In this half of the spring term we have been getting on with lots of fun learning. 

In Maths we have been completing addition and subtraction strategies, building on the learning from spring 1 term with numbers extending to 50.  We have also been looking at the value of numbers to 50 and understand how 2-digit numbers to 50 are made up of tens and ones.  We have been learning to count to 100 in tens.  Why not see if you can play our ‘50 and out’ game at home.  Each player says a tens number each in order starting at a different tens number each time. The person who lands on 50 is out.  (e.g.  start at 10… first player says 10, second says 20, third says 30 and so on until it goes around the players up to 50.  Then start again at a different number e.g. 30).

In English we have been learning all about Australian Animals in our story ‘Wombat Goes Walkabout’.  We learned to write a story about animals escaping a forest fire.  We then created our own stories set in an English wood involving a rabbit, badger, owl and fox escaping a flood.  We have been working hard describing the sound and sights in the story and making sure we have used capital letters and full stops where we can.

In P.E we have been looking at how to create dance movements based on animals in a zoo.   We used our bodies and facial expressions to create different large and small animals, including arctic animals.  We were able to then link the movements together to create a motif (sequence of movements) based on a chosen animal and the zoo keeper.  We have also learned about how we can run in various ways using our arms, head and legs effectively.  We have then used our running techniques in games to aid acceleration and distance.

In Computing we have been learning how to group data and information in various ways.  We have learned that similar properties of information can be grouped together.  In Our Internet safety lessons we have looked at how to manage our information when online and who to talk to before we post anything online as it will be there forever.   

In RE we have been learning about the Easter story and how Christians believe that it is the most important festival of the Christian faith because Jesus died on the cross to wipe out people’s sins and then he was resurrected to go to heaven.  We discussed and sorted the main parts of the story, including Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday, Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday.  Can your child retell you the story?

In science we have been looking at why it is important to care for our planet and that we can all help out in small ways.  We discussed things that we do already to make our environment better (recycling, reusing, using bins for litter, turning off lights, closing doors to save heat, not wasting food etc).  We did a litter pick to help reduce the human impact on the natural world. 

We looked at our plants after 12 weeks of growing inside.  We observed the changes that had occurred and drew a diagram of the plants to show the difference, how planting can change after many weeks.  We measured our plants using a ruler.  We then decided to re-plant them outside now that the temperature has gotten warmer.

In history we have been learning about castles.  We looked at the timeline of castles, discussing when they were built and how and why they changed over the years.  We looked at different types of castles and their different parts.  We looked at how they were built to defend against invaders and who would have lived in them.  We also learned about Bolsover castle, a local castle in Chesterfield.  If you are wanting a fun activity over the holidays, why not visit Bolsover Castle and pretend to be soldiers shooting arrows off the battlements!!  https://www.english-heritage.org.uk/visit/places/bolsover-castle/

In Design & Technology (D&T) we have been designing and making castles thinking about how we can make the different parts.  We made our castles using a cardboard box as the main structure.  We cut out battlements and thought about how we could attach these to the top of the castle.  We made turrets for each corner of the castle, using cardboard tubes.  We attached them using the slit technique where we cut slits in the tube and slide them onto the main box corners.  We made a drawbridge by cutting an entrance in one side of the castle and adding string to make it draw up and down.  We also painted the castles to look like stone as this was easier to defend than wooden castles.

As you can see, this half term has been very busy but it has also been fantastic!