give it 5 stars because it’s really good, exciting, spooky and funny and it would enjoy the story if they did not know what is about and it’s really really exciting and spooky and it’s really entertaining. If you where bored then it would be perfect for you if you are bored or don’t know what to do. So five stars definitely!
Jaythan’s review
The book made me feel nervous and emotional because Billy got away from the monster.
Would you share a book with a friend? Yes I would share it with a friend. It was good fun. I give this ***** By Jaythan
Lilac’s review
I like this book because it is funny and silly. I liked it very much. It was very good!
The story starts like this… Billy is very bored, so he jumped out of the window and went into The Forest of Sin. He meets lots of characters along the way. One of my favourite characters was Swan, he took Billy on lots of adventures.
The setting for the story reminded me of our school forest. At times the book made me feel scared, especially when the Gruncher chases Billy. I would recommend this book to a friend. It is funny, scary and exciting. I give it ***** By Lilac
Mason’s review
The Minpins amazing adventure. I think the book was fun to read. It was like a mysterious magical adventure. It felt like going into our school forest. It was exciting and funny. Billy was very bored, so Billy sneaked out of the house and into to the forest. The monsters were terrifying and scary. Billy is the main character. He is a young boy.
The main setting for this story is the Forest of Sin. Don Mini and the Minpins live in the Forest of Sin. They live in the biggest tree. The Minpins book made me feel like I was in the story. It also made me feel like I was chased by the Gruncher. Yes I would recommend the Minpins to a friend because it was an exciting story. By Mason
Mia’s review
I considered the Minpins to be terrific! The front cover looked like our Forest Schools. My favourite part was when Billy escapes. Little people in the tops of trees and a small boy stood in the forest. There little people were called Minpins and they had an adventure. Billy is the main character. He is a small boy who is always good. By Mia
Review
I like this book!
Plot Billy is bored in the living room and he wants to go to the forest, so he does. Billy goes up a tree and meets the Minpins. I like it because when Billy goes in the forest and it looks just like the one at our school at the bottom of our playground.
Characters Don Mini is the leader of the tallest tree. He lives in the top of the tree while the others sleep in the bottom of the tree. Billy is the main character. He is a young boy.
Setting The main setting in this is the Forest of Sin. There are two places to live. They are up a tree and on the floor. The forest is gloomy, dark and mysterious. In the forest lives the Minpins and they are really nice and they live up a tree.
How did it make me feel? The book made me feel like I was in the book with Billy and the Minpins. When swan came to Billy’s window sill, Billy goes on and uses him as his secret aeroplane. It made me fell excited and filled with laughter.
Would you share with a friend and why? I would share with a friend because it is mysterious, exciting and it makes me happy. Also, it is funny.
Peyton’s review
The book made me feel a bit excited because I would like to find out what the Gruncher looks like and sounds like. I would share it with a friends because it is a wonderful book. Roald Dahl is one of my favourite authors. By Peyton.
Rachael’s review
At Sleights we have an amazing colourful and perfect forest . We think this book was good because we could go down to the forest and bring the story to life. We all like Roald Dahl and his books especially The Minpins. I like how all the pictures have lots of detail and are very colourful . I was very interested to see this book for the first time.
Plot Billy was in the forest with the Minpins. He met a swan meanwhile his mum was wondering where he was. My favourite part of the book was when Billy was flying on swan and he had a question for swan, but he couldn’t ask him because he couldn’t speak. This was my favourite part because it was funny.
Characters In the Minpins, you will meet lots of different characters Billy (the main character) goes on an adventure and gets a twinkling , white and grand swan. Then they fly to see the Minpins and the Gruncher chases them.
Setting In the Minpins, the main setting is the Forest of Sin. In this forest there is two very different parts. One is nice and sunny. The other is gloomy and full of monsters. Where the Minpins live is high in the sky. It has lots of black , blue and raspberries. Where the Gruncher lives is messy, gloomy, slimy and full of rubbish! When any of the Minpins come down he will gobble them up! He has been waiting there for years and no one came. When a little girl or boy came, he was in for a treat!
How did the book make me feel? The Minpins made me feel curious when Billy got chased by the Gruncher because I really wanted to see the Gruncher. The book very interesting and I felt like I was up a tree hoping to get home. It was very exciting and a bit scary.
