Friday 15th July

The final full week of the year has been a busy one as usual! 

In Maths, we have been sequencing events in chronological order, recognising & using language relating to time, telling the time to the hour and half hour and solving various time related word problems. Continued practice over the summer break would be really beneficial. 

We've enjoyed learning about the zones of the ocean in Science and created our own detailed scenes to show what we have learnt. 

We've also had fun exploring in between our learning times! 

Friday 8th July

Today we enjoyed a trip to the British seaside! We made sandcastles, explored the rock pool, played beach games, visited the cafe and ice cream parlour, watched a Punch and Judy show, relaxed on the beach with friends, played archery and finished the day with ice lollies. A few of us even had a funny photo taken! A non stop day but lots of fun had by all and so lovely to hear the children say how much they enjoyed it. 

We hope you like the photos!

Friday 1st July

What a busy week we've had!

In English, the children have been ordering words in alphabetically and using dictionaries to find the meaning of various words. We were really impressed with how they applied their knowledge of the alphabet and were able to find the words with their partner. Next week we will be looking at glossaries and the children will be writing their own 'seaside' themed glossary.

In Maths, we have started our learning about fractions and have been finding halves of shapes. All children have a great understanding of this.

In RE, we have been learning about Hindu temples and the children made their own using lego. Have a look at the pictures below! We think they are brilliant.

In Topic, we have been comparing the British seaside now to Victorian times. We found quite a few things that were different but also many things that are the same. Ask your children to tell you what we found out! 

Next week's tricky words: more, before, any, eye

Next week's phonics: 'ea' pronounced /e/

Wednesday 29th June

Owl Class have had the most fantastic day at the Look Out Discovery Centre. The children loved all the hands on exhibits and playing in the amazing play park, what a busy day we had! Enjoy the photos and hopefully your child will tell you all about their favourite experiences. 

Friday 24th June

It's been a busy week in Owl Class!

We've thoroughly enjoyed reading The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch over the past few weeks. All the drama activities, re-telling the story, drawing story maps and describing the characters has led to some fantastic writing! The children are looking forward to sharing their diaries with you at next week's book look!

In Topic, we shared our knowledge of British seaside resorts and thought about what we might see if we were looking out from the gallery deck of a lighthouse. The children then used measuring, cutting and drawing skills to create their own lighthouse picture. 

What a great morning we had at Sports Day! The children all participated with enthusiasm, determination and encouragement for their team mates. There were lots of happy children who said they loved the morning's events. We are very proud of them all.

Next week's tricky words: Wednesday, brother, different, because

Next week's phonics: 'ph' pronounced /f/

Wednesday 22nd June

This week the children are doing some extended writing based on The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch.  They have shown great concentration and applied their knowledge of adjectives as well as correct punctuation.  We will be continuing this throughout the week so we are excited to see their finished piece of writing.  This will be available for you to see in our forthcoming book look.  In maths the children have set up their own shop and named it.  They have selected the objects they want to sell and priced them.  They have loved taking turns in being the customer and the shopkeeper buying and selling using real money from their purses/wallets.  They have also been comparing different amounts of coins, selecting and adding up each set.  Some children wanted to take some blank price tags home to set up their own shop so please send in photos so we can share them in school during news time.  Here are some photos of the week so far... 

Science

This afternoon we made the most of the glorious weather and went outside with our 'Summer Spots' sheet to observe signs of summer. Then children found caterpillars. bramble flowers, leaves, bumblebees and much more! They are bringing these home to continue their spotting! We also spoke about our very exciting trip to the Look Out Discovery Centre next week - don't forget your packed lunch!

Friday 17th June

It's been a busy and rather hot end to the week! 

Today we found Fred the seagull's diary in the outdoor area but sadly it had some pages missing. This gave us the idea to write diaries next week as if we are Fred. In preparation for this the children all had to imagine they were Fred and answer questions based on the events of the book. They had lots of fun with this and really got into role!

In Topic we continued our learning about lighthouses and explored the life of Grace Darling. We looked at the names and functions of different parts of a lighthouse. 

In PE, we practised the sports day events and are very much looking forward to the real thing next Friday. Fingers crossed for a slightly dry, cooler day! 

Next week's tricky words: Monday, Tuesday, many, laughed

Next week's phonics: 'g' pronounced /j/, 'c' pronounced /s/

Wednesday 15th June

This week we have been discussing and learning about coins and notes in maths.  The children have loved using the real coins in their purse or wallet during maths lessons.  They have been exploring the shape, colour and value of each coin as well as making an amount using different variations of coins.  In English the children have been hot seating playing the different characters in the text 'The Lighthouse Keepers Lunch'.  They had so much fun doing this activity, and their questioning and answers were very detailed!  Here are some photos of the week so far.

Science

The children have enjoyed learning about the fish, discovering where they live, how they eat and their important features. They drew a fish of their choice and labelled its features. The children loved sharing lots of interesting facts they knew about fish and sea life with the rest of the class. 

Friday 10th June

Owls have had a great first week back! We've loved reading The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch in English lessons. We've discussed the characters giving evidence from the text, written some fantastic sentences using alternative words for 'said' and even had a go at using speech marks. Owls are always up for a challenge which we love! 

We have started our 'Lighthouse Lookout' topic sharing our knowledge of lighthouses and learning about where they are located and their purpose. There were also lots of interesting questions which we will hopefully answer throughout this next half term.

Tricky words & Phonics - next week we will be revising sounds and words already taught. 

Wednesday 8th June

We started the week with our very last Forest School session.  We had so much fun with Mrs. Finn making dens to shelter in should the rain take us by surprise!  The final test after making them was to see if they were waterproof.  A bottle of water was poured over them, and we are pleased to say that all of the shelters did the job.  We were feeling very proud of ourselves!  In maths this week have been continuing our learning about place value up to 100.  We were building numbers using tens and ones dienes, comparing them and saying which was the largest and which was the smallest, explaining how we know using mathematical language.  In English we have started reading a new text called 'The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch'.  We have looked at the characters in more detail and will be continuing with this book for the next few weeks.  Here are some photos of the week so far...

Friday 27th May

We've had a great week to end yet another brilliant half term! 

Yesterday we enjoyed 'Decades Day', learning about the crown jewels, toys from the past and the Union Jack and creating our own versions. Today we had a visit from a local resident, who attended the school during the time of the Queen's Coronation. The children listened respectfully and had some great questions to ask him. 

