Our learning this week

This week we are going to be learning about...

• speaking clearly during a presentation
• the Christmas story

We will be learning...

• how to use our voices to speak loudly and clearly in preparation for our class assembly and our nativity play
• how to listen to others when they are speaking and not interrupt
• how to use our voices to convey emotion, for example, excitement
• to retell the Christmas story
• to understand why Christmas is a special time for Christians

You can help me at home by...

• encouraging me to wait until someone has finished speaking before I speak
• playing games with me that involve talking, e.g I spy, so I can practise speaking clearly
• talking to me about the Christmas story and some ways in which people celebrate Christmas

Reminders:

Our class assembly is on Wednesday at 9am, followed by 'Stay and Play' where you are invited to stay in the classroom and play with your child. Following this there will be an opportunity for you to ask any questions you have about Tapestry. We estimate this to be over by 10.30, however if you need to leave earlier than this you can arrange another time to see me to ask about Tapestry
If your child needs part of their costume for the nativity please send these into school in a named carrier bag by Friday
Please bring Library books back into school on Wednesday

On Thursday our sound of the week will be 'l'
We would appreciate any contributions of mark making or writing from outside school for our 'Learning outside school' board, or any other examples of learning outside school that your child would like to share with us
We would also appreciate any examples of children showing this month's value of 'tolerance'

Learning about Hanukkah

This week we have been learning about the Jewish festival of Hanukkah.

We learnt the story of Hanukkah and the miracle of how the oil that should have lasted for only one day lasted for eight whole days.

We have made Hanukkah cards and coloured in beautiful pictures of menorahs. We also looked at a Jewish prayer that is said when the menorah is lit. We looked at the Hebrew writing, which looks different to English, and listened to the prayer being sung.

We made potato latkes - they were delicious! You can find a recipe for potato latkes here.

We played a game with the dreidel. Some of us made a dreidel of our own to play with. We took home instructions on how to play with our dreidels so we can play with them at home! We also took home the template so we can make our own at home. The dreidel game is great for practising counting and finding half of a group of objects.

We have talked this week about Hanukkah, like Diwali, being a festival of lights. We made the classroom very dark and talked about how we feel in the dark, and how it can sometimes be scary. We carefully lit a candle and talked about how the light can make us feel better. Outside, we used poles and blankets to make a dark den. We took torches inside so we could make it light.

We also had some black paper and lots of light, colourful and shiny resources. We used them to make the dark paper light and bright!

We enjoyed learning about a different festival of lights and are developing our understanding of how different people have different faiths and beliefs. From next week we will be learning all about the Christian festival of light - Christmas!

Our learning next week

Next week we are going to be learning about...

• the Jewish festival of Hanukkah
• how to use, transport and store equipment safely

We will be learning...

• what the Jewish festival of Hanukkah is and why it is celebrated
• how Jewish people celebrate Hanukkah
• how light is a symbol of hope to some people and how light and dark can make us feel
• how to play with a dreidel and make potato latkes
• to transport different pieces of equipment safely, including understanding when some things are not safe for us to lift or carry
• how to store equipment safely, such as not leaving things in a place where someone might trip over them
• how to use and pass objects safely, for example, how to handle scissors safely

You can help me at home by...

• talking to me about beliefs and celebrations in our family and how other people may celebrate or believe different things, but that all faiths should be respected
• talking to me about light and dark, including how I may feel in the dark and how light can make us feel better
• supporting me in using, transporting and storing equipment and toys at home safely and praising me when I have done so

Reminders:

Please bring Library books back into school on Wednesday

On Thursday our sound of the week will be 'k'
We would appreciate any contributions of mark making or writing from outside school for our 'Learning outside school' board, or any other examples of learning outside school that your child would like to share with us
We would also appreciate any examples of children showing this month's value of 'tolerance'

Learning about India

This week we have been learning all about India. We have used spices to make scented pictures, explored scented playdough, learnt about Indian animals and where we can find information from, cooked and eaten a range of Indian food including naan bread and dahl, listened to some Indian music and learnt some Indian dance moves. We have also read stories from India and looked at non-fiction books and photographs to help us learn more about India and how it is different to the UK.

Our learning next week

Next week we are going to be learning about...

• India
• Addition and subtraction

We will be learning...

• to locate India on a map and know that it is in Asia
• to talk about some similarities and differences between the UK and India
• some Indian dance moves and will be dancing to some Indian music
• about food eaten in India and will be trying some different Indian food
• about animals that live in India and how some animals in the world are endangered, and what we can do to support them
• to recognise the symbols +, - and =
• to read addition and subtraction calculations
• to solve some addition and subtraction calculations using objects or a number line
• to solve some problems involving addition and subtraction

You can help me at home by...

