Welcome to Iris Class
Here you will find regular updates of our current learning, ways to help at home and topic knowledge organisers. If possible please find time to have a look at these updates especially the photographs with your child. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to come and talk to us or email the school office. Thank you for your support, we look forward to working with you and your children.
Key Information
Library Day is Friday - Please remember your book if you have taken one home.
Forest School is on Thursday Afternoon - Each child needs Wellington Boots, waterproof trousers and coat and appropriate clothing for the weather.
Dance is on Thursday morning - No special clothing is required.
Miss Martha Radbourne
Miss Jade Smith
Mrs Julia Wisbey
Mrs Samantha Bates
Week 1
It has been lovely to welcome the children into the new Unit this week.
We have been working gradually to establish new routines as the children familiarise themselves with the people and the environment around them. The children have especially enjoyed forest school and the sensory rooms as wonderful places to explore.
Our sensory story this week has been The Three Billy Goats Gruff so we have been exploring printing with green paint, making hand and leaf prints.
Week 2
As part of our All About Me topic we have been learning about different parts of our body and thinking about our skeleton. As well as reading Funny Bones as our sensory story, we have been labelling drawings of our body and making more hand prints. As the children become more comfortable they have also become more confident in exploring the toys and resources around the room, making the classroom into their own space.
Week 3
Sticking with last week's theme, we have been extending our learning based around Funny Bones. We have enjoyed being able to choose our favourite song from a selection of songs about our bodies and explored Ahlberg's illustrations in making our very own 'dark, dark street'. We printed carrots with carrots this afternoon for the Cathedral display, observing how red and yellow mix to make orange and carefully applying paint to our stamps.
Week 4
Thinking about family and those who make use feel safe and happy at home, we started looking at the charming Owl Babies book. We first explored it through our sensory story and enjoyed having the characters and the book around our classroom. After the excitement of the unit's official opening on Thursday (and forest school too!) we enjoyed spending a lot of Friday outside as the wind got wild. We used paintbrushes and mixed all 3 primary colours to make lots of different browns, enjoying the swirling and squelching of big painting.
Week 5
It was rather exciting this week because the brown giant painting we had made last week transformed into a tree over the weekend. This gave everyone a good chance to play at being owl babies, peeking out of our own hole in the tree and also a cosy nook to regulate in when needed. While the weather still smiles upon us we've been enjoying our outside space, exploring the squish and slide of glittery foam (!), as well as painting in forest school.
Week 6
We've been enjoying Autumn this week, both the changing leaves on the trees outside our classroom and playing outside. We read Leafman, a whimsical tale about the stories we can find in nature if we stop and look around us with wonder, delighting in the crunching of leaves and the sounds of the animals that Leafman passes over as he travels on the wind. We also delighted in the puzzle of playing with cornflour gloop, enjoying the way the non-Newtonian fluid baffled our expectations as it hardened under our hands only to pour from cups like water.
Week 7
Autumn, 'season of mists and mellow fruitfulness', as the poet said. We have been enjoying it so much this week. Although Thursday proved a little to wild for forest school, we have delighted in the outdoors on other days, taking full advantage of puddles left by overnight storms and watching autumn leaves spin and whirl on the winds. With the framework of Leafman carrying over from last week, we have benefitted from the joy of autumn leaves, trying leaf rubbings and, more successfully, leaf printing. On days when the outside has felt drear and unwelcoming we took lessons from animals and sheltered in our classroom den.
Well done to everyone for making it through this half term. Rest well and we look forward to being back, together in Iris class in November.