Over the last few weeks the children have created and practised performing their own dinosaur themed raps. Today we have filmed them to share with you all at home. We hope you enjoy them! 

We hope you all have a lovely half term break! If anyone is visiting the British seaside this week then please can you send Owl Class a postcard showing where you are! Or if you have any family or friends living there, maybe you could ask them to send us one. This is in preparation for our seaside topic next half term. Thank you

Wednesday 25th May

The children enjoyed exploring the micro-habitats of all the different insects that live in the Bluebells. They recorded which insects they found and where they found them on a tally chart and then we transferred this information onto a bar graph to see which were the most and least common insects. 

Tuesday 24th May

We started the week with a bang by going to Dinosaur Golf!  We all played the full 18 holes and had great fun.  We were reading some dinosaur facts that were written on the signs placed all around the golf course, as well as some maths when we were adding our scores.  Some of the holes were very tricky and frustrating, but we were all 'persevering parrots' and kept trying!  Here are some photos of the day...

Friday 20th May

It's been a busy but very productive week in Owl class! 

Finally, our baby dinosaur hatched after many weeks of waiting and checking! It's a Stegosaurus and after a whole class vote we have named him Eric!

In yesterday's topic lesson we looked at the features of maps and created our own maps of the classroom. 

Today we explored Jordans Village and created maps to see if we could find a suitable place to release Eric. We had lots of different views where the best place would be and eventually decided we think it would be best to keep it for a while in school. We wrote some very persuasive letters to Mrs Swain giving reasons why we should be allowed to keep it as a class pet rather than release it. Luckily she agreed! 

Next week's words: friend, school

Next week we are revisiting the following sounds: ie, aw

Wednesday 18th May

The children had an exciting afternoon of science! We used the shoe boxes you kindly sent in to make habitat boxes. The children investigated which habitat a woodlouse might choose and why. They used habitats from the Bluebells such as leaves, soil, stones and put a woodlouse down to see which habitat it chose. We talked about why it might choose that habitat. The children thought of lots of scientific reasons including; its dark, damp, protection from predators and food. The children can take their habitat boxes home and recreate the investigation with other minibeasts!

Tuesday 17th May

We had an amazing time in Forest School this week.  We learnt how a horse chestnut tree begins life, and Mrs. Finn brought in her horse chestnut conker seeds that had sprouted over two growing seasons, (two years), and we tipped them out of the small bucket to see what it looked like.  We were all very excited.  We used some rocks as tools to break up other rocks.  We wore our protective eye equipment while doing this activity!  Here are some photos of Forest School... 

Friday 13th May

What a productive few days we've had in Owl Class! The children produced some amazing writing, imagining they were Tom from our current text. They re-told his adventure to the Island of Dinosaurs, using a range of sentence openers and adjectives.

In Topic we learnt about the life and discoveries of the famous fossil hunter Mary Anning. They made their own fossils using salt dough which hopefully made it safely home to you today! We've also been practising performing our dinosaur raps and look forward to adding sound effects to these next week. 

Finally, we think we may have heard some movement from the box housing the suspected dinosaur egg and are hoping it may hatch soon!

Next week's words: our, house, once

Next week we are revisiting the following sounds: au, ey, ai

Wednesday 11th May

In Science we linked our learning about dinosaurs in English. We set up an experiment to explore how fossils are formed. The children used bread as layers of sedimentary rock and gummy sweets as small animals. Over time the bread squashed down over the sweets and fossils of the sweets were formed in between the layers - just like fossils were formed in rocks over millions of years! The children also sorted dinosaurs according to what they ate - carnivore, herbivore, omnivore. Thank you to a member of Owl Class  for sharing how her bean is growing at home, it was so exciting to see it's progress!

Tuesday 10th May

Monday was our second session in Forest School.  The weather was amazing and the children had so much fun digging, planting, hammering some herbs and smelling their sweet smell, as well as painting bluebells, leaf identification and spotting wildlife living in our woods.  We are continuing our topic of multiplication in maths and the children have been using objects to make arrays, and using mathematical language such as columns and rows to explain the array they had made.  Everyone was careful when arranging the objects to ensure they were neatly formed.  They challenged themselves to arrange different sized objects so make arrays, which in some cases they found quite tricky.  In English we are continuing with the text of Tom and the Island of Dinosaurs looking at interesting sentence openers in readiness for some writing.  Some Growth Mindset resources have also been uploaded to our Google Classroom Owls page as we have been exploring feelings related to tricky learning.  Here are some photos of the week so far...

Friday 6th May

We've had another great few days in Owl Class! The children have loved reading 'Tom and the Island of Dinosaurs'. They came up with some amazing adjectives while playing with the dinosaur small world and watching a volcanic eruption. They used these to describe what they might see, hear, feel, taste and smell if they were on the island. Next week they will be imagining they are Tom and writing about their adventures. 

In Topic yesterday, the children enjoyed creating and started to perform their own dinosaur raps thinking about rhythm, rhyme and repetition. They'll continue to practise these over the next few weeks and even include some instrumental backing!

Next week's words: put, push, pull, full

Next week we are revisiting the following sounds: i_e, o_e, u_e, ir, oa

Wednesday 4th May

All of the children have come back from the long weekend break with lots of energy and enthusiasm!  In English we are reading Tom and the Island of Dinosaurs, and we have been sequencing the story as well as role play.  The children got into character very well and enjoyed it.  We have started to group objects into equal groups and added equal amounts as an introduction to the topic of multiplication.  Here are some photos of the week so far.

Science

We have continued with our topic learning about plants this week. We explored the different types of leaves and trees we could find in the Bluebells and school grounds. The children then used the leaves to make a leaf rubbing key to help identify the different types of trees. We also talked about deciduous and evergreen trees, how they are different and how we can tell them apart. 

Friday 29th April

What an exciting week we've had back at school!

Did you hear we found what we think is a dinosaur egg in the Year 1 outdoor area? After lots of discussion we decided to bring it in so predators don't get to it. We used non-fiction books to research the best way to look after it and it's now safely tucked in a box with leaves, twigs, a blanket and a teddy to keep it warm. Some of us were a little concerned about leaving it over the weekend and decided the best thing was for Mrs Banks to take it to Mrs Taaffe's house to look after it. BUT Mrs Taaffe hasn't been in our lessons this week to know how to look after it, so we wrote some amazing instructions for her.

