Tag Archives: fun

STEM Committee

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.

Number Formations

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.

Afore Noo

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.

 

Voxter and Soft Play

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.

 

Beginning Phonics

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.

Strom Beach

P1/2 are making the most of the fine weather and getting outdoors to explore the local environment.  On Friday we all headed along the road and down the hill to the beach in the Strom Road.

The children were so engaged and really enjoyed themselves. There was so much to do. Lots of digging, making dams, finding treasure and great excitement finding little creatures that live in and out of the water.

The children brought their snack to the beach with them to allow more time there for exploring and playing.

There were opportunities to develop those gross motor skills by climbing and balancing safely on the rocks.

 

Most of the children managed to go over the top of their wellies at the edge of the water so there were lots of soggy socks and trousers by the end of the morning. To be fair to them their wellies aren’t very tall.

These three had a great idea and took off the soggy socks to go for a paddle.

None of them complained though.

The sun stayed out for the whole morning and the children had a great time. The sheep were very entertained by the children on the walk back.

We hung out some washing to dry for a bit back at school.

 

Go Furt Fridays

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.

First Day

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.

 

 

Directions in Maths

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.

Science Workshop

The children were treated to a fantastic science show from ‘Sunbeam’ and ‘Raindrop’ from the Edinburgh Science Centre.

They spoke about the different kinds of weather in the different habitats around the world. They explained how the earth has many layers and how the atmosphere protects the earth.

They demonstrated the importance of the Ozone Layer and spoke with the children about how we need to look after our planet.

The characters of Raindrop and Sunbeam were really engaging and the children loved the experiments and interactive parts of the show.

The parachute became the atmosphere and all the children are inside. It got quite hot in there with all the p1-3 children tucked in nice and cosy. demonstrating how the atmosphere holds the heat in.

The children also got to play games using the information they had been learning about.

There Was An Old Lady

The children loved the Song called ‘There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly’. We read the story in class, then watched a video which allowed the children to compare and chat about the differences. They sang the song in Music with Mr Travins earlier in the week too.

The Children did Drawing Club about the story and enjoyed playing with the puppets afterwards.

They set up their own puppet Show in Class during Golden Time on Friday. It was amazing to see the organisation and cooperation amongst the children. They provided seats for the audience, as well as tickets and ‘snacks’.

The whole audience joined in with the singing. I shall try and share a little video on here for you to see.

 

Drumming with Joy

On Friday mornings we have been doing some Drumming with Joy. The children have been so good at listening and trying their best with all the games and different rhythms. Their confidence is growing week by week and they are really enjoying this opportunity to learn about African music and cultures.

As well as drumming there is time for dancing, singing and a lot of fun.

The children love playing the Dunduns keeping the beat throughout the pieces they have been learning.

Easter Egg Fun

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.

 

Pancake Day

The children learned how to make pancakes for Pancake Day. They measured, sieved, poured, cracked and mixed all the ingredients themselves. They learned the names of the utensils and how important it is to read a recipe correctly.

They watched for the bubbles in the mixture to know when to flip the pancake over and cook the other side.

They had great fun having a go at flipping a pancake in a pan. 

The best bit was choosing their toppings and eating them at snacktime.

The primary 2’s wrote out the recipe so they can make them at home. This is Ollie’s beautiful writing.

The Class Airport

The children have really enjoyed creating an aeroplane and airport to play in this week. They have been talking about all the different jobs and have been really good at taking turns and playing together in this area.

They love being the pilot and co-pilot and its good to have cabin crew ready to help passengers with safety and snacks. They have made tickets and passports to take on their flights with them.

Air traffic control have been guiding the plane safely and they are taking the security very seriously. They have been asking the passengers lots of great questions to see where they are going on holiday and what they have packed in their suitcases.

Chinese traditions

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.

Nesting and Girlsta Jarl Squad Visit

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.

 

Hopscotch Words

It was great to take advantage of the beautiful morning and get outside for some literacy fun. The primary 1’s had great fun playing hopscotch with words and writing with chalk on the tarmac.