17th January 2025

This week, our Foxes have been learning about the story 'Don't Forget the Bacon'. This was a wonderful way to link our learning about our local area (Jordans) and even paying a visit to our local village shop! We had the opportunity to buy a piece of fruit using real money! Our Foxes were so polite and remembered their 'Safe, Respect, Ready' rules. In PSHE, we learnt about Road Safety and the Green Cross Code. Our Fox class really made us proud when we walked up to our village shop and remembered the Green Cross Code when crossing. We have also set up our very own Fruit and Veg shop in our role play area. Fox class made their own fruit and veg as well as using some real root vegetables too! We have been practicing our maths skills in counting and using pretend money. 

In Forest School, we were very busy creating bug homes and learning how to stay safe in the woods. We also got to climb a ladder made of wood! 

During exploring time, we have carried out various activities such as: 

-Using our fine motor skills in cutting and sorting fruit from vegetables

-Enhancing our phonic knowledge when writing shopping lists in our fruit and veg shop

-Writing key words from our book of the week. 

-Exploring fiction and non-fiction books in our reading area

-Building dens, nests and using the mud kitchen in Forest School.

-Developing our Oracy skills in Show and Tell

-Describing and writing about different fruit and vegetables

-Comparing pictures of our Jordans Village shop from the past and present

-Using a variety of vocabulary linked to History and Geography such as 'past, present, then, now, key, map'. 

Exploring Time

Trip to Jordans Village Shop

Pics and Tell

Forest School

10th January 2025

Our Foxes have had a brilliant start to the term. This week, our Foxes have been learning and comparing towns, cities and villages. In Maths, we have been learning about one more and one less. The children have been using their counting skills to understand this concept. In PSHE, we have been discussing the importance of sleep and how it helps us to grow and learn. We also had our first Forest School session. Our Foxes have been very busy exploring our Bluebell Woods and understanding the importance of safety in a Forest. The children also had a bird watching session, tried some Wassail drink in line with the celebration of Ephiphany where Christians commemorate the Three Kings from the Christmas story. It was a great opportunity for the children to take part in these activities during Forest School. Due to the ice, the children had their Forest Camping session in the hall. 

We have also been carrying out many exploring activities such as:

-Exploring ice and how water can change from a liquid to a solid!

-Using our phonics skills to create mini town and village books

-Enhancing our fine motor skills and making mini towns out of 'Stickle Bricks'

-Creating simple maps of our Jordans School

-Developing our cutting skills by creating Monster Trucks!

-Creating props for our Fruit and Veg stall which will be open next week!

Forest School

Pics and Tell

Exploring Time

20th December 2024

This week, we have been continuing to learn about the 'Nativity Story'. We have also been working on our Oracy skills during Pics and Tell. We have been exploring non fiction texts linked to the season of Winter and reading a range of stories linked to Christmas! 

During our Maths/Understanding the World session we have been measuring weight when baking our Christmas Star cookies. Our Foxes were extremely good at measuring the right amount of ingredients needed! 

In our Celebrations lesson, we had a chance to talk about how we celebrate Christmas and other celebrations at home. Our Foxes chose some wonderful pictures of themselves when they were very small! Well done Foxes! 

Pics and Tell

Exploring Time

Cooking

13th December 2024

This week, we have been learning about the 'Nativity Story'. Our Foxes have really enjoyed acting out the story as well as taking part in our very own Nativity in school. We have also been working on our Oracy skills during Pics and Tell. We have also been carrying out many fine and gross motor activities when taking part in Christmas themed arts and crafts. From cutting and sticking and creating snowflakes to designing and joining baubles! For maths, we have been revisiting our recognition of number and matching numerals to quantity. In Literacy, we have been using our phonic knowledge when writing our very own Christmas cards. We had a magical time setting up and decorating our class Christmas tree whilst listening to some Christmas music. 

Our Foxes have also been carrying out the following activities during our exploring time;

-Enhancing our fine motor skills when cutting and creating snowflakes.

-Busy selling and making food in our Christmas Cafe!

-Retelling the story of the Nativity with our Nativity scene. 

-Using numbers and matching quantity in Christmas games.

-Creating and making our Christmas cards to take home. 

-Exploring different books and texts linked to Christmas. 

-Developing our fine motor to create Christmas Tree decorations and bags. 

