Kingfishers in action!
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Kingfishers in Action!
Summer Term 2022
All Creatures Great and Small
Second Clutch of 4 eggs!!
Our lovely blackbird couple successfully reared 3 babies from 4 eggs which kept them so busy their activity filled up the memory card on our wildlife camera and we weren’t able to capture the moment of fledging. Thankfully, they are already preparing for a second brood and Mummy bird has laid 4 more eggs over the half term break.
Week 35 commencing 20th June
This week in RSHE we have been talking about the different meanings of the word ‘private’.
In Art, we have started designing our own creature. The children were asked to create four different creatures and give them a creature name.
In our writing, we have started to plan a report about our chosen creature including appearance, habitat, diet and life cycle.
In maths, we have been finding out about different ways of measuring. This week, capacity in ml and temperature in degrees C. We estimated and measured how many of one container it would take to fill another, used scales to read the level and tested the temperature of water using thermometers.
On Friday, we had a class reward for earning 1251 Dojo points – the children came in non-uniform and brought a teddy and, in the afternoon, we watched a film.
Week 34 commencing 13th June 2022
In Geography this week, we have been learning that there are hotter and colder places in the world. We have learnt the terms North Pole, South Pole and Equator. The children can explain that places around the Equator are hotter because they are nearest to the sun while the Poles are further from the sun and therefore colder. We thought about the things a human would need to help them survive in very hot or cold places. We then played a game of ‘I went to the market …’ to choose items we would pack in a suitcase for visiting somewhere warm and somewhere cool.
Tuesday was our sports day morning. The children all put their best foot forward and the events went smoothly. In the afternoon, we sat in the shade and supported our teams as the Key Stage 2 children competed.
On Thursday morning, we had Abby from Norfolk Wildlife Trust at school. She talked to us about pollinators and why they are so important. We had a bug hunt – who knew there were so many little creatures living in the hedge?! We then surveyed the plants on our field using quadrants.
On Friday, in our art exploration, we looked at animal noses – the long, the short and the star-shaped! The children used a range of media to capture a variety of noses. We are now beginning to think about the features and structures we will use for our animal creations.
Week 33 commencing 6th June 2022
Welcome back after our half-term break.
We are revisiting time – reminding ourselves about quarter past and to and learning how to count the minutes in fives as we go around the numbers of the clock.
On Wednesday, we went to Africa Alive. The children have learnt loads of facts about the animals we saw, including that it is not easy to stand on one leg with your eyes shut! Clever flamingos! Over the next few weeks, we will be learning about how and why animals are adapted to survive in their various habitats.
Our art exploration this week took us to the weird and wonderful world of animal patterns. Whether it’s the rough and wrinkly skin of an elephant or the surreal swirls on a snake, the children enjoyed experimenting with different media and colours.
Week 32 commencing 23rd May
We started this week by learning about money – the value of coins, how to make amounts and how to count totals. We did lots of different activities, including picking an item and using coins to show the cost, choosing two items and adding their prices together to find a total, counting money in a purse, calculating change, and running or buying from our role play shop.
In science, we learnt about the features, structure and life cycle of amphibians. We then used our Art skills to create 3D life cycles out of salt dough. We also carried out an investigation in science. We wanted to find out which of two options woodlice would prefer. The children picked one set of options from wet/dry, dark/light and warm/cold, and then made a hypothesis based on their understanding of invertebrates and their habitats. Strangely, the woodlice didn’t choose as we expected so we might have to carry out the investigation again to see if our results were valid.
On Friday, we made crowns and decorated cupcakes before taking part in a ‘Down the Decades Disco’ to help celebrate the Queen’s platinum jubilee.
Week 31 commencing 16th May
In maths this week, we started with a revisit of time. The children worked individually, in pairs and with or as a peer teacher to show different times on the clock and to read times from the clock.
We then moved on to learning about money. We started by playing with the coins, making patterns, shapes and sorting in different ways. We then talked about why coins are different sizes, colours and ages. Next we found different ways to make £1 with multiples of the same coins, and different ways to make 50p with coins of any denomination.
Linked to our maths learning, we are learning about money in RSHE this week too. We shared our ideas about what money is, what it’s for, where it comes from and what would life be like if there was no money. Finally the children made a bubble diagram of things our families spend money on.
In science this week, we have been finding out about insects. Some of us went bug hunting on the field and recorded what we found and where – this led to a discussion about microhabitats. We found it difficult to classify ‘insects’ so decided that invertebrates would be a better term to cover the minibeasts we have been talking about. We made our own bug out of paper, coloured it – some brightly to warn of danger, some chose colours that would aid camouflage.
