Wednesday 30 April 2014

Hunting for numbers!

Nursery are working on recognising their numbers and this morning they went on a number hunt around the school. Look at all the numbers they found!










Crowns and helmets

This afternoon we have been learning about and making crowns and helmets. First we looked at some pictures of crowns and helmets and talked about them, thinking about what they looked like, what they were made of, who might have worn them and why they would have worn them.

Then we made either a crown or a helmet of our own. We thought about how to decorate them and chose the tools we would need to cut and stick our crowns or helmets together.

Finally we posed for a photo all together - the brave knights with their helmets are standing by, ready to protect the kings and queens!




Castle-spotting!

This morning we watched a scene from Disney's Robin Hood and looked out for different parts of the castle that we had been learning about. We saw doors, windows and gates and the grey stone castle walls. We saw towers, the battlements, the drawbridge and the moat. We also spotted the portcullis which gets lowered and traps Robin inside the castle! We really enjoyed watching this part of the film and did a super job spotting, naming and talking about all the different parts of the castle.

Tuesday 29 April 2014

High or Low?

This afternoon in music we were learning about high and low notes. We made high and low noises with our voices and moved our hands to show if the sound was high or low. We had to copy Miss Ayres saying lots of sounds low and then high. Then we had to say our names in a low voice followed by a high voice.

After that we looked at the xylophone. Miss Ayres taught us the best way to play the xylophone and we all had a go at playing high and low notes. We also practised playing all the notes, either going from low to high or from high to low.

We played some games to develop our listening. We took it in turns to play high or low notes and everyone else had to close their eyes, showing with their hands whether they thought they could hear a high note or a low note. We also looked at a middle note that is between the high and low note on our xylophone. We played some more games, listening and identifying which note was being played.

Then we looked at how we could record which note we wanted to play. Miss Ayres drew some lines on the board and we used circles to show if the note was high, middle or low. This is similar to how real music is written, so we're going to be super at reading music when we're a bit older! We chose 4 notes to play and practised them, then we chose another 4. We had a go at playing all 8 notes and made a super effort! Well done to Harry who was able to play all the notes brilliantly without help and earned himself a housepoint.





Monday 28 April 2014

Finding out about castles

This afternoon we have been learning how to use books and computers/iPads to find out information. We are learning all about castles, but there was lots we didn't know! First we looked at some photos of different parts of the castle and talked about what we knew about castles. Harry said, "Castles are big and strong so other armies can't get in," and Grace said, "the water around the castle is called a moat." We read the words on the photos but weren't sure what some of them meant, so we had a guess. We thought a keep might "keep you safe" and a portcullis "is a kind of gate to close to stop people getting in." (Lilly). Jamie knew that a dungeon "is where you lock people up" and Ollie said dungeons were "down in the castle." We looked at a picture of something called a battlement and thought it might be to do with battles, which are fights. We looked at the arrow slits and Maddie said, "they're for shooting arrows." We knew what a bridge was, but we weren't sure what a drawbridge was and how it was different to a normal bridge.

We came up with some questions we wanted to find the answers to. These were:
What is a drawbridge?
What is the keep?
What are battlements?
Why are arrow slits narrow?
How does a portcullis work?

Then we used books and the internet (using a laptop and the iPads) to find answers. We made notes as we went along so we wouldn't forget what we had learnt! Here are some of the things we found out:

The drawbridge goes up to stop people getting in. (Maddie)
Dungeons were dark and prisoners were kept there. Dungeons were full of rats and spiders. (Jamie)
The moat means you can only get across by boat or drawbridge. You can also fish in it. (Olivia)
The keep was a tall square tower. It was very safe and the king lived there. (Lucy)
Battlements are at the top of the castle. You can shoot arrows through the gap and hide behind the high bit. (Grace)
You close the portcullis with chains. (Lilly)
You can shoot an arrow out of the arrow slit but other people can't shoot in. (Harry)






There is still a lot we can learn about castles - today we learnt about different parts of the castle, and we know that you can get information from books and computers. Check out our blog for the rest of the week to see what else we can learn about castles!

Friday 25 April 2014

Breaking News - Rare dragon spotted in classroom!

The rare Gaddesden Ridgeback dragon, known for its nocturnal habits and its preference for living near parks and gardens, has made an appearance at Great Gaddesden School. Children spotted the red dragon in their classroom on Friday afternoon and decided to learn more about it. They discovered that the Gaddesden Ridgeback's green eyes are good at seeing in the dark and that its strong wings mean it can fly up to 40mph. It also has bright gold claws, spikes and a bright gold tail. Despite its fiery breath, however, Gaddesden Ridgebacks are very friendly dragons which can be tamed and kept as household pets.