Next week we will be revising sounds and tricky words covered so far in Year 1. 

Wednesday 27th April

It's been great to welcome the children back after the Easter break.  They have all settled back in well and are having lots of fun chatting and playing with their friends.  We thoroughly enjoyed Forest School on Monday and learnt about the Japanese art of transferring leaf dye to fabric by hammering.  Mrs. Finn was extremely knowledgeable and we had so much fun experimenting.  In English we are learning about Instructions, and practised listening to and giving instructions of how to wash a dinosaur.  The children were excited to give them a good scrub so all of the mud was washed off.  Here are some photos of the week so far...

Science

The children had lots of fun observing carefully signs of spring around school. They observed very carefully and drew so many different signs including - insects, flowers, deciduous leaves, birds, buds, blossom and saplings. 

Friday 8th April

What a fantastic week we've had in Owl class to end the spring term!

Yesterday we had a very productive DT day! We started the day learning about different ways to join cardboard rather than using glue or tape. The children designed their own famous landmarks from around the world and made them using everyday cardboard and plastic waste. It was great to see some of the joins being used in the making process! The children then had to evaluate their finished products thinking about what worked well, what was challenging and what they would do differently next time. 

Their landmarks will be on display outside the classroom at the end of the day for you to view.

Wednesday 6th April

We have had such an exciting week so far in Owl Class. The children enjoyed cooking (making chocolate Easter nests), we talked about how heat changed the chocolate bar solid to liquid in the microwave - enjoy eating them! 

All the children were amazing in the Easter assembly, we were so proud of their creative poems and how confidently the spoke - a huge well done! In science we observed our amazing beans and measured them. They have been sent home today, please replant then in a bigger pot if you can. It would be best to keep them inside until the end of April. Please send in updates of how your beans are growing at home! Have a lovely Easter break. 

Friday 1st April

What a busy few days we've had in Owl class. 

In English, the children have used their storymaps from earlier in the week to write their own versions of The Gingerbread Man. We are so impressed with their writing. They've not only thought about using the correct punctuation, neat handwriting and spellings but  interesting adjectives and a range of sentence starters too! We're looking forward to them finishing their writing next week. 

In Maths, we have continued to consolidate our learning of place value within 50. 

In Topic, we discussed different modes of transport around the world and found a song about a few of the different types. We practised singing and used a variety of instruments to keep a steady beat. 

A very productive few days! 

Next week's alternative spellings: Revision - /oo/ /n/ /ng/ /ow/ 

Next week's tricky words: some, come, who, were

Wednesday 30th March

The children have had fantastic start to the week.

In Maths they have been consolidating previous learning, looking at place value within 50.

In English they have started planning their own version of the Gingerbread Man, changing the setting and some of the characters. The children have also been creative, using their cutting and printing skills to make some Easter art for our assembly next week.

In Science we were wowed by how much the beans have grown - some as tall as the children! We made some careful observations and measured how tall the beans are. 

Friday 25th March

This week has flown by! 

Yesterday in English, we created a storymap of The Gingerbread Man. Storymaps are great in helping children re-tell stories using the images as reminders of the main events. It has been great to see some children drawing their own independently in exploring time! Today the children chose new settings in preparation for writing their own versions next week. 

In topic this week we explored the four countries of the UK and labelled a map with the names of the countries and their capitals. If any children have been on holidays to Scotland, Wales or Northern Ireland and have photos or items they would like to share with the class then please let us know. 

Next week's alternative spellings: /ow/ /ng/

Next week's tricky words: water, there, where, again, thought, through, work, mouse

Wednesday 23rd March

The children have had a fantastic day! The have been exploring capacity in Maths and measured how many cups of water filled up different shape and size containers. In English they have been reading 'The Gingerbread Man', created their own version of the main character and described him - the class thought of so many amazing adjectives! In Science we were amazed by how much the beans have grown in 1 week - all the sunshine has certainly helped! We also explored the Bluebells for different leaves and as a group thought about various ways to sort them. 

Friday 18th March

We've had another great few days in Owl class. 

The children used their ideas, gathered earlier in the week, to create some fantastic spring poems. We look forward to sharing these with you at our Easter assembly in a few weeks time. 

In Topic, we travelled to our final continent, Europe! We learnt of some of the wonderful natural and manmade sights found there and were lucky enough to have some Owls share facts and photos from their previous travels. We are staying in Europe for the next few weeks and will be focussing on the countries which make up the United Kingdom. If the children have photos or information to share please do let me know. 

Next week's alternative spellings: /oo/ (y)/oo/ /n/

Next week's tricky words: old, don't, water, there, where, again

Wednesday 16th March

We have had such a fun week so far in Owl Class! 

The children have been learning about poetry in English and wrote down all of their ideas about spring ready to write their own poems. In Maths they have been learning about weight, exploring the balancing scales and estimating and weighing using cubes.

Today was Science day! The children enjoyed visiting all the classes. They made magic rainbows in Year 2, a lava lamp in Year R and slime in Year 1. We also carried out a some fun science 'explosions' in Year 1 which were very exciting! 

Friday 11th March

We've had a great end to the week in Owl Class!

In Maths, we used our knowledge of measuring using standard units to solve word problems. The children are doing really well using rulers to measure and draw lines in centimetres and it would be great if you could continue to practise this at home.

In English, we started reading the text Meerkat Mail and partway through found a postcard from Sunny the meerkat, asking us if we thought it was a good idea for him to move from Africa to Antarctica. Before we could reply to him, we needed to find out a bit more about meerkats and the Kalahari Desert. We then used this information and our knowledge of Antarctica to write letters advising him that he must definitely NOT GO! Have a look below at some of our brilliant writing. 

In Topic, we travelled to our penultimate continent Africa. We learnt about the animals we might see on safari and the famous landmarks. We enjoyed watching a Go Jetters episode about the Mountain Gorillas in The Democratic Republic of the Congo. 

Next week we will be flying to our final continent Europe. We If anyone has any information or photos they would like to share with the class about European countries then please do send an email to the Owls email address. 

