It was great to see so many parents in school last Friday. The children loved sharing their learning and showing them around the classroom and the school. I think everyone got dragged along the ‘Kindness Trail’ which the children have loved this term. The art work throughout the school is amazing and the children are very proud of their pieces.
The children have been learning about how much containers can hold. The Primary 1’s started off by figuring out which containers holds more/ holds less by pouring and filling different sizes tubs, bottles etc.
All the children practised measuring the volume of different containers using non standard units. They counted how many cupfulls the different containers held.
The older children moved on to using litres to measure the size of the containers.
The children have recently been learning about measuring length. They loved being outdoor with their ‘friendly sticks’ to practice using the correct mathematical language of longer, shorter, etc.
They worked well with partners to use non-standard units to measure some larger lengths…………
…..and some smaller lengths……
The Primary 2’s moved on to measuring lengths in metres and half metres. They also worked together to make an underwater display of one metre long fish, with a few smaller half metre ones swimming along too.
Last term the children were learning about fractions. Their favourite activity was making toast! They had to then cut up their toast and put toppings on their halves and quarters. There was lots of discussion about making fractions equal sized as well as lots of chat about their favourite toppings.
The primary 1/2 class are the Eco-Committee for this term. They shared their plan in assembly last week of how they were going to involve the whole school in planting and growing their own food in the Polycrub this year.
Each class have been given a section of the polycrub to be responsible for planting in. There is also a rota for watering and looking after the plants throughout the term.
There have been lots planted already – tatties, peas, radishes, carrots, lettuce, beetroot, to name a few.
The children have also planted sunflower seeds and tomatoes in little pots which will need careful looking after and re-potting oncce they grow a little bit.
Each class is responsible for not only looking after the plants but keeping the polycrub tidy and organised for the next class or group of children who come in.
it is also a great space outdoors at Whiteness Primary to play. The children took a break from planting to work on their teamwork skills and have a lot of fun on the hill.
As part of their learning about looking after pets the children listened to the story of the Pet Popper -Upper. They then had to set to work creating their own one.
The ideas and creativity was amazing and the children loved coming up with new ways to make the pet pop up. it was good to see their confidence growing as they tried new modelling techniques and practiced craft skills.
As it is the long weekend and the children wont be at school for Valentines Day they have been getting cards made for all the people they love.
Its great seeing how one simple idea can lead to so many different interpretations and designs.
The children loved the story of the Hickory Dickory Dock Clock and set to work creating their own versions.
Their clock needed tp have numbers, hands, switches and passcodes to work. The final Clocks were great and the children loved showing them to the class.
Many of the children wrote about their clocks and how they had made them.
The children had a great time today exploring and playing with the new resources ready for them in the classroom.
The vets area was really popular and the children worked together to plan out what they would need in the vets to look after the animals.
They collaborated and worked well together to build the train set. It was great to listen to their conversations and how they shared their ideas. The children also loved investigating the snow and ice in the water tray.
Lots of great vocabulary and science going on.
They spent part of the day outdoors, making the most of the snow. It was amazing to see the friendships, teamwork, problem solving and creativity going on. They had so much fun.
Just before they headed back indoors it was time for a photo with their igloo and snowman.
The children loved the lead up to Christmas in the classroom. There were lots of opportunities for craft, writing and number activities every day.
They enjoyed hearing the story about the birth of baby Jesus and of course did an amazing job performing at the Christmas Concert.
Every week the children have french lessons so they learned a little bit about french traditions and how children in France celebrate Christmas.
Here, the children played ‘Christmas in France’ and have left their shoes under the Christmas tree for Father Christmas to know where to leave the presents.
On the final day of term the children played Christmas Party games.
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
