We have had a great half term in Toucan Class. This half term we have absolutely loved our topic of- Plants! In literacy we have been exploring the stories- ‘The Enormous Turnip’ and ‘Jack and the Beanstalk’. During these lessons we have created a ‘Wanted’ Poster for Jack and created our own version of the story the Enormous Turnip. In science we have been learning all about the different parts of the plants and what plants need to grow. Our off-site trips have included visits to different garden centres, to explore, draw and buy different plants and seeds. In particular we brought bean seeds and in science planted these beans and observed their growth over time.
We have had a brilliant first half term in Toucan Class. We have absolutely loved our topic- Out of this World. In Science we have been learning all the names of the planets and their order from the sun. We have also been learning how the planets orbit the sun and why we have night and day. In art we have enjoyed making the planets with different materials including paint and tissue paper.
As part of our Geography topic on ‘Settlements’, we set off to London to visit a city. We travelled by train from Ware to Liverpool Street. The children were very excited about the train ride and enjoyed looking out of the window to view the sights. When we got to London we walked round the station and observed all the amenities. For lunch we had a lovely treat – McDonalds! We had a quick walk outside the station and noticed how busy it was with people, traffic and lots of tall buildings. We had a great day!
In History we learnt about the different features of Viking longships and how the Vikings built them to travel the seas. We then built our own Viking longship and imagined we were Vikings rowing the ship.
Toucans Spring 1 2021
In Toucans, this half term we have really enjoyed learning all about winter. We have explored the different weather that occurs in winter, compared to other seasons such as summer, and how that affects what clothing we wear. We had to decide whether different pieces of clothing were suitable to wear in winter or not, to keep us healthy, warm and safe.
We have also enjoyed finding out all about what hibernation is; including which animals hibernate, which season animals hibernate in and why they hibernate. We enjoyed listening to and completing activities based upon the story ‘Don’t Hog the Hedge’, which was all about hibernation. We then created our own hibernation plan and assembled a den to hibernate in!
We have also enjoyed learning about ice and snow. In our winter science lessons, we followed instructions to create our very own winter ice sun catchers and also painted using coloured ice cubes.
The children in Middle School are learning about the Vikings. Here are some links to video clips which will support learning.
Who were the Vikings?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/clips/z3gjmnb
Where did the Vikings come from?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/clips/zv2mhyc
Viking Longships
https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/clips/zgmxpv4
The children in Middle School love to be active, here are some great Action Songs. Why not have a go together?
Next term the children in Middle School are due to be learning about rivers in their local area. Here are some ideas if you would like to have a look at the topic with your children in advance:
- Take your child to a local river and have a nice walk along it. Which direction is it flowing? How do you know? A game of ‘Pooh sticks’ is always fun!
- Observe the wildlife that lives near or on the river.
- Pop on a pair of wellie boots and have a paddle if it’s safe to do so.
- Consider the different uses of the river e.g. transport, leisure, flood control.
- Think about the journey of a river and introduce the terms ‘mouth’, ‘source’, ‘tributary’. Check out the ‘Pooh Bear’ smartboard which tracks the River Lee.
- This video clip follows the River Forth from source to sea https://www.bbc.co.uk/bitesize/clips/z8jtfg8.
World Book Day
The children in Middle School have enjoyed celebrating World Book Day. The children shared their favourite stories and wrote about them. The staff also dressed up and shared their favourite books. The children came to school dressed as different book characters and looked amazing! They all proudly modelled their outfits on a catwalk!!