Next week's alternative spellings: /oa/ /m/ /igh/ /f/

Next week's tricky words: day, made, came, make, some, come, who, were

Wednesday 9th March

In science we are continuing to learn about plants. The children drew and labelled a plant then they all planted their own bean! The children enjoyed getting messy and using soil to plant their bean seed in a pot. We have left them on the windowsill so the sun can shine on them and will water then every other day. The children will be completing a bean diary each week and observing their plant grow. 

Tuesday 8th March

After exploring measuring classroom objects with non-standard units of measure (cubes, dominoes...), we moved on to using a ruler accurately.  We measured carefully by starting at the zero on the ruler and holding the object still.  It was lots of fun comparing the length and height of our chosen items in centimetres (cm).

Friday 4th March

We had a great day yesterday, celebrating World Book Day. The children loved sharing their characters and books with their friends. They drew fantastic drawings and wrote some really great character descriptions.

Today, we continued our travels around the continent of Australasia exploring the wildlife, climates and landmarks of Australia and New Zealand. We also learnt about the history of Indigenous Art and creating our own dot paintings. We also used our cutting, organisation and sticking skills to create our own versions of the Sydney Opera House. Both the tasks involved a lot of concentration and perseverance. We look forward to showing you these during our book look next week!

Next week, we are travelling to our sixth continent, Africa. Please do let us know if there is anything you can share with us.

Next week's alternative spellings: /oa/ /m/

Next week's tricky words: water, where, who, again, thought, through, work, mouse

Wednesday 3rd March

The children have enjoyed starting our new science topic all about plants. They carefully observed different types of seeds and thought about how they were similar/different. We also talked about what plants need to grow. If you are growing anything at home please send photos in of your growing plants! 

Thursday 17th February

A busy week so far.  The children have been exploring tens and ones, comparing and ordering numbers as well as number bonds to 10, 20, doubles and halves.  They have been using numicon very well to help build up an image of number bonds, doubles and halves in their head, so they can recall each one.  In English we have been exploring the text Katie's Picture Show and using our knowledge of the rainforest to describe features of one of the pictures she disappears into!  Here are some pictures of the week so far...

Wednesday 16th February

Science

The children really enjoyed consolidating all our learning about animals. They chose their favourite animal and drew it. Then they chose which category it belonged to - reptile, mammal, fish, bird or amphibian. After that they labelled their picture with information about their animal. What super scientists you are Owl Class!!! Have a fantastic half term! 

Friday 11th February

This week, we travelled to the continent of South America our travels around South America, exploring the Amazon Rainforest in both English and Topic lessons. We used our research from earlier in the week to create fact files, about rainforest animals.

In Topic, we learnt about the artist Henri Rousseau and focused on his painting 'Surprised'. We found out that he never actually visited the rainforest but used his imagination to create many paintings whilst living in Paris. We began to create our own rainforest painting using our imaginations. First we used watery paint to create a 'wash'. By adding paint to water we learnt that it flows easily across the paper and provides a light layer of colour. Next we added plants, leaves, trees and grass using a variety of shades of green and a range of different techniques. Next week we will add animals and additional features. We can't wait to share our finished paintings with you!

Next week's alternative spellings: /ai/ /ee/ /c/ /ch/

Next week's tricky words: oh, their, people, I'm, by, time

Wednesday 9th February

The children have had so much fun this week.  In P.E we learnt about the Winter Olympics, and the types of sports featured.  We watched some video clips of ice skating and ice dancing which inspired the children so much to create their own 'ice dance'.  We took some features of the Torville and Dean's Bolero dance and incorporated them into our routine.  The children were creative and had a fantastic time!  They were also interested to watch some of the Winter Olympic sports, and some of them came into class this morning and told us they had watched some snowboarding, curling and ice dancing.  In maths we have been learning about tens and ones within the range of 50.  The children are explaining their answers and showing how they know it is correct using various manipulatives.  In English we have learnt about proper nouns, and when we use them.  In addition to this we have started to write animal fact sheets about Animals living in the Amazon rainforest.  Here are some photos of the week so far...

Science

We have been on a bug hunt around the Bluebells to find the most common insect living in our school. The children loved exploring the insects habitats and we found that worms were the most common minibeast. Have a look in your garden or local park - What is the most common minibeast living there? 

Friday 4th February

What a busy few days we've had!

In English, we wrote an extra verse, related to our chosen animal from 'Rumble in the Jungle'. The expectations were that the content needed to be related to that animal and needed to include rhyming words! The children produced some amazing writing doing just that! They then went on to perform these to Deer class!

In Topic, enjoyed boarding the plane to our third continent 'Asia' and visited a few of the famous landmarks there. We also had a go at writing our names using the Chinese Alphabet. 

We're looking forward to jetting off to South America next week! 

Next week's alternative spellings: /ee/ /ch/

Next week's tricky words: said, so, have, like, day, made, came, cake

Wednesday 2nd February

This week the children have been learning about fact families in maths.  They have been using their knowledge of addition and subtraction to find various ways of representing a picture, writing their findings in the form of a number sentence.  They have worked extremely well in all maths activities, being concentrating crocodiles!  In English we are reading the text 'Rumble in the Jungle'.  The children chose an animal and performed actions as their partner read out the relevant page of the book.  We performed outside in the sunshine, which was very enjoyable.  We learnt lots of interesting facts about Chinese New Year yesterday.  The children were fascinated by the story behind the celebration.  They loved making a lantern and taking it home to show and share.  Here are somoe photos of the week so far...  

Science

The children shared their knowledge about animals in science - some had found some very interesting facts out! We read 'Monkey Puzzle' and the children chose two animals from the story to describe and compare. 

Friday 28th January

We've had a great week in Owl Class. The children have loved reading about the Adelie penguins found in Antarctica in English and this has linked well with our Science and Topic lessons. Yesterday, we took our second flight to the continent of Antarctica where we learnt about the important work scientists do there and the famous explorer Roald Amundson. We then wrote some imaginative lists of things we would pack in our explorer's backpacks! In Music this afternoon, we had fun using our hands, feet and various instruments to keep the beat to a piece of music. The additional challenge was changing the beat as it sped up at various points!

Next week we are travelling to the continent of Asia before travelling to South America the following week! Please do always let us know if you have anything you can share with us that would enhance the children's learning whilst we travel around each continent. 

