Badgers
On Thursday, we were all very excited for our trip to the shopping precinct at Prospect Hill. When we arrived we noticed lots of different shops. There was a supermarket, a newsagents, a pharmacy, a hairdressers and a fish and chip shop.
First we watched as Mrs Burton used the cash point to get some money then we bought the items from our shopping list which included a newspaper, some biscuits and a box of plasters.
Some children had a chance to go into the shops while everyone else looked through the windows.
We had a lovely walk and Badgers were brilliant. A big thank you to all our helpers.
Earlier in the week Badgers had worked very hard writing a letter to their families. They were put into an envelope with their address on then the children popped a stamp in the corner. Everyone posted their letter in the post box to be delivered to their homes.
As part of our topic, we have been talking about how homes look different and during our walk we noticed lots of different sorts of buildings. We saw houses, flats, bungalows, the hospital and a church. The children learnt that this is our community and we are all a part of it.
We were even lucky enough to hear the church bells ringing. We counted the chimes and we knew it was 10 o’clock.
Our new topic is ‘Incredible Me’. We will be finding out about ourselves, our families, our homes, our hobbies and our community.
We will be talking about similarities and differences.
This week we have been using oil pastels to create a self portrait. We used mirrors to look carefully at our facial features. We noticed that some of us have blue eyes and some have brown. We also noticed that we all have different hair and skin - WE ARE ALL UNIQUE !
This week we have been learning about Easter in Badger Class. We know that this is a Christian celebration about Jesus. We have also learnt that traditionally, the giving of an egg represents new life.
We have had lots of fun making Easter themed decorations and cards for our families.
During our time in the forest this week, Mrs Reynolds showed us how to use some equipment safely. First, we watched as Mrs Reynolds showed us how to hold, use and store LOPPERS correctly. We learnt that we can only use this piece of equipment if we are a safe distance away from other people - that is two arms and the tool length away. We also learnt the names of the different parts of the tool - handle, cutting edge and blade. Some of us were invited into the fire circle to have a go.
The second piece of equipment was a SHEATH KNIFE. This also had a handle, cutting edge and blade. Mrs Reynolds demonstrated the art of whittling (stripping the bark from a branch) using a protective glove on her helping hand. This was great fun and lots of Badgers had a try for themselves. They were all very good and remembered the safety rules.
This week in Maths we have been looking at basic 2D shapes and the children have created some absolutely fantastic multi media collages. We used paper, card and foam for the triangles, squares and rectangles then we used a variety of objects to print our circle shapes. All the children have really enjoyed this activity. Well done Badgers!
As part of our topic we have been learning about British woodland animals. We have looked at non fiction books and learnt facts about different animals. We know that some woodland animals hibernate and some are nocturnal.
We have created some lovely observational drawings and are in the process of making our own British woodland animal books. Take a look at the front covers so far. The children have worked very hard with their designs and they all look brilliant.
We had fun in the forest this week. Mrs Reynolds invited us all to make a fruity treat for our woodland animal friends. We used apples cut in half and sunflower seeds to make different creatures. We then placed the treats around our forest for the animals to enjoy.
While we were sat around the fire circle we talked about animals we might see in British woodlands. The children had some great ideas and thought about owls, foxes, weasels, birds, hedgehogs, squirrels, mice and BADGERS!
We explored the forest and had fun on the rope swing and hammock before sheltering under the holly bush as the hailstorm started - it was all very exciting! The storm didn’t last very long so we had plenty of time to play and explore some more.
This week in Maths we have been helping our friend Ziggy to count larger quantities because he kept getting mixed up. We have learnt a few strategies to help us count accurately. The children suggested a few ways to be able to do this which included crossing off as we count, counting slowly, touching each item as we count, stopping when we get to the end and putting things in lines so we do not get confused. Ziggy listened very carefully and was able to count all the children in Badger class accurately. Well done Ziggy! We then had a go ourselves and the strategies we learnt worked well.
World Book Day
Everyone was comfy and cosy as we shared lots of stories together throughout the day. You all looked amazing Badgers.
A great big thank you to everyone who joined us to cosy up with a book for World Book Day.
Unfortunately, we were not able to visit the forest this week but that did not stop us thinking about nature.
We all sat under our magnificent silver birch tree in the sunshine and Mrs Reynolds read some stories. Then we all planted our very own sunflower seeds to take home and look after.
Our new topic for this half term is ‘Nature Detectives.’ So far, we have talked about the seasons of the year Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. The children have recognised the changes that happen within each season. We have looked around our school grounds for signs of Spring and noticed the new buds on the trees, flowers beginning to grow and we have spotted quite a lot of ladybirds around our mud kitchen area.
This week we have been learning about tremendous trees and looking at pictures of different types of trees including silver birch, sycamore, horse chestnut, oak and ash.
We have noticed that each tree has different shaped leaves.
The children have created some fabulous bark rubbings, paintings and seasonal tree pictures.
Badgers were so excited to be visiting the forest again for the first time this year.
