St Paul's Walden

News and Photos from The Willows

For information about our curriculum, please visit our Reception class's Yearly Curriculum Information page here.  

Welcome to the Willows 2024/25

Mrs Foster is our Reception teacher and is fortunate to have Mrs Pearce and Mrs Daniels supporting her in their Teaching Assistant roles. Together they support the children as they enter school life, and help them learn and develop through their first year. The children learn through play in the indoor and outdoor setting, as well as being introduced to the more formal aspects of academic learning.  Click here for examples of the seven areas of learning in our school.

Autumn in the Willows October 2024

The children have enjoyed being outside these past few weeks, exploring the colours, smells and the sounds in the environment as Autumn has well and truly arrived. They have enjoyed a walk up the farm track as well as playing and exploring in the Willows' outdoor areas, working together to build various constructions with the large wooden blocks and having fun climbing, spinning and running in the garden.

Farm Visit 17th June

The Willows class were very excited to get to ride on the trailer as the tractor drove them over the farm. They saw the cows in the field and found out why they have yellow tags on their ears. They were then taken through the woods to have a good look at the foxgloves growing there, and then they examined the wheat growing in the fields. Sitting in the field, they then explored different wild animals that could be found locally, and discussed their habitats, calls and what they each eat. It was a lovely afternoon out, and we are very grateful that Fran and Mick took the time to organise this visit. 

Shepreth Wildlife Park 12th June

We had a great day out at Shepreth. We spent a lot of time looking at the animals and watching their behaviours. Our lovely Education Officer held a workshop about animal's colours and patterns and how these are used for camouflage, defence, attracting a mate, warnings etc. I think that our favourite animals were the otters - they were so noisy and lively and possibly the cutest animals we'd ever seen! (Video below)

Our Writing 24th May

The Willows class have progressed so much with their writing this year. Look at what they have done, being inspired by the books The Naughty Bus and The Hundred Decker Bus. They take great care to sound out each word using the sounds they have learnt in their phonics lessons. Brilliant work, Willows. 

Bus trip 22nd May 2024

.It was great fun riding the bus into Hitchin. After an exciting ride into town, we had a good look around St Mary's Church. The children were very interested in lots of the features, such as the wooden roof interior and how it is designed like the bottom of a boat, signifying the protection that Noah's Arc gave to the animals from the flood.

The museum was interesting, and the children seemed fascinated by the real skeleton there. The best part of the day, of course, was having our picnic lunch and playing in the park. We found a stream and played Pooh Sticks. We then climbed to the top of Windmill Hill to see the view from the rainbow bench and roll down the grass before heading back to the bus stop. It was a pleasure to spend the day with my lovely Willows class.

Watch this space 19th April 2024

Willows class have had a lot of fun in their spaceship this week. They have been off exploring new worlds as well as the exciting interior of their very own space craft. They have been learning lots about space and what happens up in the International Space Station, and have particularly enjoyed watching astronauts washing, eating and playing tennis in zero gravity. They have learnt about the planets in our solar system and how they are all different from Earth. 

Planting and Growing 22nd March

The children have been learning about how plants grow with the right amount of sunlight and water. They all planted their own bean seeds and have been watching them start to form roots and shoots over a couple of weeks. They have also made their own 'cress heads', and have seen how quickly the cress grows from the tiny seeds. Once they had grown a good length, we chopped some up and put them in egg mayonnaise sandwiches to see how delicious they taste. 

Jack and the Beanstalk 5th March 2024

The Willows have enjoyed starting this half term with the traditional tale of Jack and the Beanstalk. They were delighted to find a castle in the classroom which they have used to re-enact the story as well as using small world figures to create their own adventures. They were invited to make their own beanstalks using whichever resources they preferred, which resulted in a range of interesting and creative beanstalks including linking cubes, collages, models and drawings. After measuring one of these drawings, the children took upon themselves to make a REALLY long beanstalk, which we had to take to the hall to stretch out and measure....it was 9m long! It is now stuck onto the wall of the classroom but is so long it goes all the way up and across the ceiling. There was then a little team of children to help Mrs Constable to make a giant which towers above the children! The children also painted their own beanstalks but were not allowed to use green paint so had to do a bit of investigating to see which colours mixed together to get the right shades they needed. 

