We started off the week with a circle time where the children could talk about some of their own pets. It was very interesting hearing all about the animals that some of the children have at home. We then played a sorting game, matching the animals to the right habitat, either our house, the farm or the jungle. The children were fantastic at thinking about where each animal might live, even though some animals were a bit tricky to sort as they had multiple habitats!

We have been on a visit to the vets in the home corner this week, and the children have loved looking after the animals. We practised our mark making as we wrote doctors' notes for the sick animals, and took turns pretending to be the vet. We made a new bed for our dogs using junk-modelling, and some of the children had a fantastic time decorating it with the paints. The children also created superb paper plate pets, painting their own pet or a pet they would love to have. The children thought carefully about the features their pet would need, using some photographs as clues. We had some great dogs, cats and fish, all of which are now hung proudly on the wall. We loved looking through the book You Choose, choosing our favourite pets, discussing why we would like them and what different things we would need to do to look after each animal. 

In phonics this week, the older children have continued to attend their lessons with Mrs Cooper in Form 1. They are doing an exceptional job, and are so excited to share their new learning with the rest of the class when they get back. In our classroom, we have been exploring rhyming words and patterns. We had lots of fun reading the books Oi, Frog and The Rhyming Rabbit, looking out for the same sounds at the end of the words. We also played a rhyming card game where we matched pictures of different animals, to objects with the same end sounds. This was a bit tricky at first, but we got the hang of it after a couple of tries, and some children even came up with their own rhyming couples!

Our maths focus this week has been on shapes. During circle time, we practised recognising different 2D shapes and discussing some of their properties. I was amazed by the children's knowledge, with some children recognising an oval, a semi-circle and a hexagon! We then went on a shape hunt around the classroom where we found a circular plate, a star-shaped cutter, a circular yoghurt pot, and a rectangular biscuit box. We have also been arranging our shapes to make patterns and pictures, and using our shape stencils to create our own shape artwork. 

On Thursday, we were very busy celebrating Modern Foreign Languages as part of the School’s Modern Foreign Languages Day. We decorated the classroom with lots of flags, maps and the globe, and we explored some of the different cultures celebrated throughout the school. During carpet time, we had a look at the world map, and the children were very quick to tell me where we lived. We discussed some of the other counties the children had visited, and then watched a video about a little girl from India, who told us all about her life. Throughout the morning, we went on an exciting journey around the World, collecting stamps for our passports. It was lovely to see the children so inquisitive as we explored activities from different cultures, including; creating Niagara Falls in the water tray, decorating Brazilian Carnival masks with collage materials, creating Chinese drums using paper plates, and lots of other activities. One of our favourites was creating Indian rangoli patterns using salt and pipettes. We had to draw our picture first with PVA glue, then dip it in salt to cover the glue, before using the pipettes to add coloured water to the salt. I think we will need a rest before we go on any more travels!

Once again, I look forward to another fantastic week as we begin to explore the seasons.