We also talked about the fact that many minibeasts have wings at some point in their life-cycle – just like our butterflies. We are eagerly awaiting the completion of the metamorphosis.
In art this week, the children chose between a wasp, an ant, a butterfly and a ladybird to sketch from a photograph and make improvements.
In RE, we watched a video of Hindu ideas about creation. The children were then asked to use words and/or pictures to show what they had learnt. We watched the video a few times and kept adding to or improving our learning diagram.
Week 30 commencing 9th May
In maths this week, we have been learning to tell the time to the quarter hour. The trickiest parts of this are: 1. Is it past or to? 2. Quarter past or quarter to what? 3. Which hand does which job?
To practise reading the time, try playing Hickory Dickory Clock
In art, we have been practising sketching from observation of a photograph of a bird. The children chose which bird they wanted to sketch. After our first go, we talked to a partner to help spot aspects we could improve, then had another go. We also continued our exploration of animal features. This week – tails!
We used our imagination and learning so far about birds to create a new bird. We then wrote a fact file about our new birds.
Week 29 commencing Tuesday 3rd May
In maths this week, we have been consolidating our learning about multiplication and division. We have practised counting in steps of 2, 5 and 10 to calculate answers. We played a game called ‘roll and solve’ using dice and counters, did a time challenge to see how many multiplication and division questions we could work out in the given time, and went outside for a treasure hunt – for each question we answered there was a letter to be found.
On Wednesday, a strange box was delivered to school from Africa Alive. The accompanying letter had been nibbled and chomped making it almost illegible. When we opened it, the box was found to be empty! The children looked around for clues and found some feathers, footprints and a hatched egg. Using their detective skills, the children decided the box must have contained an ostrich so they made posters and wrote newspaper reports in the hope that we will find the missing bird.
Our RE learning for this term is taking us all around the world. Our BIG QUESTION is ‘How did the universe come to be?’. We have looked at some amazing images taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and asked our own questions about what is out there. We have also explored our outside world using our senses and come up with ‘I notice… I wonder…’ statements.
Our art exploration this week has been about feet. The children have used a range of media to capture all sorts of feet – birds’, mammals’, reptiles’ and amphibians’ feet – quite incredible when you look closely.
Week 28 commencing 25th April
As part of our topic, we are learning about different classes of animals each week. This week, we have found out about mammals.
In science, we are finding out what a food chain is. The children used small world creatures to make a food chain and explained what eats what!
On Wednesday, we had a visit from Mini Monsters. We learnt lots and shared our existing knowledge. We saw giant African snails, a giant millipede, a bearded dragon, a tarantula and a corn snake. The children enjoyed touching and holding some of these amazing creatures. What an incredible experience!
On Thursday, we learnt about the life cycle of a mammal. The children chose their favourite mammal and made a life cycle diagram to show the three stages of embryo, young and adult.
In our sketch books this week, we have been exploring animal ears.
We ended our week with a Pets’ Blessing. Robins and Kingfishers did a great job of welcoming everyone and keeping us entertained with their riddles, poems and descriptions. A huge thank you to all who were able to support us by coming along, sending photos and making sure your child could bring their favourite soft toy.
Week 27 commencing Thursday, 21st April
In the first couple of days back, we reviewed our fraction knowledge, matching fractions to pictures of shapes shaded in different ways.
On Thursday afternoon, we went to St. Mary’s Church for our Easter Service.
On Friday, we did some art exploration. Using different media: oil pastels, paint, colouring pencils and felt pens, we explored fish scales in our sketch books. We were amazed at the variety of colours, shapes and sizes we found.
We are raising butterflies in class, so we can closely observe the changes that take place through its life cycle.
Over the Easter break, a blackbird has taken advantage of the peace and quiet to build her nest in our outside area. The structure is quite incredible – I’ve never seen anything like it. We are being careful not to disturb her while she incubates and raises her young.
(w/c 25th April) Mummy blackbird has kept busy, finishing her nest. (Thursday) She has laid 4 eggs!
(w/c 2nd May) Mummy has been sitting on her eggs, keeping a watchful eye on the world around her.
(w/c 9th May) (Monday) We think the eggs have hatched as both the male and female have been visiting the nest. (Tuesday) We have 3 babies! Mummy and Daddy blackbird have been working very hard this week to feed their young.
(w/c 16th May) Feathers are beginning to develop. I had never before considered how a feather grows but it’s fascinating to watch.