PE Apparatus 27th February

Before half term, the children in Willows learnt how to use some of the basic PE apparatus safely, such as using the mats for a variety of jumps, balances and rolls before progressing onto stepping up and jumping off low level benches. This term they have been excited to see some more challenging uses of the equipment and are already showing how they are trying to balance and move along benches and beams which are suspended at different heights and angles. This was quite daunting for some of the the children, but they showed great determination to give it a go, with some extremely successful results. They also showed great empathy as they worked out how to support their friends walking along the narrow bars. Well done, Willows. 

Walking through the Village 15th February

The Willows class has been very busy looking at maps over the past couple of weeks. They have learnt to look at and draw their own maps of the classroom, the school and a favourite room of theirs at home. We then looked at a map of the village and worked out where some of the children's houses were. We worked out a route to get to the recreation ground then walked there, remembering the road names as we went and pointing out the children's homes as we passed. It was very exciting to get to meet Jessie's new puppy when we were spotted by her Daddy! The children then enjoyed some time at the park before following the route back up to school. 

Drumming 1st February 

The children enjoyed an afternoon playing the djembe drums. After reading a story about Anansi, an African folklore hero, they learned a counting song, where Anansi plays the drums a different number of beats each time. The children all joined in counting out each drumbeat as they sang along. They also practised drumming out different rhythms, such as 'Tessa has a new dog....called Gus, ' and 'Jessie has a dog and she's called Maggie'. As they followed instructions, they demonstrated how they could play the drums loud, quiet, fast or slow as they thought about how different animals might sound as they walked or moved around their habitats. 

Handa's Surprise 26th January

Exploring the book Handa's Surprise, by Eileen Browne, the children worked together to map out Handa's journey from her village to her friend Akeyo's. They each made a mask or puppet of one of the animals from the story and used these to act out and retell the story. 

Rosie's Walk 12th January 2024

The children have had a lot of fun getting to know the book 'Rosie's Walk' by Pat Hutchins, this week.  By using the masks, spoon puppets and other props, they took turns acting out the story, and used the ipads to take photos of each other doing so. They then all made their own 'zigzag' books, choosing and drawing pages from the story and writing some key words or phrases to explain what is happening. Linked to this, they looked in more detail about foxes, finding out facts about them and then sharing what they have learnt: 

Post Office 14th December

The children enjoyed their post office role play in the classroom, and spent their money buying stamps for their parcels, letters and Christmas cards. The postal workers weighed them and put them into sacks for sorting and there were some lovely surprises as these were delivered throughout the day!

They then wrote Christmas cards to their families and walked down to the Post Office in the village to post them in time for Christmas. The children very politely each asked for their stamp, then put it correctly on their envelope before posting it in the post box.

Autumn leaves 24th November 2023

Sometimes there's nothing more fun than being in a shower of leaves!

Exploring Shadows 16th November 2023

The children have been exploring shadows and finding out how we get them. They have investigated using torches, tealights, glow sticks and light boxes to produce silhouettes and shadows of different shapes and characters. By moving the object, they have discovered that shadows get bigger or smaller, and the position and shape of a shadow can get changed by moving the light source around. There have been some dark dens and some great shadow puppets within the classroom. 

Animal Faces 20th October 2023

.The Willows had great fun this afternoon making animal-faces from scotch pancakes. They used a knife for the cheese spread or chocolate spread, then impressed us by safely using the sharp cutting knife to chop up the fruit. This fruit was carefully positioned onto the pancakes as eyes, ears, nose, beak etc, depending on the animal they'd chosen. See if you can spot the dogs, rabbits, monkey, owl and fish. The faces looked great and they tasted delicious!