Would I share it with a friend? Why? Yes I would recommend sharing this book with a friend because it was very interesting and I think other people would enjoy it too! The story was very mysterious and amazing and it is probably one of my favourite books I have read and Roald Dahl writes lots of great book. This one is my favourite books he wrote. I am a big fan of Roald Dahl I have all of them. By Rachael
Reegan’s review
At Sleights School, we have a terrific and exciting forest at the bottom of our field. We all think it is the forest on the front cover of the Minpin’s book by Roald Dahl.
Plot Billy is bored and travels to the Forest of Sin and goes on an adventure and meets the Minpins. My favourite part of the plot was where Billy make’s the Gruncher disappear. Billy gets a secret aeroplane. This is the swan.
Characters In the Minpins, you will meet Billy, Minpins, Mum, Swan and a few scary monsters too.
The book made me feel excited, nervous, emotional and curious all at the same time. I would recommend this book to a friend and I would give it ***** By Reegan
Ruby’s review
At Sleights, we have been reading the Minpins by Roald Dahl. The teachers have chosen it because it looks like an amazing adventure.
Plot Mum was busy Billy was bored Billy entered a forest and he meets the Minpins. Billy has an amazing adventure. There are monsters, swan and a wangdoodle!
Characters In the Minpin story, you will meet lots of different Minpins and other characters, like Billy, mum and monsters.
Settings The Minpins live on the edge of the forest because the middle is full of monsters.
I would recommend the book to a friend and I give this book ***** By Ruby
Scarlet K’s book review
I thought this book would be an exciting story and yes, it was! At Sleights we have an amazing, terrifying forest at the bottom of our school field. The front cover looked just like our forest.
Plot Billy goes into the forest and meets monsters and Minpins. My favourite part of the plot was when Billy goes into the forest and gets chased by the Gruncher.
Characters Meet Billy, he is the main character. He is the most popular little boy in the story. Billy is a young little boy he lives with his mother. His private aeroplane is a swan. They go on an adventure together. Minpins work together to collected berries for the birds all summer. They are ancient and magical, but the Gruncher is mean! By Scarlet
Scarlet F’s book review
At Sleights, we have been reading a book called the Minpins and we think that the teachers chose it because the author is good at writing books and the front cover looks very interesting, the blurb was very descriptive as well. Roald Dahl is a great author and he has a really good imagination because he uses really funny and made up words like Gruncher or Spitler.
Plot Billy is bored and goes to the Forest Of Sin. There he gets chased by the Gruncher. He meets the Minpins and flies on a beautiful, graceful swan to a deep swan lake. The best bit is where the swan teases the Gruncher into going into the lake and it drowns ! That was funny. Another funny part is where the Minpins all stare at him and then start all shouting to go and see their houses .
Characters Minpins are tiny people that live in tops of tees and collect their own food and own water from leaves and bushes . You will find out why they live in tops of trees later in the review. Don Mini is a Minpin. He is very important and very old fashioned. He is very wrinkly and is the leader of the biggest Minpin tree. Billy is a little boy and is a bit cheeky. He wears a blue t- shirt and dark blue shorts. His brown hair is fair and dark. Swan has beautiful, white feathers that shimmer in the sun light. He takes Billy for adventures.
Setting The main setting is in the Forest of Sin. It is a dark, gloomy, place, but there are 2 lovely areas. The lake is a relaxing place. The other place is actually at the top of the mighty trees. The bad place is where the monsters live. That is in the middle of the terrifying, horrifying , gloomy and slimy forest .
How did this book make you feel? The Minpin book made me feel excited and it made me want to read more. In my opinion, I think it will make you feel happy, good and all sorts of things. It also made me like I was in the book as well. If I had been chased by the Gruncher , I would do the same as Billy.
Would you share with a friend and why? Yes I would share because it is an exciting book and it will interest you 5/5 by Scarlet
Zack’s Review
The Minpins book is really exciting. The book is by Roald Dahl, one of my favourite authors. When I read the book I felt happy, nervous and worried. There was little boy called Billy. He went into the Forest of Sin and met a Gruncher. In the story there is a light side and a dark side. Billy meets the Minpins and Don Mini.Sometimes I wish that I was in it because I love it so much! by Zack
Lucas’ Review
At Sleights School, we had an amazing time reading this book. At first, we didn’t think that it was going to be a good book, but we thought that because we have an extraordinary and mysterious forest at the end of our field. We thought we could have gone down there for the day and have an experience of the story.
Plot Billy went to the forest and meat the Minpins before he was going to get eaten by a monster. My favourite part of the plot was before he got eaten by a really, really, really big monster because it was exciting and breath taking.
