We read the story of the T-Rex who Lost his Specs in class. The children then went on to create their own specs. There were lots of opportunities for creativity and problem solving. They look fantastic and it was a lot of fun.
The children have been learning about the numbers from 0 to 100. There have been lots of practical activities, games, paired work and online activities to support their learning.
They have all done so well and are always keen to work hard in class. We are lucky to have such an amazing selection of resources to practise number skills in so many different ways,
The children have had great fun learning about 2D and 3D shapes this term. They have had lots of opportunities to familiarise themselves with the shapes through practical activities both indoors and outdoors.
There have been lots of conversations about the faces, corners and names of the new shapes. They have enjoyed finding examples of these shapes in the environment.
The children were delighted to meet Pudsey during his travels around Shetland Schools on Children in Need Day.
The Primary 1’s and their school buddies get together every week. They have been learning about dates and months in class and created these beautiful birthday cakes to pop their birthday candles in. they are absolutely beautiful and really brighten up the school corridor.
These are just a few of the fabulous mixed media collages the children made of grandparents. They are so eye-catching and everyone smiles when they see them on the classroom walls.
Haggis the witch made a magic potion in the cauldron with the help of the children.
They had so many ideas for disgusting things that could be included in the mixture…….wizards ear-wax, slugs slime, fish scales etc.
They repeated a little rhyme while stirring in the ingredients and of course said some magic words to make it work.
They thought of lots of ideas for what the potion would do and finally it started to bubble……
the children completed some recipes for magic potions in their writing jotters. There were so many great ideas.
The children arrived back at school today and were delighted with a bit of Halloween fun in and around the classroom.
Many of the children loved the dressing up and Witch’s kitchen area.
During art they followed instructions well and made little pumpkin collages.
It was such a nice morning that the class went out and did a scavenger hunt for spooky images hidden around the school grounds.
In the afternoon they listened to a story and all took part in Drawing Club.
In between times there was practical maths lessons and reading activities so a very busy first day back.
As part of our learning around seasons and Autumn the primary 1 children set to making cosy hedgehog homes using the loose parts.
They had such great ideas and made the homes as comfortable as possible for the hedgehogs.
The p1/2 children have been the school’s STEM committee this term so they set a challenge to the pupils in the whole of primary. The children presented the task to the older children and provided them with the resources required.
The children were put into mixed age groups of 5-6 pupils. They were given a set of materials and had to work together to create a paper chain. There was a time limit and limited resources.
There were prizes for the longest chain and for the team who demonstrated the best ‘teamwork’. It was amazing to see how the children collaborated and shared out the different jobs within their groups.
The final chains were laid out and measured against each other to find the winner.
Every morning the children use the Zones of Regulation area to indicate how they are feeling. There are opportunities to talk about their feelings and there are ideas for self-regulation. There are little activities and resources to support the children’s understanding of different emotions.
This is also a nice little area to just chill quietly or chat.
The Primary One children have been learning the letter formations this term. This begins as a character in a story, a little rhyme, some creativity and lots of practise.
For number 1, the children made penguins like the character in the story. This was great for practising those scissor skills and listening to instructions.
For number 2 the children made little nest models with two eggs made of plasticine, they also had two feathers for tickling each other like the character in the story. They worked with a partner to collect outdoor objects (two of each) and create a picture together.
Number 3 was a butterfly so the children added lots of ‘3 things’ to their pictures
For number 4 the children made these beautiful peacocks and learned a few facts about them.
Number 5 was a jumpy kangaroo so the children made jumps out of lego. Great for their fine motor skills.
For number 6 they used 6 sticks to make their own shapes and designs. They also used plasticine to make a swamp scene with 6 snakes, 6 rocks etc. This was a great opportunity for communication for collaboration.
Number 7 is a giraffe with 7 little birds on his back, 7 spots, 7 leaves etc.
For number 8 the children made spiders with 8 bendy legs and spider webs with 8 ‘spokes’ and 8 flies on their paper collage.
They also used plasticine to make ball shaped spider bodies and strengthen those little hands. Matchsticks were used as legs.
Number 9 was great fun practising in the shaving foam.
Tiger 10 was a favourite and the children made masks. They all had ten whiskers.
As part of our IDL this term the children have been finding out about items from the past. We got a selection of items from the Lerwick Museum to investigate which were fascinating.
There were lots of opportunities for discussion, investigation and figuring out what some of the items were.
They particularly loved the old typewriter. They got to try and type some messages and loved the mechanical element of it.
They made their own typewriters in art with Miss Whelan and decided what the paper would have typed on it as it came out of the top.
