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.
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.
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,
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.
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.
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.
The bairns have had so much fun being back at school with a Halloween theme in the classroom. They have been enjoying dressing up, reading stories, making potions and spells, hocking out pumpkins and finding spooky creatures in some very disgusting blue goo amongst other things.
After reading the story Funnybones the children had a go at drawing skeletons. They loved learning about the different bones and feeling for them inside their own bodies. The drawing were excellent.
The children helped Grizelda the Witch with her spell. They put in lots of gruesome, unusual and scary things.
There was great excitement as the mixture began to bubble up and the children said their magic words.
The mixture bubbled over and the children thought of wonderful things their spell could do……..
The children completed some writing using their favourite ingredients for the cauldron. These are from Primary 1’s.
They loved the opportunity to scrape the seeds out of the pumpkins and get them ready for carving. This created lots of discussion, fun and mess.
We are very lucky at Whiteness School to have such an amazing outdoor space. The children went exploring in the wildlife garden for signs of Autumn. The noticed the fallen leaves and how the trees were changing. They looked at the different colours and found berries, seeds and seed pods.
We are looking forward to going out again and noticing more things as the seasons change.
The primary 2’s have been working with numbers to 100. They are learning about place value and how these numbers are constructed using Tens and Units(ones)
They have been playing games and sorting numbers to understand their values and order.
Our class ‘Speedy skills’ have been a great way to practise different skills learned using cards and instructions.
They use the class whiteboard, games, resources and this interactive wall display as a reminder of these numbers and how they work.
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.
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.
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.
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.
The children have been practising the correct formations of numbers. They listen to stories, play outdoor and indoor games and practise writing them in sand and on whiteboards.
The children worked in groups of 2 to go out and collect lots of threes of things. They worked really well with their partners and created lovely displays of their findings.
They are practising their counting by playing games and through lots of play and everyday activities.
They have been doing ‘speedy skills’ as part of their morning routine which is a great way to get in a little bit more practise of how to write those numbers correctly.
last week they created Feathery Four who is the peacock in the story which is all about 4. He looks fabulous and the children were great at following instructions for making his tail feathers.
The children made jumps out of lego for Frisky 5 the kangaroo character to jump over.
The children made a swamp for Snappy Six which had 6 trees, 6 ducks, 6 rocks etc. This was great fun and super exercise for those little fingers.
The primary 1’s love hearing their new sounds. They listen to a story, sing along to a song, play games on the whiteboard and practise formations.
They practise the letter formations in various ways including, in the sand, shaving foam, with playdough and on the whiteboards.
They have been doing speedy skills everyday to practise the letter formations and lots of hiding and searching games. 
They also have had ‘s’ for spaghetti, ‘t’ for tea to play in and ‘i’ for ink experiments.
They enjoy using the Jolly Phonics books to retell the stories and find all the things in the pictures which begin with the sounds they are learning.
I love seeing how well they are doing practising their formations at home. Lots of great ideas and support.
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.
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.
We read the story Rocket Mole in class then the children made their own little moles to launch into space!
Initially this needed careful cutting, designing, colouring and folding to make a little cone shaped mole.
The children all listened really well to instructions and loved getting their moles as high as they could by blasting them with the plastic bottles.
The children have been thinking about how they feel when they come to school and let me know by placing their photograph on the colour emotion. This gives me a quick indication of who may be needing a little help to move into the green (happy) zone.
The children really enjoyed their first visit to the library this term. The Primary 1’s were super chuffed that they could take their books home until next Friday.
