Willowbank School, KilmarnockWe enjoyed taking part in our IDL topic work this week. We are learning about Scottish music past and present. Confident individuals all round when sharing their opinions and all actively engaged in the activities.
We created posters to identify the locations that our Scottish artists originated from. We started in Kilmarnock and then used our knowledge of directional awareness to follow verbal instructions to find the next location.
Successful Learners Confident Individuals
The Moonbeams enjoyed learning some facts about elephants this week. We learned that they live up to age 70 and that they are the largest land animals. We also found out that they are very socialable and love their trunks being cuddled. The children were very good at practicing their Elephant Makaton Sign.
The pupils were all fully engaged in our science experiment this week. They poured and mixed the ingredients together and observed with lots of smiles and laughter as our Elephant Toothpaste exploded out of the tube! They then concentrated hard on brushing the Elephants teeth.
The Transition boys were Successful Learners listening to Scottish poetry signing some of the Scottish words and putting the poem in order. Some of the boys read the poem to the rest of the class. Some boys translated the Scottish words so that everyone could understand. Whilst looking at Scottish words, we took the time to read the 12 Scottish Days of Christmas and identify different Scottish items and animals.
Sequencing the poem ‘Mince and Tatties’
A big broon Alsation
Reindeer in the Cairngorms
Sequencing the poem ‘A dug, A dug’
The Transition boys were Successful Learners while doing their numeracy which was Christmas related. Some of the boys played games throwing a dice and counting while others sorted decorations into size order.
Sorting presents by size
Sorting crackers by size.
Sorting candy-canes by size
Sorting Christmas trees by size.
The Transition boys were outside practising their skills with the football. The boys took turns at kicking the ball and gave support to others with clapping when someone hit the target. This made the boys Effective Contributors. They applied their kicking skills to the game to try and send the ball away from the fielders to try and get a home run.
The Transition boys enjoyed being outside making directional arrows out of twigs for others to follow to find a hidden prize, They worked well together making them Effective Contributors.
The Transition boys had fantastic rhythm during music, making them Confidant Individuals. The boys kept rhythm with fast and Christmas songs slow songs and made their own rhythms. We had some amazingly complex rhythms in the room!
As part of an SQA unit, the Beech class have been thinking about the different ways to communicate our wants and needs. Mrs Wilson asked pupils to create a list of ingredients they would like in their hot drink. After making good choices and ordering their ingredients, pupils helped to safely and responsibly make their hot drink.
Christmas Musical Instruments
Effective Contributors
This week, we have been getting into the festive spirit by making jingle bells to use during our Christmas music time in class. Everyone enjoyed choosing different sized bells and listening to the different sounds they made. We then threaded them and wrapped them to make jingle bell shakers and bracelets. They sound great when we sing along whilst playing them.
Santa Toothpaste
Effective Contributors and Confident Individuals
The Sunflower class thoroughly enjoyed our Santa toothpaste experiment. We were able to add a variety of ingredients and watch a chemical reaction happen. Afterwards, we engaged in sensory play and loved mark making in the foam. The foam grew and changed in colour. The smell was amazing!
