We started the week off with a game of Guess Who. The children took it in turns to think of a minibeast and the other children took it in turns to ask questions and work out which minibeast it was. We used pictures of minibeasts to help us narrow it down and the children came up with some fantastic questions, such as; Can it fly? and Does it have legs? and Does it have spots or stripes?’  

We continued exploring minibeasts with Mrs Nelson as she took us on an exciting minibeast hunt around the school grounds! We got our clipboards and magnifying glasses ready and we set off on our adventure in the sunshine. We had to keep our eyes peeled as we walked around as the bugs were so tiny, we didn't want to miss any! We hunted under leaves, behind the rocks, inside the tree stumps and on top of flowers searching for lots of different minibeasts and we found a shiny red beetle, a lady bird, bees collecting pollen on the flowers and a spider crawling up a tree!

Back in the classroom, some of the children were busy working with Mrs Parmenter, continuing their research all about their favourite animals. The children have been fascinated by the intriguing facts they have learned and they have been eager to share them with their Pre-Prep friends. Other children chose to get creative and have a go at making their favourite animals using paints, pens or clay, thinking carefully about the different features and colours to include. We loved seeing each child’s unique perspective as they created their animal and as they explained each choice in their work. The children have shown amazing focus and perseverance when creating their masterpieces and they are so excited to show you their fantastic work at the Coffee Morning next week. 

It was Transition’s turn to host assembly this week and they did a fantastic job! Everyone was very brave as they stood up in front of our Pre-Prep friends and told them all about our trip to the zoo. I was very proud of how confidently and clearly the children recalled their facts - did you know that tapirs have 3 toes on their front feet and 4 toes on their back feet! Thanks to Transition, our Pre-Prep friends are now animal experts! 

In maths this week we have been exploring shapes and patterns. The children helped me to recognise each 2D - shape in my basket by telling me how many corners and how many sides each shape had. Some children even had a go at describing the properties of the different 3D shapes too! We then had a go at using our shapes to make some repeating patterns. Thank goodness the children were there as I kept making mistakes in my patterns and I needed the children’s help to fix it! They were so helpful spotting the errors in my patterns and working out how to fix them, working as a team to get it right. Everyone then had a go at making their own repeating patterns using lots of different resources, including; building patterns with bricks, printing patterns with paints and threading patterns with beads. 

This week we have also been very busy building towers, creating wiggly worm playdough, building minibeast habitats and having lots of fun. After a busy week, we all deserve a lovely weekend rest before we see you all next week for our Coffee Morning Celebration.