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.
Tag Archives: Love Life Love Learning
Learning Out in the Snow
Opportunities for using loose part to create dens. Great for developing problem solving and teamwork skills.
Collecting the melting snow from icicles dripping from the roof. Great science and STEM opportunities outdoors.
Some of the melting ice was collected in a different way!
Deciding which containers are best for different purposes. Evie’s snowman needed three different sized containers.
Opportunities to develop creativity, confidence and take risks- so many skills being developed.
Collaboration, choice and commitment in play develops so many social skills and friendships. It can also be exhausting!
Testing to see which snowball goes fastest- big or small? Does lifting the guttering higher or lower? So many opportunities for conversation, developing vocabulary and communication skills outdoors.
Checking out footprints and the different patterns boots make in the snow.
Data Handling
The children have been doing a lot of data handling recently in maths. These lessons are always really active and busy so its difficult to capture on camera how much learning has taken place.
The primary 1’s have been learning about different ways to sort items and explaining the criteria they used to put items in different groups.
The primary 2’s have been doing a lot of surveys in the class and in the other classrooms too. They have been using this data to create graphs and diagrams.
The primary 1’s have also been creating graphs using practical materials.
by sorting the information they have they are getting good at answering the types of questions necessary to explain their data.
Viking Warriors
The children love learning about the Vikings and have been enjoying role play opportunities in the classroom. It is great to see them all getting on so well together using what they have been learning in their play. Below is a snapshot of Wednesday afternoon’s adventures.
The galley is now finished and they have been taking turns and sailing around the world discovering new places to settle.
Sometimes, just their imaginations are enough. They set out chairs and rowed their longship – even before it was built.
Once in their new lands the children have been learning how Vikings trade items to get what they need. Their are jewels, gems, furs, food and jewellery to swap, using the scales and balances to work out different amounts.
They would also need to cook over an open fire in the middle of the longhouse using foods available.
These viking warriors are getting ready for another attack.
The children are enjoying using the Viking longships in the water tray to set battle scenes and talk about their topic.
NGUHA
The children were already for their visit from the Nesting and Girlsta Jarl Squad.
In class they made axes, shields and helmets with Viking runes and designs on them.
The children all designed individual shields and they voted for the best one which was enlarged and put on the Jarl Squad’s galley. Esme won this and her shield looked amazing.
The Jarl Squad came in singing and cheering. The Jarl enjoyed his quiz which the children helped prepare and then everyone enjoyed a Boston Two Step with the jarl Squads’ band.
Dancing
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.
Our Big Dino Build
The children started by selecting suitable boxes/junk to make their model dinosaur. They worked in pairs so there was a lot of discussion and collaboration to find the parts and join them together.
We spoke about how to make their model strong by creating different types of joins in using PVA and sellotape.
The next stage was seriously messy. They used papier mache to cover the dinosaur, focusing on the joins and making sure the newspaper strips went from one part of the model onto an adjoining part.
Once the models had two coats of papier mache it was time to choose colours for their dinosaur.
Once the paint was dry the children thought about the detail they wanted to add- eyes, teeth, claws etc.
The primary 2’s have been working on adjectives in their literacy work so this was a great opportunity to apply that learning to describing their dinosaur.
The writing was read out in class for the others to guess which model the description matched.
Their is now a little Dinosaur Exhibition set up in the school for the other classes and staff to visit to see the models and the writing.
A Burns Supper
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.
Chinese New Year
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.
Buddying
Every week the Primary 1’s meet up with their buddies in Primary 7. This is always exciting and the bairns really look forward to it. They do lots of fun things together inside and outside during this time. Below are just some of the things they have been enjoying doing together.
Parachute games
Robots with Rectangles
Plasticine Creations and Presentations
Puppets and Puppet Shows
Name Collages
Sentences in P1
The Primary 1’s have moved on to learning how to use their sounds and words to write sentences.
They were so proud of their writing and what they did will be coming home as part of their homework to show you this week.
Long long ago
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.
Our Christmas Concert
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.
Symmetry
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.
Around The World
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.
Tiling in p2
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,
Numbers in P1/2
The primary ones have used a variety of materials to learn more about the numbers to 10.
They have been learning about adding and subtracting and loved making these addition towers.
The Primary 2’s having been learning about number bonds and how numbers can be constructed in different ways.
We still try to head outdoors to do maths when the weather allows us. Here the children were practising ‘Counting On’ skills and had to find the washing which was pegged out amongst the trees to be their starting numbers.
They have also been learning about the connection between the addition and subtraction processes and creating lots of ‘fact families’. They again use lots of different materials and different activities to practise this.
Making Words In Primary 1
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.
Children In Need Day
We had a really fun day on Friday and the children( and staff) loved coming to school in their pyjamas.
This wasn’t a fundraiser this year but the children watched short video clips and we spoke about Children In Need in class.
I only managed to get one photo during the day and it was of little Pudsey coming into his newly built house by Carina and Carrie.
More about Autumn
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.
