In Bumble Bee Class, our topic this term has been ‘Wonderful Weather’. We have loved exploring our topic through the great outdoors, and through a number of wonderful stories.

We started the term with the story ‘One Snowy Night’, from the Percy the Park Keeper collection. We had a lot of fun breaking the story down, and working on our comprehension skills. We discussed how we knew it was winter in the story, and how Percy and the animals felt throughout. Year 1 enjoyed using their knowledge of adjectives to write riddles about the animals. We also took our learning outside and explored the habitats that we thought the animals from the story might live in around our school field.

This term we have also used the story of ‘Noah’s Ark’, and we’ve particularly enjoyed the illustrations in the Lucy Cousins version. During story time we also looked at a number of stories based on the ark, including ‘Monkey Business’ and ‘All Afloat on Noah’s Boat’. We used these stories to help us predict some of the funny things that could have happened on the boat, and Year 1 wrote a diary entry about it. Reception have been building their writing skills, beginning to use their newly learnt phase 3 sounds when writing words and sentences.

Our final story for this half term was ‘Blown Away’ by Rob Biddulph. We have learnt lots of new vocabulary from this story and made a story map to help us to retell it. We have innovated the characters and setting and written our own version of the story together.

In science this half term we have been learning about the weather, and about living things and their habitats. We are experts on mammals, reptiles and birds, and we know where animals live. We have also enjoyed learning all about Ernest Shackleton and his journey to the South Pole.

In maths, year 1 have been extending their knowledge of number all the way up to 50, counting in 2s, 5s and 10s (and have even started using TTRockstars to build their times tables skills!), and beginning their multiplication and division journey by adding equal groups, making arrays, making groups by grouping and making groups by sharing.  

Reception have extended their knowledge of numbers 6, 7, and 8 this half term, including exploring the parts that make those numbers, finding a given number of objects and practising writing the numerals. They have also explored length and height, and positional language.

Bumble Bee Class have been incredibly lucky to have Louise from Debutots join us each week throughout this topic, to share a story through drama. We have listened to stories, then ‘jumped in’ to them to act them out ourselves.

 

We have also loved PE this term, covering gymnastics! We have practised rolls, mirror balances, counter balances, jumps, and climbing using the apparatus. Our favourite is the monkey bars!