Tag Archives: life skills

Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, literacy, maths, Science, Social Skills, STEM

Loose Parts in the Sun

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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.

Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, Science, Social Skills, Social Studies

Strom Road Wander

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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.

 

Art and Craft, Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, literacy, Science, Social Skills, STEM

Busy Bodies

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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.

 

Listening and Talking, maths, Social Skills, STEM

Measuring

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The children have been measuring length using different body parts, uniform objects and moving on to metres and half metres. They have really enjoyed these practical fun activities and challenges. I just haven’t managed to get many photos.

Following on from length and capacity the children have been learning about weighing objects.

The children worked really well in pairs to weigh small items using uniform objects like cubes and pegs.

They were very good at estimating and recording their answers.

They went on to use kgs and half kgs and enjoyed estimating each others weights and the adults too.

The Primary 2’s have also been learning about Area and how to cover a surface with different uniform objects and then moving onto squares.

 

 

 

Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, maths, Science, Social Skills

Taing Beach Exploring

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The children had a great morning at the beach and they loved searching in the seaweed and amongst the rocks for crabs and shells.

 

Carina made this wonderful pattern with lots of similar sized whelks which she had collected on the beach.

 

 

 

 

 

We stayed at the beach for snack which is always a treat.

 

We do live in the most beautiful place with fantastic opportunities for learning outdoors.

 

Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, Science

Polycrub Produce

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Today was an exciting day as we pulled up the first vegetables ready in the polycrub. These radishes will be used by the cooks in school. Carina loved taking them in and giving them a wash before delivering them to the canteen.

The children are very good at looking after the plants with daily watering, transplanting seedlings and re-potting plants.

Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, Social Skills

Lambs for Show and Tell

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We had a special Show and Tell this week from Jack. His mum brought along three caddie lambs for the children to meet.

This was such a good experience for the children as many of them haven’t really been  close to lambs before. They had a go at feeding them with a bottle and loved getting cuddles and stroking them. They named them Rosie, Sally and Annie.

Freyja also brought in her caddie lambs for Show and Tell. The children were very amused to see them wearing nappies. They had great fun cuddling them and playing chasies up and down the hill. Freyja could tell us a lot about how to look after them.

Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, Science

Polycrub planting

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We finally made it out to the polycrub to start planting. The soil was really dry so a lot of watering was needed and then the bairns planted carrots, onions and tatties as well as their own little pot with a sunflower seed.

Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, Social Skills

Dancing

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There have been a few sessions of traditional dance this term. The class have been learning the Grand Old Duke of York. The Circassian Circle, The Grand March and the Boston Two Step.

Lots of great listening to follow instructions and keep time to the music.

They also had a session dancing with their Buddies. The Primary 2’s got P6 buddies for the dances. It was so much fun.

Then we had a whole school dance which included the Early Years children and school staff.

Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, technology

A Burns Supper

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Today we were learning a little bit about Robert Burns and how people celebrate Burns Night.  The children prepared tatties and neaps to go with the haggis. They were very careful with the peelers and knives listening well to instructions.

They all got to have some of the Burns Supper they had cooked. A few loved it, some liked it and quite a lot of children did not like it at all but had a try.

Art and Craft, Expressive Arts, Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, literacy, Social Skills, STEM

Our Christmas Concert

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We only managed a few rehearsals in school before the snow came and we had to close. The children were so good at listening and following instructions. They made their own props and practised songs as often as possible.

The children did so well remembering their lines and singing their songs on the big stage. It was a great experience for them performing in front of such a big audience.

Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, Science, Social Skills, Social Studies

Parents Jobs

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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.

Art and Craft, Expressive Arts, Listening and Talking, literacy, Social Skills

p1/2 Assembly

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The P1/2 class presented their IDL learning in a whole school assembly on Friday. They shared drawings of themselves with things they like and are good at. They had lovely drawings of their families, including some writing done on the computers.

 

 

They dressed up as what they would like to be when they grow up and showed their paintings to the rest of the school staff and children.

 

 

The paintings are on display in the classroom now.

Listening and Talking, literacy, maths, Science, STEM

Dying with Beetroot

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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.

 

Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, Science, Sciences, Social Skills

Off to the Beach

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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.

Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, literacy, maths, Sciences, Social Skills, STEM, technology

Making Soup from Scratch

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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.

Art and Craft, Health and Wellbeing, Listening and Talking, numeracy, Social Skills, STEM

Counting in 2’s

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The primary 2’s have been practising counting in 2’s. As well as counting eyes, feet, ears etc in the class they have been counting pairs of wellies, pairs of socks and finding pairs of objects to count. They practised with a partner playing clapping games and pegging up washing.

They worked together to display their items and write numbers to 20 and beyond by counting them in 2’s.

The class display looks great and they love counting the socks as they walk past.