Tag Archives: connection

Taing Beach Exploring

The children had a great morning at the beach and they loved searching in the seaweed and amongst the rocks for crabs and shells.

 

Carina made this wonderful pattern with lots of similar sized whelks which she had collected on the beach.

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed at the beach for snack which is always a treat.

 

We do live in the most beautiful place with fantastic opportunities for learning outdoors.

 

Spring Flower Science and Literacy

The children have been learning about about flowers. They have been finding out about the different parts of a flower and how they grow and change.

They have been investigating and naming the different parts of flowers and learning about how dandelions use the wind for seed dispersal and bees take the pollen to different flowers.

This all ties in with discussions about Spring in the classroom and when we are outdoors.

The Primary Two’s used lots of verbs to write poems about Spring. They did a great job of making a good copy to display on the wall using ICT skills they have been practicing recently.

 

 

Easter Fun

The children have been learning a liitle bit about the symbols of Easter and they enjoyed listening to the story from the Bible.

They had great fun today doing an Easter Egg Hunt in the school grounds which resulted in some yummy chocolate treats at snack time.

This tied in with the patterns which the children have been doing in maths as they created repeating patterns using colours and shapes to design beautiful Easter Eggs.

Have  a great holiday everyone!

Polycrub planting

We finally made it out to the polycrub to start planting. The soil was really dry so a lot of watering was needed and then the bairns planted carrots, onions and tatties as well as their own little pot with a sunflower seed.

Learning Out in the Snow

Opportunities for using loose part to create dens. Great for developing problem solving and teamwork skills.

Collecting the melting snow from icicles dripping from the roof. Great science and STEM opportunities outdoors.

Some of the melting ice was collected in a different way!

 

 

Deciding which containers are best for different purposes. Evie’s snowman needed three different sized containers.

Opportunities to develop creativity, confidence and take risks- so many skills being developed.

Collaboration, choice and commitment in play develops so many social skills and friendships. It can also be exhausting!

 

Testing to see which snowball goes fastest- big or small? Does lifting the guttering higher or lower? So many opportunities for conversation, developing vocabulary and communication skills outdoors.

 

 

Checking out footprints and the different patterns boots make in the snow.

 

 

 

 

Viking Warriors

The children love learning about the Vikings and have been enjoying role play opportunities in the classroom. It is great to see them all getting on so well together using what they have been learning in their play. Below is a snapshot of Wednesday afternoon’s adventures.

The galley is now finished and they have been taking turns and sailing around the world discovering new places to settle.

Sometimes,  just their imaginations are enough. They set out chairs and rowed their longship – even before it was built.

Once in their new lands the children have been learning how Vikings trade items to get what they need. Their are jewels, gems, furs, food and  jewellery to swap, using the scales and balances to work out different amounts.

They would also need to cook over an open fire in the middle of the longhouse using foods available.

 

 

 

 

 

 

These viking warriors are getting ready for another attack.

 

The children are enjoying using the Viking longships in the water tray to set battle scenes and talk about their topic.

 

 

A Special Show and Tell

River’s dad was in the Lerwick Up Helly Aa Jarl Squad. He came in as River’s Show and Tell which was really exciting.

He told the class about how his suit was made and all the different jobs people did to make the different parts. The children got to hold the shield, the axe and the dagger. The helmet was amazing and he shared lots of information about the detail and feathers on it.

River loved having his dad in and it was super to have a ‘friendly’ viking in to class before the arrival of the fearsome NGUHA jarl squad.

NGUHA

The children were already for their visit from the Nesting and Girlsta Jarl Squad.

In class they made axes, shields and helmets with Viking runes and designs on them.

The children all designed individual shields and they voted for the best one which was enlarged and put on the Jarl Squad’s galley. Esme won this and her shield looked amazing.

The Jarl Squad came in singing and cheering. The Jarl enjoyed his quiz which the children helped prepare and then everyone enjoyed a Boston Two Step with the jarl Squads’ band.

 

Dancing

There have been a few sessions of traditional dance this term. The class have been learning the Grand Old Duke of York. The Circassian Circle, The Grand March and the Boston Two Step.

Lots of great listening to follow instructions and keep time to the music.

They also had a session dancing with their Buddies. The Primary 2’s got P6 buddies for the dances. It was so much fun.

Then we had a whole school dance which included the Early Years children and school staff.

Our Big Dino Build

The children started by selecting suitable boxes/junk to make their model dinosaur. They worked in pairs so there was a lot of discussion and collaboration to find the parts and join them together.

We spoke about how to make their model strong by creating different types of joins in using PVA and sellotape.

The next stage was seriously messy. They used papier mache to cover the dinosaur, focusing on the joins and making sure the newspaper strips went from one part of the model onto an adjoining part.

Once the models had two coats of papier mache it was time to choose colours for their dinosaur.

Once the paint was dry the children thought about the detail they wanted to add- eyes, teeth, claws etc.

The primary 2’s have been working on adjectives in their literacy work so this was a great opportunity to apply that learning to describing their dinosaur.

The writing was read out in class for the others to guess which model the description matched.

Their is now a little Dinosaur Exhibition set up in the school for the other classes and staff to visit to see the models and the writing.

A Burns Supper

Today we were learning a little bit about Robert Burns and how people celebrate Burns Night.  The children prepared tatties and neaps to go with the haggis. They were very careful with the peelers and knives listening well to instructions.

They all got to have some of the Burns Supper they had cooked. A few loved it, some liked it and quite a lot of children did not like it at all but had a try.

Cards for the Community

All the children in the school made Christmas cards for the over 80’s who live in the community. The primary 1/2 class uses tatties to print penguins then put on details with cut paper and pens. They looked fantastic. I am sure the recipients were delighted with these precious cards.

Our Christmas Concert

We only managed a few rehearsals in school before the snow came and we had to close. The children were so good at listening and following instructions. They made their own props and practised songs as often as possible.

The children did so well remembering their lines and singing their songs on the big stage. It was a great experience for them performing in front of such a big audience.

Symmetry

The children have just begun a topic on symmetry and have really enjoyed the first few activities. They had fun looking at reflections and using mirrors to make pictures complete.

They worked with a partner to create a giant symmetrical design using classroom objects.

They made symmetrical body shapes with their partner.

They had great fun investigating symmetry with the little mirrors.

The children had a go at painting symmetry butterflies. They make a very colourful corner in the classroom.

They then had a go at creating their own symmetry paintings for their gallery.

Making Words In Primary 1

It is so exciting to see how the Primary 1’s are using their phonic sounds to build words. Everyday we practise their sounds and do lots of games and activities to practise blending letters to read and make words.

They loved playing hopscotch in the classroom using wordcards.

More about Autumn

This little area of the classroom is all about Autumn. The children have been thinking about all the changes that happen with this season and about animals who hibernate – focusing on hedgehogs in particular. 

They have been making little hedgehog homes\nests using the loose parts.

We have been outside again spotting signs of Autumn and having discussions about  the changes we see and things we find.