A jolly week exploring in Year One

 Hi Year one families.

We’ve had a wonderful week of learning, full of curiosity, exploration and fun!

English
We started our new story focus, Astro Girl. The children were excited to meet Astrid, and to think about the adventures she might have. Alongside this, we revisited our knowledge of nouns. The children remembered that nouns are the names of people, places and things, and we had fun spotting them in our story and around the classroom.

Maths
In Maths, our focus has been on the concepts of fewer and more. The children compared different groups of objects, discussing which had fewer and which had more. They are beginning to use this language with confidence and apply it in their play and problem-solving.

Geography
We continued our journey around the world by introducing two more continents – Europe and Antarctica. The children enjoyed locating them on the globe and finding out some fascinating facts. There was lots of wonder about the icy, cold world of Antarctica, and they were proud to discover Europe is where we live!

Science
Our science work has focused on grouping animals. We learned more about classifications such as mammals, reptiles, birds, fish and amphibians, and the children were fascinated to find out special facts about each group. They enjoyed sorting animals into categories and asking lots of brilliant questions.

Design & Technology
In DT we explored where our fruits and vegetables come from. We had a fantastic time visiting the orchard in Forest School, where we picked our own apple from the trees. We observed the vegetables growing in our World War II garden. The children loved seeing food in its natural setting and understanding how it gets from the ground to our plates.

Reminders 

• Please label all water bottles and jumpers so we can reunite any lost items quickly. It is very difficult for us to return unlabelled jumpers and cardis. We do have a lost property box in the classroom, please do request a look through if you are missing any items.

• Forest School is on Wednesdays – please dress your child for the weather.

• Book bags should be returned daily so we can continue to share reading books together.

We’re so proud of the children’s enthusiasm and effort this week. We can’t wait to see where our learning takes us next! 🌍📚🌟

Ms Evans and the Year One Team

Exploring Purple Mash

This week in Computing with Mr Spracklen, Year 1 continued learning about how to use Purple Mash safely and independently.

Last week, we practised logging in with our own usernames and passwords and created our very own avatars. Today, we built on this by exploring some of the creative tools in Purple Mash.

The children opened the Paint Projects area and enjoyed designing their own digital pictures. At the bottom of each picture, they practised typing their name, just like they would on their work in class, to show that the picture belonged to them.

We then learnt how to save work into our own My Work folder. This is a special private space where only the child and their teacher can see the work. We talked about how this shows ownership and helps us keep our work safe.

Before finishing, everyone remembered to log out properly, so that nobody else could use their account.

By the end of the lesson, Year 1 children could:

• Find and use the Paint Projects tool.

• Add their name to their own digital work.

• Save their work safely into their My Work folder.

• Explain why logging out is important.

The children were very excited to see their first saved pieces of digital artwork and are looking forward to exploring more Purple Mash tools in the coming weeks!

Nouns, Imperative verbs and North and South America!

Hello  Year One Families,

What a busy and exciting week we’ve had in school! The children have been working so hard and really impressing us with their curiosity, creativity, and enthusiasm for learning.

In English, we explored nouns and imperative verbs. The children enjoyed being word detectives, spotting nouns (people, places, and things) in stories and around the classroom. We also had fun with imperative verbs — our “bossy words”! The children practised giving each other clear instructions, like “Sit down,” “Pick up your pencil,” and “Jump three times.” They loved putting their new knowledge into action.

In Maths, we’ve been counting forwards and backwards. The children have been using songs, and practical activities to build their confidence.This really helped us see the patterns in numbers and understand what happens when we go forwards and when we go backwards.

In Geography, our focus was on the continents of North and South America. The children were fascinated to find out just how many countries make up each continent, and they loved learning some fun facts — like the Amazon rainforest being the largest in the world and the Rockies being such a huge mountain range. To bring our learning to life, we completed a special play project. The children created, built, and wrote down facts to show their understanding of these continents. It was wonderful to see them working together, sharing ideas, and expressing their knowledge in such imaginative ways.

In DT, we explored where fruits and vegetables come from. The children were surprised to discover all the different types of fruits and vegetables. This sparked some lovely conversations about healthy eating, sustainability, and even which fruits and vegetables we might like to try!

In Science, we investigated animal groups. The children learnt how animals can be sorted into groups such as mammals, reptiles, amphibians, birds, and fish. They enjoyed sorting pictures, comparing features, and talking about their favourite animals. There was even some gelli bath towards the end of the week  It was great to see them linking this to what they already know from books and personal experiences.

Our sensory time has supported all of this learning beautifully, giving the children opportunities to explore textures, movements, and calming activities. This helped them to consolidate what they’ve learnt while also giving them space to reflect and regulate.

In PE, we went on a jungle yoga adventure! The children practised different stretches and poses, pretending to be jungle animals. From prowling tigers to tall giraffes, we even had a go at naming their animal group!

Reminders for next week:

• Book bags should be returned to school every day, and please continue to read daily with your child at home — it makes such a difference.

• We have collected a number of un-named cardigans and jumpers in class. Please make sure that all items of clothing are clearly labelled so that we can return them quickly, unfortunately it is very difficult for staff to search for clothing during the day.

• Forest School is on Wednesday – please send your child in with appropriate clothing and footwear.

• PE is on Thursday – don’t forget to bring kits into school!

Thank you for your continued support. The children have had such a positive week, and we’re looking forward to another full of fun and learning!

If you would like to discuss anything but do not hesitate to get in touch.

Ms Evans and the Year One Team