What a busy week we have had in Acorn Class! The children have continued to build on their learning across all areas of the curriculum, developing their phonics, maths skills and understanding of the world around them. We have also explored friendship in RE and had lots of fun in PE!

Phonics

This week in phonics, we revisited the sound ‘p’, practising our letter formation on our whiteboards to help us form the letter correctly. We also coloured in a picture of the letter ‘p’ and practised writing the sound underneath.

We then learnt our new sound ‘i’! The children practised saying the sound, blending words containing the sound and segmenting words by listening carefully to each individual sound. We also practised writing the letter ‘i’ and having a go at writing words containing our new sound.

To finish, we worked together on a shared read, using the sounds we have learnt so far. This gave the children an opportunity to practise recognising our sounds and begin using them to read words together. Well done, Acorn Class!

Maths 

In maths, we have continued developing our subitising skills. The children have been practising recognising arrangements of 2 and 3 without needing to count each object individually. We also explored auditory patterns up to 3, listening carefully to sounds and identifying how many they could hear.

We practised showing small quantities on our fingers in different ways. For example, the children explored how they could show 3 by holding up 2 fingers on one hand and 1 finger on the other. This helped us understand that the same quantity can be represented in different ways.

We also explored arrangements of 4, using positional language to describe patterns and investigating how we can make 4 in different ways, such as 2 and 2 or 3 and 1. Finally, we practised comparing amounts, using the mathematical vocabulary ‘more’ and ‘fewer’ to describe what we could see.

Understanding the World – Our Five Senses 

This week, we have been learning all about our five senses: sight, hearing, smell, taste and touch.

At the beginning of the week, we discussed what our five senses are and how we use them to explore the world around us. The children practised expressing their ideas in full sentences, using sentence starters such as “I can see…”, “I can hear…” and “I can smell…”.

We then headed outside to explore our playground and garden! The children listened carefully to the sounds around them and looked closely at what they could see. When we returned to the classroom, they drew a picture of one thing they had seen and one thing they had heard.

Later in the week, we explored our senses of taste, touch and smell. We discussed whether we should eat something just because it smells nice or avoid something because it smells unpleasant. The children soon discovered that this isn't always the case, as some things, such as candles, can smell lovely but are not safe to eat!

The children had the opportunity to try a variety of tastes, including sweet, salty, sour and bitter. Afterwards, they coloured in a smiley face to show whether they liked or disliked each taste and rated their experiences.

We also talked about healthy eating and how we can look after our bodies and teeth. We discussed how foods containing sugar, such as sweets, can be enjoyed occasionally, but shouldn't be eaten too much or too often. The children then sorted pictures into groups to identify what is good for our teeth and what can be harmful to them when eaten in large amounts.

RE – Friendship 

In RE this week, we explored the idea of friendship. We talked about who our friends are, why we enjoy spending time with them and what makes each of them special.

We were then introduced to Tom and Tessa, who were having an argument over a fishing game. Tessa only wanted to choose the pink fish, while Tom felt this was unfair and thought they should choose all the fish, regardless of their colour. This encouraged the children to think about sharing, fairness and how we can resolve disagreements with our friends.

Grandad then shared a Bible story about Jesus and his disciples. We discussed how Jesus' followers believed in him and followed his teachings, just as friends spend time together and learn from one another. We also explored the idea of the disciples being called ‘fishers of men’, explaining how they shared Jesus' message with others and helped bring people closer to God, in a similar way to how fishermen catch fish and bring them home to their families.

This helped us think about how we can be good friends, treat others fairly and share our beliefs and kindness with those around us.

PE – Superhero Parachute Fun 

In PE this week, we explored the parachute through our exciting superhero-themed lesson!

We began by talking about different superheroes and their special powers. The children then travelled around the room in different ways, including flying, spinning and creeping. However, when our villain, Mrs Freeze, shouted “Freeze!” and used her superpower, everyone had to stop and freeze on the spot!

Next, we discussed the rules and safety expectations for using the parachute. The children spread out around it and sat in their places, ready to begin our parachute games. When an adult called out a colour, the children holding that colour ran around the outside of the parachute before returning to their original places.

We then used the parachute as our very own superhero capes, holding on and moving them in different ways to make them fly. To finish the lesson, we lifted the parachute high into the air to create a giant mushroom shape. When a colour was called, the children holding that colour had to run underneath the parachute to the other side before it came back down!

The children had lots of fun developing their listening skills, coordination and teamwork while learning how to use the parachute safely.

Star of the week: Congratulations to Jaxon, who is our star of the week, for sharing brilliant ideas on the carpet and showing great enthusiasm during our class discussion. Jaxon will be taking home his certificate and Wilfred the Elephant to write in the book all about his time spent with Wilfred over the next week and will bring him back next Thursday. If you are unable to print photographs, you can email them to acorn@st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk, and we will print them for you to add to Wilfred's book.

Please remember to read with your child, even for just 5 minutes! Please also remember to record it in the reading record. We will only change your child's book if you have read with them 2 or more times in that week! Reading books are changed on Monday's and Thursday's. Please also remember to have the library book in your children's book bag on Thursday to be changed. 

Any issues or concerns we need to know about, please speak to the Acorn team before and after school or email at: acorn@st-barnabas.kent.sch.uk

Another fantastic week in Acorn Class! We are so proud of how the children are growing in confidence, developing their skills and enjoying their learning together.