The children have been learning about Chinese New Year. This year is the Year of the Rabbit and they loved hearing the story about how the Emperor decided how to name the years after animals.
They have been counting to 10 in mandarin and having a go at using chopsticks in our little chinese restaurant.
As part of their topic this term the children have been learning about how we find out about the past. They made salt dough and created their own dinosaur fossils.
They have also been having a go at being archaeologists using tools to carefully search through the sand for important clues to the past.
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.
This terms whole school topic has been ‘Around The World’ which included a little bit about the World Cup. The primary 1/2 class showcased some of their learning in assembly last Friday.
They loved learning about different countries in the World and keeping tabs on who is playing and still in the World Cup.
Archie loved matching countries and flags and finding places on the maps
As part of the project the children worked in pairs/small groups to create their own imaginary country. Whether it was hot or cold? Where the cities, forests, mountains etc would be, what animals lived there, what was the country called and design a flag for it.
The primary 2’s went outdoors to search for tiling patterns around the school. The found lots of great examples.
Back in the classroom they spent time investigating with flat shapes to see which ones tiled and which ones didn’t.
They had a go at creating their own tiling designs usisng the 2D shapes they have been learning about,
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.
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.
The bairns have had so much fun being back at school with a Halloween theme in the classroom. They have been enjoying dressing up, reading stories, making potions and spells, hocking out pumpkins and finding spooky creatures in some very disgusting blue goo amongst other things.
After reading the story Funnybones the children had a go at drawing skeletons. They loved learning about the different bones and feeling for them inside their own bodies. The drawing were excellent.
The children helped Grizelda the Witch with her spell. They put in lots of gruesome, unusual and scary things.
There was great excitement as the mixture began to bubble up and the children said their magic words.
The mixture bubbled over and the children thought of wonderful things their spell could do……..
The children completed some writing using their favourite ingredients for the cauldron. These are from Primary 1’s.
They loved the opportunity to scrape the seeds out of the pumpkins and get them ready for carving. This created lots of discussion, fun and mess.
We went to the Viking Energy windfarm for a visit. So many roads, so much information and so many trucks and vehicles. They loved wearing the PPE, being on a bus and having packed lunches as part of their day out.
In the afternoon the children were in the hills and got to see the huge scale of the base of one of the wind turbines. They also had a quiz and used the information boards to find the answers.
The children brought a time capsule with them. They had all written some information about themselves and predicted what might be happening in 25 years time when it gets dug up again. The children got to choose which one of the 103 windmills it would be buried under using the map as a guide.
They chose one near to Weisdale and there will be a competition to now give their windmill a name.
The primary 2’s wrote reports on their trips, These are by Chloe and Sophie. They did an amazing job remembering all the things they saw and being able to write so many sentences about their day out.
We are very lucky at Whiteness School to have such an amazing outdoor space. The children went exploring in the wildlife garden for signs of Autumn. The noticed the fallen leaves and how the trees were changing. They looked at the different colours and found berries, seeds and seed pods.
We are looking forward to going out again and noticing more things as the seasons change.
The primary 2’s have been working with numbers to 100. They are learning about place value and how these numbers are constructed using Tens and Units(ones)
They have been playing games and sorting numbers to understand their values and order.
Our class ‘Speedy skills’ have been a great way to practise different skills learned using cards and instructions.
They use the class whiteboard, games, resources and this interactive wall display as a reminder of these numbers and how they work.
It has been wonderful to have so many visitors in the school recently and the children have loved hearning about the different jobs people do.
Carina’s mam came in and told the children about being a dental nurse.
Alfie’s mum came in and told them about being a nurse and showed them lots of different things she uses in her job.
Mandy from the kitchen came and spoke to the children about what she has to do in her job as a cook. They had to guess what some of the items were that she brought with her. They especially loved the salad spinner and the protective specs!
Willum’s mam and dad came in to tell the children about their jobs. Louise is a pharmacist and the children found out about how important it is to only take medicine given by an adult and never eat a sweetie if you don’t know what it is or who it is from. They really enjoyed the peerie quiz ‘Is it a sweet or a medicine?’
Davie is an officer on a boat and they loved seeing the photos and finding out about the different jobs people do on the boats. He has travelled all around the world and spoke to the children about the different journeys and places he has been too.
The children pulled up the beetroot from the Polycrub. They washed it and chopped it and put it on to boil.
They cut a square of material and put it in a pan to boil with vinegar.
Once everything had boiled the beetroot was drained and the material put into the purply red juices.
This is Sophie’s instructions describing what we did.
The children had great fun making perfume using petals from different flowers. There was honey suckle and fuschia as well as flowers from the school polycrub to make fantastic smells with.
They used small scissors and tiny spoons to create their perfumes in little glass jars and containers.
They were very proud of their final products. They named their perfumes and made labels for the little bottles.
The children got to go onboard the bus which is touring the country just now.
They listened really well about the history of the poppy fundraising and loved when the photos on the wall came to life and spoke to them.
They got to ‘clock in’ and ‘clock out’ like the factory workers would have had to.
They got to look around and learn about different poppies from other countries. They also got to make their own poppy.
We took advantage of the lovely morning and headed off for a walk to the beach. Dylan and Ross joined the class and everyone had such a super time.
The children were so curious about what they found at the beach, little whelks that ‘waved’ at them, lovely bits of pottery and seaglass(treasure), speedy crabs running side-ways, different kinds of shells and hopping creatures under stones.
They explored the rocks and the boats at the beach. They were really respectful of the environment and were aware of keeping themselves safe duiring our walk and at the beach.
The primary 1’s love hearing their new sounds. They listen to a story, sing along to a song, play games on the whiteboard and practise formations.
They practise the letter formations in various ways including, in the sand, shaving foam, with playdough and on the whiteboards.
They have been doing speedy skills everyday to practise the letter formations and lots of hiding and searching games. 
They also have had ‘s’ for spaghetti, ‘t’ for tea to play in and ‘i’ for ink experiments.
They enjoy using the Jolly Phonics books to retell the stories and find all the things in the pictures which begin with the sounds they are learning.
I love seeing how well they are doing practising their formations at home. Lots of great ideas and support.
The children used vegetables they grew in the polycrub to make soup. They pulled up carrots onions and snipped some coriander leaves to take indoors.
They washed, chopped and prepared the vegetables. The children listened so well and were very careful with the vegetable knives.
The vegetables went in the pan with a stock cube, the coriander and some salt and the classroom smelt wonderful.
A few of the children liked the soup but lots of them said they didn’t- at least they gave it a go.
The children really enjoyed their first visit to the library this term. The Primary 1’s were super chuffed that they could take their books home until next Friday.
The children had a super first day back at school and loved exploring the play provision in the classroom and shared area.
It was lovely to spend time chatting with each child to hear what they had been doing in their summer holidays and what they are looking forward to doing at school this year.
They had snack in the class and then went out to play with all the other children in the school.
After playtime they met Mr Travins the new music teacher. It was lots of fun and they sang and danced along to lots of cool songs.
We had a chat about the Zones of Regulation and the emotional check in system we use throughout the school and the children showed me all their happy, sad, angry and worried faces!
Everyone managed really well at lunchtime lining up and telling the cooks what choices they would like. Lots of clean plates and great manners.
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