Exploring Time

Pics and Tell

Decorating our Class Tree

6th December 2024

This week, our Foxes have continued to learn about the 'Christmas Jolly Postman' story. We have been expanding our learning in writing by using our phonic knowledge to write letters, using our reading skills when learning new keywords for our 'brain word bank'. In Maths, we have been learning how to recognise and spot numbers that are represented in different ways. In Understanding the World, we have been comparing stamps from past and present.  Our Foxes could not believe how many stamps have existed in the past and asked lots of questions about why there is now a King's head on our stamps! In our Expressive Arts lessons, we have been learning about the famous painter Claude Monet. Our Foxes learnt how to use different brush strokes when recreating the painting 'Bridge over a Pond of Water Lillies'. In PSHE we had a great discussion about the character of 'The Big Bad Wolf'. Does he make good choices in stories? What could he do differently? 

We have also carried out the following activities during exploring time:

-Using animals to create museums to explore over the Christmas break!

-Parking cars to attend Christmas markets!

-Enhancing our cutting skills at our fine motor table. 

-Using different writing tools such as chalk and whiteboard pens to develop our writing

-Exploring our post office role play area

-Going on a tricky word hunt in our outdoor area!

-Enhancing our number skills when finding numbers on envelopes in our outdoor area.

-Practising our songs for our Nativity performance next week. 

-Developing our questioning skills during Oracy lessons. 

Exploring Time

Pics and Tell- Oracy

29th November 2024

Our Foxes have been learning about the story of 'The Jolly Christmas Postman' which links to our topic of postal workers. We have also been learning about the role of a postal worker and have set up our very own post office role play area. We have been weighing, stamping, writing letters to our friends and discovered the use of hole punches! Great for developing our fine motor skills! For Maths, we have been carrying learning about the properties of 2D shapes. We enjoyed a quiz where we had to listen to clues in teams and guess which shape was being described!  During our Understanding the World session, we went for a walk in our Bluebell woods and explored how our seasons are changing. We matched leaves to colour charts and discussed how the weather has changed our woods! In our PSHE lessons, we spoke about morals and discussing different scenarios from our book of the week, have the characters made good or bad decisions in the past? 

During our exploring time, we carried out the following activities: 

-Wrote letters to our friends and family and used the post service in our classroom!

-Explored a range of fiction and non fiction texts linked to the post office/letters

-Used scales to explore weight in our post office role play (some parcels were very heavy!)

-Found shapes in our indoor and outdoor learning areas

-Used our phonic knowledge to read words and simple sentences in our focus activities

-Practiced lining up and independent changing in P.E

-Carried out the role of a postal worker and delivered letters to our friends and family

-Learnt new keywords such as 'postcode'. When we learn new keywords it gets stored in our 'Brain Word Bank'.

-We revisited the learning we have done in the past few weeks to secure and remember what we have learnt. 

Exploring Time

Seasons Walk in our Bluebell Woods

Pics and Tell- Oracy

22nd November 2024

This week, we have been learning about Transport. Our book of the week 'The Train Ride' has inspired our Foxes to create our very own Underground Station!  We have been discussing how there are different modes of transportation and which one we have never used! In Literacy, we have been segmenting and blending words and practising our letter formation! In Maths, we have been learning about the properties of 2D shapes. We learnt what the word 'vertices' means and have kept that in our word bank! In our Understanding the World session, we have been exploring transport from the past and how much it has changed over the years!

We have also carried out the following activities during exploring time:

-Discussing different 2D shapes and creating transport pictures.

-Using our new remote control cars in our ICT lesson

-Creating transport pictures using 2D shapes

-Exploring non fiction texts on transport in our reading den

-Carrying out our role play activities in our London Underground Station role play area

-Writing key words from the story of the Train Ride. 

-Creating tick lists of our favourite type of transport

-Experimenting to see which car is the fastest when it slides down a ramp! 

Exploring Time

Oracy- Pics and Tell

15th November 2024

This week, we have been learning about a story called 'Sparks in the Sky'. This links perfectly to our theme of Bonfire Night this week. We then wrote some simple words that describe fireworks such as 'pop' and 'spark'. In Maths, we have had a real focus on repeating patterns and how we can spot patterns around us. In our UTW sessions, we have been learning about the story behind bonfire night and Guy Fawkes. For PSHE, we have been discussing how members of our community help us during Bonfire Night. We talked about the roles of a firefighter and why its so important to stay safe from fireworks. 

We also carried out the following activities during exploring time:

-Using tools independently to produce marble firework paintings.

-Learning about the importance of stretching in our Gymnastics session.

-Using our magic chalk pens to write some keywords linked to Bonfire Night.

-Exploring with junk modelling and making fireworks in our very own Fireworks Shop! 

-Pretending to be builders in our outdoor area

-Exploring fiction and non fiction books in our Camping area. We even placed some wood to pretend their was a fire in the middle!

-Listened to some stories in our cosy reading den

-Developing our Oracy skills in our Pics and Tell Lessons. 