First, we gathered around the fire circle so that Mrs Reynolds could remind us of the forest school rules. Then, we made two teams and played a few fun games of rock, paper, scissors. Afterwards, we went investigating around the forest looking for signs of Spring which ties in with our new topic. We noticed that the forest looked different from our last visit. The Spring flowers were growing and there were buds on the trees. Some of the children used iPads to take photographs of what we found.
There was also something new to investigate too. A ROPE SWING - woohoo what great fun it was! The children took turns after Mrs Reynolds had shown us how to use it safely.
We learnt about the different parts of a tree and had fun singing the tree song using actions suggested by the children. Leaves, branches, trunks and roots, trunks and roots.
Please watch our pirate puppet show. We hope you enjoy it!
SHIVER ME TIMBERS !!! What a busy week we have had Badgers !!! We have had lots of fun talking about how Pirates travel around the seas and oceans in their pirate ships. As you can see, the children have all loved dressing up in the pirate outfits and making up their own adventures. Take a look at our pirate puppets - aren't they amazing!
Badgers have worked very hard creating their own non-fiction book. They designed the front cover and independently wrote sentences about the vehicles. What brilliant authors you are!
They even had a visit to Nursery to share their amazing work with the children.
Well done everyone. We are all very proud of you.
Continuing with our vehicle topic, we used Tales Tool Kit to create our own imaginary story. There was a character, a setting, a problem and a solution.
We all had chance to put forward ideas and our imaginary story was great. It included a boy, a magic portal, a race track, a giant pine cone and Chase from Paw Patrol.
Last week we had a space theme in Badger class which was inspired by a fabulous book called The Way Back Home by Oliver Jeffers. We retold the story in our own words using the toys on our topic table. The children really enjoyed dressing up as astronauts, building rockets and visiting the Cosmic Cafe.
As part of our vehicle topic we have read a lovely book called Whatever Next written by Jill Murphy. It tells the story of a young bear going on an imaginary journey to the moon. The children had great fun acting out the story using the props.
Something new and exciting has started in Badger Class. All the children have been invited to join our Drawing Club.
Every Wednesday afternoon we get out our magic drawing tools and let our imaginations run WILD. The challenge is to draw a character from a chosen story. We then add some special code words to complete our drawings.
Take a look at some of the wonderful work. So far, we have drawn the monster from the story Not now, Bernard and a Goonie from the story Little Rabbit Foo Foo. Everyone is having so much fun and really enjoying being a member of our new club.
This week our focus has been on Emergency Vehicles. We now know we can call 999 if we need help in an emergency.
The children have used our fire station toys to make up their own stories for an imaginative emergency situation.
We have watched video clips of the vehicles in action, heard the sirens (which were very loud) and spoke about what each emergency service can help us with.
Our new Topic is ‘Vehicles and their Journeys .’ The children are enjoying learning facts about different sorts of vehicles from bicycles to bulldozers and helicopters to hot air balloons.
We have learnt that vehicles are used for all sorts of different jobs. Some have wheels, some have tracks, some go under water and some fly in the sky.
We have had lots of fun making and building vehicles, reading about them and, of course, playing with them.
Mrs Burton, Mrs Watkinson and Mrs Sadler would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
XXX
What a busy and exciting week we have had in Badger class.
We started our Christmas festivities with a delicious Christmas dinner. The dining hall looked lovely and we would like to thank our catering staff for all their hard work.
The children really enjoyed their dinner and everyone agreed the ice cream for pudding was their favourite.
Then we all got creative with our Christmas crafts. Take a look at the wonderful gifts we have made to take home.
Christmas Cards and Candle Holders
Calendar Wreaths
Santa on a Stick
Reindeer Food and Christmas Puddings
Christmas Trees and Baubles
Today was our final visit to the forest. A little bit of magic had happened and the forest was scattered with shiny bells, sparkly pipe cleaners and beautiful Christmas decorations.
The children thought it would be a good idea to make ‘Jingle Bells’ using sticks they had found from around the forest. We threaded the bells onto pipe cleaners and twisted them around the sticks. They looked amazing and sounded brilliant.
Mr Ball was busy in the kitchen making festive food with the children. He even made a Christmas pudding decorated with holly.
Usually, what we find in the forest stays in the forest but today, Mrs Reynolds very kindly said we could take our ‘jingle bells’ home as a Christmas treat.
What a MAGICAL afternoon we have had.
Last week we read another story from The Bible called The First Christmas. It tells us about Mary and Joseph travelling to Bethlehem and about the birth of Baby Jesus in a stable. The children learnt that we call this the Nativity Story.
The children used the Nativity scene on our topic table to retell the story in their own words.
Christian people prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus by decorating Christmas trees, sending cards and giving gifts to their family and friends.
In Badger class we have begun our Christmas preparations by decorating our Christmas tree. We all hung a bauble on the tree and Mrs Burton added the shiny star on top. It looks amazing.
As part of our Special Stories topic we have been looking at a very special book called The Bible. The children looked at different kinds of Bibles, some had pictures and some had only words.
