This week our topic book was Goodnight Spaceman by Michelle Robinson which took us on a wonderful journey into Space. The story is inspired by the astronaut Tim Peak’s own experiences of being parted with his children whilst on missions and guides us through their bed time routine before they are whisked into Space on a magical adventure. The book was a huge hit with the children and it led to some wonderful conversations about Space. The children discussed what they knew about Space and what it means to them, be it the Moon, planet Earth or the stars.
During Art all the groups worked collaboratively to construct large rockets using cardboard, paint, tissue paper and foil. These were displayed in the classroom and The Fledglings voted for the ones they liked the best. We recapped our understanding of democracy and linked the voting system back to our teaching of British Values and the upcoming Mayoral elections! The children also explored textures when creating planet Earths. The groups adopted a range of different techniques to create their planets; some used shaving foam prints whilst others did balloon prints to create the planet with the green and blue tones, just the way it looks like from Space.
During cookery, the children made Space wraps, filling them with a range of fresh vegetables and cheese. They were encouraged to sample all the ingredients and we discussed the different textures and tastes, before enjoyed our finished wraps during Snack Time!
On Friday, we focused on refining our fine motor skills by cutting carefully along lines. The Pink Chicks were given the task of cutting up a picture of a space shuttle and planet Earth into lots of pieces before working out how to fit and glue all the pieces together again, just like a jigsaw!
It has been another busy week in our Role Play areas. The Yellow and Orange Chicks were very excited to post letters to their parents and to learning about the postal service in their Role Play area remembering to put their letters in envelopes with the correct stamps before posting them in the post box! The Pink Chicks had lots of fun exploring the Science Lab, working with a range of textures and materials and studying magnetism, melting, and plants in more detail.
In Maths, we learnt about 2D shapes. The children created rockets with these and some started to differentiate between the 2D and 3D shapes as well. We continue to explore the letters and sounds following Anima Phonics with the children. They participate in regular focus time sessions, one-to-one sessions tailored to each child, and short group Phonics sessions during circle time as well.