We have approached Mental Health Week in the context of the things we can do to keep both our minds and our bodies healthy. Consideration has been given to the foods that we should try and eat lots of and those that we might have as an occasional treat. We talked about all of the ways that we can exercise our bodies, building our muscles and improving our fitness. Tips from the children on how we might have a good night’s sleep – bubble baths, warm milk, and a bedtime story – were also shared.

Even if we sleep and eat well and take lots of exercise, there may still be times when we feel out of sorts and we considered how we might visit the calm zone and take some deep breaths or ask an adult for help in these moments.

We talked about how calm we feel when we step outside and take the time to enjoy nature. What could be more relaxing than observing a newly emerged butterfly test its delicate wings, or planting pea shoots that we have nurtured at the windows, feeding a potato plant (Yes, we are winning, RS!) or noticing how shiny a ladybird is?

I hope you all get chance to connect with nature over the half term break.

This week, the children were challenged to make a toy for a baby. We looked at some existing baby toys and noticed that many were colourful, noisy and/or had an interesting texture. The children drew their designs and then used the materials in the workshop to come up with their prototypes.

Several children made rattles with bottles, beans and a bright cover but, when we tested them, we were concerned that the beans came out. Arlo correctly identified that this was a “choking” hazard and we went back to the workshop to make the seals more secure. Rana made a marble maze but we discovered that the pompom ran off the bottom so we found a box with higher sides to contain the pompom. Moosa’s paper doll had arms that made an appealing rustling sound but we decided that the baby might easily tear them so we secured some cellophane that rustled into secured fabric so a baby could enjoy the sound and texture of a rustle bag safely. Wednesday chose to add colourful bits of pipe cleaner and water to her bottle to entertain her baby for longer than an original idea of a sticker on the outside. Well done, everyone, on working together to design, make, evaluate and improve your toys. I wonder if you can design and make a toy or game for yourself to play at home?

Our big question for this half term encourages us to think about how we have changed since we were babies. We were lucky enough to be joined at our Flourishing Worship on Wednesday by the younger siblings of Dottie, Sadie and Dhanvi and were able to learn more about babies. Children in RS were keen to understand: how parents get babies to sleep, what babies eat and drink; why babies cry; where they poo and whether they are scared of cats?!

On Thursday, Mrs Tatum-Hall brought her gorgeous daughter into school so we could find out more about an almost-toddler of 16 months. We noticed that she enjoys chewing keys to relieve her gums, where new teeth are emerging. She loves music, singing and being tickled. One of her favourite hobbies is talking nonsense with grandpa and she will eat anything!

Next week, the children will be talking and writing about how they have changed so please do take the time, over the weekend, to reminisce over the clothes they wore, the food they ate, the favourite toys that they had. This will really help to enrich our discussions and lead to deeper engagement in the writing. Thank you.

To deepen our understanding of our ‘Talk for Writing’ text, ‘How to Catch a Star’, the children have been taking to the hot seat. We asked questions of the person in the hot seat to find out which character they were from the story. Next, some of us drew upon our acting skills to perform verbs from the text: jumping; waiting; climbing and fishing. Then we looked at some of the illustrations and considered where the scene occurred in the story. Was it the opening, the middle or the end? Why not try this game with your favourite stories at home?

Well done, Hugo!

Well done to Hugo for winning the Reading competition for Reception. Well done also to additional entrants – Sophie and Ariella – whose brilliant entries did not come via the classroom and, so were not featured on last week’s blog.

Well done to Hugo, Mooso and Dua for their fabulous entries into our Reading competition. You are all winners for making such a brilliant effort – thank you! The competition will be judged on Monday morning.

Growing

Our focus this half term is on growing. We noticed that our potato plants responded vertically to the sunshine and showers that we had over the Easter break and it was time for their first ‘earthing up’. We planted cress seeds in egg heads and cannot wait to enjoy a cress sandwich. Sunflower plants are also sun bathing on our class windowsill: we must remember to keep the soil moist.

“Wriggly”, “Furry”, “Spiky”, “Fluffy”, “Cute” are all descriptions offered about the caterpillars, which arrived in RS this week. We noticed that they have already grown longer and fatter and they are pooing a lot.

Our learning about life cycles from factual information books ensures that we are ready for the next stage in the caterpillars’ development and we are checking each day for signs of them forming chrysalises. What can you notice growing in your garden or at the park?

The children have been learning about the Easter story. We recalled celebrating the birth of Jesus on Christmas Day and then had to think about him as a grown man 33 years later. Jesus encouraged everyone he met to choose kindness but some people encouraged others to make bad choices. After Jesus died on the cross on Good Friday, many of his followers felt sad as they moved his body to a cave. A miracle happened, though, as Jesus came back to life on Easter Sunday. Celebrations of Easter centre around new life and the egg is symbolic of new life.