Exploring Time

Pics and Tell- Oracy

8th November 2024

It has been a wonderful first week back after half term! This week, we have been learning about the story of Rama and Sita linked to our topic of Festivals. We also learnt about Diwali and how it is celebrated throughout the world in different ways. Our Foxes are really looking forward to learning about upcoming festival such as Hannukah, Christmas, Eid, Lunar New Year, Easter (Just to name a few!) In Maths, we learnt about repeating patterns and what repeat means! In Literacy, we learnt how to retell the story and to describe characters in detail. We also carried out a tally of the favourite characters from our story of the week. Our Oracy session was also a wonderful opportunity for children to talk about what they did over the half term! 

During exploring time, we carried out the following activities: 

-We learnt the importance of keeping safe using IPads and had a chance to complete some challenges using safe apps!

-Explored weight and capacity using coloured rice and lentils

-Creating Rangoli repeating patterns using coloured rice

-Moulding and shaping clay to create our very own Diva lamps

-Exploring different types of Asian food such as pappadums and naan bread

-Developing our gross motor skills in Gymnastics and moving in different directions. 

Exploring Time

Food Tasting

Oracy- Pics and Tell

25th October 2024

Our Foxes have completed their first half term at Jordans. In our last week, we have been learning about the book 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt'. The children have really enjoyed acting out the story in our bear hunt role play area. We have also been sequencing pictures from the story which was a really fun challenge. In maths, we have been learning how to make 5 in different ways and will how to use 5's frames. We will be continuing this venture in maths after half term. For PSHE this week, we had a Teddy Bear day. We were able to talk to each other about how our cuddly is special to us and enjoy our morning snacks with them. In P.E this week, we have been developing our team building skills and working on following 2 step instructions!

During our exploring time, we carried out the following activities:

-Completing tick sheets of our favourite bears and writing numbers. Moon bear was the most popular!

-Creating sensory pictures linked to our book of the week. 

-Enhancing our fine motor skills by using puzzle bits

-Exploring a range of fiction and non fiction texts on bears in our reading den. 

-Using Ipads to take pictures and viewing them at the end of the day to see how much we have learnt this half term!

-Understanding that number can be represented using Numicons! We really enjoyed using these independently and pretending they were jigsaws!

-Using our phonic skills to write some key vocabulary from the story. 

-Writing and drawing up our very own story maps! 

Exploring Time

Oracy- Show and Tell

18th October 2024

This week, we have been learning about the book 'We're Going on a Bear Hunt'. The children have really enjoyed acting out the story in our bear hunt role play area. We have also been sequencing pictures from the story which was a really fun challenge. In maths, we have been learning how to make 5 in different ways and will how to use 5's frames. We will be continuing this venture in maths after half term. For PSHE this week, we have been learning about different friendship scenarios, what to do when we feel sad and how we can make ourselves feel better. For our Understanding the World session, we carried out a hibernation experiment using hot water bottles! In P.E this week, we have been developing our team building skills and working on following 2 step instructions!

During our exploring time, we carried out the following activities:

-Mixing colours to create different shades of brown

-Picked out a book to take home from our school library! Very exciting!

-Mixed different natural ingredients to make pretend food in our mud kitchen!

-Developing out oracy skills in Pics and Tell

-Manipulating shapes by creating patters using small 2D shapes and placing them on our teddy bear outlines!

-Collecting leaves and twigs for our hibernation experiment. The one covered in leaves stayed the warmest!

-Developing our ICT skills in our indoor reading area by listening to stories using a CD player. We are getting much better at using this independently!

-Finding different ways to make 5

-Sequencing pictures from the story. What came next? What happened at the end of the story? 

-Using our phonic skills to write some key vocabulary from the story. 

Exploring Time

Pics and Tell- Oracy Time

Hibernation Experiment

11th October 2024

This week, our lovely Foxes have been learning about the story 'Goldilocks and the Three Bears'. This falls under our theme of Bears, which has been our focus this week and will also roll to the next two weeks. The children have been fascinated in learning about different types of bears that exist in our world! Our personal favourite was learning about Moon bears! We have been learning new vocabulary linked to bears this week such as 'hibernation'.  In ICT, the children have been learning how to use a CD player to listen to popular stories. Our Foxes have been learning how to stop and start the player and have really embraced listening to stories with their friends as well as building the skills in areas of ICT. In Maths, we have been learning how to represent numbers in different ways. In PSHE, we have been exploring social stories and what we can do to help ourselves or others in different friendship scenarios.  

