Hello again and welcome to another blog by Adam and Caleb. The other week, we celebrated World Book Day in school. We had lots of fun doing lots of different World Book Day themed lessons and had a really nice day. We came in as lots of different characters or in some comfortable clothes that we wear when we’re reading. We loved seeing the rest of the school in assembly!
Easter Maths Hunt
In Denmark class today we had a special Easter egg hunt to practise the maths we have been learning this term. The children had to find maths questions hidden in eggs around the field, solve the problems and match to the answers. The Year 1 children focused on addition and subtraction whilst the Year 2 children answered multiplication questions.
Despite hunting high and low we couldn’t find the last egg anywhere and we were left with an answer without a question! This gave us a great opportunity to extend our thinking and come up with our own question. The children were given the answer 6 and had to think of their own maths question that would match to this answer. The children really impressed us with their work and came up with a huge range of maths questions involving addition, subtraction and multiplication that had the answer 6. Well done Denmark Class!
Easter Baking
In our RE lessons in Denmark class we have been learning about the Easter story and what the cross means to Christians. The children have done some fantastic thinking and talking, reflecting on what is important to Christians at Easter time. We learnt about traditional and modern symbols of Easter and to conclude our learning we baked our own version of simnel cakes. The children decorated their cakes with 11 balls of icing and were able to describe how this represented 11 disciples. The children linked this to the Easter story and could explain why only 11 of the 12 disciples were represented.
Local Artist – Amelia Bowman
We had the absolute pleasure of inviting Amelia Bowman, a local printmaker, into our class.
Amelia Bowman is a Norfolk-based artist printmaker who creates intaglio collagraph prints and hand-drawn, digitally coloured pattern designs.
She demonstrated how she completes her pieces of art using a print plate, brown ink and colourful paper! She used a pasta machine to fuse the art onto paper which in turn, created her art piece!
The children then had a go at creating their own stamps using craft foam, super sticky paper, sand and ink. They created flowers and printed them onto card to create a spring card to send home.
The workshop was so inspirational and really helped to bring our CUSP art lesson alive!
Handa’s Surprise
This week we had a very special visitor! We were very lucky to welcome a student teacher into our class who is originally from Africa. Mrs Hindle grew up in Kenya and is from the same tribe as Akeyo, the main character from the story we have been learning about in English – Handaâs Surprise!
We learnt about what the villages are like in Kenya and compared this to the bigger towns and cities. We learnt about homes and how having a straw roof helps t0 keep the houses cooler in the hot weather. We used our geography knowledge to find Africa on the map and discovered that Kenya is near the equator, and this is the reason why it is so hot there.
We got to handle special objects such as wooden sculptures, and we saw some lovely jewellery made from wire and beads. We also got to handle some traditional clothing, and we got to try it on too!
We finished the session learning how to say hello and goodbye in Swahili and we sang a song in two different languages!
It was an amazing experience that really brought our story to life! Thank you Mrs Hindle.
Denmark Class PE
This half term in PE we have been focusing on bat and ball skills. The children have practised balancing a bean bag or ball on a tennis racket and then hitting it upwards and forwards. They then moved onto cricket bats and learnt how to control and hit a ball using a bat. They practised throwing the ball to each other and stopping or hitting it using a racket or bat. We have continued to work on our strength and balance with OT exercises and yoga.
Maths – Mass, Capacity and Temperature
Weâve had a brilliant start to our new maths unit exploring mass, capacity and temperature. The children have really enjoyed working collaboratively to investigate mass and capacity through practical activities.
They have been comparing and measuring different objects and amounts, which has helped them develop a deeper understanding of what these measurements mean in real life. By exploring in a hands-on way first, the children have been able to build their confidence and understanding.
This practical learning has then supported them when moving on to written questions, where they have been able to apply what they discovered during their investigations. We are very proud of the enthusiasm and teamwork the children have shown so far!
We look forward to exploring temperature next!
Science Week: Mars Day and Space Workshop
Tuesday 3rd of March was ‘Mars Day’, when people around the world thought about Mars. Mars is a rocky, red planet that is the closest to us and 4 from the sun. It’s about half the size of Earth and people might be going to Mars in 30 years. Since it was Mars day, we did some Mars maths, Mars writing and for DT, we planned and built Mars ‘habitats’ out of cardboard, bubble wrap and some lolly sticks.
On the same day, we had a science workshop and we learned more about the solar system and all the different planets in it. Afterwards, we made mini-rockets that popped into the air and came back down. We had a lot of fun.
Nursery w/b 16.3.26
Our story will be: The Extraordinary Gardener
Our rhyme of the week will be: The Farmersâ in his Den
Our maths work will focus on: developing pattern and position work
We will also be: talking about the parts of a plant and how they help the plant to grow and thrive, planting broad beans and continuing to develop are understanding of fruits and vegetables.
We will also be learning about the hijab, worn by Muslims.
Handa’s Surprise and Amazing Antelopes
On World Book Day, Year 1 had a very special visitor. Mrs Hindle, who is completing a teaching training placement in Year 4 and is from Kenya, visited us to share her culture and customs. It was especially interesting because she comes from the same tribe as the character Akeyo in the story Handa’s Surprise, which we are learning from in our English lessons.
She answered our questions about the story. One question we asked was why Handa walked through the grasslands alone. She explained that in many villages, children walk on their own, and each village looks out for the children of other villages.
She talked to us about the antelope and the other animals that live in the grasslands. She taught us how to say greetings in Swahili and how to dance to a traditional song. We even had the chance to handle African crafts and learn about how they were made. We were also very interested in the huts as they helped us understand what homes in some African villages look like. It was a wonderfully engaging visit, and we learnt so much about Kenyan culture and traditions. Thank you, Ms. Hindle, for your time and for sharing so much with us.