Next week's alternative spellings: /ai/ & /c/

Next week's tricky words: said, so, have, like, some, come, were, who

Wednesday 26th January

The children have had a fantastic start to the week. They have enjoyed reading 'One Day on Our Planet' in English and answered questions about the text and labelled a photo of a penguin. In maths they have been learning to subtract by making 10 using tens frames, counters and number lines. In science they continued their learning about animals, especially penguins, and investigated - How do penguins stay dry? Ask them what they discovered! 

Friday 21st January

We are so impressed with the children's writing this week. As mentioned previously, they have thought carefully about using interesting language and adjectives, as well as the correct punctuation, to re-tell the story of the Snow Bear. Today they used their brilliant imaginations to write their own endings to the story. What a great start to the term!

In topic, we discussed natural and manmade features and linked this to some of the famous landmarks of North America. When you are out and about over the weekend, see if the children can tell you what natural and manmade features they can see. 

Next week's alternative pronunciations: a, y, ch, ou

Next week's tricky words: many, laughed, because, different, any, eyes, friends, once, please

Wednesday 18th January

In English the children really enjoyed starting to write their version of 'Snow Bear'. They were all persevering parrots and thought hard about adding interesting vocabulary like time adverbials, adjectives and verbs. They continued to consolidate their understanding of adding by making 10 in Maths. In Science we continued our topic about animals and the children sorted animals by what they eat - carnivore, herbivore or omnivore. It was so lovely that so many children enjoyed sharing animal facts they had found out themselves at home - keep them coming!

Tuesday 17th January

In Maths the children were learning to add by making 10, applying their number bond knowledge to solving addition number sentences. In English we continued reading 'Snow Bear', the children retold the story orally, thinking carefully of interesting adjectives to create interest. They thought of so many 'wow' words to describe Little Bear's feelings throughout the story.  In P.E. the children explored dance and with a partner created amazing firework dances using streamers. 

Friday 14th January

We have loved reading The Snow Bear and can't wait to write our own versions next week. The children were keen to share the story at home so please check Google Classroom for the text and storymap we have been using in class.

Yesterday in Topic, we linked our learning to The Snow Bear text. We investigated how animals living in parts of Canada and areas around the Arctic Circle keep warm. Please ask us to tell you what we are doing in the pictures below and what we found out! We will be continuing to travel around Canada, USA and Mexico next week so if anyone has anything to share with the class, please bring in on Thursday. 

Next week's alternative pronunciations: ow, ie, ea, er

Next week's tricky words: water, where, who, again, thought, through, work, mouse

Wednesday 12th January

It's been a busy week so far.  In maths the children have been adding numbers within the range of 20 using the counting on method.  They have used counters, numicon and number lines to show their calculations.  They have learnt to play an addition board game too which has caused a lot of excitement in class!  In English the children have been acting out a story we are reading.  Their acting skills are superb, and their confidence is amazing to see.  Well done Owls!  In P.E we have started the Dance unit.  Yesterday the children used streamers to perform movements to certain dance tracks.  They were all very imaginative and loved expressing themselves to Katy Perry's 'Fireworks' track.  Here are some photos of the week so far...

Science

The children really enjoyed starting a new topic in science all about animals. We talked about our favourite animals and how they are categorized. The children learnt about the characteristics of reptiles, fish, amphibians, mammals and birds and sorted animals according to these characteristics. It would be great if they could continue their learning at home by using the internet (under adult supervision), watching animal programmes or reading animal fact books to find out as much as they can about their favourite animals! 

Friday 7th January

Happy New Year!

Owl Class have returned to school with so much enthusiasm and we are very much looking forward to the term ahead. 

This week in Maths, we have been counting in 2s and 5s and have used our knowledge to solve problems. If you could continue to practise this at home it would really help the children.

This term during our 'Wonderful World' topic we will visit all seven continents! Yesterday, we signed our passports and were invited to board flight OWL2022 to the continent of North America. We enjoyed some inflight entertainment, learning the names and locations of the continents and oceans. We shall be visiting North America for the next two weeks, so if anyone has anything to share linked to North America, please bring it in on Thursday. 

In music, we enjoyed using instruments and our body parts to join in with the beat while listening to a piece of music. We had fun finding different ways to move our bodies and keep the beat at the same time. 

Wednesday 6th January 

Happy New Year! 

Today in science Owl Class were thinking about signs of winter. We looked for signs in the Bluebells such as bare trees, leaves on the floor, no flowers and it feeling cold. We thought about how humans adapt in the winter - wearing warm clothes. Then we thought about how animals adapt in the winter - some hibernate, some migrate and some grow winter coats. We also talked about how the day changes in winter - less daylight and longer nights. When you are out and about see if you can observe any signs of winter. 

Friday 17th December

Yesterday the children were invited to a medieval banquet, hosted by the King! As many of the King's servants and entertainers were poorly they were need to help with the food preparation and entertainment! They had a great time learning about foods eaten during Medieval times and comparing to the foods we eat today. They even had a go at jousting! 

We can't believe we've reached the end of the first term in Year 1, it has flown by! The children have adapted so well to all the new routines and we are so proud of everything they have achieved so far. Every day they show so much enthusiasm and enjoyment towards their learning. Thank you to all the parents for your continued support and for the items you have purchased from the Amazon wish list! We are very much looking forward to the Spring Term and starting our 'Wonderful World' topic where we will be travelling to each continent throughout the term. If there are any children and/or their families who have lived at times in other countries and have photos or anything you can share with us as a class, then please drop us an email to the Owl Class email address. 

Finally, thank you all so much for your generous and thoughtful gifts. They are very much appreciated by the Owl Class team. We hope you all have a lovely Christmas and we look forward to seeing you in 2022!

Wednesday 15th December

This week has been amazing so far.  The children made robin decorations during Forest school and explored making and creating their own decorations using the natural resources around them.  They went on to make calendars for 2022 as well as a snow globe and Christmas card.  It was so lovely to hear them all singing Christmas songs whilst they were busy.  The maths and English this week has been a mixture of revisiting some phonic sounds, handwriting practise, counting in twos and fives as well as Christmas maths and English activity book challenges.  At the very last minute the children decided they wanted to learn the words and some actions to the Band Aid song 'Do They Know It's Christmas'...so I've uploaded a video of some of the children performing on our Google Classroom page.  They learnt this in an hour and a half and have done ever so well.  No doubt they will continue to sing and perform this over the Christmas period as it is played on the radio lots!  Maybe they can teach you?!  Here are some photos of the week so far.