We have learnt that some Christian people read the Bible which tell stories about God and Jesus. We read the story of Noah’s Ark and how God had told Noah that it was going to rain for forty days and forty nights and that he must save all the animals.
The children really enjoyed the story and created a large collaborative drawing of the ark adding animals two by two. We also had a go at painting rainbows which signified the end of the storm.
Thank you for bringing your favourite story books from home Badgers. We enjoyed sharing them with our friends.
Badger Class had a great treat last week. We were able to visit the forest in the ... SNOW! We wrapped up warm and after playing some games around the fire circle Mrs Reynolds told us a snowy story under the shelter where is was nice and cosy.
We also looked for hazards around the woods. We used sticks with hazard tape tied around to mark the spots. The children looked for things like nettles, brambles and spiky holly bushes. Well done everyone - now we can explore and have fun while staying safe.
Following on with our Special Stories topic we have read one of our favourite books, The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. There were lots of activities around our classroom for the children to enjoy. We concentrated on our fine motor skills by cutting and modelling play dough. The children used the Gruffalo characters on our topic table to retell the story in their own words and have created some fantastic Gruffalo faces using lots of different parts. We even remembered the poisonous wart on the end of his nose. Brilliant work Badgers!
As part of our Special Stories topic we have been learning about a Hindu Festival of Lights called DIWALI.
We all watched a short film which followed a family as they prepared for this special celebration.
First, we saw how hands were decorated with beautiful MEHNDI patterns using a dye called henna.
Take a look at our fabulous designs. The children concentrated really hard to create these beautiful Mehndi patterns.
Then, we saw how DIVA LAMPS with lit candles were used to light up the houses and gardens. All the children really enjoyed making and decorating their own Diva lamp using clay.
Finally, we saw how RANGOLI patterns were created on the floors using colourful chalk and sand. Traditionally these patterns were said to bring joy and to welcome guests. We had a go ourselves using colourful crayons, paints, magnetic and paper shapes. During our outside play to learn the children decorated our playground and path with beautiful designs. We hope you liked them. Well done Badger Class.
Today Badger Class were very, very excited to be visiting the forest for the first time.
We started by sitting around the fire circle so Mrs Reynolds could explain the rules of the forest to keep us all safe.
We had lots of time to investigate and have fun around the forest and found hidden characters from The Gruffalo story.
Mrs Reynolds showed us all how to get into the hammock safely before having a try ourselves. The children thought it was really cozy and almost fell to sleep.
We played in the mud kitchen where we made some delicious soup and Mr Ball showed the children how to play Tic Tac Toe and how to use the forest equipment safely.
The children had lots of fun sweeping and collecting leaves in the wheelbarrows, climbing trees and enjoying the outdoor environment.
What an amazing afternoon Badgers !
Take a look at our amazing fruit and vegetable faces which are inspired by the Italian artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo. We have all had so much fun creating our unique designs.
What an absolutely fabulous first half term it has been. Thank you brilliant Badgers. Enjoy your holiday.
This week we have read The Little Red Hen. It is the final book for this half term’s topic of Traditional Stories. The children have enjoyed listening to the story and have played with the toys to retell the story.
We have spoke about the season of Autumn and how farmers grow wheat, corn, fruits and vegetables which are harvested using machines called combine harvesters. The children have learnt that some Christian people thank God for the food they eat at a special celebration called the Harvest Festival.
We used oil pastels to create observational artwork of fruit and vegetables on black paper. They look amazing.
Well done Badger Class.
In maths we have been investigating the number four. The children have discovered that there are lots of different ways to make patterns using four but no matter how the patterns look they know it is still four.
We have also been learning the phrases ‘more than’ and ‘fewer than’. The children have understood this really well and during our practical learning were able to say the STEM sentences correctly.
Continuing with our topic Traditional Stories, we have read Rapunzel, The Three Little Pigs and Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The children have had lots of fun making bear faces out of natural materials. We have learnt some amazing facts about real bears and have used props, toys and story maps to retell the stories in our own words.
We have also enjoyed the alternative stories Rapunzel and her Ever so Shiny Locks and Jack and the Incredibly Mean Stalk. The children compared each story to the original and were able to say what was the same and what was different. Some of them actually preferred the alternate versions.
In maths we have been looking at the number three. The children have been making patterns of three and now know that even though the patterns look different it is still three.
During our outside play to learn, the children created a large scale collage of a beanstalk using paint rollers and real leaves they collected from around our playground. It was great fun and I’m sure you will agree that it looks amazing. Well done everyone.
Our topic for this half term is “Traditional Stories”. To kick start the topic we have read the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. All the children have really enjoyed learning the story and have joined in with the activities around our classroom. They have had a go at painting and drawing the characters, threading leaves, twisting crepe paper and cutting out leaves to make a beanstalk which we have displayed in our classroom. The children have used a story map and the toys on our topic table to retell the story in their own words. What a great week Badgers!
Badger Class have had a brilliant start to the school year and have settled really well into school life. We have been busy exploring the indoor and outdoor areas and have had lots of fun getting to know each other. Mrs Burton, Mrs Watkinson and Mrs Sadler are very proud of you all.
