Pirate day

Ahoy, me hearties! Our Nursery and Reception children battened down the hatches in true swashbuckling style, as they enjoyed their very own Pirate Day on Friday. It was great fun!

Treasure hunt!

We received an envelope -it was posted through our window. We were very excited. We went on a treasure hunt and had to follow clues:

Walk the plank, but do not fail,
Walk along the Trim Trail.

Pieces of gold you might find,
Please remember to be kind.
Don’t step on bugs or be cruel,
As we walk around Forest School.

Pirates are coming!
Shall we sail home or hide in the Willow Dome.

To the bottom of the field we shall go!
Be careful and stay low,
I see something big, Is it a Shark?
No, this one is made of Bark!

You’ve found the Treasure, you deserve a treat
Something to cool you down in the heat!

We even saw a 'pirate' running across our school field -we had to keep low, creep and hide in the trees! We also found footprints in the mud.

When we got back to the classroom we enjoyed an ice pop!

Pirates!

We practised our scissors skills and created pirate cone characters. 

Treasure maps

We explored making 'aged' paper using teabags. We drew a map that pirates could use to find a treasure chest. 

Pirate ships

We used a variety of junk model resources to create pirate ships. We used different tools and techniques to shape, assemble and join. 

Ahoy, me hearties! 

Raise the anchor and set sail aboard the pirate ship in snakes and ladders. We've been practising our communication skills, turn taking and counting. 

Holidays past and present

We compared and contrasted seaside holidays from the past and present.

Signs of summer 

We talked about the changing seasons and what happens during summertime. We looked for things that appear in summer outside e.g. bees, flowers, ladybirds, etc. We looked all around on our adventure -up in the sky and down on the ground. We took photographs using the iPad of any signs of summer we came across. We shared our findings altogether.

Holidays 

This week we focussed on different environments when discussing holidays. We looked at holiday brochures, photographs and books. We made comparisons between the environments.

RE -Which stories are special and why?

We introduced the children to Grace (a persona doll). We looked at a book that is very special to Grace. We passed around and explored a children’s bible. We shared a picture of Jesus calming the storm. We described the artwork and identified all the main elements of the picture. Our teacher explained that the picture shows a story about Jesus that is from the Bible and is a story that Grace loves. We sat in a circle and had blue fabric draped around the outside to represent the sea. The children to came into the middle and acted out the story of the Calming of the Storm. Children took on the roles of Jesus, disciples, waves, wind etc.

Sun safety 

We've been learning how to look after ourselves and stay safe in the sun.

Real fish!

In the investigation area we've been exploring real fish using our senses. 

Maths

We've been learning to subitise beads on a rekenrek. 

R.E. Which stories are special and why?

Our teacher chose three stories. We shared and enjoyed the story with the most votes. After the story, we talked about our favourite part. 

Community action week

The F2 children helped their school community by doing a litter pick. We went outside with the litter picker and a bin bag on a tidy mission! Our playground and field look so much better now!

Different sea creatures

We've been exploring different sea creatures, focussing on how are they similar? How are they different?

Land and sea creatures

We sorted the animals into land and sea. 

Argh me hearties!

We are pretending to be pirates, sailing in our boat and looking for treasure!

Counting 

We've been linking the number symbol (numeral) with its cardinal number value. We also counted objects from a large group to match the numeral. 

The three little fish and the big bad shark
We found three little fish and a big bad shark in our classroom! Our teacher read the story ‘The three little fish and the big bad shark’.

We discussed our personal response:

• Do you like the story?
• Are there any parts of the story that you didn’t like?
• Did you notice any patterns?
• Which is your favourite part of the story? Why?

Our teacher drew a class story map to help us remember what happens in the story. We practiced retelling the story several times. We used actions to support retelling and to reinforce the meaning of the story. 

Under the sea paintings 

We choose colours for a purpose and painted sea creatures. 

Fun at the seaside 

Our trip to Sherwood Forest Railway

We have been retelling the story 'The train ride.' We had a brilliant day visiting Sherwood Forest Railway. The children had lots of fun riding on the steam train. We went through a tunnel (scary and black) and we saw some cows lying down. We also enjoyed having a picnic and playing on the park.

Different types of trains

Through photographs and objects we compared modern types of trains and those used in the past. We discussed similarities and differences. 

The train ride

We drew our own story maps and used them to retell the story. 

Maths -length, height and time

We explored objects and used the language of length/height to describe them. We ordered objects according to length/height. We made indirect comparisons using non-standard objects, such as cubes, to measure items. We used range of timers that measure different units of time. We explored measuring time in a variety of ways for example: How many pom-poms can you tweezer onto the bathmat?

Prepare for take off!

We had lots of fun exploring with the aeroplanes in the shaving foam clouds.

Colour mixing 

We added black or white to alter the shade and mix colours to make different colours.

Maths -Composition 

We reviewed the composition of the numbers 6 to 9 using the ‘5 and a bit’ structure. We explored how 10 can be composed. We developed a sense of the ‘ten-ness of 10’ by making our own collections of 10 objects. 

Forest learning -Den building

We choose the perfect spot to build our den. We hung/draped material and tarpaulin -this created the side walls and roof. We worked together to make the inside of the den nice and cozy with some fallen leaves.

Composition to 5 consolidation

We played a game with 5 double-sided counters. We dropped the objects onto the table. We discussed: How many red counters can you see? How many yellow counters are there? Do you need to count? Can you show me on your fingers. We said the stem sentence: 5 is made of ____ and ____, ___ and ____ make 5. 

Look at our boats 

We began by designing our boat using drawings. We then used junk model resources to create our boat. We selected tools and techniques to shape, assemble and join. 

Mark making on iPads 

We used a paint programme to draw different types of transport on the iPad. 

Drawing bikes

We looked at photographs of bikes and discussed the different parts. We drew our own pictures of bikes.

We're going on a colour hunt

We all had a colour wheel. We explored the outdoors and to find any natural resources that match the different colours on the wheel. When we had a match, we took a photograph of the colour wheel and the resource together. We compared and reflected upon our findings: which colours were found easily? Which colours were not found? ‘Why do you think you didn’t find that colour?’

We are builders!

We used a variety of wooden blocks and loose parts to build ourselves. 

Look at our super painting

We choose colours for a purpose and painted different types of vehicles. 

Different types of transport 

We sorted the vehicles into land, sea and sky. 

Bus stop 

We took turns playing the bus stop game. We rolled the dice to determine the number of passengers to count on to our bus.

Which car travelled the furthest? 

We built a ramp using the wooden blocks. We pushed the cars down the ramp to see how far they travelled. 

Our town 

We familiarised ourselves with the town school is located in. We explored maps and photographs taken from our town -Mansfield.

"My sister went to this swimming" -Amelia (Water meadows).

"Shop. We get clothes" -Gracie (Primark). 

"I've been to that park before" -Willow (Titchfield park).

Mechanics

We've been working in the garage. We've been using different tools to repair the vehicles. 

The naughty bus

We found a naughty bus in our classroom! It left black wheel marks on our classroom floor. 
Our teacher read the story ‘The Naughty Bus. We discussed:

Who has seen a bus like this before? Have you been on a bus? Where did you go? What did you see out of the window? What job does a bus have? Why are buses important? Where do you see a bus? Where would you like to go on a bus?

"I go to Nana's" -Peggy. 

"I've been to the library with Mamma and Grandad" -Harry. 

"To Nottingham. To buy something. With Mummy, Daddy, my sister and brother" -Rainers. 

"I went to Nottingham castle and Wheelgate" -Olivia.  

Ticket to ride