Science

We had such a fun, exciting afternoon observing some Christmas science experiments! We watched Christmas trees 'melt' - the vinegar we dripped on them reacted with the bicarbonate of soda. Then we had an exploding snowman - watch the video! After that we made a snow storm in a jar! The children loved watching, listening and smelling the chemical reactions. Then we shared the story 'The Biggest Snowman Ever' and the children were challenged in teams to make the biggest snowman using only paper and tape. Well done to Peacocks who made the tallest snowman that could stand up on its own! All the children worked so well as a team, great listening and taking turns. Happy Christmas! 

Wednesday 8th December

This week has been filled with excitement as we approach Christmas.  The children have been practising for their nativity play as well as Forest School which had a Christmas theme.  Following on from last week's Topic lessons, in English the children wrote instructions of how to make a shield.  Mrs. Turkington asked if she could have copies of their instructions so Reception class could follow them, so the children knew their instructions had to be very clear!  In every step they used an adverb of time and an imperative verb.  We gave all of the instructions to Mrs. Turkington and she was very grateful. 

In maths the children have been exploring mass and weight.  They are experts in using balance scales.  They have been estimating, comparing and measuring the mass of different classroom objects.  They have worked in groups and pairs sharing and discussing their thoughts to prove and answer an investigation question.  They were excited to share their maths homework with each other and this helped them to understand the difference between the weight and mass of an object.  Here are some photos of their maths learning...

Science

The children continued learning about the properties of materials. They sorted objects as a class by their properties: soft, transparent, hard, smooth, flexible etc. In groups they then found objects around the classroom that matched a property e.g. rough. They also thought about what material the objects are made of. 

Tuesday 7th December

Yesterday the children had a lovely time in Forest School.  They were busy making tree decorations with the natural resources found in the woods.  They were very excited and showed their creative side throughout!  Here are some photos of the afternoon...

Friday 3rd December

What a busy few days we've had!

In English, we have been identifying the features of instruction texts and in Topic we have followed instructions to make our own shields! We came up with our own individual designs a few week's ago and we think we've done a fantastic job with our finished products! Have a look at the gallery below. 

We have been practising the nativity and can't wait to show it to you next week. We also loved playing in the snow yesterday. What a lovely surprise for the children!

Next week's words: Mr, Mrs, looked, called, asked

Next week we are revisiting the following sounds: aw, ew

Wednesday 1st December

In English we are learning about imperative verbs when giving and listening to instructions.  The children have been practising making up sets of instructions for their partner to follow.  This ranged from playing games to drawing something.  In maths we are comparing and ordering 'teen' numbers, looking at the value of each digit using our knowledge of tens and ones.  We will continue with this throughout year 1.   We had an amazing day out at Chiltern Open Air Museum yesterday.  We were full of busy investigating the ancient buildings, playing with toys from the past, listening to a Christmas story, making Christmas craft as well as a Christmas pudding workshop!  The whole day was fun and we were certainly tired by the end of the day.  Here are some photos of the trip...

Science 

This afternoon we carried out an investigation to find out which material would be best for the Queen to wear on her head while walking her corgi's in the rain! The children predicted what they thought might happen then used pipettes to find out whether plastic, kitchen roll or foil would be waterproof. Ask them what they found out!

Your children have brought home the beautiful decorations they made at COAM yesterday. The salt dough wreath they made needs to be baked. Please bake at 120oc for at least an hour or until dried out. When cool varnish with PVA glue. 

Monday 29th November

It was a very chilly day today, but Forest School was amazing.  Thank you Mrs. Finn!  Today the children had a turn planting a new hedgerow, (Dogwood), which will extend our Forest School area to the edge of the playground.  They made some signs to let other children know to be careful when they are next to the newly planted hedge.  Other activities included making a wooden tag, tree rubbing, exploring, finding bugs and making pictures of nature.  Here are some photos of today...

Friday 26th November

We've made it to the end of another week and what a great week it's been! The children have impressed us so much with their writing, retelling the story of 'The Dragon and the Knight'. They remembered to use story language from the book and added in adjectives to make their writing even more interesting. That's all on top of remembering to use finger spaces, capital letters and full stops! They have all made so much progress since the start of Year 1.

In Topic yesterday, we learnt about William the Conqueror and his role in the building of castles. We read the book 'Will's Dream' and acted it out as a class. Have a look at the pictures below! Some children asked to share this book at home so please check google classroom for a copy of this. 

Next week's words: oh, their, people

Next week's sounds: oe, au, ey

Wednesday 24th November

The children have enjoyed continuing to share 'The Knight and the Dragon'. They described the setting using a range of adjective,s thinking about what they might see, hear, smell and feel. Then they used the story map to start writing their version of the story. 

In maths the children have been focusing on place value, they have been using dienes to partition numbers into tens and ones. Then they compared two digit numbers - giving reasoning as to how they know if it is bigger/smaller. 

In science the children have been describing the properties of materials e.g. opaque/transparent, soft/hard and have enjoyed collecting and sorting object according to their properties on a venn diagram. 

Friday 19th November

We've had another great week in Owl class. 

The children have shared their maths shape homework with each other and we explored more about 3D and 2D shapes this week.  We grouped shapes and talked about the difference between 3D and 2D.

In English we are reading The Knight and Dragon.  It's been lovely to hear the children's predictions as to who may have won the fight and why. We've shared our knowledge of knights and dragons, used role play to explore the character's feelings and written sentences to describe what happened at various points in the story. We also helped Mrs Banks grown her brain to draw a story map! Next week we'll be writing sentences to re-tell the story, so make sure you ask us over the weekend to re-tell it to you. They could use the story map below to help. 

We've also learnt about Heraldry and have designed our own shields thinking about which colours, patterns and symbols best represent us. We are looking forward to using our designs to make shields next week!

Next week's words: some, come, were, there

Next week's sounds: i_e, o_e, a_e, u_e, e_e

Friday 12th November

This week has flown by! 

In Maths, we have been consolidating our learning of addition and subtraction.  The children have revisited some concepts to build on their prior knowledge and have been finding addition and subtraction number fact families.  A useful website to practise this  is https://www.topmarks.co.uk/number-facts/number-fact-families .

