Category: News

On Monday the children brought in a empty plastic bottle and during the day they wrote a special message to a friend or family member to explain that they were stuck on an island and needed some help to be rescued. 

On Tuesday morning the children wrote pirate descriptions for a pirate wanted poster. After lunch the children made up a class story about pirates, they built up the story as they went around the circle, some children chose to write their own stories during their independent learning.

On Wednesday morning the children had their Sports Day practice on the field and participated in a variety of activities which included rugby passing; obstacle course; target throwing; running races; and the standing long jump. In the afternoon the children talked about their school trip with information about what they needed to bring to school, what they needed to wear and what they would be doing during the day. 

On Thursday the children arrived at school very excited about their first ever school trip, to Beale Park. They climbed aboard Bailey’s coach and were soon there. During the day the children were split into groups and explored the park.  In the morning they saw many interesting animals (e.g. peacocks and birds) and met up at the deer park for their picnic lunch in the sunshine. In the afternoon the children enjoyed a ride on the miniature train and a play in the park before getting back on the coach back to school. The day flew by and the children returned to school looking very tired, they were keen to talk about all that they had seen.​

On Friday the children talked about their trip to Beale Park and then went to the ICT suite, where they drew a picture and then typed a sentence using 2Simple 2Publish.

Throughout the week the children have enjoyed singing pirate songs and listening to pirate stories. ​

Next week the children have move up morning on Monday and their Sports day will take place on Wednesday morning.

On Monday the children returned to school with their treasure chests containing special items. They started the day by learning how to make a paper boat. During their independent learning some children followed adult instructions to make their own paper boat, whilst some children wrote about what they had put in their treasure chest and why it was special to them; these activities continued throughout the week. Before lunch the children played Pirate Pictionary, where a child was chosen to draw a picture which related to our topic and the rest of the class had to guess what they had drawn. After lunch the children listened to the story 10 Little Pirates and sang pirate songs. At the end of the day a group of children talked about the special items they had put in their treasure chest. 

On Tuesday morning the children talked about mermaids and mermen, they were asked to share what they already knew about them and whether or not they were real. After lunch the children practised their letter formation for the letters k, l, m, n, o and wrote the tricky words ‘come’ ‘there’ and ‘you’. At the end of the day a different group of children were chosen to talk about the special items they had put in their treasure chest.

On Wednesday morning the children were asked to describe a pirate or a mermaid and were shown how to write descriptive sentences. The children attended a ‘Mad Science’ assembly about a club that will be starting in September and they took home leaflets about this at the end of the day. After lunch another group of children talked about the special items they had put in their treasure chest. 

On Thursday the children recapped their previous learning about subtraction as counting back. During the input they showed increasing confidence and independence when using a number line to count back and find the answer to a subtraction number sentence. Then the children completed a practical subtraction activity where some children had to walk the plank and then the rest of the class had to find out how many pirates were left on the ship. 

During their independent learning the children explored some pirate themed Maths activities: 

Activity 1 –subtracting using shells; 

Activity 2 –pretending to be pirates and stealing other pirates gold coins; 

Activity 3 –completing number sentences using gold coins; 

Activity 4 – subtraction from 10 number line activity; 

Activity 5 – Subtraction game on the interactive whiteboard. Before lunch the children listened to a pirate themed story and sang some pirate songs. During the afternoon the children were treated to a music session with Eva-Jane’s mum, who showed the children how to use a loop station to make different voice effects and pre-record music. The children thoroughly enjoyed singing in the microphone and having a go on the drums and symbols. The children also learnt how to keep a beat and explored making loud and quiet sounds with instruments. 

On Friday the children consolidated their learning about subtraction and explored finding one less than a given number up to 20. 

During PE this week the children warmed up by playing ‘stuck, stuck, shark’ (adapted version of stuck in the mud) and then they engaged in team games which included: throwing a bean bag into a hoop; running races; and an obstacle course.

During ICT this week the children used the software 2Simple 2Paint a Picture to create a a treasure map or a mermaid underwater picture using the pen tools. To end the week the children attended the whole-school celebration assembly.

