Summer Term 2 2022
This half term we are looking forward to starting our transitions, Sports Day and Canon Nunan’s Golden Jubilee. We will be focussing on the books ‘We Are Going On A Bear Hunt’ and ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’. We look forward to sharing the learning with you across the next few months.
Worship
The children have been busy decorating our Worship Table in green. The colour green represents the Holy Spirit, life, eternity and hope.
RE
The Church
This half term we are learning that we call Church the family of God. We showed the children hoops inside one another and then added Duplo people. Mrs Gray explained that the first hoop was her and her immediate family, the next was her school family, then the Church with the congregation, ending on the last hoop of God’s family. The children then discovered that we all belong to God’s family.
We read a story about how the Church began. Peter and his friends had the important task of telling everybody that Jesus was alive again and that Jesus wants us all to be the family of God. This family is called the Church.
The children discovered that they can be close to Jesus if they go to Church.
Today we shared a PowerPoint presentation all about St Joseph’s Church. We saw pictures of Canon Nunan and Deacon Charlie Conner. There were statues of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, as well as photographs of the Altar, Baptismal Font and Tabernacle. The children talked about their own experiences in Church and Mrs Gray shared her memories with us too.
In today’s RE session, the children were shown a class photograph. We explained that as they grow older, they will change and we will not see them anymore, however we will always have memories and photographs of them because they are all so special to us.
We then heard a story about how a little boy named Jacob went to Church with his Teacher to feel closer to Jesus. We found out about the tabernacle and how Jacob kneeled in front of it, humbly acknowledging Jesus. The children discovered that this was called genuflection. We looked at a tabernacle on the screen and the children then attempted to kneel before it.
Literacy
We Are Going On A Bear Hunt
We have started the half term by focussing on this fantastic story written by Michael Rosen. The children have been retelling the story through small world play, acting out the story on the school field and they have created story maps and read them to the class. We have also filled our library space with books about bears.
Maths
The Number 10
This half term the children will be focussing on the number 10. They will be representing 10 in different ways and exploring one more and one less than 10 too. ‘Ten in the bed’ is a great song for exploring one less. We sang the song together and took a bear away after every turn.
The children have also been finding and ordering numerals 1-10 to make their own numberline caterpillars.
Repeating Patterns
The children have been creating their own repeating patterns this week, including patterns of colours, size and whether they have a school jumper on. They have also then had a go at representing their chosen pattern on paper. Some of the children challenged themselves further and attempted to write about the size of the bears in their pattern.
Height and Weight
Today the children were given a question to answer. The question was, are taller objects heavier than shorter ones? After recapping our size language together and ordering three objects by size, the child made their predictions. Conal felt that the taller jug would be lighter than the shorter milk carton because the mug had nothing inside and the milk carton was full. He was right. We then made further predictions with a range of other objects.
Phonics
The letter ‘e’
Our first sound this half term is ‘e’. The children have been thinking of words that start with ‘e’, practised forming ‘e’ and have been reading words with ‘e’ in them.
Blending sounds to make a word
We have been learning new games during our phonics sessions this week. This cross the river game involved the children listening for three letter sounds. They then blended the sounds together to make a word and crossed the ‘river’ if they were holding that particular object.
Segmenting words into sounds
For this version of the cross the river game, the children chose a picture from the basket and then stood on the letters within that word in order to get across to the other side. The three words were pig, sun and tap. Once the children reached the other side they attempted to write their word and draw a picture of it.
Writing Words
After learning how to form a ‘z’, the children had lots of fun writing words such as ‘zip’, ‘zig’ and ‘zag’. We are so proud of the children for their enthusiasm towards word building and love to see them choosing to write during their choosing time too.
Physical development
The children have been creating their own games in our outdoor area this week. We have had a gymnastics area for rolling in and some great ball games too.
Climbing Equipment
We are so proud of the children for their determination and progress on the climbing equipment. The children are now confidently and independently completing the course.
We are going on a bear hunt yoga
We have loved exploring the story through yoga this week! The children have shown some fantastic balancing and skill.
Sports Day 2022
Personal, Social and Emotional Development
Our class responsibilities this half term
Transitions
The children have been very excited to learn in their new classroom this half term, as they start their transition into FS2. They have met their new teachers, explored the environment, listened to stories and done some phonics work too.
Learning with friends
The children have built up some lovely friendships this year. They are sharing, taking turns, discussing their ideas and taking on a role together. We are so proud of them all.
Expressive Arts and Design
Creating Bears and Bear Homes
The children have been designing bears this week and then using the dough to create their own. The creative area has been busy with children creating their own bear caves too.
Drawing a Story Map
We are so proud of the children for their fantastic story maps, showing the different environments that are explored in the story ‘We are going on a bear hunt’.
Creating our own Nursery Rhymes
Today we changed the words to the nursery rhyme ‘Twinkle, twinkle, little star’. The children had lots of fun trying to think of rhyming words and even more fun singing it afterwards and clapping to the beat. Here is our version of the song-
Twinkle, twinkle, chocolate bar,
Are you still in my Daddy’s car?
Can I ask if you are yummy?
Can I have you in my tummy?
Twinkle, twinkle, chocolate bar,
Are you still in my Daddy’s car?
Understanding the World
Life cycles
We have been learning all about life cycles through the story ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’. The children have also found out about the life cycle of a frog and Wren told us all about the life cycle of a bee too.
Mini-beast Hunting
Whilst learning about caterpillars, we went for a walk around our woodland looking for different mini-beasts. We found woodlice, ants, beetles, flies and ladybirds too! The children had lots of fun carefully lifting logs and rocks and searching the local environment. They discovered that mini-beasts are small animals.
Role Models
This week the children were delighted to meet the athlete Sean Gaffney. After completing some exercises with him, they had the special opportunity to learn about how he lost his leg and how this has not stopped him from reaching his goals. The children confidently asked Sean lots of questions and talked about some of their own hospital experiences. This was a fantastic and inspiring opportunity for our children which showed them the importance of working hard to reach their goals.
Shadows
The children have had lots of fun learning about shadows. They discovered how they are formed and then created their own different shapes on the carpet. We then went outside for the children to watch their shadows as they moved in different ways, before drawing around a friends shadow with chalk.
Enhancing our outdoor area
Please click the button below to see our latest enhancements. We would like to thank everybody that has donated their money, resources or time to this project.
EYFS Outdoor Area