Pioneers Class

Lots of lovely mathematics has been going on in the classroom. Each day we get together and do a bit of clapping,jumping,drawing and counting. We move the beads on the bead string. We count numicon. We make patterns with bricks. We draw and we write. When appropriate we watch N-N-N-N-Numberblocks. The blue plates are great to write on and our cubes dont fall off.

Happy Maths

We had the great pleasure of welcoming the Leaders to read and sing with us. It was so lovely to see the care and consideration offered by all. The children are all familiar with each other after sharing lunchtimes,playtimes and Collective Worship. We began the session by singing our favourite,”Little Bunny Fou Fou” and then we quietened down to finish the day with a shared story. The older children wrote in the reading record of their younger friends,to note their visit and the book they shared.

Happy Sleights School Family

This week we have done  a lot of learning outdoors in our beautiful village and school grounds. The addition of some new bricks and some Hi-Viz Vests have brightened up our already popular Big Building.  The building tools have been used for the purpose of surgery. I have been invited to numerous appointments to have treatment. The treatment has most often been having my leg chopped off at varying intervals.

We have cut down some of our lavender to dry for playing in the dough over the winter and we have started to gather the apples from the trees to make crumble in the next few weeks.

We took a few trips to the forest too and it is just the best place. Our pockets were full of forest treasure. On return to the classroom we have counted and compared,looked carefully and found out more. So much learning.

We also walked up to the Church together and walked through the beautiful Church grounds. 

Happy Autumn.

This week we have been learning The Magic Porridge Pot. We have enjoyed the rhyme and rhythm of the story and I am sure many of us have the words stuck in our heads. The ongoing play has been fantastic and I have eaten so many bowls of porridge with huge wooden spoons.

The addition of a box of magnetic rods and a selection  of pots,pans,colanders and trays caught the interest of many. Some wanted to build high.Others were interest in testing out the materials. Some of  the pots looked like they should be magnetic and were not. This caused some discussion and ‘trial and error’ experimentation continued. The ‘attract’ and ‘repel’ of the magnets held the attention of many. It really is like magic to watch. The language used was spectacular, as was the team work required.. Over the day the play changed and developed and it was so exciting to watch.

Sharing wonderful books happens all over the place in our classroom. Baskets of selected texts are all over the place to dip into and relax. There is a big box of books that the children can pick from to take home and share. Special books are often highlighted by the Pioneers as favourites.

Each day we read two books and then discuss which is the best. Initially I placed two baskets for the children to chose one book or the other but they made it clear that they needed to be able to place a vote for liking both books. Democracy! We now have three baskets.

It is so beautiful to see children sitting together and by themselves looking at books. Some have been spotted reading to each other. Others have been pretending to be the teacher and sitting in my chair reading to their friends,modelling my behavior. If you listen carefully you can often hear the words from the text that they have committed to memory. We are so well supported by lovely reading volunteers who offer their time to sit and read and chat about books. The Pioneers are always keen to chat about their stories.

Next week we will visit the library to extend our book choices

Happy Reading

The last lot of sandwiched were fine but not really big enough so we tried to upscale. The rolling pins were big and heavy and very nice to roll. We needed quite a lot of jam and a fair spread of butter. The children were very good with the tools,using a spatula and some big spoons,a knife and a fish slice.

The finish product was enjoyed on the steps of Explorers Classroom. It was so nice that the children chose to sit together to eat.

No wasps attended.

One of the children said that their favourite book was The Giant Jam Sandwich. After reading it we decided that it would be a good idea to make our own one. No wasps were invited. Fingers were sticky. Lots  of discussions followed about size and shape and comparisons were made. Some liked lots of jam while others opted for less. Lots of talk and lots of learning. We made a story map to help us remember what we did. 

Happy Learning

Building with big and small bricks and other random items is very popular with the Pioneers. Through this construction work we have been discussing the names of 2D and 3D shapes,using positional language and learning to play in a small space with our friends. This takes a lot of skill. The children have found ways to solve problems,building chairs for themselves and for their toys. The team work has been fantastic. Some children have built towers and then compared their height with the height of the tower. Others have experimented with balancing and given consideration to the size and the shape of the surfaces they are using. 

Such purposeful learning.