In addition to this the children have been engaging in a variety of pirate themed activities during their independent learning, some of which include: writing about pirates using pirate themed word mats; making scrolls; making maps; sharing sea shells; under the sea role play area; investigating sea shells, starfish and coral at the investigation table; pirates and pirate ship small world exploration outside; making a submarine using crates; boats and playmobil people in the water tray; guttering and metal stands to make a water stream; making a desert island using playdough; and looking at sea themed stories (e.g. The rainbow fish, Sharing a Shell)

Over the weekend the pirates visited Beechwood and Captain Jack left the children a message explaining that some of his treasure was missing! The children used the pirates map to search the outdoor area and find lots of treasure. Then the children created their own treasure maps. Before lunch the children talked about and counted the treasure they had found throughout the morning. After lunch the children listened to a pirate story and sang the song A pirate went to sea, sea, sea. On Tuesday morning the children were shown how to write a letter back to Captain Jack and his pirates explaining that they had found their treasure. Following this the children engaged in a variety of pirate themed Literacy activities:

Activity 1 – writing a letter to the pirates;

Activity 2 – writing about what they would do if they were a pirate, e.g. If I was a pirate I would sail the seven seas;

Activity 3 – making a pirate hat;

Activity 4 – labelling a picture of a pirate;

Activity 5 – designing their own pirate flag.

After lunch the children practised their letter formation for the letters p, q, r, s, t and wrote the tricky words ‘come’ ‘they’ and ‘like’. At the end of the day the children looked at their Knock, Knock Book and individual children were chosen to speak in front of the class about their family and things they like to do at home. On Wednesday morning the children learnt about famous pirates. After lunch the children listened to the story Pirates Love Underpants. At the end of the day FSR performed their ‘Under the sea’ themed assembly. The Foundation Stage staff would like to say well done to the children for using clear loud voices when saying their part and for their fantastic singing. On Thursday the children received another letter from the pirates and Captain Jack explaining how many pirates were on their ship and that they needed the children’s help. The pirates asked the children to share the treasure that they had found fairly between the six pirates. The children answered questions such as “What does sharing mean? How do we share a number? How do we make sure we share fairly?”

During their independent learning the children explored some pirate themed Maths activities:

Activity 1–Share gold coins between a group of pirates;

Activity 2 –halving pirate coins;

Activity 3 – sharing shells between different pots;

Activity 4 – which fish is the heaviest? Weighing fish using cubes and recording their results;

Activity 5– Sharing feathers between parrots.

After lunch the children talked about their outdoor areas and what they like to do during their independent learning time outside. The children were asked to think about what other resources they would like to have outside and they made suggestions such as tennis balls, bats and balls, horses, a fairy house and a trampoline. At the end of the day the children sang some pirate themed songs.

On Friday the children went outside to complete a maths activity. There were 5 large hoops laid out on the floor and the children had to share themselves fairly between the hoops. After this the teachers challenged the children to share different amounts of children between different amounts of hoops.

This week the children have shown a developing understanding of the difference between doubling, halving and sharing. Before lunch the children showcased their treasure chests they had been making throughout the week. The teachers explained that the children will take their treasure chest home this weekend and that they need to find one special treasure to put in their chest and bring it back to school on Monday. The children were asked to think about which special item they would keep in their treasure chest and shared their ideas with a talk partner.

During PE this week the children warmed up by playing ‘stuck, stuck, shark’ (adapted version of stuck in the mud) and then they engaged in team games which included: throwing a bean bag into a hoop; running races; and an obstacle course.

During ICT this week the children used the software 2Simple 2Paint a Picture to create a pirate scene, desert island or a treasure map using the pen tools.

To end the week the children attended the whole-school celebration assembly.

In addition to this the children have been engaging in a variety of pirate themed activities during their independent learning, some of which include: writing about pirates using pirate themed word mats; making scrolls; making maps; sharing sea shells; under the sea role play area; investigating sea shells, starfish and coral at the investigation table; pirates and pirate ship small world exploration outside; making a submarine using crates; boats and playmobil people in the water tray; guttering and metal stands to make a water stream; making a desert island using playdough; and looking at sea themed stories (e.g. The rainbow fish, Sharing a Shell).

This week the children have been learning all about sharks! On Monday morning the children listened to the storyShark in the Dark. After listening to the story the children had to think about how the fish could have scared the shark away. Following this the children developed their knowledge about sharks by looking at facts and the different types of sharks. During their independent learning the children wrote their weekend news. Before lunch the children sang some sea themed songs. After lunch the children listened to the story The Fish who Cried Shark! The story shared the same message as ‘The Boy who Cried Wolf’, the children talked about why the animals didn’t listen to the fish when he cried shark at the end of the story. The children developed their understanding of the importance of always being honest.