Mud Kitchen 

The children enjoy being outside and have started discovering the mud kitchen in our outdoor area. They have been learning to put on their waterproof overalls and wellies, and taking them off when they have finished so that they are not all inside-out - a tricky skill but one that they are really trying hard with. They have enjoyed digging in the soil and unearthing old bulbs and other bits of treasure including coins, a car and a snake!

Thinking about our family 29th September 2023

The children have started thinking about their families. They have all painted a picture to show which family members they live with. They (mostly!) thought carefully about which colours to choose when painting skin colour, hair, clothes etc. Jessie impressed Mrs Foster when she mixed black and white paint together to match the colour of her Daddy's hair. 

Settling into their new school 15th September 2023

Our new children have settled beautifully into their new school. They have been exploring their new classroom and resources, both inside and outside. They have been joining in with a range of activities including going on a bear hunt, wrapping different shaped objects, making pictures using natural resources, practising writing, construction, water play, climbing, working together building train tracks... and much more! 

At the seaside 12th June 2023

This term we have started to look 'Under the Sea' which has already caused a flurry of activity and interest from the children. They have enjoyed the new ice-cream van and beach cafe themed role play area, selling burgers, chips and ice-creams to each other. They have been writing postcards from their holidays and a small group of children decided to make a treasure chest as collaborative project. Reading the book 'Sharing a Shell' by Julia Donaldson and Lydia Monks, the children have been inspired to paint their own crabs, using the book and photographs to make accurate observations which have resulted in some incredibly detailed paintings. They have learnt that some sea creatures, such as the hermit crab, anemone and bristleworm can all live together in one shell, helping protect each other in different ways. 

Making boats 12th May 2023

The children looked at boats as a form of transport. We all learned together how to make paper boats and we put them in the water to see if they will float. They did float, but the paper very quickly got wet which made the boats start to sink or fall apart. The next day we tried again, but this time we used wax crayons to see if this stopped the paper getting soaked. It did help a little bit, but we decided that boats that float for a longer time would be better made out of materials which we have already discovered do not sink. The class decided that wood, plastic and tin foil seemed the most effective, so they worked very hard to create their own boat and tested it on the water. We then tested them on the pond in our back garden and had a little race to see which design was best. 

Watch this Space..... 24th April 2023

A spaceship has landed in the Willows classroom! The children have been inside, flying off to the moon and other distant planets, plotting their journey and trying out all the important equipment that is essential for space travel. They have also being getting creative, making their own rockets and aliens as well as painting and drawing planets and spaceships. 

Jack and the Beanstalk 3rd March 2023

The Willows children have enjoyed working on the story Jack and the Beanstalk over the past couple of weeks. This is a traditional tale that has been told for hundreds of years and not only have the children heard a few different versions, they have been using their own story maps to tell the tale using their own words. They have constructed their own castle outside as well as discovering and exploring their very own small world castle in the classroom.
They were very excited to start growing their own beanstalks after planting bean seeds in class and will be making careful observations to see how these change and grow over the next few weeks. With their writing, they are working very hard to segment words using their phonics skills and are gaining confidence to do this independently. 

Walking with Molly 10th February

We are so lucky that we live in such a nice area. We had a lovely walk with Molly, and despite the early morning frost, the sun came out and reminded us that spring is on its way. We had looked at Google Earth before we set off so that we could see the route we were going to take. On our journey we spotted the tracks of horses and a tractor, a map, a helicoptor and a couple of aeroplanes in the sky. We heard the older children in the distant playground, and we enjoyed a biscuit when we stopped and sat on the fallen log. 

