Autumn Week 7

Penguin class had a fantastic week finishing off their dinosaur topic! We ended the week with a fun filled dinosaur workshop ! They had lots of great activities in the morning such as fossil making, sand digging and dinosaur stomping. They were able to meet Dino man who taught them all about herbivores and the children were able to show off all of their learning. 

In the afternoon the children decorated velociraptors and made their very own dinosaur skeletons! They had another workshop with Dino man which focussed on carnivores and dinosaur extinction. The children found out that the Tyrannosaurus Rex had some fierce competitors when it came to deciding the king of the meat-eating dinosaurs. The day finished with a very special visit from Reggae Rex! He was a very cheeky Tyrannosaurus Rex who enjoyed playing lots of exciting games with the children. 

Have a lovely week off! 

Autumn - week 6

This week, the children have enjoyed lots of engaging learning! 

In Geography, we used our knowledge of the continents and the world to describe and compare the features of Pangaea. The children discovered that when dinosaurs roamed Earth, the continents were not split and separate like they are now! They were all connected to form a supercontinent. Penguin Class were absolutely blown away by the fact that the continents continue to move at around the same speed as which our fingernails grow!

In Science, we have been investigating carnivore and herbivore teeth. The children found two dinosaur teeth in the nature garden! We discussed what animals they may have come from, and looked at the shape and size of the teeth to work out what the animals ate. We used forks to represent carnivore teeth and spoons to represent herbivore teeth, the children used the equipment to 'eat' meat (cotton wool) and leaves. We discovered that herbivores flat and blunt teeth are great for grinding and mushing up plants, and carnivores sharp teeth are made for ripping and shredding meat. This lead on to a great discussion about our own teeth and how we have some sharp and lots of flat teeth! 

We are all really looking forward to our full day dinosaur workshop next Thursday! 

Have a lovely weekend. 

Autumn 1 - Week 5

This week in Penguin Class, we have had an incredibly exciting week with lots of engaging learning! 

We started our week by having a closer look at Mary Anning's life. We learned all about her incredibly eventful life and ordered these events on a timeline. The children were excited to hear that there is a museum dedicated to Mary Anning and her findings, in the Lyme Regis - where she lived! The children wrote to the council to explain why this museum was so important and should be saved. 

In Science, we continued our learning about food chains and used this to think about what dinosaurs ate. We had a very special delivery of some dinosaur poo! The children used their learning from Year 1 of carnivores and herbivores to investigate who each poo belonged to. The children were also introduced to the phrase 'omnivore'. Whale Class investigated each poo carefully, looking for clues to decide the size of the dinosaur, it's diet and what dinosaur they thought it could be. 

In Geography, we have started to learn about the seven continents. We used atlases to name and locate the continents. We then created balloon globes in partners. The children used the atlas to help them place the continents in the correct position. 

We have had a really wonderful week of learning and we look forward to doing it all again next week! 

Have a lovely weekend. 

Autumn 1 - Week 4

What a week it has been! 

This week Penguin class started off comparing objects and numbers in maths looking into ‘greater than’ and ‘less than’ symbols. We have also continued some excellent writing in English using lots of adjectives and time adverbials based on the book The Crows Tale. 

In history the children started to learn about the life of Mary Anning. She was a palaeontologist who found fossils! The children compared the past to the present to think about what life was like for Mary Anning. 

Whilst we were at Chennestone we continued our learning and looked into food chains in science! The children went outside to search for insects and animals. They then recorded their findings though sketches and thought about what that animals food chain could be! 

Have a lovely weekend. We look forward to welcoming Penguin class back to Beauclerc on Monday ! 

Autumn 1 - Week 3 

Penguin class have had another great week of getting stuck into our Year 2 learning journey! 

In History, we found out all about the Mesozoic Era! We now know that this is the name for the period of time that the dinosaurs were alive until they become extinct. The children discovered that the Mesozoic Era was split into three periods; the Triassic Period, Jurassic Period and the Cretaceous Period. The children used their learning about the periods to create timelines, featuring the dinosaurs that roamed the earth during that period and what Earth looked like back then. 

In Science, we continued our learning on living things and their habitats. The children sorted living things, things that once lived and things that were never alive. We had some amazing conversations and discussions, especially about whether a wooden chair was once alive or has never been alive. Penguin class then found out what makes something a living thing. 

We are thoroughly enjoying our dinosaur topic (and our class book: Dinosaur Cove) and are looking forward to another great week!

Autumn 1 - Week 2 

We have had another fantastic week with Penguin Class! They have continued to do a great job of settling into the class routines quickly. 

The children have enjoyed working with a range of resources during maths, to support their learning on place value. We have used base 10,  bead strings, tens and ones counters and place value charts. The children have been introduced to partitioning numbers into different combinations of tens and ones - for example 34 is 3 tens and 4 ones, 2 tens and 14 ones or 1 ten and 24 ones. We will continue to work on this next week. 

In English, we created missing posters for Big Bird. We gathered adjectives to describe Big Bird, then use these to write sentences about him. 

In PE, we have been playing invasion games and learning about nutrition. We discussed what a balanced diet meant and thought about what foods groups we should consume the most of. 

Have a lovely weekend and we look forward to welcoming Penguin Class back on Tuesday!

Autumn 1 - Week 1 

What an amazing start to our time in Penguin Class! We have loved having the children back to school and it seems the children have loved being back too, even if they were very tired by the end of the week!

Penguin Class have been busy finding out about their new topic: Would a dinosaur make a good pet? The children found about the dinosaur egg that was discovered at our school, Mrs Mulhall has decided she wants to keep it as a pet! The children also got to see CCTV footage of an enormous, 2 legged, green visitor we had over the summer holidays. 

In English, we have watched the video 'For the Birds'. We have linked the video into class discussions about anti-bullying and being a kind friend. The children wrote a letter, as Big bird, to the little birds, sharing how his feelings were hurt and gave them suggestions about what they should have done instead. 

We are looking forward to another exciting week next week!