Philosophy Friday: What is so great about the world?
Every Friday, we do Philosophy Friday.
Philosophy is thinking deeply about the world around us.
Each week, we have a philosophical question that we discuss and share our answers to. This week it was…
‘What is so great about the world?’
It was fantastic to hear some really brilliant and mature ideas from your children. I loved seeing how they respectfully listened to each other and built on others’ opinions and ideas.
Here are some of your children’s responses:
I think what is great about the world is that we’re all unique and different with different opinions.
I think a great thing about the world is that we can play football and do hobbies we like.
I think the world is great because we can just have fun and learn stuff.
I think what is great about the world is that we have family and friends.
I think the best thing about the world is that we can travel to different places because the world is so big and we can meet new people.
My favourite thing about the world is when people listen to others and then great things happen.
Help at home: ask your children some philosophical questions from this article. https://www.theguardian.com/childrens-books-site/2016/feb/14/philosophical-questions-children-should-ask-bernadette-russell
Whoops a daisy angel
Rehearsals are going well for our Reception, Year 1 and 2 Christmas production of Whoops a daisy angel.
Following our dress rehearsal to the rest of the school on Monday, we will welcoming you to come and watch us on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon at 2:15pm.
If your child has brought a note home about their costume, please could you send this into school in a named bag by Friday. Thank you for your support.
We hope you enjoy the show!
Science: we are chemists
This half term, we have been learning all about materials and their properties (chemistry).
Here’s our vocabulary for this learning.
Actions help us to remember the definitions of these words. Which words are being shown here?
We’ve been exploring materials around us.
The object is a chair. The material is plastic. Plastic is a man made material and it can sometimes be recycled.
Then, we were scientists and we investigated the most suitable material for an umbrella. It needed to be waterproof, light and strong.
Then, we used our playdough to investigate how some materials are flexible and can change shape. How has the playdough changed shape?
Help at home: have a look at home to find different things that are flexible, rigid, brittle, transparent and opaque.
Living and Learning: I can describe and use self-care techniques.
Last week in our Living and Learning lesson, we were learning about different stages we might go through that could cause different emotions.
For example, we might lose something or someone that we care and love. This can be a tricky time to navigate our emotions.
We drew how people might think about and react to different emotions…
Content: feeling calm, relaxed, kind to others and happy to go with the flow
Anger: feeling hot and easily irritated, needing time alone or to move our bodies
Excited: feeling like you can’t sit still, can’t concentrate, very happy and loud
If we can recognise these emotions, we can try to regulate them too. Some thing we can do to regulate our emotions is by talking to others!
“A problem shared is a problem halved.”
We could talk to a trusted adult at home or at school, a friend, a club leader, a teddy or Childline.
Help at home: List all the ways you can regulate your emotions… Have you got a safe place to relax? Is there an activity that relaxes you like reading? Do you have a person or teddy you can talk to?
Maths: x10, x100
This week in maths, the children have been multiplying by 10 and 100.
We’ve discussed how when we multiply a number by 10, all the digits move one place to the left and we put a zero in our ones column.
When we multiply a number by 100, all the digits move two places to the left and we put zeros in our tens and ones columns.
When writing our multiplication expressions, we must remember they are commutative (you can swap the factors around and get the same product).
- 3 x 100 = 300
- 100 x 3 = 300
Help at home: ask your children to complete these multiplications and explain their processes.
- 30 x 100 =
- 6 x 10 =
- 904 x 10 =
- 55 x 100 =
- 42 x 10 =
- 13 x 100 =
Living and Learning: mental wellbeing
This week, Y6 looked at how to spot a worry.
We talked a lot about what works for us when we’re feeling worried or stressed out, including some of these ideas below.
We also had some great advice for others for what they should do in tricky situations. Most of it came down to speaking about it to someone you trust as soon as you recognise it as worrying you.
We said worries can be like a snowball: if it rolls down a hill it will get bigger and bigger, just like if you bottle up your emotions. Talking about things can make sure that it doesn’t turn into an avalanche!
Drop Down Morning
Drop Down Morning was topic learning this time! In this morning, we recapped our Geography learning from Y3/4; our History learning about the Romans and Anglo Saxons; and our DT learning from Y3/4.
In our Geography session, the children had to use atlases and google maps to locate the capital cities in the UK. Some children could do this without even looking at maps to help them! They then had to identify other cities and the four main rivers.
In our History lesson, the children had to match their key vocabulary to the definition. They then had time to use the iPads to research using secondary sources to find the answers to some key learning points about the Romans and Anglo Saxons. To finish off, Year 5 completed a word search.
In our DT session, the children recapped their famous designer: Jonathan Ive. The children could remember that he was chief designer officer for Apple. We then looked at different design criteria; the children were tasked with matching the design criteria to the bag. Finally, the had to create their own criteria for an umbrella.
Help at home: What can your child remember about the Anglo Saxons or Romans? Why not try to identify the design criteria for this coat?
Topic – Art
This half term, we are learning about art – both practically and some art history too.
We are learning about Georges Seurat, who used pointillism (dots), and Bridget Riley, who is an optical artist (uses shapes, pattern and colour to create illusions).
We have created dots using cotton buds and bubble wrap.
Help at home by talking about your preferences for certain artists or colours and shapes.
Guided Reading Week 5
Here are the target pages for this week’s guided reading. These need to be read by Friday 13th December.
Extra Time: up to chapter ‘Second Half’/page 139.
Divine Freaks: up to chapter 16/page 155.
Mr Gum: finish the book.
How To Train Your Dragon: up to chapter 15/page 191.
Kensuke’s Kingdom: up to chapter 9/page 131.
Living and Learning: Mental Wellbeing
This week was one of our mental wellbeing weeks in school. We’ve been focusing on how we can look after our own mental wellbeing, as well as supporting others.
During our L&L lesson this week, we spoke about change, grief, and loss and how these can cause a wide-range of feelings and behaviours. It’s important to understand that people can respond differently to these feelings and we must always respect that. We discussed lots of self-care techniques we can use when we’re finding something difficult or upsetting.
I can speak to a trusted adult like my mum or teachers at school.
I can write a note to put in the worry box.
I can play with my friends until I feel better.
I can watch my favourite TV show or play my favourite game.
It was great to hear all of your children’s brilliant and mature ideas about how we can promote our own mental wellbeing and support others’.
Help at home: encourage your children to talk openly about their emotions and feelings and discuss which techniques they find useful when they’re feeling down.
