Maths - Measuring

Our new unit in maths is to learn about measuring length, width and height, using different techniques and tools. 

The children started their learning by looking at comparing heights. We talked about how to make the measurements fair, by lining up the bottom of the items to a straight line. The children explored the materials in the classroom and found and compared different items. 

We then asked the children to order themselves in height order. The children used the techniques we had taught them to place themselves in height order. 

Next the children used objects to measure drawings to compare their size with standard objects. We spoke about how each object needed to be the same or it wouldn't be fair, and again how the measurements needed to be from the same starting point. From here the children started to explore rulers and standard units of measurement. 

Science - Spring

As part of our ongoing work on seasons in Science, today we went on a walk around the school grounds to see what signs of spring we could spot. The children were able to identify key spring flowers such as daffodils as well as spotting blossom on the trees, buds and leaves bursting out as well as looking for birds and their nests. We even spotted a blackbird digging for worms! We talked about the weather we may see in spring as well as how the hours of daylight are changing. 

History - Toy Museum

To conclude our History unit on toys within living memory, we used a variety of toys and created our own Toy Museum. The children worked in groups to look at the different toys, arrange them into age, from oldest to newest, and then wrote simple notes on how the toys would be played with, what materials they were made from and who may have played with them. 

The children then drew a "futuristic" toy to add to their museum, they considered what the toys may look like in 20, 50 or even 100 years from now. 

They then created museum tickets to give to their friends and as one child waited at the museum as their curator, the other children visited the other museums to see what toys they had. The curator then talked through their toys and explained what they thought about each toy. 

RE - Easter 

As part of our work on the Christian festival of Easter, the children listened to a part of the Easter story each day. We then made an Easter story spinner to help us to be able to recall the key points of the story for our Hot Write. 

History - Teddy Bears

As part of our unit learning all about toys from the past, we all brought in our teddy bears from home. We then compared these with teacher's teddy bears and pictures of teddy bears from the 1920's, 1960's, 1980's and now. We looked at the similarities and differences between the bears and where they would fit on the timeline. 

Visit from the Dental Nurses

Today the children had a visit from the local Dental Nurses. They talked to the children about how and when to brush their teeth correctly, what foods they should avoid just before bed and which foods are healthy for their teeth. The children asked lots of questions to help cement their understanding. The Dental Nurses left the children with a goody bag with a toothbrush, toothpaste and a chart to help them to log their brushing.  

Science Day 

On our science day the Year 1 class focused on our outdoor science. We started the day by considering the planet and how we can keep it safe for human, animals and plants. The children talked about recycling and ensuring rubbish was disposed of correctly. We talked about our school grounds and the children decided they needed to pick up all the litter from around the school. We decided to split this into recyclable material and non-recyclable. The children covered the school field and playgrounds, collecting rubbish as we went. 

Next the children explored the role plants have in keeping our planet healthy. We have already looked at different parts of the plant and the children recalled the parts well. Now it is time to plant some seeds in our outdoor area to see what we can grow. We investigated the back of the packets to see when and where we could plant them and then we planted some in pots for our greenhouse, some straight into the planting box and some flower seeds further afield under the trees. 

We will monitor the seeds to see how they are growing and ensure they have water to keep them healthy. 

PE - Gymnastics

We have started a new unit in PE, gymnastics. Today the children considered movements and stretches that were low, high and medium levels. The children then worked with a partner to make a short routine showing off these movements. We considered how we could move together and synchronise our movements. 

World Book Day 2024

Today the children spent the day celebrating World Book Day. The children dressed as their favourite book characters, talked about their books, identified book covers from a photo snippet, as well as working out where the Y1 Where's Wally Team had been hiding around school!

Art - Mixing different shades of green

The children have been continuing to explore primary and secondary colours through paint. Today the children looked at shades of green. Firstly they made the green using yellow and blue, then they looked at how they could make it a darker shade and a lighter shade. 

The children moved on to using their drawing skills and completed an observational drawing of a vase of daffodils. Once they were happy with their representation they then painted it in. The children mixed their own colours and used white to lighten the yellow for the different colours of daffodils. 

DT Day

Mechanisms - Wheels and Axles

As part of our DT work we have been exploring mechanisms, in particular, wheels and axles. The children started their learning by exploring wheels on their toys, furniture and trundle wheels. They also explored books that contained wheeled vehicles to see the different types of machines they could make. We looked at how the wheels worked and what held them on. The children then learnt their new vocabulary for this unit; wheels, axle and axle holder. 

The children attempted to draw their own diagram of a vehicle, labeling the wheel, axle and axle holder. 

The children had a go at making a prototype for their axle holder and axle. They needed to make sure that the axle would spin freely inside the axle holder but would not fall out. They worked in pairs and showed great team work!

Next, the children looked at diagrams of broken vehicles. The children had to work out what was wrong with the design and how they could fix it. 

The next stage was to design our own vehicles. We considered what shape the chassis would be, how many wheels it would have and where they would be situated, where the windows and doors may be placed and any decoration we may add to make the vehicle individual. 

Finally, we made our own vehicles. Some were much larger than others!