Category Archives: Expressive Arts

Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, Social Skills, STEM

Voxter and Soft Play

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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.

 

Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, Social Skills, STEM

Go Furt Fridays

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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.

Art and Craft, Expressive Arts, Listening and Talking, literacy, maths, Social Skills, STEM

The Three Little Pigs

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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.

 

Art and Craft, Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, literacy, maths, numeracy, Social Skills, STEM

First Day

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What a busy and fantastic first day you the children have had. Here are some activities captured on camera today for you to see.

……….building, problem solving, co-operation

…….fine motor skills, focus and concentration, patterns

Counting, number bonds , creating Penguin One for number formations,

outdoor fun, collaboration, mark making, following instructions

Imaginary play, dinosaurs, curiosity, interactions, communication

Routines, structure and lots of listening

The children also had a music lesson today and the activities in the photos just show some of what the children were doing during their first day of school this session. They are a busy bunch.

 

 

Art and Craft, Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, literacy, maths, Social Skills, STEM, technology

Moving Up Day

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The children had a great day moving into their new classes. It was so lovely to welcome new pupils to the school that day as well.

There was an opportunity to explore and play in the classroom. The train set was very popular, as was the role play and craft areas.

before the early years children joined us we had a little song and video about writing capital letters. They listened really well and then we went outdoors to create these letters using natural objects. The children worked in pairs to do this. It was a great opportunity for developing cooperation and communication and also for exploring the outdoors.

The final alphabet looks amazing and is up on the wall in the school.

after breaktime the younger children joined us as next years primary 1’s. They all listened to the story of Inch and Grub, which is really funny. It is about two cavemen who are constantly trying to be better than each other.

They then had to work in pairs to make the tallest towers in competition with another pair. This was a lot of fun and the children got to use lots of different construction materials and loose parts. So many opportunities for team work, sharing, turn taking, collaboration and problem solving skills.

The children then drew a picture of something that Inch and Grub might put on their towers. They look great.

At lunchtime the children were great. They all followed the new routines really well and enjoyed their fish and chips.

It was a busy and fantastic day and the children got on so well.

 

Art and Craft, Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, literacy, Social Skills

Bucket Fillers

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After reading the Story ‘Have You Filled A Bucket Today’ the children created this display.

They spoke about how everyone has an invisible bucket which can be filled up or emptied by the words and actions of others.

They practiced filling each others buckets in school by being kind, giving compliments, good manners, showing respect etc.

Around their posters they added words and drawings of examples of how to fill and empty peoples buckets.

Expressive Arts, Listening and Talking, Science, Social Skills, Socila Studies

Science Workshop

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The children were treated to a fantastic science show from ‘Sunbeam’ and ‘Raindrop’ from the Edinburgh Science Centre.

They spoke about the different kinds of weather in the different habitats around the world. They explained how the earth has many layers and how the atmosphere protects the earth.

They demonstrated the importance of the Ozone Layer and spoke with the children about how we need to look after our planet.

The characters of Raindrop and Sunbeam were really engaging and the children loved the experiments and interactive parts of the show.

The parachute became the atmosphere and all the children are inside. It got quite hot in there with all the p1-3 children tucked in nice and cosy. demonstrating how the atmosphere holds the heat in.

The children also got to play games using the information they had been learning about.

Art and Craft, Expressive Arts, Listening and Talking, Social Skills

There Was An Old Lady

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The children loved the Song called ‘There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly’. We read the story in class, then watched a video which allowed the children to compare and chat about the differences. They sang the song in Music with Mr Travins earlier in the week too.

The Children did Drawing Club about the story and enjoyed playing with the puppets afterwards.

They set up their own puppet Show in Class during Golden Time on Friday. It was amazing to see the organisation and cooperation amongst the children. They provided seats for the audience, as well as tickets and ‘snacks’.

The whole audience joined in with the singing. I shall try and share a little video on here for you to see.

 

Expressive Arts, Listening and Talking, Social Skills

Drumming with Joy

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On Friday mornings we have been doing some Drumming with Joy. The children have been so good at listening and trying their best with all the games and different rhythms. Their confidence is growing week by week and they are really enjoying this opportunity to learn about African music and cultures.

As well as drumming there is time for dancing, singing and a lot of fun.

The children love playing the Dunduns keeping the beat throughout the pieces they have been learning.

Art and Craft, Expressive Arts, Listening and Talking, literacy, Social Skills

World Book Day

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The children have had a great day today. They are so excited by books and reading, which  fantastic.  They were keen to share their favourite books they had brought from home.

They looked so lovely in their costumes and pyjamas at school today.

They enjoyed World Book Day activities in the classroom.