On Tuesday the children were shown how to write facts about sharks, remembering to use: finger spaces; full stops; capital letters; tricky words; and making phonetic spelling attempts. Following this the children engaged in a variety of shark and sea animal activities: Activity 1 – writing shark facts; Activity 2 – writing words to describe sharks; Activity 3 – looking at non-fiction books about sea animals; Activity 4 – fish and sea creatures in the water tray (FSR) making shark hats (FSF); Activity 5 – children to drew and labelled sea animals. After lunch the children practised their letter formation for the sounds k, l, m, n, o and practised writing the tricky words ‘she’ ‘are’ ‘all’. To end the day the children looked at their knock, knock book and the children talked in front of the class to develop their self-confidence.

On Wednesday the children were shown some sentences about sea animals with some mistakes, for example, missing finger spaces between words, no full stop or full stop in the wrong place, no capital letter. The children were challenged to identify the mistakes and correct the sentences. After lunch the children watched a video about sharks swimming in the sea and further developed their knowledge of sharks. At the end of the day the children attended singing assembly. FSR’s class assembly is next Wednesday (27^th June) at 2:30pm.

On Thursday the children developed their understanding of doubling by doubling groups of shells. The children were asked to explain what doubling means and how they double a number. During their independent learning the children explored some Maths activities: Activity 1 –doubling groups of shell shaped pasta; Activity 2 –halving and sharing fish for the shark; Activity 3 – fish size ordering; Activity 4 – which fish is the heaviest? Weighing fish using cubes and recording their results; Activity 5 – which container holds the most? (FSR) buying fish with 1p coins (FSF). Before lunch the children sang a song to develop their understanding of doubling (1 and 1 is two, bend down and touch your shoe; 2 and 2 is four, bend down and touch the floor; 3 and 3 is six, do some finger clicks; 4 and 4 is eight, stretch up really straight; 5 and 5  is ten, we’re going to start again). After lunch the children practised their handwriting and tricky words.

On Friday the children explored halving and sharing fish for the sharks to eat. The children shared fish biscuits between two sharks and were asked to explain what halving means and how they can halve a group of objects fairly. Following this the children were challenged to share a group of fish fairly between 3 sharks. Before lunch the children sang sea themed songs.

During PE this week the children warmed up by playing ‘stuck, stuck, shark’ (adapted version of stuck in the mud) and then they engaged in team games which included: throwing a bean bag into a hoop; running races; and an obstacle course. During ICT this week the children use the software 2Simple 2Paint a Picture to create an underwater scene using the pen tools. To end the week the children attended the whole-school celebration assembly.

This week the children have continued their under the sea adventure. On Monday morning the children looked at the mind maps they had created the previous week and tried to find answers to their questions using the internet and non-fiction books. During their independent learning the children wrote about what they had been doing during the weekend. Before lunch the children sang some sea themed songs. After lunch the children listened to the story The Rainbow Fish, they showed a good understanding about the importance of sharing and having friends. The children compared how the Rainbow Fish felt at the beginning of the story and how he felt at the end of the story.

On Tuesday the children learnt some under the sea facts using the internet, non-fiction books, which the children had brought in from home. Following this the children were shown a video about being in a submarine to inspire their independent writing where the children were challenged to write about what they would see if they were in a submarine, during their independent learning they also sequenced pictures fromThe Rainbow Fish story. After lunch the children practised their letter formation for the sounds f, g, h, i, j and practised writing the tricky words ‘of’ ‘was’ ‘they’. To end the day the children sang their sea themed songs and talked about their learning.

On Wednesday the children looked at an under the sea information PowerPoint to develop their knowledge about life under the sea. It has been great to see the children independently writing facts about sea animals and The Rainbow Fish story. After lunch the children talked about respect and how they needed to respect their adults, peers, belongings and school equipment. At the end of the day FSF performed their class assembly about superheroes and the story Superworm. Well done all the children for their fantastic performance and for using such clear voices, their assembly was thoroughly enjoyed by the whole-school. FSR’s class assembly will be on Wednesday 27^th June at 2:30pm.