We have also been extending our learning during exploring time by carrying out activities such as:

-Using different tools such as forks and paints to create different effects when making Bear paper plate faces

-Developing our cutting skills by making pretend porridge

-Exploring our new Three Bears cottage area

-Using Lego to build the Three Bears cottage.

-Sorting compare bears in their correct colour and size.

-Using our phonics skills to write keywords from a story. 

-Show and Tell sessions to help develop our Oracy skills. 

-Enhancing our fine motor skills by using and moulding Oat Playdoh!

INDOOR EXPLORING

GYMNASTICS

PICS AND TELL-ORACY

4th October 2024

This week, our learning has been based on a book called 'Handa's Surprise'. This book explores exotic fruit that can be found in Africa such as guavas, passion fruit and avocados! Our Foxes were able to explore the fruit as they wished, describing how the fruit smells and feels. We also had a wonderful session on developing new vocabulary, such as squishy and delicious! We also introduced the uses of a pictogram and how there are different representations of number. All of our new vocabulary, including snapshots of our learning is placed on our learning journey wall. This way, our Foxes can remember what we have been learning and we are able to see the developments of skills in all areas of the curriculum. 

We also carried out many activities during exploring time, such as: 

-Understanding the importance of washing fruit and using our chopping skills to make a fruit salad

-Using tick charts and writing numbers to find out our favourite animal or fruit from the story

-Learning the formation of sounds and numbers

-Exploring our senses when learning about fruits we have never eaten or seen before

-Learning about the importance of handwashing and keeping clean

-Writing new words learnt from our story

-Moving on time to percussion instruments and leading songs. 

-Developing our Oracy skills in 'Pics and Tell'. 

-Drawing and describing our favourite fruit from 'Handa's Surprise'. 

-Moving like different African animals in our P.E sessions. 
-Learning about repeating patterns and creating them using cut fruit and paint. 

INDOOR EXPLORING

OUTDOOR EXPLORING

DT-FRUIT SALAD

ORACY-PICS AND TELL

27th September 2024

Our lovely Foxes have been learning about the story 'Funnybones'. We have been discussing why we need bones and how they help us to move. We have also been practicing our phonics skills by writing the sounds on whiteboards this week. During our PSHE lesson, we learnt about the importance of washing hands and why we need to wash them. We also had a wonderful carpet session where we drew around one of our Foxes. The children really enjoyed drawing and labelling different parts of the body. During our ICT session, our Foxes practised their hand eye coordination when using the remote control cars!

During our exploring time, we have been carrying out the following activities:

-Developing our writing skills using the topic word mats

-Understanding how number is represented in different forms (Numicons)

-Using props to retell stories

-Enhancing our fine motor skills by creating skeleton pictures using card and PVE glue

-Exploring non fiction texts linked to the human body

-Taking part in physical exercise during P.E sessions

-Practiced our number recognition and matching numerals to quantity

Indoor Exploring

Outdoor Exploring

Pics and Tell

20th September 2024

Our Foxes have been very busy this week learning about Friendship and Autumn. We have been learning about building relationships with our peers through PSHE sessions and playing team games to build self confidence and communicating with our new friends. This week, we discussed the importance of Friendship and the different qualities a good friend should have. We shared social stories together which was a great success. 

We have also been very busy learning during our exploring time by carrying out the following activities:

-Developing our fine motor by cutting and sticking to make Friendship bands.

-Exploring a range of Autumnal findings and drew pictures of trees. 

-Reading and exploring a range of books linked to Friendship and seasons.

-Working as a team to build models

-Practicing to form letters correctly

-Using our phonic skills to write our friend’s names

-Creating Friendship cards. 

13th September 2024

This week, our lovely Foxes have been learning about the book 'Owl Babies'. We have been retelling the story as a class and have been working on number recognition. We also had a scavenger hunt in our Blue Bell Woods to find as many leaves, twigs and sticks for our Owl Babies tuff tray.! We have had a wonderful first full week and our exploring time has been full of learning adventures. To develop our Oracy skills, we have introduced Pics and Tell. This was a great success and will be taking place once a week.

We have also been carrying out the following activities during exploring time such as:

-Developing our fine motor skills by cutting and creating stick puppets for story telling

-Exploring books in our reading area

-Using the Duplo and working as a team

-Creating owls by using different media and materials

-Making portraits of owl and developing pencil control

-Counting bears and number matching

6th September 2024

Welcome to our lovely Fox families. It has been a wonderful week getting to know all the children and they have all settled in so beautifully. This week, we have been building our confidence by carrying out circle games, learning new school routines and building friendships. During exploring time, our Foxes have been very busy learning and getting used to their new environment and had their first P.E session! We are so proud of our Foxes. Below you will find some snapshots of this week.