Year 1 News 10.1.25

Happy Friday Team!

In our English lessons, we've begun a new story featuring Hermelin, a clever detective mouse. As we read, Hermelin hears about various missing items and starts investigating. We meet new characters who have lost things, and we help write sentences about these missing items. Along the way, we're learning how to use the "un-" prefix to create words like "unfound" and "unseen," which adds to the mystery of the story. It's a fun way to practice our language skills while solving the case with Hermelin!

In our math lesson, we've been exploring numbers up to 20. We spent a lot of time focusing on the number ten, using ten frames to help visualize it and practice making ten in different ways. We also looked at numbers 11, 12, and 13, finding various ways to make each number using tens and ones. In the afternoons, we worked with the number 9, using a nine frame to discover all the ways to make nine. We especially enjoyed watching the Numberblocks episode about number 9--it made learning so much fun!

In our RE lessons, we recapped the story of the wise men and learned that they didn't visit Jesus right away. We looked at the gifts they brought--gold, frankincense, and myrrh--and discussed how these gifts symbolized important aspects of who Jesus was and what would happen to him, including his kingship, death, and suffering. We also talked about what we had enjoyed most about our Christmas topic, and many of us said we loved learning about Three Kings Day and performing our nativity play. In our wellbeing lesson, we focused on what is important to us. We discussed different things that make us feel happy and safe, such as family, friends, and activities we enjoy. It was a great chance to reflect on what brings us joy and helps us feel good. Sharing our thoughts with each other helped us realize how different but equally important our values and feelings are.

In our Art lesson, we started with our new big question, "Flora and Fauna: How is artwork inspired by flora and fauna?" We discussed the words "flora" and "fauna" and realized that "flora" sounds like "floral," which made us think of flowers. Miss Willis showed us her coat, which had a pattern inspired by flora and fauna, and from that, we figured out that "fauna" meant animals. We then looked at some artwork inspired by these themes and tried recreating the designs in our sketchbooks. It was exciting to see how nature can inspire such beautiful art!

In our PE lesson, we slowed down and spent some time doing yoga. It was a fun, Minion-themed session, where we posed as bananas and other Minion-inspired shapes. We enjoyed stretching and balancing while pretending to be our favorite Minions, making it a playful and relaxing way to practice yoga!

In our Music lesson, we sang and danced to "If You're Happy and You Know It." We clapped, stomped, and tapped our heads, all while moving and clapping to the beat. Then, we followed our onscreen Robot song, where we danced and moved like robots. Some of us were brave enough to show the class our "inner-robot," and it was so much fun to see everyone's creative robot moves!

In our Computing lesson, we learned all about robots and discussed what they do. We were introduced to a Bee Bot, a little robot that we could control using commands. We had to carefully think about the coding we used to move the Bee Bot in the right direction. It was great fun, and we can't wait to use the Bee Bot app again to explore even more coding adventures!

In our History lesson, we explored the big question, "How has Chester Zoo changed since it opened?" We discussed what we thought might have changed over time and learned about George Motterhead, the founder of the zoo. We were surprised to discover that, unlike other zoos, there were no bars in Chester Zoo to keep the animals in. We then used a timeline to organize key events about George Motterhead and the history of Chester Zoo, helping us understand how the zoo has evolved.

In our Forest School session, we explored skeletons and skulls from different animals. We even had the chance to stroke a tiger skull, and some brave children put their hands in its mouth! We looked at x-rays and had to guess which animal they belonged to. We also met Snouty the hedgehog, who was hibernating, so we needed to build him a safe home to protect him from the fox. Using leaves, sticks, and branches, we made a cozy bed for him. After that, we gathered around the firepit, watched the fire being lit, and enjoyed some delicious toasted marshmallows. We even tried making sparks with the dragon sneezes. It was a fantastic first Forest School session!

It has been a great first wek back. I hope everyone has a lovely weekend and I can;t wait to see what we get up to next week!

Miss Willis