Term 1

Welcome back to school and a huge welcome to Bats class. We are so excited to get to know all of you over the coming weeks.

Please see information about the coming term in our Topic Web as well as our Newsletter.

Reading is the most important thing that you can do as home learning, but also see our Home Learning grid for any additional ideas for work you can do at home. 

Our PE days will be Tuesday and Friday, so please send your child into school dressed in full PE kit.

Week 1

The children have settled in so well into Year 1 this week. They have been superstars and you should be really proud, I know I am. We have spent lots of time exploring the classroom and practising how we use our resources to learn independently and tidy them away successfully. 

We had a visit from a dinosaur which we watched on video - this launched our exciting Dinosaur topic this term. In English we wrote what we thought the dinosaur was doing in our classroom and in Topic we looked at the different types of dinosaurs and how they are adapted to their diet and movement. 

In Maths we did some sorting and counting of numbers up to 10. 

In Science we learnt the names of the four seasons and sorted pictures that match each season, as well as discussing what we want to learn about the weather this term.

In Art we discussed what primary and secondary colours are, and created our own colour wheel based on these colours.

Week 2

The children have continued to amaze me this week in Year 1, it is like they have always been here. This week they have learnt to evidence their own independent learning, which has seen a hive of activity to show me what they have been doing in provision whilst I have been working with small groups. We also introduced the Year 1 children to their Year 6 buddies, which came with great excitement, and it was lovely to see them interacting and playing with each other outside and then getting to know each other in the classroom by demonstrating their oracy skills to ask questions about their likes and dislikes. 

In Maths, we looked at the numbers as words and counting on from a given number rather than always at 1 or 0.

In English, the children have created their own sentences about dinosaurs and written them beautifully, really focussing on the fundamentals of a good sentence; capital letters, finger spaces and full stops.

In Science, we looked at the season of summer and used Lego, collage, pencils and pens to create a piece of work that demonstrated their knowledge of the season. 

In Topic, we looked at the diets of dinosaurs and sorted them by what they ate. Ask us what carnivore, herbivore and omnivore mean.

In PE, we continued with our dance topic this term - we learnt some Irish dancing last week, focussing on how our legs can move in different ways, and this week we looked at Bollywood dancing, focussing on the different ways our arms move. 

Week 3

Lots more learning fun this week in Bats class as we enjoy the autumn sunshine on an autumn hunt around the school grounds and continue to use our outside area to explore sand, water, art, maths and some science exploration. 

In Maths, we looked at one more than a given number and counting backwards. The children enjoyed making rockets and practising their counting backwards, ready to blast off!

In English, the children wrote some wonderful sentences to summarise our model text, Tom and the Island of Dinosaurs (I have included a copy of this in the Information section of our class page if you want to practice it at home).

In Topic, the children collaborated to create a class timeline of the 3 main time eras of the dinosaurs, organising the different types of dinosaurs into the correct era.

In Computing this week we discussed the definition of technology and identified items that were classed as technology in our classroom. 

Friday was Languages Day, and we celebrated this by starting our day with a French breakfast whilst learning some simple French phrases. The children quickly put those into practice with each other and the grown-ups. The children then spent some time in Year 2 (where they learnt some Makaton) and then Year 3 (where they learnt some Spanish) before finally coming back to Year 1 to learn some Italian. 

Week 4

In English this week we planned a new class story based on our model text, Tom and the Island of Dinosaurs. Ask the children if they can tell you it! We also created a class poem about Autumn leaves, inspired by the poet Joseph Coelho. Some children then had a great go at writing their own poems.

In PE the children learnt how to hula dance. They showed some very impressive hoop control.

In Science, we continued to look at the seasons and weather. The children made some rain gauges and discussed the changes that happen between Autumn and Winter.

In Art we worked with our buddies to create a painted sunset background using only one colour and lightening and darkening it using black and white paint. We then cut out dinosaur silhouettes to stick on top.  

Week 5

In Science this week we continued to look at the different seasons, focussing on Spring this week. We made wind socks to allow us to see the direction of the wind. Alongside the rain gauges we made last week, we are building up a great weather measuring station. The children love reading our class rheometer that we have outside our classroom too, and are recording the temperature each day.

In Maths, we introduced the language of 'greater than', 'less than' and 'equal to' and used 'crocodile' signs to represent these ideas in a number sentence.

In Topic, we became researchers and had to delve into books and watch videos about dinosaurs, and extract important facts from them. We discussed how we find out about the past and what reliable evidence is. 

In Art, we created some leaf silhouettes from our autumn leaf collection. We experimented with different types and sizes of brushes and used them to create different effects around the leaves.

I was very proud of the children who stood up in our family assembly today and recited our class poem as well as their own personal poems. I will make sure every child has a chance to participate in a family assembly at some point across the school year. 

Week 6

In English this week, the children have written their own journey story – which have included 'flying over wild forests', 'round the books in the library' and 'over the sharp pointy mountains'. We also wrote a class list poem about our love of Watlington (see below).

In Maths this week we have looked at the number line to 10 and introduced the part whole model, which leads nicely into addition next week. The children have enjoyed drawing these models on the playground in chalk as well as making their own giant number lines on the classroom floor. 

In Art this week we finished off assembling our dinosaur silhouettes pictures that we had started with our buddies. The children also used different types of paint brushes to create artistic impressions of a selection of different pumpkins – the colours and effects they created were striking.