After learning all about Gaddesden Ridgeback dragons the children delivered an oral report to the headteacher, Miss Worsley, so she can remain properly informed of the new visitor who has made its way onto school grounds. To ensure the public are well informed about this species of dragon, the children also created information posters, with detailed pictures of the Gaddesden Ridgeback and labels containing all the important information.

Rest assured that the Reception children at Great Gaddesden School are well on their way to becoming dragon experts - look out for more reports on dragon species in the coming weeks.




Dragon making!

This morning we read some stories about dragons and made a big dragon of our own! We stuck egg boxes onto a picture of a dragon that Mrs Batson had drawn - this shows how bumpy the dragon is! We are going to make some flames to come out of its mouth to show that dragons breathe fire. What else do you think we need to do to finish our dragon?



Thursday 24 April 2014

Dragon Adventure

This morning in PE we went on an adventure into fairytale land and fought a fierce dragon! We used dance and movement to act out the story of a brave prince and princess who travelled to the dragon's cave to rescue their parents. We had to swish our swords to cut down trees in the woods, climb up mountains, walk in heavy suits of armour and creep quietly into the dragon's cave! We also worked with a partner and used our bodies to show the movement of the dragon. One of us was the head and had to make a scary dragon face, while the other person was the back and had to show the dragon's strong tail swiping back and forth!




Wednesday 23 April 2014

St George's Day

Today we have been celebrating and learning about St George's Day which is today, 23rd April. This morning we learnt and acted out the legend of George, a brave knight who slayed a fierce dragon and rescued the princess. We looked at the flag of England, a red cross on a white background, and learnt that this was taken from George's shield. We made and decorated some England flags of our own, and also made some fierce dragon masks! We've also been exploring some of our new fairytale toys, such as a fairytale play mat and fairytale figures. These are great for helping us retell stories and make up some of our own. We're all excited about what else we'll be learning this half term as we continue with our topic of fairytales, castles, knights and dragons!






This afternoon we learnt some facts about England. First we tried to find it on a map of the world, which was difficult! We learnt where the UK is and that England is part of it - we already knew where England, Wales and Scotland are in the UK because last term we did weather forecasts using maps of the UK (do have a look at our finished weather reports on our blog if you haven't yet!). We learnt that the capital city of England is London, that the Queen of England is called Elizabeth II and that the river that runs through London is called the Thames. We also looked at pictures of London and talked about them. These included red telephone boxes (quite a few of us weren't sure what those were!), the London Eye, the Houses of Parliament and Tower bridge. We also learnt about transport in London, looking at pictures of black taxis, London buses (Matthew told us all about his trip around London on an open-top bus), and the London Underground.

How will YOU be celebrating St George's Day?

Friday 4 April 2014

Egg rolling and egg hunt

This morning we had our annual egg rolling competition in the churchyard - well done to Harrison and Olivia who were our nursery and reception winners!



After that we had our Easter egg hunt in the playground and bark area - the children all had a great time looking for the eggs and as always the bigger children were terrific at taking care of the younger ones.



This afternoon is our Easter service in the church and then we'll be enjoying the egg hunt in the churhyard organised by FOGGS before heading home for the Easter holidays. On behalf of everyone in Nursery and Reception - Happy Easter!

Wednesday 2 April 2014

Making chocolate nests

This morning we have been making chocolate nests for our mini eggs. We had to weigh the ingredients and follow the recipe so we knew what to do.

We had to break the chocolate up into pieces. This makes it easier to melt.

We had to crush the shredded wheat so it was in fine shreds.

Miss Ayres melted the chocolate over a pot of hot water. We stirred it to make sure all the pieces had melted! 

Then we poured the chocolate on the shredded wheat and mixed it all together.


We put the chocolate mixture in cake cases and made a space in the middle. Then we put our mini eggs in. We have put our nests in the fridge to set overnight and we're going to eat them for our snack tomorrow!

Tuesday 1 April 2014

The Easter Story

This afternoon we have been learning the story of Easter and thinking about which parts of the story are happy or sad.We talked about what makes us feel happy or sad and thought about Jesus and his friends were feeling at different times in the story. We made faces that showed a happy face on one side and a sad face on the other side. We put them on lolly sticks and turned them around to show either a happy or a sad face. Then we listened to the story again and held up our faces, showing whether Jesus and his friends felt happy at that time in the story, or sad.





And now for the weather...

In reception we have been working hard on our weather reports, developing our speaking skills and learning about parts of the UK, different types of weather and temperatures. We've also been thinking about ways of making our weather report more interesting, for example, saying there's a "chance of showers" rather than just "it's going to be rainy."

Here are our final weather forecasts!



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