In English, we have been looking at poetry.  We have investigated rhyme and created a word bank of nouns, on the theme of castles. Yesterday we used all the ideas we gathered earlier in the week to create a class acrostic poem about castles. We are very proud poets!

In Topic, we've learnt how castles have changed over time and sequenced pictures of different castles on a timeline.

Yesterday we watched a beautiful CBeebies animation showing war as experienced by animals in the battlefield. As a class we then observed the two minute silence. 

Next week's common exception words: no, so, go

Next week's sounds: aw & au

Wednesday 10th November

We started a new topic in science all about Materials and their properties. Owl Class thought about what material objects might made of and why and sorted them as a class. They then chose objects and recorded what material they were made of. 

Friday 5th November

What a great first week back we've had in Owl Class! We have started our 'Curious about Castles' topic by sharing what we already know and questions we have. We loved playing with the model castles and learning the names and purpose of the main parts. 

The children have created some firework art, used their imagination to create their own games and have completed Mrs. Banks' exercise challenge. It's great to see the children choosing to write independently during continuous provision.

Next week's common exception words: he, me, she, we, be

Next week's sounds: wh & ph

Tuesday 2nd November

It's been a great start to the half term.  Yesterday we visited Windsor Castle and we had an amazing day out.  We are very proud of all of the children as they followed every instruction and behaved impeccably!  The staff at the castle commented that they were the most well behaved group of children they had seen in a very long time, and were so neat and tidy eating their snack and lunch.  We packed in a lot during our day and saw some spectacular sights, including St. George's Chapel, The State Apartments and as a special treat we were granted access to Queen Marys Dolls House which is currently closed to the general public!!  Here are a few photos of our day...  

Science

We were so lucky to have some very special visitors this afternoon. Albert's Mum kindly brought in two sixteen week old chickens for the class to learn about. The children learnt how Albert and his family take care of them, what they like to eat and when they lay eggs! Thank you so much to Albert's Mum for sharing them with us. The children even named them - Corny and Kitty!

Then we went on a autumn walk around the school looking for signs of autumn, the children spotted mushrooms, fallen leaves and acorns. The next time you're out and about keep your eyes peeled for all the signs of autumn you can spot! 

Friday 22nd October 

We've had another fantastic week in Owl Class! The children have shown so much enthusiasm during our Space topic over the past three weeks. It's been lovely to hear of them extending their learning at home and sharing this with their peers. Hopefully your children have already told you they have passed their astronaut training and the ESA will keep them in mind for the future! The training tasks included: researching planets & creating a fact book, carrying out a scientific investigation, exploring what it would be like to go into Space including tasting space food, attempting to write upside down and moon walking on giant sponges! We also had to complete a fitness test, design and make moon buggies, design a rocket using 2D shapes and write about a recent mission.  Sounds exhausting doesn't it! We've had lots of fun and learnt so much in the process!

Finally we would like to say how proud we are of all the children in Owl Class. They have settled into the new routines so well, shown kindness and courage and grown their brains every day! Thank you for your support this half term. We are very much looking forward to seeing the children back in school next half term for our 'Curious about Castles' topic! Have a good break. 

Next week's common exception words: you, your, they

Next week's sounds: ew & ue

Wednesday 20th October

The final week before half term has been another busy one.  The children have really been experiencing life as an astronaut, doing some space walking, space writing, tasting space food as well as fitness tests!!  They are really excited about completing all of their training tasks by the end of this week.  In maths we have been exploring number bonds and there are some resources uploaded to the website as well as Google Classroom on this topic.  The classroom stream has been used to communicate a lot of the detail of the week so I will show you the week so far in pictures... 

Science

The children had a very important training task from the ESA. They had to investigate if taller astronauts would need bigger space boots. All the children predicted whether they thought this statement was true or not and then we investigated as class. We measured everyone's height and foot size and plotted each child on a scatter graph. We found out most taller children had larger feet but some had medium or small feet. We concluded that it would best if they measured each individual astronaut's height and foot size as we are all different. 

Friday 15th October 

As you have probably already heard, Owl class had some great news on Monday morning...our applications to train to be future astronauts were successful and all of us were invited to commence astronaut training straightaway! Today we completed task 3: To complete a maths shape rocket. We're looking forward to next week's tasks already!  

Next week's common exception words: were, was, is

Next week's sounds: ew & u_e

Wednesday 13th October

This week the children have begun their applications to become an astronaut.  They are very excited and can't wait to complete all of their tasks.  They have been researching a planet and finding out some interesting facts, and have produced a planet fact book.  We are very proud of their writing!  In maths we have been partitioning numbers into 'parts' and working out what numbers can be added to make the 'whole'.  The children have also been exploring number families, looking at how numbers relate to each other.  The children have been making some Harvest craft and also built a camp in our outside area, complete with a campfire and toasted marshmallows!! The children enjoyed yoga this week as it was spaced themed  and they could practise being an astronaut!!  Here are some pictures of the week so far...

Science 

In science we continued our astronaut training and investigated how to make a space lander! In groups the children designed and made a shock absorbing space lander that would land an astronaut on the moon safely. Then we tested our space landers as a class, it was very exciting and we counted down just like they do at a rocket launch! 10, 9, 8, 7.... Did your astronaut land safely? 

Friday 8th October

It's been an exceptionally busy week in Owl Class.  The children have been concentrating so hard and have grown their brains in lots of different areas! We have really noticed how their independence getting changed for PE has improved. Please keep encouraging them to get themselves changed at home as this really does help them at school. 

Yesterday we came across an advert from the European Space Agency, who are looking to recruit future astronauts. Having read the qualities which are needed to be an astronaut, we decided to apply! We're hoping to hear back from the ESA soon to see if we have been successful with our applications! Finger crossed! Overnight, a space station appeared in the classroom, which the children were amazed to see this morning. They enjoyed taking on different roles and impressed us with taking turns to use the different resources. 

We will be continuing with the topic of Space for the next two weeks. If the children have a book or item related to the topic they may bring this in to show the class. The children have said they are keen to build rockets and space stations at home! If they do, please take a photo and email it our class email so we can share it with the children. We love to see them extending their learning at home. 