Characters In the Minpins you will meet good, bad and mysterious characters along the way. The Minpins are minuscule. They live in hollow trees (in the Forest of Sin). In the bottom of the hollow trees the Minpins have suction boots. Don Mini is important, clever and the leader of the biggest Minpin tree, he is very grand. The terrifying, bloodsucking, toothplucking, stonechucking, Spittler tried to eat Billy and the Minpins.
Setting The main setting for this exciting story is the Forest of Sin. In the forest, there are nice and bad places for creatures to live. In the middle of the mysterious forest, it is dark, gloomy, slippery and disgusting. That is where the horrible monsters live. In the tops of the trees is where it is calm and relaxing. The hundred and thousand Minpins live harmlessly there. The reason they live there is so the monsters cannot eat them or hurt them. The trees that they live in are scary and hollow to keep the monsters out.
How did the book make you feel? The Minpins made me feel happy, excited and terrified all at the same time! It felt funny. This was because it made me think that I was in the book with Billy. It was like having a front row seat at the cinema, but I did think that you should have been able to see the monsters in the pictures. I love it when Billy met the Minpins.
Would you share with a friend? I would recommend the Minpins for a friend because it was an interesting, mysterious and exciting story I rate this book a 3 star.*** By Lucas
Mapping the Minpins
10th October 2018
We have been working really hard over the last few weeks to study the Minpins. The Minpins is a book by Roald Dahl. This week, we have been writing our own Minpin adventure. We have used story maps to help us. This is when we draw pictures of the different parts of our writing. We then use these pictures to write a story.
Today, with Mr Grason, we have been writing and editing the opening to our own Minpin adventure. Our writing has been so impressive! We can’t wait to read our finished stories.
Forest School session
Discoverers spent a morning in the woods building a new village for the Minpins after a disaster struck the Minpin Forest.
We worked together to build houses, shops and hotels for the Minpins to live and work in, using only natural materials from the woodland floor.
We had lots of fun and we are going to use these ideas to support our descriptive writing.
Adventurers’ Blog
School Trip
What a fantastic time we had at the Captain Cook Museum, at Stewart Park!
We learned a lot more about Captain Cook, through interactive displays, art and crafts, dressing up and writing with quills.
Ask us what it was like sailing on the HMS Endeavour with Captain Cook.
Multi skills
Year 1 and 2 took part in multi skills at Caedmon College.
We had a wonderful time trying all the activities set up by the sports leaders.
Pioneers’ Class Blog
Actual Snow
Everything had to stop on Thursday when the snow started to fall. We could do nothing but put our coats on and get out and see how it felt. There was great excitement,a lot of squealing and a lot of questions were posed:
Why is my hat wet?
Why do my hands hurt?
Can we make snow angels?
Why is this snow full of sand? (asked whilst filling a bucket with snow from the ground)
Getting Out and About
On Tuesday we were invited back to visit the Community Centre across the road. They had heard that we were reading Chocolate Cake and learning all about Chocolate so they prepared a fantastic activity for us. Sprinkles,melted chocolate,cocktail sticks and marshmallows. What could possibly go wrong? Nothing. Pioneer Class were fabulous and their kindness filled my heart. Once the sweets had been made we all played musical statues. When we returned to school some faces needed a wipe to get rid of any evidence.
Magnificent Buns
After reading Chocolate Cake we took the chance to create some decorated buns to play with in our Chocolate Shop. We also wrote labels to go with them.
Chocolate Cake
Chocolate Cake Our theme for the term is Chocolate and we have chosen the most wonderful poem by Micheal Rosen as our starting point and inspiration. We have a Chocolate Shop and we have been creating bags of sweets and writing labels. We have made little chocolate buns,written shopping lists and worked on writing the verbs from the recipe. Please do pop in and admire the wonderful independent writing on our walls.
Christmas is Coming
(17th December)
Before the Christmas Party we got busy decorating the trees in the classroom. This was a real treat. We also had a delivery of a lifesize calf for our stable. Daisy is a popular addition to the class and I think she may hang around for a while.
The party was wonderful and pictures are on the Latest News page.
Parachute Games
(13th December 2018)
Today’s PE was really fun. We had a go at the party games that will be played on Monday at our Christmas party and then we got the parachute out for a quick upper body work out. Once we got the hang of following instructions and moving at the same time,we got on really well.
