Spring 1 week 3

Expressive arts and design – Kandinsky-inspired art

We explored circles inspired by Kandinsky. The adult prepared cut-out paper circles and squares, and divided sheets into squares. The children drew or painted circles inside the shapes, experimenting with colour, size, and placement. They enjoyed exploring patterns and expressing their creativity through this activity.

Mastering number – Composition

The children explored how the number 5 can be made from smaller parts. They investigated part–part–whole relationships by moving frogs from a log to a pool in a nursery rhyme, noticing how 5 can be made in different ways, such as 3 and 2. The children enjoyed seeing how a whole is made up of smaller parts and comparing different ways to make 5.

Understanding the world – Cornflour exploration

We explored corn flour. They pressed, squished, and ran their fingers through it, noticing how it felt hard when tapped and soft when squeezed. We enjoyed experimenting with the unusual texture and seeing how it could change.

Understanding the world – How does the weather affect how we dress?

We sorted clothes for different types of weather. The children looked at items like raincoats, wellies, sun hats, sunglasses, jumpers, scarves, gloves, and hats, and decided which to wear when it’s raining, hot, or cold. They enjoyed matching the clothes to the weather and talking about why we wear certain items.

Spring 1 week 2

Literacy – Cut up stories

We went into the classroom to find fur, snow and some frozen polar bear food. We were very excited! After lunch, we discovered polar bear footprints. Polo has been exploring our classroom. Polo also left us a story map and needed our help—it was all cut up! We worked in small groups to sequence the story and put it in the correct order.

Physical development – Tweezers and pom-poms

The children used tweezers to pick up purple, blue and white pom-poms and place them into containers. They practised their pincer grip and hand-eye coordination, enjoying the challenge of moving the pom-poms carefully.

Expressive arts and design – Little builders to the rescue

We received a letter from Polo the Polar Bear asking for our help! He told us that the Big Bad Wolf might be nearby, and the Three Little Polar Bears need the strongest house ever to stay safe. The children accepted the challenge! They designed, made, and evaluated junk model houses to keep the polar bears safe. They planned their models, chose from materials like boxes, cartons, tubes and lids, built their houses, and then talked about how effective each design would be.

Understanding the world – Exploring melting and change

We explored ice and excitedly observed the changes as it melted, noticing the cold surfaces and slippery water.

Physical development – Bikeability 

We took part in a bikeability balance bike session. We had a fantastic time practising our skills. We worked on balancing, steering, stopping safely and gaining confidence while riding. We listened carefully to instructions, took turns and showed great determination.

Spring 1 week 1

Understanding the world – There's a polar bear in our classroom!

We launched our exciting new topic! The children were excited to discover a surprising visitor, a photograph of a polar bear sitting right in our classrooms. Together, we shared our ideas and questions: Why is the polar bear here? What does he want? Where did he come from? Our curiosity grew as the teacher read a special letter from the polar bear, setting the scene for lots of learning, imagination, and discovery ahead.

Understanding the world – Exploring the frosty outdoors

Despite the frosty weather, our children had a wonderful time exploring the outdoors this week. We wrapped up warm in our coats, scarves, hats and gloves before heading out to investigate our environment. The children enjoyed noticing the frost, talking about how the cold weather felt and exploring the changes around them.

Understanding the world – Squishy, squashy shaving foam

We explored shaving foam. The children used their hands to squish, spread, and pat the foam. Everyone enjoyed feeling the soft, fluffy texture and experimenting with different ways to move and play with it.

Expressive arts and design – Painting Arctic animals

We painted Arctic animals like polar bears, wolves, and penguins. The children chose colours for a purpose and used thin brushes to add details. They also explored painting on different textures, including tin foil, enjoying experimenting with how paint looks and moves on each surface

Understanding the world – Investigating magnets

We explored magnets and how they attract objects. The children tested different materials to see which ones the magnets would stick to, moving the magnets over and under objects and discovering what was magnetic. They enjoyed experimenting and observing the “pull” of the magnets.