It was great to see the children dressed up as all different characters or wearing their pyjamas to school last week.
It was also wonderful to see how enthusiastic they were about stories and books.
During Buddying time they got to share some of their favourite books with their buddies and draw some favourite characters together.
There have been visits from local babies Daniel, Kit and Orla this year so it has been great to chat about how the children have changed since they were babies.
They love playing with the babies in the role play area of the classroom and are very good at looking after them.
It was great fun to chat about and compare all the things they can do now that they couldn’t when they were babies.
Thy have also been learning about the different parts of their bodies and about how they will continue to grow and change as they get older.
The children worked in pairs to create a kite using a variety of materials. Lots of skills were being developed through this activity – for example collaboration, co-operation, problem solving, listening etc.
The wind was blowing so it was great to go and test the kites. The children soon found out that in order to fly the kites well they had to work together.
The children were excited to get back out to the polycrub and have a think about what they are going to be planting this year. The raised beds are all ready and the water butts are full.
Today was the start of the swimming lessons with Mr Kirkness at Scalloway Pool.
The children did so well listening to instructions and following all the new routines. Everyone had a great time in the pool.
There is also time for snack at the poolside and also a bit of spelling, reading and maths. It is a very busy morning for the children.
The children worked in mixed groups to make rain gauges to measure rainfall.
They then had to find a suitable position outdoors to place their rain gauge and dig a hole to place it in to keep it stable.
There was a lot of excitement around the pond as they all spotted our very large resident frog!
We will go out at regular intervals to check on the rainfall and record the results in class.
It was great to meet Chloe who shared lots of songs, rhymes and stories with the children. They were all so excited and engaged and really enjoyed joining in and having a go with the puppets and actions.
The primary 2’s never received their Read, Write and Count bags before Christmas so Chloe sorted that and they arrived yesterday. We will look at them in class this week, and try out the resources and ideas and the children will them home at the end of the week.
The children measured, cracked, poured, mixed and got all the ingredients combined to make a perfect pancake (dropped scones) mix.
The children learned how to look for the bubbles in the cooking pancake mix to know when to turn it. While the pancakes were cooking they all had a go at tossing a pancake in the air- great fun!
At snacktime the children chose their favourite topping and enjoyed their pancake day treat.
The children were learning about Robbie Burns last week and prepared the food for cooking a Burns supper.
The primary 2’s peeled and chopped tatties and neaps and put them on to boil. Evie mashed the neaps when the were ready.
They mixed up the haggis and put it in the microwave to cook.
Everyone had a try of the food and their were mixed responses…….
They learned a little bit about the history of Robbie Burns and what he was famous for. They loved hearing the start of the poem about the Mouse.
They also looked at some scottish tartan and had a go at weaving using paper strips. Their designs look amazing.
The children have loved setting up and learning about the properties of water experiments.
They have enjoyed investigating ice and creating habitats with the polar animals.
The children have been learning about Divali this term. They made lovely little diva lamps and used coloured rice to create this Rangoli pattern on the wall.
They used loose parts, peas and beans, Numicon and counters to create Rangoli patterns which tied in nicely with our work on pattern and symmetry.
The Primary 1’s created this collage of Ravani, the 10 headed demon god from the story of Rama and Sita. He looks pretty scary!
The children listened to the story of Guy Fawkes and also had a chat about being safe on bonfire night.
The children used junk modelling techniques to create their own firework to go above the London skyline.
The primary one’s used 2D shapes to make the rockets with their names on them.
They loved using the beads to make firework patterns. They also made a really good firework noise on the plastic tray!
Halloween is always so much fun and lends itself so well to the classroom with exciting fun learning opportunities. Below the children created a potion with many disgusting ingredients, using magic words and actually getting it to bubble up and overflow the cauldron. The potion made lots of weird and interesting things happen. Children are so creative and imaginative.
They wrote out their chosen ingredients and shared spells with each other.
The primary ones had to use their phonic sounds and choose the correct ingredients to read magic words.
The classroom has a Haunted House area with lots of Halloween creatures and costumes to use.
There have been a few disgusting days in the water tray with slime and goo, full of spiders and snakes. And other opportunities to measure weigh and create bottles of potions with different materials.
The children can’t wait to scare their parents with these ‘teethy’ symmetrical pumpkins!
and the spooky bat prints!
After looking at different types of boats and discussing what it is that makes them float the children had the task of making their own ones. They focused on making a hollow shape that could balance in the water.
They worked in pairs to make their designs.
Then each boat was tested to see how well it could float as the load got heavier.
They practised counting the marbles that each boat could hold.
These are the results next to the names of their boats…….
We are very lucky at Whiteness Primary to have such excellent outdoor spaces that provide rich environments for learning. Today we focused on using the loose parts in the shed to build, experiment and play. It is amazing seeing how the children use the various resources to create, solve problems and develop more flexible thinking.
Firstly the children thought about what they needed and took the materials they needed to an area they wanted to play/develop.
There was lots of discussion, collaboration and physical work to gather materials.
The children worked together to solve problems, develop ideas and negotiate. The spaces they created were fantastic and they had so much fun.
We also had snack in the new polycrub, which was lovely but quite hot.
Lots of the children were involved in using a series of pipes and guttering to get water to flow down a slope. There were so many peerie engineers helping and coming up with ideas and solutions to problems. They were so excited when each new section worked and they just wanted to make it even longer.
Another beautiful morning in Whiteness so we set off along the Strom Road for a walk and a little adventure.
The children were so sensible when crossing the road and listened really well as we chatted and played games as we walked.
We listened for the yeti’s belly rumbling and the children had great imaginations for where he would have a bath or shower and where he lived.
We headed to the ‘mountain’ where the children loved climbing and exploring.
What a beautiful place we live in. The children took time to look around them and be aware of the plants, animals, colours and landscape in front of them.
River and Willum were first to the top of the ‘mountain’.
But we all got there eventually.
The children had a STEM activity this afternoon after discussing how birds fly.
First they had some simple instructions to follow . It was lovely to see the children helping each other with the tricky bits.
once they had made them they went outside to try them out.
The children love choosing their books during library time and sharing stories together. Its a great time to listen to a story too.
The p1’s are really delighted to be able to take the books home to share with their families.
The children listened to the story of Rumplestiltskin and then they all had a go at Drawing Club in little groups.
The children learned a little bit about forces and we focused on the spinning motion of objects which they have loved investigating.
They then made their own penny spinners and designed them so they would look really cool when they were spun around.
Through role play the children have learned a lot about how to look after their bodies and what it would be like to be a patient or a nurse/doctor in a hospital.
The children learned about their bones and loved having Bob the Skeleton in the classroom for a visit.
They created wonderful skeleton pictures using art straws and had to think carefully about where there were joints.
They also had a torso in which had removable organs. It was like a puzzle to get everything to fit in and a great way to learn about some of the different parts inside their bodies.
They learned a little bit about their heart and lungs and completed some exercise challenges to see how this effected the different parts of their bodies.
The children worked in groups to create these amazing posters spending time learning about the different things they need to do to look after their bodies.
There are so many aspects of their school day which lend themselves to the Busy Body topic this term. working in the Polycrub, growing their own food, snacktime and lunchtime are also perfect opportunities to discuss healthy food and a balanced diet and outdoor play really provides lots of exercise and fresh air.
