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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This week, the final week before the school holidays is when we need to clear out the polycrub. The children have been so excited. Especially seeing what has been growing underneath the soil.
There has been extra excitement as there has been a little mouse making frequent visits to steal peapods. The peas were the first thing we picked. There were hundreds of them. Every child had bag of some to take home or eaten, and all the other children in the school got ones as well.
Along with the peapods the children pulled up the onions, which have done really well this year and brought in the pots of basil they have been looking after. They could be re-potted at home into larger pots and keep it growing or lots of the children are keen to make pesto pasta and use the basil now.
The children grew some nusturtium flowers this year. They added a lovely pop of colour to the polycrub
And as you can see in the photos, the cabbage is doing amazing. #
Yesterday the children also took home some of the plants that were still in pots. Lots of Strawberry, cucumber, marrow, courgettes, tomatoes as well as some sunflowers.
They are keen to keep them growing at home. The children have been learning how to re-pot plants once they outgrow the pots they are in so should be good at this. I hope they continue to grow and produce some fruit/vegetables at home.
Today they dug up the tatties, carrots and beetroot. A mixture of successes but such amazing learning opportunity for the children.
I hope they enjoy these at home and have a little try of some of the things they have grown themselves.
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.
The children have been learning about the information needed to give directions, including turning right and left as well as forwards and backwards.
In these photos the children worked in pairs where one of them was a robot and the other had the control panel to give instructions.
There were also sounds, actions and additional instructions to follow, which made this activity a lot of fun.
Back in class the children used the Beebots, a programmable toy, to program short journeys on the mats.
The P1/2 class are the Digital Committee this term. They have worked hard to create this interactive display to challenge all the children in the school.
They presented their idea in assembly to the other classes.
To answer the question about each minibeast the children must scan the QR code on an ipad. This takes them to a website where they can find the answer.
earlier this term the children were creating patterns with colour and shapes using a variety of resources including ICT.
They enjoyed creating their own patterns using natural materials and then printing patterns with paint.
The weather has been amazing this month and the plants are thriving as they have been well watered and looked after by the primary 1/2 class.
The older children have also been getting involved in planting and looking after the polycrub on Tuesday afternoons as part of our IDL work in school.
We had our first harvest of vegetables. There was great excitement when we pulled up a few radishes and took them into school to clean and prpare for tasting. There were not many children who liked them but they gave them a try.
The Children enjoyed listening to the Easter Story today and watching a short animation about it. After discussing the reason we roll eggs at Easter time they got to work painting and designing their own egg ready for rolling later in the day.
It was p1 versus p2 in the Egg Rolling competition. The egg that travelled furthest after two shots and had no cracks was Ollie’s.
After lunch the children enjoyed an Easter Egg Hunt in the School grounds. It’s great to be back at school.
The children have been out a few times getting the polycrub started for the growing season. So far they have planted tatties, radishes, sunflowers, parsley and some flowers.
If anyone has any spare pots, compost, seeds or plants they would like to donate to the school polycrub that would be fantastic.
I shall keep you updated with the progress. Just a lot of soil and digging at the moment!
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.
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.
All the children designed Viking shields in class. They are very excited to show them to the NGUHA Jarl squad on Friday, along with their helmets and axes.
Aida’s shield was the winning class design this year. her shield will go on the NGUHA galley next weekend.
