Nothing (or little Toby)
Year 1 had another visitor this week. It was Nothing.
Nothing is the main character in the book we have been looking at in our SEAL lessons. When his family move house and leave him in the attic, Nothing becomes lonely and afraid. Helped by big Toby, Nothing is reunited with the rest of his family at their new house. We have used the story to think about how Nothing might have felt and how the children might feel if they were in similar situations, developing empathy skills. The children can certainly recognise a wide range of emotions.
‘He might have felt uncomfortable,’ suggested Pia.
‘When he was reunited Nothing would have felt brave,’ Ethan thought.
We invited Nothing to visit our class and this week the children were so excited to meet him. Making sure Nothing felt safe and welcome in the class, we introduced ourselves.
As part of the project the children will be taking Nothing home overnight and we will continue to look at how to look after Nothing – what might he want but more importantly what are his basic needs.
Word journey to word island
To launch our Seaside topic, Year 1 took part in ‘Word journey to word island’, an outdoor activity day focusing on language and literacy skills. Led by Annie Berrington of Get out more, we took an imaginery journey to discover a new island. The children responded brilliantly and really got into their roles as crew on Captain Annie’s ship. They produced some fantastic writing including poetry using adjectives and similes. Here are a few images from the day.
Mud!
We are so excited that our mud kitchen is up and running! In case you were wondering…here are some of the reasons young children should play in mud.
- Mud makes you happy- ‘friendly’ bacteria could be responsible for releasing chemicals in the brain that make us happy
- Mud provides a fantastic sensory experience, providing endless opportunities for experimentation and discovery
- Mud can help to build children’s immune systems
- Mud connects us with the natural world
- Mud inspires creativity
- Mud provides benefits for physical development
- Mud is a great place for social play, promoting communication and co-operation
- Mud is fun!
Nell Bank Gruffalo Day
We had a fantastic day hunting for the Gruffalo and his friends at Nell Bank. All the children were enthusiastic and engaged in the activities, despite the odd shower!
Upcoming sporting events
Sports & Active Lifestyles Fair
Find out what sports clubs and physical activity opportunities are available in our area for all children, young people and adults. This is a great opportunity to come as a family or with friends and take part in sport / activity taster sessions and watch sports demonstrations from local clubs.
- When: Thursday 5th June 2014
- Time: 5:30pm – 7:30pm
- Where: Roundhay School
Roundhay Park Family Fun Run (1K & 5K)
- When: Saturday 7th June 2014
- Time: 10:00am
- Where: Roundhay Park
REAP and Roundhay Live are starting the celebrations of Le Grand Depart early with this community event, full of family fun, music, food and cycling.
- When: Sunday 22nd June 2014
- Time: 12:00pm-5:00pm
- Where: Roundhay School
For further information about any of these events please ask at the school office.
Owls in Moortown Primary
As part of our nocturnal animals mini topic, we had some nocturnal visitors in the first week back after Easter. Five different owls came to see us and we even got to hold them! Two barn owls, two eagle owls and a snowy owl took to the stage and we learnt all about them. Here are some things we found out.
- Owls have two ears; one on top of their head and one on the bottom. This is so they can hear prey and know if something is above trying to catch them.
- Owls create a nest in stones on the ground so that their eggs won’t roll away.
- There are five types of owl in Britain; these are the barn owl, long-eared owl, short-eared owl, tawny owl and the little owl.
- Amazingly, owls can turn their heads 270 degrees! This helps because they can’t move their eyes side to side like we can.
A busy week
There has been no relaxing this week – loads of learning and some unusual visitors.
Art and maths
This week, Year 1 have been using a piece of artwork, on loan from Leeds Art Gallery, to inspire our literacy and maths.
In maths, we looked at the different lines on the drawing, in particular parallel lines. After looking at examples of parallel lines in real life such as train tracks, running tracks and flags, we had a look for some ourselves.
We then got to work creating our own examples of parallel lines.
Some of the final versions will be displayed in the hall, very soon.
Future goal keepers?
In PE this half term Year 1 are taking part in the Leeds United Foundation Take it to the kids coaching scheme. Ian, our coach, along with some footballing apprentices began our lessons by developing goal-keeping skills. We focussed on sending, receiving and manoevering the ball with partners. Next week, we hope the weather will improve and we can be outside so please ensure your child has their outdoor PE kit for this lesson.
Do you use the vampire technique?
As part of our focus on manners this week, Year 1 have been mastering the ‘vampire method’. I cover my mouth (when I cough, sneeze or yawn) is our weekly statement so we looked at why this method can help to prevent germs spreading. By coughing or sneezing into our elbow, germs are not spread into the air or on our hands which may contaminate other things.
Don’t forget to ‘use your sleeve to cough and sneeze’.
