Tag Archives: Fine motor skills

Lifecycles

As part of our ‘Changes’ IDL learning the children loved the activities around lifecycles and metamorphosis. It all started with a visit to our school pond when we spotted several frogs.

The children worked in groups to create a 3D collage of a pond showing the different stages fo the lifecycle of a frog. it was lovely to see them collaborating and supporting each other with this.

The final ponds looked fantastic……..

As part of their  learning about lifecycles they discussed the transformation of a caterpillar to a butterfly. It was so much fun learning this through drama.

These are the eggs!

 

 

Out of the eggs hatch the little caterpillars

 

 

 

 

The chrysalis/cocoon/pupa hangs while the caterpillar transforms inside.

 

 

 

 

The butterflies emerge from the cocoons, dry their wings and fly away.

 

 

 

Then they lay eggs!

 

measuring length

The children have been having fun learning about length. The Primary 1’s created these flowers and talked about longer, shorter, taller, tallest, smaller etc. Lots of great discussions and vocabulary used.

They used their ‘magic sticks’ to compare the size of objects outdoors.

All the children  used different body parts to measure objects eg. ‘heel to toe’ steps, and handspans. They loved doing this and got good at estimating their answers before actually measuring to check.

The Primary 2’s used different units to measure objects in the classroom and outdoors. They then went on to learn about metres and half metres.

They worked in pairs to create a snake which was exactly 1 metre long.

The primary 1’s showed their buddies how to measure objects using their sticks and the p7’s recorded the answers.

They have had fun using the playdough to make long and short worms.

 

 

Red Nose Day

Today the children came to school dressed in red and learned a little bit about Comic Relief and the fundraising they do.

it was lots of fun playing games and doing activities that the p7 pupils had planned.

In the afternoon they watched as the p7’s got a soaking in the stocks followed my Miss McLoed and Mrs Colclough.

 

Numbers to 20

The primary 1’s have been completing lots of different games, puzzles and practical activities to learn about the numbers to 20.

They can count, sequence, order and sort all these numbers using lots of different materials.

They have also been learning about addition and subtraction, again with lots of practical resources and games as well as using technology.

 

The Wind and the Sun

As part of our topic the children listened to  the fable about the Wind and the Sun. They acted out the different parts of the story.

The primary ones made books sequencing the story.

The primary 2’s wrote the story, remembering all the different parts. Below are two examples of the p2’s writing. They all did so well.

Measuring Rainfall

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.

Valentines Day

There was a lot of love in p1/2 this week. The children did a great job of making Valentines cards for loved ones at home.

The primary 1’s love their buddying time in school and made these little guys together during their session this week.

They have also had the freedom to be creative in the craft and modelling area and have made some of their own creations for loved ones there.

Squad p1/2 – Peerie Vikings

The bairns were so excited today and were all ready for the Nesting and Girlsta Jarl Squad coming this morning.

They had painted a galley and all the children in the school made themselves into Vikings to go inside and around it. It looked great in the school hall.

The children also made collage pictures of Viking longships on the sea. They used paint, torn paper, foam shapes, pens, wooden sticks and card for all the different parts. They are so colourful and look amazing.

Changes

This is how the children began planning for this terms topic on Changes. They thought of lots of possible ideas of things that can change and were very excited to be involved at this stage.

This created a lot of discussion and great questions from the children who worked in little groups to come up with the ideas.

It’s beginning to feel festive

Lots of opportunities for maths and literacy throughout the classroom linked to Christmas.

Busy Elves in the Christmas Corner

The Class Advent Calendar

 

Christmas Jumper Day

Divali

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!

Alien Adjectives

The children have had great fun creating these aliens after reading a story in class with Miss Jamieson. There was a lot of discussion and many amazing descriptive words about their characters. The Primary two’s practised their ICT skill by typing and printing out fancy lettering for words to add to the display.

Children In Need

Well done Primary 123 who raised an amazing £331.29 for Children in Need today.

They organised a coin collection in the school and got everything ready for other classes to come and sort their coins into the different tubs.

The children did really well and had to ensure the correct coins went into the correct buckets.

They had spent time the day before in pairs and small groups preparing the buckets and learning about the different coins as well as where the money collected is going to.

The buckets looked fabulous!

The p123 Eco Committee

Today the winners of the Eco- Committee competition were announced in assembly.

The children had a choice of whether to re-cycle their bags into something new or to design a new Bag for Life to re-use.

There were so many amazing designs and such creativity from all the classes. It was difficult for the p123 Eco-Committee to judge but well done to Evie, Freyja, Ella, Merryn, Eve and Aylee.

The p123 did a presentation in assembly two weeks ago about how we can re-use, re-cycle and reduce waste to help the environment and announced the competition then. They showed off all their examples of how they have re-used and re-cycled their bags.

literacy and magic e

The p2 children have been learning about Magic e and practising reading and writing words. It is great revision and consolidation for the p3’s who have loved all the games and different ways to practise the spelling patterns

Recently the children worked in groups to create a map which they then went on to write about. It was great to see them supporting each other and being so engaged in writing tasks.

There are lots of spelling and literacy games in the classroom which the children play. The p3’s love the opportunity to be the ‘teacher’ in these games and take on the organisational roles.

 

 

It is such a busy environment so often difficult to capture photos of all the amazing learning that happens in the classroom.

 

Drawing Club

We have a go at Drawing club usually about twice a week.

Below are 3 examples of stories we have used this term to inspire wonderful drawings by p1,2 and 3.

It is not just about the drawing though, there are so many skills being developed through not only the delivery of the story but new vocabulary, maths concepts,  phonological awareness, spelling and rhyming patterns etc. It is also a great way to focus in on the children who may need a little bit of extra help building their confidence with pencil grip, fine motor skills and forming shapes, numbers, letters etc on paper.

The children draw with me in little groups to be able to hear repeated vocabulary and have a go at creating their own masterpieces. They love it and get very excitied about Drawing Club.

Phonics in p1

The primary 1 children have been doing agreat job learning their phonic sounds. They listen to a little story and learn a song and action to go with each new sound they learn. There are then opportunities to practise the letter formation  eg. on the big whiteboard, in sand, shaving foam, chalk, little whiteboards etc. They also have daily practise through ‘Speedy Skills’.

They also play lots of games using the new sounds learned eg, Sorting words beginning with phonic sounds into hoops, Whiteboard games, Bingo, Treasure hunts, Lotto, pairs games, matching games, splat the sound with fly swatters, etc.

There are also opportunities to explore and chat about their sounds as they play in different areas of the classroom.

Numeracy in P1

The Primary 1 children have been so busy this term practising number formations, playing number games and learning through so many  fun, active and practical ways.

With each new number we focused on they enjoyed a story and also  a practical activity, game or craft activity to go along with it.

I have only managed to get photos of some of the ways the children have been learning  about the numbers as it is a very busy environment with so many exciting things going on.

There are always maths activities in the classroom and shared area. Below are some examples of children measuring weight and volume in the tuff trays and water tray and there are also opportunities to learn about time and money in the classroom.