Learning how to care for a dog 3rd February

Rosie's Walk 20th January

The Willows class have enjoyed reading the book Rosie's Walk by Pat Hutchins. When the story was read initially, they were not shown the pictures and the children agreed that it did not sound a very exciting story. Next they got to see what was really going on as they saw that Rosie the hen was being stalked by a sneaky fox, but every attempt to catch her did not end up too well for him. They loved re-enacting out the story using the spoon puppets and props and started using prepositions such as 'under', over' 'through' etc as they used the classroom as a farmyard. Lots of brilliant paintings and other pieces of artwork were produced by careful observations and the children were able to sound out key words to describe the book.

Getting ready for Christmas 9th December 2022

We have been very busy getting ready for Christmas in the past couple of weeks. The children enjoyed decorating the Christmas tree and looking through the Nativity and other festive books. They have been wrapping presents, writing Christmas cards and taking them to our post office role play, and we all walked down to the real post office in the village to post Christmas cards to their families. 

Handa's Surprise 4th November 2022

The Willows have been reading Handa's Surprise by Eileen Browne this week, and discovered how the different animals took the fruits from the basket without Handa noticing. Throughout the week they have been using their phonics knowledge to sound out the name 'Handa' and have also used word mats to help write out animal and fruit words. They have each made an animal mask which was used to perform the story at the end of the week, using real fruits as props. They were then given the opportunity to experience some of the fruits that the animals took from Handa's basket. There were some excellent observations and comments as they investigated the textures, smells and taste of each fruit. 

Describing the banana inside: "Slippery" - Max. ""Yummy!" -Mihail. "It smells a bit funny" -Abigail. 
Describing the shape of a pear (I couldn't find a guava!) : "It's straight with a big bump at the end.... like a parachute going down" - Jack
"It's slimy inside and dry outside" - Isobel.   "It feels cold" - Petar.   "Soft on the inside and hard on the outside" - Isla
Describing an orange: "It feels like there's a hole in the middle....where the stalk goes" - Max    "...on the tree" - Petar
Inside the orange: "It's where the juice comes out" - Isla.   "J for juice!" - Benji.   "When you squeeze it, it makes juice". - Aoife
"There's a skin" - Hunie.   "Hands feel sticky" - Petar.   "Sour" - Aoife.  
We compared our green mango to the one in the book: "Not red"  - Petar.  Aoife knew it was not "ripe" so we will wait until next week to eat the mango. 
Describing the pineapple: We cannot eat the skin because "It's spiky and your mouth will go hurty" - Isobel.  "It won't taste nice" - Isla.   "We need cut it" - Mihail.   "Light green and dark green" - Petar.  "Yellow's inside" Abigail.  "C is for core!" - Benji.   
Describing an avocado: "A little stone" - Aoife.  "It feels slimy" - Isobel.   "It's disgusting!" - Skip.   "It taste yukky!" - Max.  
Describing a passion fruit: "Brown" - Skip.  "My mummy eats them...they're delicious!" - Petar.  "It's got orange juice" - Isobel. 
Describing a tangerine:   "There's orange juice. I like orange juice in my cup" - Abigail.  (How do you get the juice?) "You squeeze".  "I've got orange juice on my hands...it's sticky. " Petar.

Baking Bread 20th October 2022

After reading the story The Little Red Hen, the children were able to see that bread comes from wheat that has been ground into flour. They were very excited to then actually make their own bread in the classroom. They sieved flour, mixed the ingredients and kneaded the dough by 'smashing' and 'stretching' it. It was interesting to see how the yeast made the dough rise after leaving it on a radiator. Of course, the best bit was eating the bread rolls once they had been cooked, and, unlike the little red hen, the children did share theirs with their families. 

Mud and water 14th October

The children have been investigating how to transport water from the top of the garden to the bottom by using pipes and plastic guttering. There has been some brilliant team working and problem solving as they fixed leaks and extended the water tunnel to fill up the hole they had dug. Mixing water with soil proved to be a fun experiment as not only did they produce great puddles to jump in, but it was discovered they could create thier own artistic creations. 