We made nests for our chocolate eggs and the children wrote down instructions so that they can make the delicious treats again. We noticed that the chocolate and butter were solid until we warmed them up. Then they became a liquid that would coat our cornflakes. The nests solidified when we cooled them in the fridge.

Eggs and bunnies have been the focus of our Easter crafts. We have used scissors and torn paper for our Easter cards, created a mechanism with split pins for our cracking eggs and used a stapler (under supervision) for joining ears onto our bunnies.

We wish all of our families a peaceful and restful Easter break.

As part of our Journeys topic, we have been exploring why animals migrate. We talked about how animals, just like people, need food, safe places to live, and the right kind of weather. When these things change during the year, some animals travel to new (and sometimes very distant) places, where it is easier to find what they need. We looked at a few different animals over the course of the week.

Butterflies

Butterflies need warm weather and lots of flowers for nectar. So, when the seasons change and flowers disappear, butterflies move to places where food is easier to find. The children were amazed to learn that such small insects can travel so far using their wings and the sun to guide them.

Zebras

Zebras migrate across the plains of Africa to find fresh grass and water. When the grass in one area is eaten or dries up, the zebras travel on together in herds to new places, where the grass is fresh and tasty.

Geese

Geese fly long distances in a V-shape formation to warmer places during winter. Flying together like this helps the geese save energy and stay together as a group. The children loved honking just like the geese, encouraging their friends to keep going. When the weather becomes warmer again, the geese travel back to the places where they build nests and raise their chicks.

Humpback whales

These huge ocean animals travel thousands of miles each year between cold and warm waters. In colder waters, humpback whales can find plenty of food like tiny sea creatures. When it is time to have their babies, they swim to warmer oceans, where their calves can be born and grow safely.

Through learning about butterflies, zebras, geese, and humpback whales, the children have started to understand that migration happens in many different environments: in the sky, on land and in the ocean. Even though these animals are very different from one another, they migrate for similar reasons: to find food, to stay safe, and to care for their young.

Migration shows us just how clever and adaptable animals can be as they travel across our amazing planet.

We use our five senses to explore the world around us.

When we look and when we see, we use our eyes.

On our walk around the school grounds, we noticed lots of signs of Spring: velvety buds on our class tree, proud yellow daffodils, a clear blue sky and some wriggling minibeasts.

When we listen and when we hear, we use our ears.

Thinking back to Bird Week, we identified the calls of some feathered friends. Arlo definitely has a career in ornithology if he wants one: he was brilliant! We also made instruments in the DT workshop.

When we eat and when we taste, we use our tongue.

Definitely our favourite sense, we enjoyed tasting sour lemon, bitter chocolate, sweet raisins and salty crisps. Can the children tell you which part of their tongue will taste sweet, bitter, sour and salty flavours?

When we sniff and when we smell, we use our nose.

We discussed how important our noses are for keeping us safe. If we smell smoke, we know that we need to move to safety. Sour milk warns us against drinking it. You can see from the photos that some of the smelling bags – garlic and coffee – evoked a certain degree of repulsion! Most of us liked the washing powder though.

When we touch and when we feel, we use our skin.

We dared to dip our hands into the feely box to try and identify the objects in there. Were they bumpy, smooth, rough, soft, hard, furry? Again, we considered how our senses keep us safe; we drop objects, that feel hot, so they do not damage our skin.

Please encourage the children to talk about their senses over the weekend and to consider how the senses often work together to deepen our experiences.

A map is a special picture that shows us where things are. It’s like a treasure map, but instead of treasure, it shows places – like our home, the park, or the shops. It helps us know where we are going so we don’t get lost. The little lines and shapes tell us how to get from one place to another.

On Wednesday, we followed a picture map around school. Can the children recall what they noticed on our journey and where we ended up?

Happy Mother’s Day

We are thankful to our mums and to everyone else who helps us at home. Can any of you mums spot yourself amongst the portraits that the children drew this week?

This week, we have been learning about churches. We discovered that a church is a place where Christians come to worship. Christians are people who believe in the religion, Christianity. There are lots of different types of churches all over the world: some new and some old.

Christian worship involves praising and thanking God. There are lots of ways Christians worship God: through music, songs or hymns; reading from The Bible; saying prayers; listening to sermons. Church services can be different depending on the church and the type of service.

We visited St. John’s Church, where Rev. Sharon encouraged us to go on a hunt for lots of objects. Can the children recall what they discovered by looking at these photos? Who sits in the pews? Who does the chair belong to? What are the numbers for? Where does the water in the font come from? Why are there pictures in stained glass windows?

Look at our own stained glass windows, which required us to cut carefully and tear tissue paper into correctly-sized pieces.

We also built our own model of the church.

Thank you to the parents, who were able to join us for our trip.