On Thursday the children developed their understanding of subtraction as counting back using sea creatures and number lines. The children saw an amount of animals, circled the number on their number line, took some animals away and jumped back along their number line to find the answer. During their independent learning the children explored some subtraction activities: Activity 1 –children have 10 counting objects, roll a dice and then subtract the amount by taking objects away, lastly the children recorded their subtraction number sentence on a whiteboard;Activity 2 – the children read a given subtraction and jumped back along a number line to find the answer; Activity 3 – undersea colour and count activity where the children had to count how many of each sea animal was hidden in a picture. Before lunch the children sang some subtraction songs, for example 10 green bottles; 10 little monkeys; 10 little men in a flying saucer; and 5 speckled frogs. After lunch the children practised their handwriting and tricky words.

On Friday the children counted how many sea animals were on the interactive whiteboard, rolled a dice and then subtracted that many animals to find out how many were left. The children used their number lines to find the answer (circling the 1^st number, jumping back the amount on a dice and then circling the answer). It would be fantastic to see the children using a number line to complete a subtraction at home. Before lunch the children developed their understanding of finding one more or one less than a given number up to 20 using a number line and fishes. The children were asked to count a group of fish and then answer questions such as: How many would there be if I took one away? How many did we start with, what is one less than…? How many would there be if I add one more?

During PE this week the children warmed up by playing ‘stuck, stuck, shark’ (adapted version of stuck in the mud) and then they engaged in team games which included: throwing a bean bag into a hoop; running races; and an obstacle course. During ICT this week the children demonstrated their ability to use an Ipad to take a picture or make a video. The children thoroughly enjoyed walking around the environment taking their own pictures with the school’s Ipads and it was entertaining to watch their videos after school.

This image shows how to use a numberline to count back:

This week the children immersed themselves into their under the sea adventure. To start the new topic the children shared what they knew about under the sea and what they wanted to find out. Following this the children engaged in a variety of craft activities to make crabs, starfish, jellyfish and fishes. The children watched a video about scuba diving and thought about what they would do if they were a scuba diver. After lunch the children listened to the story Commotion in the Ocean and developed their knowledge of some animals which live under the sea and their characteristics.

On Tuesday the children thought of words to describe some of the animals in the Commotion in the Ocean story. Following this the children were shown how to put their descriptive words into a sentence. The children were challenged to write their own descriptive sentences during their learning time and they also labelled pictures of a turtle and a fish. After lunch the children practised their letter formation for the sounds a, b, c, d, e and practised writing the tricky words ‘be’ ‘to’ ‘my’.

On Wednesday the children were given clues and they had to guess which sea animal they thought it was. Following this the children created their own ‘what am I?’ lift the flap card, where they wrote clues and then drew their animal inside. It was great to see the children’s confidence to write independently developing.

On Thursday the children developed their understanding of addition as counting on using sea creatures and number lines. The children saw an amount of animals, circled the number on their number line, counted some more animals and jumped on along their number line to find the answer. During their independent learning the children explored some addition activities: Activity 1 -roll 2 dice and add the dots, then record the corresponding addition; Activity 2 – put some counting objects on either side of a strip of paper and then remove the strip of paper and count how many altogether, finally the children recorded their addition on a whiteboard; Activity 3 – cut and stick 1-20 ordering activity. Before lunch the children looked at the Commotion in the Ocean story and identified the rhyming words for each animal and then the children were asked to think of additional words that rhyme with words from the story. After lunch the children practised their handwriting and tricky words.

On Friday the children used playing cards 1-10 to create additions. 2 children were chosen to come a choose a card and then the children used their number lines to find the answer (circling the 1^st number, jumping on a given amount and then circling the answer). It would be fantastic to see the children using a number line to complete an addition at home. Before lunch the children adapted the rhyme Little Miss Muffet to create their own rhyme about a little orange fish and a big grey shark. It was lovely to see the children’s rhyming developing throughout the week.

During PE this week the children warmed up by playing ‘stuck, stuck, shark’ (adapted version of stuck in the mud) and then they engaged in team games which included: throwing a bean bag into a hoop; running races; and an obstacle course.

During ICT this week the children continued to develop their addition by playing the game ‘Save the whale’ on www.ictgames.com The children dragged up the pipe to show how many more they needed to make a given number and then they had to click on the wheel to see if they have saved him.

This image shows how to use a numberline to count on.