They had great fun learning how listening to music has changed over the years. The record player was great for listening to and swaying to some Bing Crosby tunes. They also looked at cassette tapes and CD’s which some of the children had seen before.
They practised drawing and cutting circles to make their own records for display in the classroom.
Ms Sinclair also brought in an old gramophone and gave a demonstration of how to work it. The children got a chnce to wind up the handle to get the turntable moving. There were some scottish dance tunes to dance to this time.
They loved hearing about how watching TV has changed over the years with limited channels and black and white images. They made their own old style TV’s and made themselves the stars of the show.
Lucy-Jo’s grandad Nigel and Ashton’s great granny Ann came in to talk to the children about how things were different when they were children
The children loved hearing about what school life was like, what kinds of toys they used to play with and how technology has really changed over the years. It was good for them to hear how lucky they are nowadays with all their lovely activities, clothes, food and opportunities as life was much harder when Nigel and Ann were youngsters.
The children asked really good questions and were so respectful and attentive during Nigel and Ann’s visits.
Thankyou so much to our special visitors.
The children were so excited heading out on the bus to Voxter Woods for the morning.
Being in the trees was so much fun. There were swings, balancing ropes, a saddle swing and a zip line to play on. The children were really good at taking turns and helping each other on these.
There were trees to climb, dens to build or add to, bugs to investigate and lots of places to explore. What a fantastic place for children to exxperience.
They had snack in amongst the trees.
We all went to the top of the hill and got a class photo before heading back to the bus.
By the time we got to the Soft Play in Voe it was time for lunch. The children enjoyed their packed lunches which the school had provided.
The children spent the afternoon playing with their friends in the Soft play. There was so much to do and they never stopped.
There were some very tired bairns on the way back to school on the bus, but what a great day out.
The children have started learning the sounds and formations of some letters this term. As well as learning with songs, stories, speedy skills and actions there are many other ways they practice these in class.
For ‘s’ they also had a go at making ‘s’ shapes with spaghetti and cutting out snakes which they covered with lots of s’s.
There are always visuals available for them to use and a roll-and-write card with a little ball on it which shows them the correct formations. Ellis is practicing ‘a’ below.
T was for tea! and what fun they had making tea.
They use the interactive whiteboard to practise formations and play games. They also use sand, little whiteboards, chalk, shaving foam etc. Lots of different opportunities to keep them engaged and enthusiastic.
For ‘i’ we got out the ink and lots of different stamps. They really enjoyed turning their pictures into works of art.
They practise recognising the letters and matching them to the initial sounds of words.
The children practised ‘p’ in many different ways. It is a tricky one to master but they really enjoyed opportunities for using ‘p’ words while using petals to make perfume.
P1/2 are making the most of the fine weather and getting outdoors to explore the local environment. On Friday we all headed along the road and down the hill to the beach in the Strom Road.
The children were so engaged and really enjoyed themselves. There was so much to do. Lots of digging, making dams, finding treasure and great excitement finding little creatures that live in and out of the water.
The children brought their snack to the beach with them to allow more time there for exploring and playing.
There were opportunities to develop those gross motor skills by climbing and balancing safely on the rocks.
Most of the children managed to go over the top of their wellies at the edge of the water so there were lots of soggy socks and trousers by the end of the morning. To be fair to them their wellies aren’t very tall.
These three had a great idea and took off the soggy socks to go for a paddle.
None of them complained though.
The sun stayed out for the whole morning and the children had a great time. The sheep were very entertained by the children on the walk back.
We hung out some washing to dry for a bit back at school.
The children get a focused loose parts and outdoor play session on Friday mornings. The water trays with pipes, half pipes, containers and connecting parts are always popular. The skills the children demonstrate here are fantastic.
They also learn how to climb and play safely in the trees together.
Imaginative play outdoors creates so many opportunities for developing social skills. it is particularly important for developing and establishing new friendships amongst the children.
Library time is a special time. The children love choosing their books and spending time looking at them with their classmates.
They listen to a story which they voted for in class earlier in the day. There can never be enough stories read to children.
The children were all familiar with the traditional tale of the Three Little Pigs and loved joining in the story with actions and voices.
We read two different versions of the story and watched a short video too. The children were great at comparing the differences and similarities between the different versions of the same story.
The class were then split into three different groups and worked on creating the houses that the pigs built. Lots of communication, teamwork, problem solving and creativity were evident during this session.
The houses look great and there are three little happy pig puppets living outside.
The new children were introduced to Drawing Club using the three little Pigs story. This is not simply about drawing, there are many skills involved and the final drawing were fantastic.
