Week 7 - Puppets

This week we have been making puppets to represent the characters from our class story. We talked about what the characters look like and made notes as a class. Then we thought about the type of materials that we could use for each feature. For example; using string for the hairs on Bristleworm. We also thought about the best way to attach our materials together.

Shape Monsters

In week 6, the F2 pupils have been learning about 2D shapes. We had lots of discussions about the properties of the shape. We handled shapes and compared them in our talk partners. We identified the similarities and differences between them. We then made shape monsters and described the shapes that we had used.

Story Sequencing - Week 6

Over the last few weeks we have been reading our class story - Sharing a Shell. We've talked about characters and setting. This week we started looking at the events in the story. We talked about how a story is structured and that it has a beginning, middle and end.

We drew pictures to show different events in the story and thought about which part of the story they occurred. Revisit this page soon for some examples of our drawings.

Number recognition -Week 5

This week we have been learning to recognise numbers. We played number detectives where we had to hunt for numbers outside and then match them to the big numbers inside. We talked about the shape of each number and learned some rhymes to help us to remember them.

Seasonal Changes

As part of our topic in Understanding the World we are learning about seasonal changes. The Seashells became detectives for the afternoon. We went on an Autumn walk to look for 'clues' and signs of Autumn. The children did brilliantly and managed to find berries, bare trees, fallen fruit, mushrooms and leaves of all different colours. We are still on the lookout for a squirrel!

Voyage to Cove Island

At the end of the week, the Seashells had another letter from the Merpeople thanking us for looking after their treasure. They also gave us some instructions about returning the treasure. We completed several tasks to prepare for our journey to Cove Island.

1. We made telescopes so that we could spot the island in the thick fog that surrounds it.

2. We designed a ship to travel in. Then we built it using materials from the outside area.

3. We practised our balancing skills so that we could avoid the sharks that surround the island.

4. We made fake treasure maps directing the pirates away from the treasure and left them around the room for the pirates to find.

5. Finally we travelled to Cove Island on our ship and returned the treasure to the Merpeople.

It was a grand adventure and we had lots of fun!

Save our treasure!

This week the Seashells discovered a box of treasure that had been left in the classroom by a mysterious guest! We explored the box and found all sorts of interesting items including a beautiful pendant, a jug for pouring liquid, a fork, several pots of different sizes, silver plates and a silver necklace. We talked about who the treasure might belong to. Then we discovered a bottle with a  message inside. The letter was from the Merpeople of Cove Island who had sent us the treasure via their friend Dr Watson, a marine biologist who has been studying them. They wanted us to look after the treasure and to protect it from pirates, who are always trying to steal it. 

We made a list of ways we could protect and hide the treasure. The Seashells had lots of interesting ideas including making fake treasure to distract the pirates, camouflaging it and hiding it in the grass, putting it a tree in the forest school, burying it underground and disguising it so it looks like part of our classroom.

On Tuesday we made some fake treasure using salt dough. Once it was dry we painted it. We also decided that we needed to make a record of the treasure in case any of it went missing. We looked carefully at each piece and then drew the treasure using pastels and pencils.

Pirate maths - Week 4

We have been practising our counting skills this week. We helped Polly the parrot to count Pirate Pete's treasure. We sorted it into piles based on the type of treasure such as gems or nuggets. Then we counted out each group. We compared the groups to see which one had the largest amount and which had the smallest. We remembered to:

• Say the numbers in order
• Count one item at a time
• Say one number name for each item
• The last number we say is the total 

Forest School - Part 2

On Thursday we visited the Forest School again to collect leaves and sticks. Then we returned to the classroom to make chocolate apples.

We discussed how to prepare for a baking or cooking activity including washing hands, wearing aprons and tying hair back.

We washed the apples first. Then we pushed a lolly stick into the top of our apple so that we could hold it. While we were doing this, the chocolate was melting over a pan of hot water on the stove. We talked about how it changes from a  solid to a liquid.

Next we dipped the apple into the chocolate and swirled it around. Finally we covered the apple in sprinkles and put it upside down to set. They tasted yummy!

On Friday we used the leaves that we had collected to make nature crowns. We stuck the leaves on with double sided tape and glue.

Week 3 - Forest School

This week not only have the Seashells experienced their first PE, dough disco and science lessons but also their first trip to the Forest School.

For those who might not know, Forest School is a fantastic learning opportunity where the pupils get to experience the natural world and learn confidence and self-esteem with hands on learning.

We aim to go out at least once a day every day this week. On Monday, we talked about what natural things we could see in the forest school area and we listened to the story of Oi Frog. Then we had snack.

On Tuesday, we used our noses to smell as we were walking to the woods. We smelt freshly cut grass, and smoke! Mr Butler had lit a fire so that we could toast some marsh-mallows. We used long sticks so that we could hold the marsh-mallow over the fire without getting burnt. We had to blow on them 5 times before we could eat them. Here are some of the words we thought of to describe them:

Creamy, so good, tasty, crispy, gooey, soft, yummy, crunchy and the best!

After that we worked in small groups to collect the apples from the orchard. We found some on the ground and others we picked off the trees. On Thursday we are going to make them into chocolate apples, yum, yum!

Our first two weeks

What a fun start we have had in Seashells Class!

• We explored our outdoor area and enjoyed the sunny weather.
• We went on a tour of the school and said hello to the staff.
• We wrote our names every day.
• We shared our 'All about me bags'.
• We took part in Golden Book assembly and celebrated with certificates and stickers.
• We learned lots of rules and routines.