If this is the answer... what is the question?

Today children have been working hard to build their maths skills! They were introduced to a very cheeky puppet called Doc, who set them a tricky challenge for their choosing time. Children had to find as many ways as possible to make a given number. They could add, subtract, double, halve... Roman even decided to use a multiplication sum! Take a look at some of the children's CIP below.

Alfie, listening to Doc's tricky challenge!

Eddie chose the number 20 to put in the middle of his paper.
He found 7 different sums that all equalled 20!

Alfie and Harry chose two different ways to make 12.
First they doubled 6...
...then they found that 3 lots of 4 made 12 too!

Isabela loved this activity! She enjoyed telling Doc that she had completed
his tricky challenge, finding that 2 and 1 more made 3!

Reception Dog Visit!

On Friday we had an exciting visitor in Reception!
Mrs Layer introduced her cockapoo Daisy to the children in Reception and everyone was very excited! 

The children asked Mrs Layer questions about Daisy and about dogs. They all stroked Daisy and some even were licked by Daisy!

After their meeting with Daisy some of the children decided to write letters to Mrs Layer to thank her for bringing Daisy in to meet us.
We had a really fun afternoon and learnt a lot about dogs.

Seedlings!

Hello,

We have Seedlings!

The first two weeks after Easter I went into years 1 – 6 and taught the pupils about seeds and how to sow them. I am pleased to report that they are growing really well! Some were sown direct into the ground, some in pots and seed trays that have been in the greenhouses to help germination. The seeds are growing really well and all pupils showed enthusiasm and interest in sowing the seeds and done so very well.

Here is table to show which seeds each year group have sown.

Year 1 - Hepworth	Cosmos, Courgette, Carrots and Nasturtiums
Year 1 - Miro	Marigolds, Calendula, Sweetcorn and Cucumbers
Year 2 -  Sarro, Warhol & kusama	Giant Sunflowers
Year 3 - Done & Towns	Cosmos, Dwarf Carrots, Sweet Peas and Sunflowers
Year 4 - Gormley & Moore	Carrots, Raddish and Marigolds
Year 5 - Bansky & Harrison	Runner Beans, Cosmos, Pumpkin and Sunflowers
Year 6 – Bergmann and Hong Oai	Lettuce, Spring Onions and Potatoes

Here are some pictures of the seedlings.

Sweet Peas

Sunflower seed during germination

Sweetcorn and Marigolds

Sunflowers

The greenhouses are full and seeds are starting to germinate!

Thanks for reading

Nathan Smith

Assistant Gardener

Windhill21

 

Thanks for reading

Nathan Smith

Assistant Gardener

Windhill21

A classroom full of authors!

In Cassatt class, we have been writing short stories about dinosaurs! We have been using tricky red words and have been practising reading our writing. Here are just some of the amazing pieces of writing the children have been producing!

Child voice in the Sensory Garden

Today, children in Cassatt class decided to develop the sensory garden in the outside area, by extending our Minibeast hotel! 

We used sticks and wire to create our structures, and the children decided whether they would like to roll their sticks into a bundle or hang them from the fence. Some children chose to hang them from the fence "for butterflies to land on" and others thought that having the sticks on the the ground would mean "lots of bugs could crawl in and hide".

After creating our 'extension', Laura and Rory decided to use an old piece of wood for a woodlouse home. They hammered the remaining smaller sticks into the hole in the wood so that there were lots of nooks and crannies for the woodlice to hide.

Building animal homes

Following on from some of the children's interest in building animal homes in the forest, Miss Lawrence set them a woodwork challenge! Using simple instructions, they were able to work together and piece together a bird box for our outside area.

The children made sure that they had taken the correct safety precautions before starting out on their woodwork project, with Mason ensuring his friends knew that "we have to put on our goggles!". Aron and Kateryna ensured that they chose the correct goggle size to fit them, and Oliver noted that they would "need to work together and hold it whilst we tap the nails in".

The children worked carefully and with great teamwork when approaching each step. Referring to instructions regularly, the group spoke to one another to clarify their thinking and to make sure everyone knew what to do.

Upon completion, the group decided that the bird box would need to be placed in the sensory garden to "make sure the birds would want to fly in". They were so proud of their efforts that they decided to share their project in circle time at the end of the day.