Next week's common exception words: his, has, I

Next week's sounds: oe & o_e

Wednesday 6th October

This week we have started to explore the topic of space.  The children made some fabulous predictions about the text we are reading, 'The Darkest Dark'.  They described what the main character, Chris, was dreaming about.  Their ideas were utterly amazing, including having a picnic with aliens, building a playground, zooming off to other planets and making friends with aliens.  We will be continuing with this book for a little while longer.  In maths we have been exploring a number line, applying our knowledge of greatest and smallest, learning about ordinal numbers as well as discussing and identifying which numbers are odd and even, and why they are odd or even.  Over the course of the week we built a display together which the children will refer to throughout their learning.  We have been practising some yoga moves during our P.E lessons.  It has revealed that balance is a key area that some of the children find tricky.  They have enjoyed the calmness and it gives them some time to themselves to gather their thoughts and refocus.  During exploring time the children have particularly enjoyed the challenge of some puzzles, and the digging area has been a favourite too!  Here are some pictures of the week so far...

Science

We continued to explore our senses, this week focusing on our sense of hearing. The children heard some loud and soft sounds in class and tried to guess what was making that sound. They then went on a sound walk around the school, listening carefully to all the different noises they could hear. 

Friday 1st October

Another week has flown by!

Today we have enjoyed playing our own board game using our 'Would you rather...' questions from earlier in the week. 

In our Topic lesson yesterday, we looked at different types of maps and discussed their features. We used Google maps to locate where we live and thought about the different routes we take to school. The children extended their learning by creating their own maps which they loved so much we continued the activity again today!

As you can see from the photos below Owl Class have had lots of fun learning this week!

Next week's common exception words: said, says, are

Next week's sounds: ie & i_e

Wednesday 29th September

Another busy start to the week.  We have a couple of new resources for our outside area.  These include a couple of cable wheels made into little villages where the children can explore using cars as well as some tubes they are using to make bridges, and problem solve with.  They have had great fun working as a team, sharing and discussing their ideas.  In maths we have been learning about equality and inequality symbols, and how to use them to make a statement about greater than or fewer than.  There is a vocabulary resource under the Resources Icon on our page which may help to open up discussion at home.  In English the children have loved the text "Would you rather...?"  They have been creating their own choices for the book, and we've had so much fun discussing some weird and wonderful examples.  They will be continuing with this as an inspiration for their writing.  In R.E this week we explored Raksha Bandhan.  The children were really interested in the celebration, and enjoyed making a Rakhi bracelet.  Here are some photos of the week so far...

Science

In science we were exploring our sense of sight. Which body part do you use for your sense of sight? We used our sense of sight to see which object was missing from a tray of 10 objects. Then in pairs we observed ourselves and a friends face using our sense of sight and discussed the similarities and differences. 

Friday 24th September

Another busy few days! It was lovely to see so many of you at yesterday's book look. 

In Maths we have been counting forwards and backwards from a given number within 20 and have been identifying 1 more than and 1 less than numbers within 10. If you could continue practising this at home, it would really help to consolidate the learning.

In English we've been looking at the structure of simple sentences and have written our own captions using capitals, finger spaces and full stops!

We've also enjoyed exploring the work of Pablo Picasso and creating our own masterpieces in a similar style. 

Recently we have assessed the children's Phase 3 phonic knowledge. Some children will have brought home a list of sounds for which they are not yet secure. Please look out for these in their reading records or bags. If you could practise these at home, we would be really grateful. We will be revising these in class as well as moving onto Phase 5 phonics. 

Next week's common exception words: to, today, of

Next week's sounds: ea & e_e

Wednesday 22nd September

The children have loved exploring in the outdoor area this week.  We had some giant leaves they were fascinated with and used them very creatively in the outdoor kitchen.  We now have a cosy reading area in the classroom which is very popular, and there's always someone in there enjoying a book or two.  The children have been learning about captions in English and have suggested various different captions for pictures.  We are continuing with place value in maths and have been exploring one more and one less, discussing our answers and solving some problems.  The children have been spelling number names and we have been discussing how number eight is very tricky to remember!  We decided that we would try and remember it by saying the mnemonic  "elephants in gardens have trunks".  The children found it a challenge to write from under the table but it's a great activity to strengthen pencil grip and stamina for writing.  Here are a few photos of the week so far.

Friday 17th September

We've had such a lovely end to the week in Owl Class. We loved getting outside for our Topic lesson yesterday where we used natural resources to create self portraits! Have a look a the pictures below. We had fun learning about and exploring pitch in Music. Today we enjoyed our PE lesson with coach Piercy and demonstrated some great listening skills and growth mindset. We also worked on our fine motor skills cutting and tearing to create some seriously cute owls. We've also managed to squeeze in some English and Maths activities too! The children are definitely ready for the weekend.

Next week we are starting with Phase 5 phonics and the Year 1 common exception words. Each week the following week's words will be put on here so you know what we are focussing on in Phonics each day. We will provide further information regarding phonics next week.

Next week's common exception words: a, the, do.

Next week's sounds: ay & a_e

Wednesday 15th September

Another busy week in Owl class.  The children know their morning routine very well and are changing their reading book first thing without much support.  We are very proud of them.  We have been continuing with our learning of place value in maths, and discussing the purpose of a label.  The children have written a label for an object in class and used their phonic knowledge to do this.  They are being sensible during exploring time and are choosing a variety of activities to engage in.  They are also mastering the art of tidying up, even if they haven't played with certain objects they are willing to help tidy the whole class.  Huge well done.  Here are a few photos of this week so far...

Friday 9th September

What a great first week it has been in Owl Class! It has been lovely getting to know the children and we are extremely proud of how they have settled back into school life. We've painted self portraits, thinking about the shape and position of our features and have written about some of the amazing things we can do, inspired by the book 'Barry the Fish with Fingers'. The children have enjoyed playing and learning with their friends during exploring time and have adapted to new routines well.

We are very much looking forward to the year ahead! 

Tuesday 7th September

It's been a hot start to the new academic year!  The children have loved exploring and learning outside in the sunshine, and today was our first 'Picnic Lunch'.  They made their own sandwich and ate it outside in the shade, chatting to their friends.  It was lovely to watch them feeling very proud of themselves, telling each other what sandwich they had made!  We have started to revisit some place value maths skills, and will continue with this over the next couple of weeks.  The children have written about their summer holiday, and loved talking about what they enjoyed the most.  They have had a busy start, but such a fun one too!  Here are some pictures of the last couple of days...