Where do the wheels on the bus go?

Week 5

Week 4

This week Dragonfly Class have had an exciting week with 2 move up days! Dragonfly Class became Ladybird Class for two days this week and what an exciting time they had. The children enjoyed meeting their new teachers and they got to explore their new classroom. They enjoyed a range of different activities which included telling their new teachers all about them, their likes and their dislikes. Miss McGrath was so complimentary of all the children, they did themselves proud!

As Friday was an inset day Dragonfly Class only got 2 days in their own class this week. During those two days the children enjoyed reading 'Paddingtons Post'. The children then wrote their own postcard to Miss McGrath detailing their interests and those things which they are looking forward to about Year 1. 

We also talked in detail about what makes a good friend. The children drew a picture of themselves and listed a range of words which they felt described a good friend. 

In maths the children were engaged in problem solving. They explored a range of problems such as, How many animals will fit inside the boat? How many animals can fit on top of the bridge? Maybe you can have a go at solving some problems at home.

Week 3

This week in Maths Dragonfly Class have been learning all about making predictions and estimating. We have been learning what is a good estimation when guessing how many objects are inside a bucket or container or when predicting how many objects they think will fit inside a bucket or container. Maybe you can try estimating at home. How many cars will fit into a bowl? How many teddies will fit into the bath? How many socks do you think will fill up a jug?

When discussing your estimations think carefully about the language which you use. Has it got more or fewer than your estimation? Was your estimation a sensible estimation? 

Also this week Dragonfly Class have been using their mathematical skills to problem solve. How many animals will fit inside the boat? How many animals will there be if we add 2 more? How many animals will there be if we take 3 away?

We have 3 teddy bears. If we have 9 strawberries how many strawberries will each teddy bear have? 

Dragonfly Class have been great at using their mathematical knowledge, keep up the great work!

During the week we have been reading the story of 'The Jolly Postman'. Dragonfly Class have loved reading the book and sharing all the letters, invitations and other mail which the characters received. While reading the story we have been looking at learning about the environment. The children have been drawing a map of the journey which the Postman took while delivering his letters. We have been learning about the human and physical features which he found along the way and we have been comparing it to the environment where we live. Dragonfly Class have been looking for similarities and differences between the setting of the Jolly Postman and Sunbury-on-Thames.

On Monday Dragonfly Class carried out a summer observational walk. The children made some very detailed observations and drew some lovely observational drawings. Some amazing labelling too! Dragonfly Class have become so confident with their writing. Great job everyone!

Look at our beautiful photographs which were taken by the children.

This week we have been continuing with our learning about African music. The children have been learning about the different types of musical instruments and discussing if they can be played by plucking strings, blowing, shaking or banging. Using a range of materials Dragonfly Class then set to work making their own musical instruments. They all did an amazing job and engaged in lots of problem solving together. On Friday Mrs Totham played some more music for us so that we could then use our musical instruments to play along to the music. We all had a fabulous time.

Week 2

This week in Dragonfly Class we have been learning about Odd and Even Numbers. We have been learning how to share a set of objects between 2, this has helped us to decide whether or not our number was odd or even. We needed to work out if we could share our objects into 2 equal groups, this would mean that our number was even. If we had unequal groups then we learnt that this meant our number was odd.

We have also been continuing to develop our understanding of doubles this week and we have been adding 2 numbers together to find a total.

We have also started to learn how to count in 2's with our even numbers up to 10.

During the week Dragonfly Class have been learning about Africa. We have been learning lots of facts about Africa with the help of 'Go Jetters'. We have decided that it would be too far to travel to Africa on our bus, we didn't think that the wheels on the bus would take us all the way to Africa but we have enjoyed learning lots of facts. I wonder if you can remember any? We learnt all about African patterns and we all had a great time designing our own pattern and making an African pot.

On Wednesday the children enjoyed music with Mrs Totham. Dragonfly Class listened to and enjoyed dancing to some African music. We all enjoyed joining in with the singing and we had a go at playing some traditional African instruments as well as lots of other instruments. We listened carefully to the music and played our instruments along with the beat and rhythm. It was great fun.

We have continued to enjoy our story Handa's Surprise this week. On Thursday we particularly enjoyed tasting the fruits which Handa took to her friend Akeyo. We tasted some avocado, mango, pineapple and passion fruit. While tasting the fruits we used our senses to describe the taste, smell and feel. We also described what the fruits looked like. We used some great words including juicy, prickly, smooth, bumpy, orange, sweet, slippery... and lots more. What words would you use to describe these fruits?

We are extremely excited to see our baby tadpoles who are now beginning to grow legs!!!! Fingers crossed we see some little frogs before the summer holidays. Come on tadpoles keep growing!!!!

Happy Fathers Day to all our Dragonfly Dads!

Week 1

This week Dragonfly Class were introduced to their new big question, Where do the wheels on the bus go? Dragonfly Class have been thinking about the different journeys they could make while riding on the bus. They have been talking about the journeys they have made and the journeys they would like to take. Where would you like to go on the bus? Where will the wheels on the bus take you?

During the week Dragonfly Class have been reading the story Handa's Surprise. We have been learning about the journey which Handa took when delivering her fruit. The children have been drawing maps to show the journey Handa took to Akeeyo. Maybe you could draw a map showing how you walk to school or the local shops. We would love to see your maps.

While enjoying free learning the children have been continuing to develop their knowledge and understanding of journeys. We have been building our own cars, buses and train tracks before going on the most amazing journeys. 

In maths this week we have been learning about odd and even numbers. We have been learning how to make equal groups and recognising doubles. As the end of term is fast approaching we would encourage you to continue to develop your child's knowledge and understanding of the following number skills.

Odd and even numbers up to 20

Doubling facts up to 10 and 10

Ways to make 5 and 10 including addition and subtraction facts

more, less and fewer

Happy counting!