Straw and Order-Our Nativity
The Nativity Play in Church was so much fun. Pioneers loved being little star. They played their part really well and most of our wands survived the first performance. Take a look on the Latest News page to see some more pictures.
Take a Look at Latest News Page for pictures of the Christmas Fair.
Fun at the Community Centre
(5th December)
We were very happy to be invited to the Community Centre across from school to enjoy the company of some of the older residents from the village. We were very well looked after:everyone had a gingerbreadman and there were a selection of tubes of icing and sprinkles. Once we had decorated and eaten our biscuits we were ready for a game of Christmas Bingo. Tilly was the winner and enjoyed shouting “Bingo”. Our final game was a bit of fun with Mr Grason. He got to wear some inflatable reindeer antlers while the children threw rings at him. And we did manage a bit of singing too. Hopefully we will be invited back in the new year.
Preparing For Christmas
(4rd December)
We put together our own Advent Wreath in the classroom. We used foliage collected from our forest. We discussed deciduous and evergreen trees. We filled five little pots with sand for the candles. In assembly the next day we brought our Wreath to show it to the whole school. We discussed the symbolism of each-love,hope,peace and joy .We discussed making a Compassion Advent Calendar filled with acts of kindness rather than cholcolate. The Leaders helped by writing our ideas-one for each school day leading up to Christmas to be read in Collective Worship.
Planting for the Future
(28th November)
Our session in the forest had a real sense of purpose this week. A huge number of trees have been delivered for us to plant. Before we went out we looked at the structure of a tree and discussed evergreen and deciduous trees. We looked at leaf types. We discussed the need for a stake to support the tree and the plastic tubing to protect it. Everyone helped to carry the things we needed. Mrs McGill led the digging . We stayed out for half of the morning but it was jolly cold and noses were running.
Full to the Brim and Soggy Sleeves.
(26th November)
The water tray and accompanying pouring and filling tray was busy all day. The water dispenser was a highlight and the children became quite skilled in their use of the tap. They used a variety of jugs,bottles,funnels and clear 3D shapes to play around with capacity.Some children experimented with floating and sinking. Others worked out that it took a bit of effort to submerge a beaker in a bucket. During the week we will learn to use the vocabulary related to capacity,to record our understanding and to begin to estimate how many cups a bottle may hold. Hopefully we will keep the floor dry. If anyone happens to have another dispenser sitting in their cupboard after a summer barbecue,it would be very useful and gratefully received.
Happy Learning
A Letter About Sleights C Of E School
(21st November 2018)
Alongside our work in the Post Office we have been writing letters and finding out about the postal system. Together we have written a letter to the editor of the Whitby Gazette to let him now just how special our school is. Very soon Sleights School will be 50 Years Old and we think that it would be nice to celebrate with an article in the Gazette.Our thoughts are up on the wall in the classroom. Come in and read them. Perhaps you could add some thoughts of your own. There will be paper ready!
You Got A Friend In Me
16th November 2018
This week we have been exploring what makes a good friend. We talked about this theme and drew and painted together. The children had some very beautiful things to say about their friends and being a friend. The pictures are now on the wall in the classroom. You will be able to see them at Parent’s Evening next week.
You Can Count on Us
12th November 2018
We have been using a variety of stuff to help us visualise what number looks like. We have used numicon to make number bonds to 10,to draw around and to fill the hundred square. We have used Duplo and lego tiles to make addition sums. The Pioneers posed proudly with their calculations. The tables are set with maths stuff in the morning so do pop in and have a look if you want to see adding in action.
Happy Mathematics
Early Morning Learning Frenzy
(7th November 2018)
The first 15 minutes of the day are always full of energy and really intense “doing”. We are now in a routine and the children are all confident and comfortable to explore and to learn. At times it is possible to stand back and observe the wonderful joy of learning and this morning was one of those mornings.
Happy Learning
Maths in the Forest
Today was magnificent. After our Guided Reading in the classroom and a bit of handwriting,we got our kit on and went out. Although it was a bit windy around the classroom,it was just beautiful down in the forest. The children were asked to do some comparisons. Each child had two pieces of string-one long,one short. Their job was to find items and make comparisons. We rehearsed the sentences using the phrase”is longer than” or “is shorter than” and “is the same length as”. They all worked very well together. We ate snack in the shelter and enjoyed some more sunshine. A truly lovely morning.
