It is always so exciting once the plants start to appear! The bairns are doing a great job of looking after them and thankfully the weather is improving and there is a bit of warmth and sunshine.
Poly Crub
Tag Archives: life skills
Our Kindness Trail
Kindness is one of the schools’ Core Values and we feel it is the most important. It is always on the agenda but it is good to make it a focus and spend time discussing with the children different ways of being kind and how it makes us and others feel.
The children listened to stories, watched clips and had discussions about kindness. We also had little role play scenarios to act out and discuss.
Any children who were noticeably kind could choose a smiley face and add it to the Kindness Trail which is making its way around the school corridors.
Lots of parents have emailed in Acts of Kindness that they have seen the children doing at home. They loved hearing the different ways their peers have been kind and it has really spurred them on with their efforts.
All adults in the school are noticing their kindness and commenting on this with them. The cooks are well impressed with the good manners at lunchtime with lots of pleases and thankyous.
Voar Redd Up
On Friday the tide was low so the bairns went to the Taing beach to take part in the Voar Redd Up. They mostly found bits of rope and plastic but the more unusual finds were a toorie and cans and bottles in the grassy area between the school and the top of the beach road.
There was also time to go exploring and find shells and crabs.
Polycrub update
A huge thankyou to the parents who helped to water the plants throughout the Easter holidays. They have fairly shot up. The sunflowers were ready to be re-potted into bigger pots so the children have been busy doing that and lots of watering this week.
As part of their literacy this term the children have been learning how to write instructions. Lucy-Jo was very clear on how to plant a seed.
Fractions
Last term the children were learning about fractions. Their favourite activity was making toast! They had to then cut up their toast and put toppings on their halves and quarters. There was lots of discussion about making fractions equal sized as well as lots of chat about their favourite toppings.
Grandparents
It was lovely to welcome lots of Grandparents into the school and classroom again. The children were so delighted to be able to share their learning and show them what they love doing at school.
The Eco-Committee
The primary 1/2 class are the Eco-Committee for this term. They shared their plan in assembly last week of how they were going to involve the whole school in planting and growing their own food in the Polycrub this year.
Each class have been given a section of the polycrub to be responsible for planting in. There is also a rota for watering and looking after the plants throughout the term.
There have been lots planted already – tatties, peas, radishes, carrots, lettuce, beetroot, to name a few.
The children have also planted sunflower seeds and tomatoes in little pots which will need careful looking after and re-potting oncce they grow a little bit.
Each class is responsible for not only looking after the plants but keeping the polycrub tidy and organised for the next class or group of children who come in.
it is also a great space outdoors at Whiteness Primary to play. The children took a break from planting to work on their teamwork skills and have a lot of fun on the hill.
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.
Library
Library time is a special time. The children love choosing their books and spending time looking at them with their classmates.
They listen to a story which they voted for in class earlier in the day. There can never be enough stories read to children.
