A Letter to Her Majesty The Queen
The children in Key Stage 1 have received a very important letter. In the spring term, the children studied the book Halibut Jackson by David Lucas. Halibut Jackson was a shy character who just wanted to blend in and not be noticed, but after a series of events he overcame his shyness and became a suit maker for the King. Based on this, the children designed and made a beautiful crown fit for a Queen. They each wrote a letter to Her Majesty The Queen persuading her to choose their crown for her Platinum Jubilee celebration. Today we received a reply from Her Majesty’s Lady-in-waiting on behalf of Her Majesty The Queen, thanking the children for their splendid letters and crown designs. The children were very excited and grateful to have received a reply.
Welly Wednesday
The children have continued with their plant exploration and at Welly Wednesday and turned their focus to trees. We discussed how trees are grown from a seed but also grow their own seeds which are dispersed by the wind and animals. We looked at the different trees in the forest and identified which trees are evergreen and which are deciduous. We were lucky today to see some freshly cut tree stumps, meaning we could count the rings to identify the age of the tree. The children questioned whether the widest stump would be the oldest tree. After counting the rings in the tree stumps, the children came to the conclusion that a wider width does not make the tree older and that trees can grow at different rates with many factors effecting the growth - water intake, available light and soil quality. We then found the tallest tree in the forest. The children were fascinated by the size and wondered how old this magnificent tree was. The staff managed to measure the girth of the tree, it measured over 7.7m! After a quick calculation we worked out that the tallest tree in the forest could be approximately 308 years old!
Science - Plants.
The children have made a great start on Mr. McGregor's garden. They have cleared some of the planting beds of weeds and debris, then planted some fruit tree that were kindly dontated by Morrisons. The children have also planted sunflower seeds to observe and record what plants need and how they grow
Literacy - Olga Da Polga by Michael Bond
The children had a visitor join them in the Welly Wednesday camp. When we arrived, Olga the guinea pig, was snuggled under the climbing tree nibbling on fresh, juicy dandelions. The children used their creativity and discussed what adventures Olga would have encountered on her way to Welly Wednesday camp. The children also came up with fantastic ideas of why she was at our camp. One idea was that she had ran out of fresh dandelions, so she was searching for more. Another idea was that she really likes garlic bread made from wild garlic so she was collecting garlic from camp. Then the children worked in pairs to create a story about Olga’s adventures. They made a story stick to help them tell their story, adding items to their stick to represent each part of the story. Finally, all the children showed great confidence and told their story to all the children at Welly Wednesday.
Geography - The Seven Continents and Five Oceans.
As part of our Geography learning, the children have been looking at the seven continents and the five oceans that make our world wonderful. We discussed that a continent is made up of different countries, each one unique, just like our class is made from individual children but together we are one class. We used a globe to identify the United Kingdom and the other countries; Brazil, Indonesia and Madagascar, that we have received postcards from through Paddington and UNICEF. We talked about the children’s rights in this country, the right to an education (Article, 28 and 29. UNCRC), the right to have a good standard of living (Article, 27. UNCRC) and the right to be safe (Article, 36, 37 and 38. UNCRC). Then we talked about how some children in these countries have their rights taken away, and how UNICEF is helping and supporting the children to make their lives better.
The children then used an atlas to make their own globe. They worked in pairs to identify, locate and arrange the continents and oceans on their globe.
It was lots of fun making our own globes.
Art - Observational Drawing
We settled around a shaded tree, opened our sketch books and watched the daffodils dance in the spring breeze. The children used their observational skills and water colours to paint beautiful daffodils. The children then added these to their cards which they have taken home today, with fresh daffodils to celebrate Easter.
Science - Animals, Including Humans.
Do the tallest children have the biggest feet?
The children conducted a science experiment to investigate their question. The children used their planning, investigating and recording skills to discover - yes the tallest person in our class does have the biggest feet.
History - The Great Fire of London
The famous ‘Great Fire of London’ started on Sunday 2 September 1666 in a baker shop in Pudding Lane. Thomas Farriner, the baker, forgot to put out the fire he used to bake bread. Some of the firewood was set alight and the fire began. Key Stage 1 explored this terrible event and were gripped by this significant historic event from the 17th Century. They studied the buildings of the period to create their own buildings made from wood and straw.
The children transformed in to authors and stepped into the shoes of the famous writer Samuel Pepys. They wrote their own diary extract portraying a day in 1666 when London was gripped by fire.
During our time at Welly Wednesday, we baked fresh bread on an open fire just like Thomas Farriner would have in 1666. Then we put out the fire using buckets of water from the river, imitating the people of London trying to save their homes and valued possessions.
The children sharpened their pencils and gave Christopher Wren some competition! They redesigned St Paul's Cathedral which was largely destroyed by the Great Fire of London. The children then made their design from junk modelling and papier mache.
The Great Fire of London was devastating for the people living at that time, they lost their homes, pets and most valued possessions. As a result of great devastation, a Fire Service was born. The Fire Service has developed over the centuries and is now a valued emergency service which everyone is very grateful for.