Queues at the Post Office
5th November 2018
We have started this half term with a focus on letters and letter writing. A Post Office area is set up in the classroom and due to popularity it has already been extended. Some great pieces of writing have already appeared. Thanks to Archie’s family,we have a post box ready to be painted. Parcels need to be weighed and envelopes measured. Documents will need to be stamped but I haven’t set out the black ink pad yet. We shall build up to that. Today we looked at the journey of a letter,talking about addresses,stamps and Royal Mail. A table is also set out in the sheltered area so the writing could continue.Our focus texts are The Jolly Postman and Flat Stanley. Pop in and have a look.
After The Storm (Noah-Not Percy)
25th October 2018
After reading Percy the Park Keeper “After the Storm” we took a little look at Noah’s Ark. Many of the children are very keen on the plastic animals and this gave them another aspect to explore in their play. We have painted rainbows,discussing first the colour selection in every rainbow. This painting was done on a small scale and with fine brushes. This took some skill to plan how big to make the various arcs. The children drew pairs of animals and discussed the features of each. We also discussed who would eat who. The photography doesn’t really do justice to the animal drawings so please pop in to see them and have a look at our rainbows too.
Unicorns in the Forest
(23rd October 2018)
This week,I am most grateful for these stones painted for us by one of our families. Mrs McGill and I had fun hiding the stones in the forest for the children to find. We took photographs to make a treasure hunt for the Pioneers. It is much easier to hide the stones than it was to find them again. One swish of the autumn leaves and it made the hunt just a little harder. Well done Pioneers. You showed great perseverance and helped each other with this task. Only one more out there still to find!
Dressing-Up Fun
(23rd October 2018)
This week I have added a selection of dressing up clothes. The noise level has increased dramatically as everyone tried out their new roles. Some became quite loud when under the cover of a large hat and sunglasses. Some were moved to dance and I heard some spectacular singing too.
Visiting the Leaders
(18th October 2018)
On Thursday after PE we were invited in to join the older children to help with creating some leaves to add to the new art work in the hall. Although it was a bit daunting at first, they made us feel very welcome. We worked together and you will be able to see the leaves in place very soon.
Getting Excited about Writing
(19th October 2018)
Early morning writing is exciting to watch. We all have writing books to write in whenever we feel the need. If they want to then they are welcome to take them home to write in too. Together we are working on letter shapes and the progress is incredible. Come in and have a look in the morning if you have time.
Happy Writing
Percy The Park Keeper
(19th October 2018)
Our work this week has centred on the Percy the Park Keeper story After the Storm. We retold the story in the classroom,played with the animals and took them to the forest to build their homes. High quality discussion took place about where the animals lived,what they ate and when they came out to feed. The children have been particularly interested in birds of prey and how they hunt and feed. This interest will lead next the work next week. We will explore”Who’s Eating Who?” in our forest.
Planting Herbs
(10th October)
When the weather allows,we have been eating snack in the garden shelter. We have been gifted some new herbs and Mrs McGill took groups of Pioneers to get them into the soil on this fine sunny day. Please let us know if you have any spare herbs that we could add to our raised beds in this beautiful little garden.
For Every Cup and Plateful,May We Be Truly Grateful
We enjoyed our pumpkin soup in the outdoor shelter. Mrs McGill brought the soup in the hollowed out pumpkin for us to share. The children commented on the flavours that they could pick out. Some were not too sure but everyone gave it a try.
Happy Eating
Ready,Steady,Cook
(10th October 2018)
It was all hands on deck to get our pumpkin soup made today and have it ready for snacktime. Mrs McGill was working at great speed with all the little helpers. They were able to name the spices we added. Great technique was observed when the stock cube was crumbled. This had obviously been done before. The vegetables were all prepared and in the pot before assembly ensuring that the finished dish was ready to serve for elevensees. Happy Cooking!
Pumpkin Soup
(8th October 2018)
After the interest in vegetables from last week,we have continued on the theme of Our Yorkshire:Harvest. The classroom was set with a number of areas to work in: a tidy teepee with a collection of woodland animals;a large collection of conkers and bowls and a selection of pumpkins and props to tell a story. A selection of autumnal paint colours and rollers were available for experimentation.Within minutes of the children’s arrival everything had changed.The pumpkins were all transported in a variety of ways to a preferred location and the conkers also disappeared. More paint was being added to the printing trays.Wonderful learning was taking place.
Later in the day,we read the story of Pumpkin Soup and got stuck in to some really excellent role play. There was some great mathematical language too when comparing the weight of the pumpkins. We discussed how pumpkins grow and described the texture of the surface.