• talking to me and asking me questions about what I have learnt about India
• looking at maps and atlases with me and talking about different places in the world, including the UK, India and countries I have been to or where I have family or friends
• asking me questions that involve adding or taking away, such as "how many potatoes will there be left on your plate if you eat another one?" etc

Reminders:

Please bring Library books back into school on Wednesday

On Thursday our sound of the week will be 'j'
We would appreciate any contributions of mark making or writing from outside school for our 'Learning outside school' board
We would also appreciate any examples of children showing this month's value of 'tolerance'

Our Diwali party

Today we had our Diwali party where we shared all our fantastic learning on Diwali this week with Miss Williams and Year 5 and 6.

We made the room dark so when they came into the classroom they could see the fairy lights we had on and our beautiful diya lamps, which we had lit.

We acted out the story of Rama and Sita, telling how brave Prince Rama rescued his wife Sita from the evil ten headed demon Ravana with the help of a monkey called Hanuman. When Rama and Sita returned safely to their kingdom, all the people rejoiced and lit lots of lights to welcome them home.

We explained to Year 5 and 6 how we had made our diya lamps and why there are lots of lights lit during Diwali. Then we showed them all our beautiful Rangoli patterns and explained how we had made them.

Then we listened to some Indian music and did some dancing. Year 5 and 6 did some Indian dancing last year so they taught us some dance moves!

Finally we told Year 5 and 6 how people eat lots of sweets during Diwali. We explained how we had made our Diwali sweets and then we shared them with Year 5 and 6.

We also gave Year 5 and 6 a Diwali card that we had made for them. Thank you Hattie for the lovely Diwali card you made for us afterwards!

Thank you Year 5 and 6 and Miss Williams for coming to our Diwali party and sharing our learning with us - we've had a brilliant week and have enjoyed learning all about Diwali.

Celebrating Diwali

This week we are learning all about the Hindu and Sikh festival of Diwali, the festival of lights, which began today and is being celebrated by some people in Britain and all over the world.

We have learnt the story of Rama and Sita and made some role play masks to help us retell the story.

We also made some Diya lamps using clay. We are waiting for the clay to harden in the air so we can decorate them. Diya lamps have candles put in them and are lit during Diwali time.

Today we learnt about Rangoli patterns. We used lots of different materials to make Rangoli patterns of our own including chalks, colouring pencils, beans and seeds and coloured sand. We made some indoors and then took our chalks outside to make beautiful Rangoli patterns on the playground for the rest of the school to see!

This afternoon we followed a recipe to make some delicious Diwali sweets.

We have also been making decorations this week to make our classroom look colourful. We are looking forward to Friday, when we are going to have a Diwali party and teach year 5 and 6 all we have learnt about this festival of lights!

Our learning this week

This week we are going to be learning about...

• the Hindu festival of lights called Diwali

We will be learning...

• what Diwali means and how it is celebrated
• the story of Rama and Sita and why stories are important in different religions
• how to make and decorate Diwa lamps and understand why they are lit during Diwali
• to follow a recipe and weigh ingredients carefully as we make Diwali sweets
• to use different materials to make cards and decorations for a Diwali celebration
• what Rangoli patterns are and why they are made during Diwali, and will be making some Rangoli patterns of our own using different materials

You can help me at home by...

• talking to me about things that we celebrate in our family or religion
• talking to me about food we eat at different times of the year or for special occasions
• helping me to understand that different people may think or believe different things but everyone's ideas should be treated with respect

Reminders:

Please bring Library books back into school on Wednesday

On Thursday our sound of the week will be 'i'
We would appreciate any contributions of mark making or writing from outside school for our 'Learning outside school' board
We would also appreciate any examples of children showing this month's value of 'tolerance'

Staying safe in the dark

This afternoon Reception have been learning how to stay safe in the dark.

We talked about how day and night are different and how some things might be more dangerous when it is dark, like crossing a road or walking because you can't see as well in the dark.

We watched a film clip where some hedgehogs taught us to stay safe at night, singing "When it's not light, wear something bright."

We talked about what bright things we could wear and why it's important to be seen when you are out at night.

Then we explored lots of different materials and used some of them to decorate a T shirt so it could make someone really safe at night. We tested some of the materials by shining a torch on them to see if they were reflective and chose things that were bright and shiny, not dark or dull.

Dexter also made a reflective jacket of his own using paper and glittery, coloured card. We shone a torch on it to see how reflective it was!

After we had all worked together to make our super bright T shirt we went into Miss Groves' class to explain to Year 1 and 2 what we had been learning. We told them about staying safe when it's dark and how you have to wear bright clothes so you can be seen. Then we showed them the T shirt we had made, modelled by this week's star of the week, Jack. We turned the lights off in the classroom and shone a light at the T shirt to see how bright it was - it looked great!

Now we know that when we are out in the dark it's important to wear bright clothes and carry a torch so we can see where we're going and other people can see us. That way we can make sure we're safe!