This week we have been focusing on dreams and goals. We started the week by taking part in activities that required perseverance. I gave the children some challenges to have a go at. The first was to balance a ball on a bat and walk to a cone. I was so impressed with the children’s resilience and perseverance. Most children found this very difficult but they kept on trying. They were then asked to practise their throwing and catching skills. They were given different activities to have a go at which increased in difficulty. These were to throw and catch a tennis ball, then to throw the ball, clap and catch it and then if they could do both of these they were challenged to catch the ball with one hand. Again, most of the children showed amazing perseverance. We talked about how they were being like Mr Bump as they kept on trying. We also talked about how they felt when they managed to achieve what they set out to do. We linked this to being like Mr Happy.

We then tried some new challenges. These were:

1. Throwing a beanbag into a bucket
2. Bouncing a ball into a small bucket.
3. Building a card house.
4. Rolling a marble through holes in a box.

Many of the children found some of these activities very challenging. There were times when some of the children almost gave up but with a little encouragement they kept on trying. They were so pleased with themselves when they managed to complete the challenge.

We then talked about how our skills and abilities have developed since we were babies. The children gave great examples of things they can do now that they couldn't do when they were a baby such as walking and talking. I asked the children to think about what they would like to get better at now. They came up with lots of different ideas. These ranged from improving their throwing and kicking skills to eating more vegetables. Some of the children wanted to improve their jumping whilst another wanted to improve her basketball skills.

As a result of this we set up a jumping course in our outdoor area. We also practised bouncing balls and throwing them into the nets in PE. Next week we are going to continue working towards these goals by practising just like Mr Bump.

On Friday we talked about things we are really good at. Some of the children said that they were good at drawing while others said they were good at singing. Some talked about their physical skills such as kicking and throwing balls. I explained that I’m not very good at drawing and asked if someone could teach me how to draw. Mrs Feakins asked for some help with using the iPad. We also talked about the goals we set ourselves on Wednesday and discussed who would be able to help us to achieve these. We then split into groups and helped each other to practise the skills we needed help with. We will continue with this next week.

It's been a great week with the children showing amazing resilience and perseverance. It's been lovely to see them encouraging and helping each other.

This week we've continued to look after the seeds that we planted last week and have been excited to see that some of the lettuce and sunflowers have started to grow.

We listened to a story about the lifecycle of a butterfly. We then talked about the different stages together. We also talked about the fact that butterflies are insects and that they have six legs. We looked carefully at some different kinds of butterflies and talked about their symmetrical wings. We talked about how they are important, just like bees, to help plants make new seeds. Some of the children made symmetrical butterflies by painting half of one and then printing the other half by folding the paper over. Some enjoyed colouring the patterns on the wings. They made sure the colours they used on each side were symmetrical. Other children went outside to hunt for minibeasts. We have also been watching some caterpillars get bigger and bigger as they eat lots of food. We were excited to see them hanging from the top of their pot ready to change into a chrysalis.

We learnt that some spiders make webs to catch their food while others run after their prey to catch it. We looked at some spider pictures and talked about how many legs and eyes they have. Some of the children went outside to look for spiders. They enjoyed looking at them closely through magnifying glasses. Some children used their fantastic cutting skills to make spider puppets.

We listened to a story which explained why worms are important in the garden as they make tunnels under the ground for water, air and plant roots. They also eat dead plants. We then went outside and worked with a partner to create a wormery in a plastic bottle. We filled the bottles with layers of sand and soil before putting some leaves and flowers on the top for the worms to eat. We then hunted for worms to put in their new homes. We put them in a dark place so that they think they’re underground and then we checked them the next day to see if anything had changed. We were really excited to see some of the tunnels that the worms had made. We've put them back in a dark place and will check on them again next week to observe any other changes.

The children have also been enjoying the outside area lots this week. There has been some great teamwork. Some of the children worked together to make a slide while others made a dam with mud and stones to try and stop the water. It's been a fun filled busy week!

It's been so lovely to see everyone back in school this week! We've spent lots of time playing with our friends both inside and outside.

Our big question is 'How can we look after our World?' We talked about how it's really good to eat food that we grow ourselves or food that is grown locally as this reduces the food miles. We then decided to plant some fruit and vegetable seeds. We also dug a new vegetable garden in our outdoor area. This took a lot of team work as it was very stony so it was very hard work!

We also learnt about honey bees and why they're important both for making honey and for spreading pollen so that new plants can grow. Some of the children painted flower and bee pictures and some made bee puppets or models. Some of the children said that they'd never tried honey before so we made some honey sandwiches. They were very popular with lots of requests for more!

We've also been showing off our handwriting and phonics skills that we've developed during lockdown. I've been so impressed with the improvement in so many of the children's handwriting. I can definitely see that they watched the handwriting videos that I filmed. Many of the children have moved up to a new phonics group as they've made such a lot of progress in their reading and writing. Thank-you to all of the amazing parents who worked so hard during lockdown. It's definitely been worth it!

This week we've been enjoying being outside in the sunshine and we've been looking for signs of spring.

We've continued to practise our handwriting, spelling, reading and sentence writing. I've been so impressed with the children who have sent me videos of themselves reading ditties. I can't wait to hear you all read when we go back to school!

We've been continuing to learn about the numbers to ten this week. We've been practising counting backwards, comparing numbers and have also started to learn the number bonds that make ten.

