The children have loved retelling this familiar tale and have enjoyed learning about the ingredients needed to make a great fairytale. The children were able to identify the characters, the setting, the problem and the solution within the story. Using our large A3 story maps the children drew the different elements of the story and were able to retell the story with confidence.

Later in the week, lots of fun was had as the children created their own stories using the same structure. We discussed that fairytales start with Once upon a time and end with happily ever after. Some children chose to add a twist to a familiar story which resulted in the Big Bad Wolf being magically transported to Australia by a rainbow unicorn! Others created theirs based on favourite films or superhero characters. Form 1 are great storytellers and they really enjoyed listening to each other's ideas. The stories continued to be created independently during the children's self-initiated time and also through their small world play.

In maths this week, the children have been learning all about measuring height, linked to the idea of the extremely tall beanstalk in the story! Firstly, the children learnt how to measure objects using cubes and discussed if they thought each object might be taller, shorter or the same as others. This moved onto using rulers and learning to talk about measurements in centimetres. Using the rulers was quite tricky, but the children soon remembered to always put the correct end on the table and then look for the top of the object against the ruler to find the height. The children recorded what they found out by drawing the objects they had measured and then writing each measurement down. We also had lots of fun measuring each other's heights using a large piece of paper taped to the wall. We made sure everyone stood flat on their feet, with no tippy toes allowed! It was fun finding out who was the tallest and if any children were the same height as each other.

Although we did not have any magic beans (that we know of!), we thought we might plant some runner beans of our own. The children were confident that the beans would need soil, water and sunshine to grow. We discussed the conditions the beans would need and read the story The Tiny Seed by Eric Carle to learn more about this and how seeds can be transported from place to place by the wind or animals. The children were interested in watching a time-lapse video of a plant growing to see clearly the stages of this process. We will be looking after our beans as the weeks go on and watching carefully for any changes.

The children have been developing their collaborative skills this week and have had fun playing games which require them to communicate, encourage and support one another. Some of the games have been quite challenging, but the children have shown great resilience and are learning how important it is to work together to achieve a goal.

Lots of construction has happened this week as the children continue to be interested in castles. A few children were keen to use the glue gun so, with only a little help, they created their own castle made from card and recycled materials. This linked well with environmental awareness week as we discussed reusing and recycling items that would otherwise be thrown away. We also spruced up some little chairs that were discovered in a storage area. The children worked together to wash and dry them for use in the classroom. Great recycling Form 1!