Outdoor Opportunities 7th October

Willows class have been enjoying spending time outside, exploring the different environments and resources available to them. There have been some lovely manners as they  learn to take turns on the bicycles, and they have been demonstrating their strength and spatial awareness as they steer around each other. 

Pass the Parcel 23rd September

The children talked about their favourite games and were then introduced to the book Pass the Parcel by Annie Kubler and Sue Baker. The story showed animals passing along different shapes with a variety of animal print on the wrapping paper so the children were given similar paper so they could have a go at wrapping their own parcels. They were reminded how to use the cellotape dispenser safely and they all worked hard sticking the paper neatly around their objects. 

Welcome to the New Willows 16th September 2022

We have had a busy start to the new term and the new Willows children are already settling into school life. They have started exploring the toys and resources within the setting and are getting to know one another. 

They had a great deal of fun as they recreated 'Going on a Bear Hunt' in the Willows garden. First they had to go through the grass...then wade through river....then through the oozy mud....through the forest...through the howling snowstorm....and through the gloomy cave. What's that - a bear!! Quick, they had to go back the way they came then up the stairs (and back down again as they forgot to shut the door!) then safe under the covers.  They won't be going on a bear hunt again!

Kitchen Garden 15th July

The children enjoyed the responsibility of watering the kitchen garden today. As the weather has been very hot, the plants were parched and needed a good long soak. The class worked together to fill up the watering cans and made sure they tended to the carrots, beetroot, beans, tomatoes, rhubarb and mint.

Recycling 1st July

The children read the brilliant book 'Someone Swallowed Stanley' by Sarah Roberts which follows the journey of a plastic bag in the ocean. The children discussed the importance of putting litter (especially plastic) in the correct bin and not letting it drop on the floor, where it could end up being washed up in the sea causing a danger to sea animals. They all made a kite by reusing a plastic bag, and despite it not being very windy, had a go at flying them. They also made posters to warn people of the dangers of dropping litter. 

Cool children 17th June

On the hottest day in June, Mrs Foster introduced a 'rainbow arch sprinkler' to keep the children cool. They had lots of fun as they braved the squirting jets and ran through the arch. Before long, they started introducing new aspects to their play, and suddenly there was so much (secret!) learning going on. They were estimating volume and capacity, trying and testing their ideas as they filled up buckets and other receptacles. They were balancing in the cone-shaped spinner, supporting each other to ensure they did not tip over. and working together to see how much water it can hold along with a person. Gross motor skills were hard at work as they lifted and carried heavy buckets across the garden and some even managed to tip the cold water over their own heads. What a great afternoon!

Celebrating the Jubilee 27th May

Willows class enjoyed the Jubilee celebrations by playing some games and having a little party out in the garden. They worked together to recreate the Union Jack flag out of different fruit which they promptly ate afterwards, along with their cakes which they had previously decorated. What a lovely end to the half term!

Forest School at the Bury 20th May

We had a fantastic morning at the Bury in Whitwell. The children all made careful observations of all the plants and flowers in the grounds and matched them to coloured cards which made a beautiful rainbow of a display. They identified animals and birds and then made dens for them in the woods, as well as balancing and walking along the  logs and bridges. We loved being in the beautiful grounds and look forward to going back again. 

T

A day at Tring Museum 4th May

The children had a brilliant day out with Rowans class visiting Tring Museum. They explored the galleries of animals, seeing those they recognised and lots that they had never seen before. They got the opportunity to be Prehistoric Detectives, investigating fossils and matching them to pictures of various creatures from long ago. 

Going on a bus to Paddington 30th March

We had a brilliant time as we rode the bus from the village into Hitchin town. The children were very excited, as some of them had never been on a bus before, and they had to hold on tight as we went around the roundabout. When we arrived, we walked up to the museum to see the exhibition of Paddington Bear which is there currently. There were some lovely objects and drawings to look at, and we tried on Paddington's hat and coat.  The staff at the museum were all very kind and they had invited us to use a special room at the museum to eat our lunch, as it was quite chilly outside. We had a look at some of the other exhibits in the museum, and saw a skeleton that was two thousand years old. Before we got on the bus to go home, we went to the shop to buy some special ingredients so that we could make our very own marmalade sandwiches, just like Paddington!

