This week in pre-school we were all about Harvest time!

The children enjoyed our Harvest themed role play table, with lots of enthusiastic farmers collecting crops and vegetables from the fields.

We watched some clips of live action combine harvesters working in the fields, and what different foods we harvest.  We also saw a family visit a working mill and how they turned their farms wheat into flour. We have talked about why we go to church to celebrate the Harvest festival, and why we are thankful at this time of year to all our hardworking farmers. 

The children did so well on Wednesday joining the whole school for Reverand Richards Harvest Service in the church.  They had practiced 'Big Red Combine Harvester' and the actions to perform alongside Lantic class. A big well done.

We enjoyed some seasonal baking in pre-school this week, with Mrs Carr bringing in some apples we decided to bake some delicious apple and cinnamon cakes.  The children have helped to weigh, stir and scoop the mixture - not forgetting practicing their chopping skills preparing the apple pieces.  Pre-school smelt very autumnal as they baked in the oven and the children said they were very yummy.

For art this week the children have been helping us to paint lots of different fruits and vegetables for our big healthy eating display.  This has been a good way of talking about all the names of the fruits and vegetables that we know, and the children learning some names of ones they do not know.

With the weather being dry we have enjoyed having our outside autumn discovery table with all our autumn treasures, and a new addition is our mud kitchen role play area.  The children have been making acorn cakes and stick stew with all the natural resources.  It has allowed us to observe some great language skills and imaginative play.

We will be finishing off our 'Who am I?' enquiry question next week, and then our final week before half term we will look at the celebrations of Diwali and Halloween.

A reminder that Friday 24^th October is an Inset Day.

The Pre-School Team.

What a fantastic week of learning it has been in Year 2 and 3! The classroom has been full of creativity, curiosity, and teamwork as the children have built on their skills across a wide range of subjects. Here's a little peek at what we've been up to:

English

This week, our young authors have been busy editing and publishing their own stories with a historical setting.
The children have shown great attention to detail as they reread their work, corrected spellings and punctuation, and proudly started to produce their final copies. We're so impressed with their hard work and creativity!

Maths

In Maths, we have been exploring number lines and place value. The children practised using number lines to help them understand the position and size of numbers, and to see how tens and ones fit together. They've been comparing numbers, estimating where they belong on a line, and spotting patterns - a brilliant foundation for confident number work!

History

Our History lessons have taken us back to Ancient Egypt, where we've been learning about the gods and goddesses that were so important to the people of the time. The children have been using historical sources - such as pictures and artefacts - to ask and answer questions like "Why were these gods so important?" and "How do we know about them today?"
There's been lots of thoughtful discussion and some fascinating ideas shared!

PSHE

In PSHE, we have been thinking about the need for rules - in school, at home, and in the wider world. The children talked about how rules help to keep everyone safe and happy. It was lovely to see how much they care about fairness and kindness.

 Design & Technology

Our sewing project continued this week as we practised the running stitch again. The children are becoming more confident with threading needles, tying knots, and keeping their stitches neat. There was a real sense of concentration and pride as they improved their technique - well done, everyone!

 Science and More!

We've also been busy in Science, exploring and investigating the world around us through hands-on experiments and observations. Alongside this, the children have enjoyed their singing sessions, bringing lots of enthusiasm and joy to the classroom with music.

It's been a busy but brilliant week full of learning, laughter, and teamwork. We're so proud of how hard everyone is working and how much progress they're making.

Have a wonderful weekend, and we look forward to more adventures in learning next week!

Last week we enjoyed looking through lots of our autumn treasure bags, with so many different items found by the children.

The children talked about what they had found, the different colours and textures of each item and if they knew what we called them.  We talked about how the Conker husk is hard and spiky, and that when they fall from the tree the conkers will fall out. We even had an apple that had been found fallen from an apple tree. 

We went on a welly walk around the  school field and found lots of acorns and special leaves for our collection.  

For art this week, we enjoyed using leaf shaped stamps, with red, yellow and orange paint to create a wonderful autumn print. 

We have started to introduce phonics into our morning sessions now the children have all settled back into our routine.  Phonics in pre-school uses activities to focus on sound recognition, rhythm and rhyme, and environmental sounds.  This helps support children's communication and language development too.  Last week we used sound stories to listen and identify different autumn sounds.

 During our music lessons with Lantic class we used our body to move in different ways depending on pace and beat of the music. We have also been practicing our 'Big Red Combine Harvester' song for the harvest festival service on Wednesday.

Next Monday 13^th October Tempest photography are coming into school for individual and sibling photos.  If your child has an older sibling/s then you are to take them to the school for 8.45 for their photos.  If your child has no siblings in school but you would like a photo of them, you are welcome to take them across for 8.45 to have their photo and then drop them in to pre-school if it is their session day.

If you have any questions then please do come and speak to us.

The Pre-School Team.

Duckpool Diary...

Welcome to another busy week in Duckpool class!

We've been finishing the final drafts of our stories in English and as it was National Poetry Day on Thursday, we've written some Harvest Haiku, really focusing upon making each word count.

In our oracy work this week, we have concentrated on using our physical oracy skills; using our voice, body language and aiming to engage our audience effectively. We combined this with speaking like a geographer to demonstrate our knowledge about the water cycle.

This week's science centred on an investigation into the thermal insulating properties of various materials. So we considered the best design to keep a teacher's coffee warm on the playground with some surprising results. Please ask your child which material proved to be the best.

Tuesday saw our very first Two Tyre Tuesday in KS2, which was an opportunity for children to bring scooters (plus helmets of course) to school have some playtime fun. This was a huge success, many thanks to Mrs Williamson for organising.

Also, as promised here are some of our fabulous self-portraits, how many of our class  do you recognise?

Next Monday will be our Harvest assembly, each class has been working on their contribution. Thank you for all your generous contributions to the Saltash foodbank.

Have a great weekend.