On World Book Day we dressed up as book characters and had our photos taken reading a book in strange places. On Friday, as it was St Piran's day, we did some Cornish dancing.

I'm so happy that we've finished the home learning now. I would like to say a huge thank-you to all the parents for all your support over this difficult time. You've been amazing!! Have a lovely weekend and I look forward to seeing you all on Monday.

This week we've started to learn about minibeasts. The children have had fun hunting for them outside. This week we've focused on learning about spiders and butterflies. We found out about the lifecycle of a butterfly and why some spiders make webs.

In maths we've been learning all about the numbers 9 and 10. The children have sorted different visual representations of these numbers and have ordered the numbers to 10. 

We've continued to practise our handwriting and this week we've focused on learning how to write capital letters. We've also continued to write sentences and have spelt words containing four sounds.

Another busy week! Well done everyone for all your hard work!

This week we've been learning about Chinese New Year. We've listened to a story about how the years came to be named after different animals and we've watched a video to show how people celebrate this event. We've learnt that this year is the Year of the Ox. The children have been busy making paper lanterns, fans and various different dragons.

As it's Valentine's Day on Sunday some of the children have been making some Valentine's day cards and crafts. Some have even done some baking for this special day.

We've also learnt about how to stay safe on the internet and what we should do if we see something online that we don't like or that makes us feel worried or scared. We watched a story to help us learn about this and then talked about what we should do with our parents.

In maths, we've been learning about different types of measurement. We've been learning to measure and compare length, height and time. We've also been learning about the order of the days of the week.

In phonics many of us have moved onto reading captions by reading the ditties this week. I've been so impressed with the videos I've been sent of the children reading! It's so lovely to see the progress they're making with their reading. We've also been continuing to practise writing sentences with a focus on spelling some of our tricky words and words which include special friends. As well as all this, we've continued to practise our number formation and we've also started to learn how to write capital letters correctly. I'm so pleased with how much effort you're putting into your home learning! Thank-you for all your hard work. Have a lovely well deserved rest over the half term.

This week we've continued to listen to more Percy the Park Keeper stories. In one of the stories the rabbit was afraid of the dark so some of the children have made glasses to help him see at night. In another story some of the animals had a tea party so some of the children have been busy making their own sandwiches. Some even had an indoor picnic with their toys.

In maths we've been continuing to learn about the numbers 6, 7 and 8. We've also started to learn about pairs of objects and counting in twos. As well as all this, we've also started to learn about combining two groups of objects to find out how many there are altogether. The children have been busy exploring this in lots of different ways.

We've continued to practise our handwriting and this week we've been learning how to write numbers correctly. We've also learnt some new tricky words and have written some fantastic sentences. We've had a very busy week!!

This week, in maths, we have moved onto learning about the composition of the numbers 6, 7 and 8. The children have been busy investigating the different ways in which these numbers can be made.

We have continued to practise our reading and spelling in phonics. We've also practised our handwriting everyday and I'm really impressed with the effort the children are putting into improving this.

We have moved onto learning about woodland animals in our topic this week. The children have enjoyed listening to some of the Percy the Park Keeper stories and have completed some related activities.

You can see below that one of the children made some bread roll hedgehogs. Another child made a brilliant pinwheel to spin around in the wind. They've also been learning some facts about some of the woodland animals. You can see below that one of the children found out about what foxes eat and where they live. She then made a foxes den to play in. After listening to a story about hedgehogs some of the children made hedgehogs using playdough. I love how they've made them really spiky!

This week the children have been continuing to practise their handwriting, reading and spelling. There are some great games being played to practise reading the tricky words. One of them involved slapping the word with a pen before his mum and sister did! Great fun! One of the children decided to write cards to some of the elderly people she knows as she was worried they might be lonely. How lovely and thoughtful and a great real life purpose for practising her handwriting.

In maths this week we've been learning to compare objects and say which is the heaviest and which is the lightest. The children have been using their arms as scales! They've also been learning about capacity and have enjoyed playing with water, rice and flour to investigate which container holds the most and least.

We've continued our learning about winter this week and have also moved onto learning about some of the animals that live in the Arctic and Antarctica. You can see some of the children have created pictures of some of these animals. They've also been busy baking to make biscuits or cakes on a winter theme. They look delicious!

I will upload some of the photos that you send me so that everyone can see the brilliant learning you've been doing at home. This week we have continued to learn about winter. Here you can see we've been investigating how to pick up ice cubes with string using salt. One of the children then decided to make potions using the water and ice cubes. What a great idea!

In Maths we're learning about number bonds to 5 and you can see that the children have been learning about these in different ways. One of the children also decided to group them and count them in twos. Amazing!!

Some of the children have been having fun outside. One of them has been making a water and mud slide in her garden! She's even drawn a picture of her slide. After learning about ice she also made some chocolate crispies as she remembered that chocoalte melts like ice.

On a winter walk one of the children talked about the clothes we wear in winter to keep us warm. This led onto talking about wool and where it comes from. She found some sheep's wool in the hedge so decided to make a pompom sheep when she got home. Isn't it brilliant?

We've been busy making playdough at home and then building snowmen. We've also created winter scenes using things we've found at home or in our gardens. The effort put into making these has been fantastic!

Please keep sending your photos. It's lovely to see what you're learning at home!