Planting 24th March

  The class have been enthusiastically planting out a variety of seeds and bulbs over this past couple of weeks. They will practise being patient now as they let nature take its course, although they will be responsible for watering regularly to help the flowers and vegetables grow over the next couple of months. They are looking forward in particular for the potatoes to finish flowering to see how many new potatoes are hidden beneath the soil. . 

Spring has sprung 14th March

We have started to welcome Spring to the Willows classroom. The children have planted seeds to make their own 'cress heads' in emptied out egg shells. In only a few days, the cress has already started shooting up and it smells lovely.

We have been painting daffodils that have been brought in for display and have been closely observing the colours, shapes and positions of the flowers. We were introduced to the famous painter Van Gogh and saw his own paintings of daffodils. 

We went on a walk in the village and the children all took a Nature Hunt sheet. They each found lots of the different natural objects listed as they also enjoyed playing on the equipment in the park. We are all looking forward to spending more time outdoors as the weather continues to improve. 

Pancake Fun! 1st March

The children in Willows had great fun today getting involved in pancake activities. From a sensory/messy (very messy by the end!!) table, to flipping 'phonics pancakes', pancake races with the rest of the school, and of course making and eating their own delicious pancakes. 

Furry Visitors 7th February

We were lucky enough to have a visit from the wonderful Luna Animal Rescue, based in Baldock. They brought in Sammy the dog and Cucumber the rabbit, so we were able to find out all about them and what is needed to look after these animals. The children were very well behaved and remained quiet so as not to frighten the animals, and they got the chance to stroke little Sammy who was very patient with them.  Luna Animal Rescue relies on donations and loving homes to make sure each animal that they rescue can have a happy life, so please consider them if you are thinking of getting a new pet in the near future. Our children did learn that there is a lot of responsibility in owning a pet, but if you take great care of them you will get a lot of love in return.

Chinese New Year 2nd February

As an acknowledgement to Chinese New Year, the children were challenged to eat Chinese noodles using chopsticks. There were some excellent efforts made, but more impressively every child enjoyed the noodles and asked for second helpings. They all got to take their chopsticks home so they can practise eating their dinner without knives and forks and become chopstick experts instead!

Artists  28th January 

Although we very much encourage individuality when it comes to painting and drawing, this week the children made a picture in the style of the famous artist Monet. They learnt how to mix and blend watercolour paint by dabbing the different colours on their special paper. They read the story 'Philippe in Monet's Garden', where a frog escaped being eaten by going to live in Monet's famous garden, so the children then added their own frog into their paintings. 

Busy outdoors 14th January 

 The children were very happy to be together again after the Christmas holidays and have been busy indoors and outdoors in our setting, guiding their own play. They have created their own construction site with a foreman, site inspector and other construction workers and have been building some interesting structures together as a team. Meanwhile other children have been investigating the ice: how it is created and how quickly it melts.  Using syringes the children have been squirting water to see if they can hit their targets which has been a lot of fun. 

Post Office 5th December

The children were excited to see a post office role-play area appear in the classroom. They have been buying stamps, addressing envelopes and weighing parcels to send off in the post sacks. They are learning how to wrap parcels and Christmas gifts for the postman to deliver. Father Christmas has also made an appearance with his own sack of presents to put under the tree!

 Pudsey Bear Cookies 18th November 

The Willows children demonstrated their excellent baking skills once again this week as they made a batch of Pudsey Bear shaped cookies for Children in Need.  Once the biscuits had baked, they were able to decorate them with some delicious raisins and chocolate drops.