Really happy learning.
Enjoying Tasty Snack
(5th October 2018)
On Thursday we had a visit from Mrs Taylor who helped us make bread for the whole school. After Harvest we got to eat some. Everyone had a go at spreading their own bread bun and helping themselves to jam. At times there may have been more jam than bread.
Just One Finger
(5th October 2018)
The weather was wet and misty and everyone was feeling quite tired after our Harvest Festival. We needed some paint to keep us going. After a short play in the rain everyone had a bit of a go at colour mixing and moving the paint around. I selected autumn colours to compliment our cabbages and pumpkins. Everyone worked with purpose,exploring what happened when the colours mixed and finding different ways to move the paint around. Some people stayed on and enjoyed the paint for a longer period. The children could also experiment with finger painting on the interactive white board. Others enjoyed washing the brushes.Please come into the classroom to see this painting for yourself. Happy Friday.
Mud Glorious Mud
(4th October 2018)
The Mud Kitchen has been moved and has been a popular location for learning this week. I have overheard lots of fantastic vocabulary around making potions and soups. Lots of negotiating has been going on over sharing the space and the resources. We have been estimating,counting and comparing and discussing weight and capacity. The kitchen is stocked with fir cones,sticks,conkers and fresh herbs.
A Whole Lot of Writing Going On
(2nd October 2018)
Today was School Photographs Day and this is always a bit stressful. Lots of the learning in a reception classroom can be a little messy .There was no dough and paint this morning,only pen and paper. It was a real treat to see lots of writing happening around our classroom-inside and out. Both letters and numbers were in evidence.There are clipboards at all the locations and selected writing materials. The class are getting very good at looking after our resources, making sure lids are put on our lovely new felt tip pens. Today I also introduced a new big whiteboard and the children made full use of this. I would like them to write their name or draw a picture on this when they come in in the morning,as a form of self registration. There is a program on the interactive whiteboard and everyone is getting the hang of using this. And then there’s good old chalk,inside and out.
Please use Tapestry to send us your pictures of any writing you are doing at home.
Happy Writing
A Visit To Our Church
(1st October 2018)
We walked together through the village to our Church. As we walked we talked about the road signs,the house numbers and the numbers on the telegraph poles. Everyone recognised the sign for the Fish and Chip Shop. We also noticed the moon. Everyone was very sensible as we made our way up the hill.
Before leaving school,we had discussed the things to look out for in the church: the symbol of the cross;the font and the difference in the way sound would travel. We discussed the shape of the building although this was difficult to see due to scaffolding and cladding supporting the ongoing building work.
The Vicar (Mrs Vicar) talked us through the different aspects of the building and we had a little rehearsal of our song for Harvest Festival on Friday.
As we were leaving we looked at the Lightning Rod which used to be on the top of the church. This will lead to further discussion in the classroom.
A good time was had by all.
Happy Learning
Make it Count
Every day there are a wide range of opportunities to count in Pioneer Class. Numicon (the coloured stuff with the holes) is the most popular. This week they have been counting and recording with whiteboards and stickers and clipboards. This week we have also had a chat about time and money. Clock jigsaws and the shop till, with real money, have been a part of our play.
It’s All Going On Outside
Lots of learning happens in our outdoor area. It changes rapidly and is always full of purpose and activity. Learning which started in the classroom moves with the children to the new resources outside. After balancing and jumping in the hall, the children used the big building to create a more complex set of obstacles. Clipboards are there to let writers write. And,due to it’s popularity, the Mud and Water Kitchen has moved to a new more central location.
Forest Faces
Our trip to the forest this week was beautiful. We established some rules and some boundaries and got to work. We have been exploring emotions and how these may look on out faces. We continued this work in the forest. Each child had a cup to collect resources and followed instructions on what to collect. We used playdough and our forest finds and enjoyed the sunshine.
Happy Harvest-Making Apple Crumble
(28th September 2018)
Over the past few days, we collected apples from the tree and discussed their various states of decomposition. We made two piles of apples-one for the crumble and one for composting. Mrs McGill helped the children to make the crumble. After our trip to the forest we enjoyed our tasty creation on the Garden Shelter. We actually made enough for two days.
Happy Writing! (18th September 2018)
We have loved exploring different opportunities for writing in Pioneers Class. In particular, we have enjoyed using huge pieces of paper and crayons to experiment and make big movements. We were really impressed with the circles we drew and the different sizes that we could make. Happy Writing!