The afternoon was really special as the whole school came together and shared books in a paired reading session.  There are photos on the School Blog.

The adults had a lot of fun too!

Art and Craft, Expressive Arts, Listening and Talking, literacy, maths, Social Skills, Social Studies

The Class Airport

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The children have really enjoyed creating an aeroplane and airport to play in this week. They have been talking about all the different jobs and have been really good at taking turns and playing together in this area.

They love being the pilot and co-pilot and its good to have cabin crew ready to help passengers with safety and snacks. They have made tickets and passports to take on their flights with them.

Air traffic control have been guiding the plane safely and they are taking the security very seriously. They have been asking the passengers lots of great questions to see where they are going on holiday and what they have packed in their suitcases.

Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, literacy, maths, RME, Social Skills, STEM

Chinese traditions

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In class we have been learning a little bit about Chinese New Year. They have been talking about the festival and looking at photos of the celebrations.

The children loved the story of the the Zodiac for naming the Years. This is the Year of the Snake and we looked at calendars and dates in class. Most of the Children were born in the Year of the Dog or the Pig.

We set up a little Chinese Restaurant in class and the children have been trying out chopsticks.

We also had some chinese masks, costumes and other items to investigate and play with in class. Can you guess who are behind these masks?

The children loved the chinese lanterns which were hanging up and the dragon so they had a go at making their own lanterns.

Art and Craft, Expressive Arts, Listening and Talking, literacy, Social Skills, Social Studies, STEM

Nesting and Girlsta Jarl Squad Visit

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The children have been building up to this visit. They have made shields, axes and helmets for their own class squad and have been practicing marching and singing in class. Some of them made this amazing galley boat with the loose parts and have enjoyed Viking related play options in class.

They looked and sounded fantastic when they all grouped together for this photo.

They were really excited about doing their quiz which they had prepared for the Jarl. They drew big posters of things linked to the Jarls real life and then had fun choosing random things to draw for the answers to questions.

We managed a quick rehearsal before the Vikings arrived.

We didn’t manage to get many photos during the visit. I shall add more if I get any.

 

Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, literacy, Social Skills

Hopscotch Words

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It was great to take advantage of the beautiful morning and get outside for some literacy fun. The primary 1’s had great fun playing hopscotch with words and writing with chalk on the tarmac.

Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking

Gym with Mr Kirkness

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The children were so excited when they saw the set up in the gym hall today. This term they are exploring balance, rotation, travelling, jumping and flight in different gymnastics contexts. They are using a variety of different apparatus and floor situations to build confidence, resilience and improve their skills.

So many skills are being developed during their PE lessons, including creativity, communication, core stability and strength and collaboration etc. They learn to take risks safely and build confidence to try new things.

Art and Craft, Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, literacy, RME

Promises

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The children loved the story about Noah’s Ark. The story tells of God’s promise to never again flood the Earth and his creation of a rainbow. The children made their own promise, or New Years Resolutions, which they wrote on clouds at each side of their rainbow.

The primary 2’s sequenced pictures from the story and then re-wrote it in their own words. They have done amazing and they are all so proud of what they have achieved.

The children are enjoying playing with the animals and the ark in the classroom. They also have books and puzzles linked to this story and have had a go at Drawing Club too.

They have also enjoyed listening to another Bible story called Jonah and the Whale. They made these really cool expanding pictures and watched a little video of the story as well.

Art and Craft, Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, literacy, maths, numeracy, RME, Science, Social Skills, STEM

Back to School

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The children were delighted to be back at school this week. They are always excited to see what is new in the classroom but mostly they are excited to see their friends.

The train set is always a huge hit in the classroom. The children work together to build some really good layouts and play together so well with the trains

As part of their numeracy work the primary 1’s have been learning about Ordinal Numbers. They did this with the primary 2’s lined up and then they had their own little tub of objects to set out in an order of their choice. They practiced using the words 1st, 2nd, 3rd …….10th to say the positions of the items in their lines.

This term the IDL topic is titled ‘Here, There and Everywhere’. The children  worked in groups to discuss and plan what they would like to learn about this term. Their drawing show lots of fantastic ideas and they are very excited about leading their learning through this topic.

 

Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, literacy, maths, Social Skills

Swimming Lessons

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The classes have really enjoyed their lessons at Scalloway pool this term. Mr Kirkness was impressed with their listening and effort and both classes have made lots of progress with confidence and skills.

Each week the classes take turns at going in the pool so while the p2 group are in I teach the p1’s at the poolside and vice versa. It is quite a productive time and the children are kept very busy with maths and literacy activities.

A huge thankyou to all the parents who volunteered to come along each Tuesday.  I am very grateful for all your help.