Baking bread 5th November

This week the Willows class have been looking at the book The Little Red Hen. They found out  how much hard work goes into making bread and so they had a go at making their own rolls. They had to weigh out and mix the ingredients before kneading the dough. Once the dough had risen, they were able to shape the rolls. After they were baked the children cut the rolls and spread them with butter and jam. Delicious 

Singing together 13th October

The children have enjoyed learning and singing the Rainbow song in their music lessons.

Collaborative Working 7th October

The Willows children have been very busy inside and outside, and something that is becoming evident is their ability to work together. Whether they have been making castles and car ramps, or sorting and matching numbers and even playing musical instruments together, there seems to be a real sense of sharing and listening to each other's opinions and ideas. 

There has been a flurry of activity on the creative table, too, with children learning how to use split pins to make their own bear (and other character) puppets. They all drew and cut out their unique designs and concentrated hard as they pierced holes and inserted the pins. 

Maths in Willows 24th September

The children have been learning maths in the past couple of weeks. They have been counting a range of objects from around the setting, making sure they count accurately using one to one correspondence (for example, touching each object as they count). They have also learnt about subitising, meaning they can see the amount of a group or pattern without even having to count it; the children are enthusiastic about being Super Subitisers!

Welcome to Willows 10th September 2021

We have had such a great start to the new school year. Our new Willows children have already learnt their way around their classroom and outdoor area, showing their enthusiasm for exploring all the toys and resources. There have been some lovely conversations with Choco, our toucan, with whom they have been chatting daily, and they have all been involved in a variety of exciting activities, such as going on a bear hunt, constructing with wooden blocks, playing games and taking turns, painting and role play in our kitchen. 

Visit from Fred 15th July

Miss Sweatman and her sister, Miss Sweatman, brought their tortoise, Fred for a visit. The children were fascinated with him as he explored the garden and tried to prise his way out of his pen. Watch the video below to see how he reacts to Miss Sweatman's shoe which he suspects may be another tortoise in his way!

People Who Help Us 9th July

Willows class have enjoyed a couple of visits recently. Two police officers brought their police car into the playground and showed the children lots of the equipment that they use, explaining the uniform that they wear. The children were very excited to hear the siren and watch the blue flashing lights. Finn's daddy is a fireman and he brought in his uniform and breathing equipment to show to the children too. 

The children have also enjoyed practising their first aid skills with their very own hospital. There has also been some rather expert bandaging going on, quick responses to incidents and injuries, x-rays being taken and remembering to record each patient's notes on the computer system.

Summer has arrived 18th June

Willows class have been enjoying the recent sunshine.  They found an ice cream van in the role-play area and have been scooping up ice into the cones and paying for them.  They did some den building in the back garden and were delighted to be given an ice cream or an ice lolly to eat in the sunshine.  An outdoor maths lesson about estimating capacity not only resulted in a delicious cold glass of squash but also turned into an impromptu science investigation with coloured shadows  being created  through coloured cups .

Walking to the post office 28th May

The children put their road safety knowledge into practice today when they walked into the village.  They crossed each road carefully in pairs until they reached the post office. There they sent a postcard home that they written about a journey they taken on the bus. 

Transport 21st May

Willows class has been investigating different forms of transport in the past two weeks. They have been writing their own books based on The Naughty Bus, taking their own photographs of a red bus doing a range of funny things in the classroom. They then wrote the captions to say what is happening on each page. 

Woodland Crowns 5th May

Today in our outdoor session, the children made their own woodland crowns by finding flowers, leaves and other natural objects. They declared themselves rulers of the forest - among which there was King of Flowers, King of Sticks, Queen of Everything and King of Spring. 

Forest School 21st April 2021

Willows class have started new Forest School style sessions which will take place every other week. For the first session, they collected sticks and other natural objects with their partners, then created stick people or animals, binding them together with pipe cleaners. Some were brought inside to display, but some were not meant to be permanent and were left out in the garden. Amongst the stick people made, there was a monster alien with a dorsal fin, a fairy, a fly with leaf wings and a man so big that the children could lay in his tummy.

Christmas Lunch