Badgers
Mrs Burton, Mrs Watkinson and Mrs Sadler would like to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year
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What a busy and exciting week we have had in Badger class.
We started our Christmas festivities with a delicious Christmas dinner. The dining hall looked lovely and we would like to thank our catering staff for all their hard work.
The children really enjoyed their dinner and everyone agreed the ice cream for pudding was their favourite.
Then we all got creative with our Christmas crafts. Take a look at the wonderful gifts we have made to take home.
Christmas Cards and Candle Holders
Calendar Wreaths
Santa on a Stick
Reindeer Food and Christmas Puddings
Christmas Trees and Baubles
Today was our final visit to the forest. A little bit of magic had happened and the forest was scattered with shiny bells, sparkly pipe cleaners and beautiful Christmas decorations.
The children thought it would be a good idea to make ‘Jingle Bells’ using sticks they had found from around the forest. We threaded the bells onto pipe cleaners and twisted them around the sticks. They looked amazing and sounded brilliant.
Mr Ball was busy in the kitchen making festive food with the children. He even made a Christmas pudding decorated with holly.
Usually, what we find in the forest stays in the forest but today, Mrs Reynolds very kindly said we could take our ‘jingle bells’ home as a Christmas treat.
What a MAGICAL afternoon we have had.
Last week we read another story from The Bible called The First Christmas. It tells us about Mary and Joseph travelling to Bethlehem and about the birth of Baby Jesus in a stable. The children learnt that we call this the Nativity Story.
The children used the Nativity scene on our topic table to retell the story in their own words.
Christian people prepare to celebrate the birth of Jesus by decorating Christmas trees, sending cards and giving gifts to their family and friends.
In Badger class we have begun our Christmas preparations by decorating our Christmas tree. We all hung a bauble on the tree and Mrs Burton added the shiny star on top. It looks amazing.
As part of our Special Stories topic we have been looking at a very special book called The Bible. The children looked at different kinds of Bibles, some had pictures and some had only words.
We have learnt that some Christian people read the Bible which tell stories about God and Jesus. We read the story of Noah’s Ark and how God had told Noah that it was going to rain for forty days and forty nights and that he must save all the animals.
The children really enjoyed the story and created a large collaborative drawing of the ark adding animals two by two. We also had a go at painting rainbows which signified the end of the storm.
Thank you for bringing your favourite story books from home Badgers. We enjoyed sharing them with our friends.
Badger Class had a great treat last week. We were able to visit the forest in the ... SNOW! We wrapped up warm and after playing some games around the fire circle Mrs Reynolds told us a snowy story under the shelter where is was nice and cosy.
We also looked for hazards around the woods. We used sticks with hazard tape tied around to mark the spots. The children looked for things like nettles, brambles and spiky holly bushes. Well done everyone - now we can explore and have fun while staying safe.
Following on with our Special Stories topic we have read one of our favourite books, The Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson. There were lots of activities around our classroom for the children to enjoy. We concentrated on our fine motor skills by cutting and modelling play dough. The children used the Gruffalo characters on our topic table to retell the story in their own words and have created some fantastic Gruffalo faces using lots of different parts. We even remembered the poisonous wart on the end of his nose. Brilliant work Badgers!
As part of our Special Stories topic we have been learning about a Hindu Festival of Lights called DIWALI.
We all watched a short film which followed a family as they prepared for this special celebration.
First, we saw how hands were decorated with beautiful MEHNDI patterns using a dye called henna.
Take a look at our fabulous designs. The children concentrated really hard to create these beautiful Mehndi patterns.
Then, we saw how DIVA LAMPS with lit candles were used to light up the houses and gardens. All the children really enjoyed making and decorating their own Diva lamp using clay.
Finally, we saw how RANGOLI patterns were created on the floors using colourful chalk and sand. Traditionally these patterns were said to bring joy and to welcome guests. We had a go ourselves using colourful crayons, paints, magnetic and paper shapes. During our outside play to learn the children decorated our playground and path with beautiful designs. We hope you liked them. Well done Badger Class.
Today Badger Class were very, very excited to be visiting the forest for the first time.
We started by sitting around the fire circle so Mrs Reynolds could explain the rules of the forest to keep us all safe.
We had lots of time to investigate and have fun around the forest and found hidden characters from The Gruffalo story.
Mrs Reynolds showed us all how to get into the hammock safely before having a try ourselves. The children thought it was really cozy and almost fell to sleep.
We played in the mud kitchen where we made some delicious soup and Mr Ball showed the children how to play Tic Tac Toe and how to use the forest equipment safely.
The children had lots of fun sweeping and collecting leaves in the wheelbarrows, climbing trees and enjoying the outdoor environment.
What an amazing afternoon Badgers !
Take a look at our amazing fruit and vegetable faces which are inspired by the Italian artist Giuseppe Arcimboldo. We have all had so much fun creating our unique designs.
What an absolutely fabulous first half term it has been. Thank you brilliant Badgers. Enjoy your holiday.
This week we have read The Little Red Hen. It is the final book for this half term’s topic of Traditional Stories. The children have enjoyed listening to the story and have played with the toys to retell the story.
We have spoke about the season of Autumn and how farmers grow wheat, corn, fruits and vegetables which are harvested using machines called combine harvesters. The children have learnt that some Christian people thank God for the food they eat at a special celebration called the Harvest Festival.
We used oil pastels to create observational artwork of fruit and vegetables on black paper. They look amazing.
Well done Badger Class.
In maths we have been investigating the number four. The children have discovered that there are lots of different ways to make patterns using four but no matter how the patterns look they know it is still four.
We have also been learning the phrases ‘more than’ and ‘fewer than’. The children have understood this really well and during our practical learning were able to say the STEM sentences correctly.
Continuing with our topic Traditional Stories, we have read Rapunzel, The Three Little Pigs and Goldilocks and the Three Bears. The children have had lots of fun making bear faces out of natural materials. We have learnt some amazing facts about real bears and have used props, toys and story maps to retell the stories in our own words.
We have also enjoyed the alternative stories Rapunzel and her Ever so Shiny Locks and Jack and the Incredibly Mean Stalk. The children compared each story to the original and were able to say what was the same and what was different. Some of them actually preferred the alternate versions.
In maths we have been looking at the number three. The children have been making patterns of three and now know that even though the patterns look different it is still three.
During our outside play to learn, the children created a large scale collage of a beanstalk using paint rollers and real leaves they collected from around our playground. It was great fun and I’m sure you will agree that it looks amazing. Well done everyone.
Our topic for this half term is “Traditional Stories”. To kick start the topic we have read the story of Jack and the Beanstalk. All the children have really enjoyed learning the story and have joined in with the activities around our classroom. They have had a go at painting and drawing the characters, threading leaves, twisting crepe paper and cutting out leaves to make a beanstalk which we have displayed in our classroom. The children have used a story map and the toys on our topic table to retell the story in their own words. What a great week Badgers!
Badger Class have had a brilliant start to the school year and have settled really well into school life. We have been busy exploring the indoor and outdoor areas and have had lots of fun getting to know each other. Mrs Burton, Mrs Watkinson and Mrs Sadler are very proud of you all.
