This week in Beech Class has been full of exciting activities and new learning experiences across different subjects. We’ve had a lot of fun exploring shapes, history, art, and more, and the children have really enjoyed these topics.
In Year 1, the focus has been on 3D shapes. The children have been learning to identify and describe shapes like cubes, spheres, and pyramids. They’ve worked on creating their own models using these shapes and have become more familiar with their properties. It’s been great to see them apply what they’ve learned, finding examples of these shapes around the classroom and in the world outside. The hands-on nature of the activities has made learning about shapes both fun and practical.
In Year 2, the children have been focusing on problem-solving and reasoning. This week, they’ve tackled a variety of challenges that encouraged them to think logically and apply their mathematical knowledge in different ways. Watching them collaborate and work through tricky problems has been amazing. It’s clear that they’re gaining confidence and developing important skills that will help them with more complex tasks in the future.
In art, both Year 1 and Year 2 have been inspired by the artist L.S. Lowry. The children have been studying his distinctive style, especially his paintings of buildings, people, and industrial landscapes. After learning about his techniques, the children created their own artwork, focusing on buildings and using perspective and color to bring their scenes to life. It’s been wonderful to see them experiment with different techniques and express their creativity.
In history, the children have been exploring the British monarchy and how it has changed over time. They’ve looked at key events and compared the roles of monarchs in the past and today. One of the activities involved using fact cards to create a comparison chart, where the children could identify similarities and differences between monarchs from different periods. The children also got the chance to design their own palace, calculating the perimeter with measuring tapes and metre sticks. They were really engaged in the task, using their maths skills in a fun, real-world context.
The children also worked on a garden layout activity, where they had to calculate the area using cones, string, and metre sticks. This hands-on task helped them understand how area is measured and gave them the opportunity to practice these skills in a practical way. Another exciting project was scaling a recipe for a royal banquet to serve 20 guests. They measured ingredients with jugs and spoons to learn how to adjust quantities for larger groups.
The week ended with a lively debate about the monarchy, where the children used cue cards to back up their arguments with evidence. It was a fantastic opportunity for them to practice public speaking and to think critically about the topic. They also continued measuring the growth of their plants and created graphs to analyse the data they collected.
It’s been a week full of learning, creativity, and hands-on activities in Beech Class. The children have been working hard and having fun, and we can’t wait to see what next week will bring!