Thursday 1 December 2011

Come to the circus!

This half term as part of our Colours of the World topic, the children in Early Years had a circus filled day.  We saw lots of brightly coloured dressed children in their circus outfits, ready to spend a day with trained skillsmen from Shooting Stars.  We had lots of fun spinning plates, balancing a peacock feather on out finger and we even had a go on the tight-rope!






Thursday 10 November 2011

Intech

On Tuesday, Year 2 went to Intech Science Centre and Planetarium. The first thing we did when we got there was visit the Planetarium where we got to take a closer look at the planets and stars around us. It was fascinating!

We decided to explore forces, electricity and materials whilst we were there. Here are some of the experiments we took part in.


It was so much fun!

Thursday 3 November 2011

Colours of the World!

Early Years








This half term our topic is 'Colours of the World.' During the topic we will be learning about colour, pattern and light and thinking about why these things are so important in celebrations all over the world.


During the first week, we learnt about Diwali and Fireworks. We made diva lamps using salt dough.






We also created firework pictures in the style of Jackson Pollock by splattering paint onto black paper. During PE, we performed firework dances, pretending to be rockets, catherine wheels and sparklers.











































Friday 21 October 2011

Book week



On Thursday Mrs. Balsom came in to read a story book with a difference.






The children had to listen very carefully to follow the story because it was not in English but in German.






The story was all about a little girl called Marie and her black cat.






Every time the children saw a picture of Marie's cat, they said the German word Katze.






Well done Whitebeam class - we are learning how to say words in lots of different languages.






Thank you Mrs. Balsom for reading to us.






Wednesday 19 October 2011

Weald and Downland Museum


On Monday Year 1 visited the Weald and Downland Open Air Museum as part of our topic about materials and houses.

We set off in two coaches and were very excited when we went through the new tunnel at Hindhead. When we arrived at the Weald and Downland Museum it was a beautiful, sunny autumn day.


Some of us enjoyed a building blocks workshop where we looked at the materials used to make houses in the past and today. Others from our class found out more about all the jobs people had to do to look after their house a hundred years ago.


We looked at all the different houses and buildings at the museum. We saw inside the watermill and found out how wheat was ground to make flour.

Some of us saw inside a Victorian village school. It was tiny and it didn't have the computer or books and toys that we have today.

Mr. Waller's visit


On Tuesday morning, Year 1 had a visit from Mr. Waller. He came in to talk to us about his job as a builder.


Mr. Waller showed us the hard hat he wears on the building site to keep himself safe. He showed us the special boots with steel toe caps, just in case something falls on his feet. We loved the bright yellow high-visibility jacket he wears so that everyone on the building site can see him and he doesn't get squashed!

Mr. Waller brought along some of the tools that he uses. He showed us a tape measure, a hammer and a spirit level. He showed us how the bubble in the spirit levels lets us know if things are absolutely straight. The walls in Oak class are straight - phew!





We asked lots of questions about what he does first when building a swimming pool and saw photographs of enormous swimming pool shaped holes before and after they were covered in cement and beautiful blue tiles.


Thank you Mr. Waller. We really enjoyed your visit.












Thursday 29 September 2011

In a dark dark cellar, some skeletons lived...

This week in Early Years we have been learning about our bodies.


We have read the story Funny Bones by Janet and Alan Ahlberg to inspire our work this week. We have used the lightbox to look at x-rays, and used white chalk and black paper to draw skeletons.



We looked at our similarities and differences to sort ourselves into groups such as boys and girls, our hair colours and if we wore a jumper, cardigan or neither. We talked about how we are all different and how our differences makes us very special.


Wednesday 28 September 2011

Fitness Fun!

Year 2 had great fun with Tony and Ollie getting fit. Tony and Ollie are football coaches who popped in to give the Year 2 children a workout. The children played lots of games to develop their fitness, agility and team work. Olympic points were awarded to several children who displayed the Olympic values of friendship, respect, excellence, determination, inspiration, courage and equality.

Go Year 2!

Knock! Knock! Who's there?

Year 1 had lots of fun building different types of shelters as part of their topic work this half term about houses and homes.





We made shelters using different materials. We talked about which materials would make the best shelter.







We had fun putting up a tent. It was big enough to fit 20 of us inside.













We made a shelter using different types of plastic. We needed pegs and a goal post to help it stay up.






We created a tepee using natural materials. We made a tripod using sticks and then covered these with pine branches and leaves.










We made a shelter by joining newspapers to string tied between a tree and the hedge.








We built a den using cardboard. We made boxes to build our walls and used flat cardboard to make the roof.







We made a tent from pieces of fabric. We used lots of different sheets to make the cover and the floor.






Which material do you think would make the best shelter?




















Thursday 22 September 2011

Welcome to Early Years!



We have settled well into our classes in Early Years. The children have been enjoying lots of fun and exciting activities inside and outside the classroom, as they learn through play.

This half term we are looking at ourselves in our 'Good to be Me' topic. We have painted self-portraits, looked at baby pictures of ourselves and talked about things we are good at. We have also helped our class bear's settle into school, showing them how important it is to play nicely together in class, and talking about our rules and routines. We also took the bears on a tour of the school to meet all the adults that help us throughout the day.

Over the next couple of weeks we will be looking at our body, how we can stay healthy and growing up.

Wednesday 21 September 2011

Healthy Living afternoon








Year 1 children and their parents learned all about

keeping healthy when visitors came to our school

last Thursday afternoon.








We tasted a rainbow of coloured fruit and vegetables including strawberries,

peppers, mango, peas and grapes as part of our five a day. Shannon from Oak

class tried all of these and thought they were "yummy".





We had fun being active outside playing netball,

hopscotch and hula hooping in the afternoon

sunshine.








We made mobiles and frisbees showing the five food groups and what can

be eaten as part of a balanced diet.






In our classes we wrote about the different

things we can do to stay healthy. In our book

we included pages about drinking water, having

a balanced diet, being active and getting plenty

of sleep.

Tuesday 13 September 2011

Welcome to Year 2!

What a wonderful start to the year Year 2 have had. Everyone has settled in well and the children are already working very hard. Last week in Maths we were problem solving. We were told that numbers ending in 6 are even. We then had to find out whether this is always, sometimes or never true. Here are some of the ways we worked out our answers.




What do you think the answer is?