Spring 1

This half term our topic is Space. We will be finding out about stars, planets, astronauts and space travel as well as using stories and poems linked to space to develop our reading and writing skills. In maths we will be be finding out how to compare height, length, mass and capacity and will be investigating ways of making numbers. It's going to be a blast!
Here are activities from the 50 things to do before you're 5 website that link loosely to our topic that you might like to try.
#8 Bubbles
#14 See the Stars
#31 Boing!
#11 Making Connections
#20 Mini Artists
Find out more information by following this link:
Week 5
This week the children were learning about the moon landings and space exploration. They have all been keen to  design their own space robot using the mars rover, Perseverance, as their inspiration, and have added labels or written lists of what materials they will use to make it using their phonic knowledge or sound mats to help them.
We finished off the week with Number Day and we were very impressed with the effort and creativity that went into so many  t-shirts and outfits! Number Day was based on characters and events from Superworm and the children were able to apply lots of different learning from across the year to the tasks in the provision.
 
Week 4
This week we celebrated Chinese Lunar New Year. We discovered that it is now the year of the snake and tried our hand at dragon dancing. The children enjoyed role play in their Chinese restaurant and honed their pincer grip by trying their hand at using chop sticks. Making lanterns proved to be popular and the children were able to practise cutting in straight lines as well as working out the best way to join the materials they were using.
 
 
Week 3
This week the children have been the names of the different planets in the solar system. They discovered that some are very hot and some are very cold, some have rings, some are gas balls and one even has a huge storm raging on it. The dark den proved very popular, with lots of children wanting to 'star gaze' whilst other enjoyed experiencing the dark. Literacy learning continued around the space theme with the children learning the poem Zim Zam Zoom and creating actions to help them remember the words. 
We tried to launch rockets that the children had made in the workshop area however we discovered how it felt to be scientists when things did not go quite as we hoped. The children felt disappointment but were happy to try and suggest tweaks that could be made to improve the outcomes of a possible future launch. Not everything goes to plan but it's a good opportunity to develop perseverance and resilience! 
Week 2
Did you know that there are astronauts living on the International Space Station right now? We tracked the ISS and saw that it orbits the Earth. The children were fascinated to learn that an astronaut called Tim Peake lived and worked in space and discovered that there is very little gravity in space so he had to sleep in a pod to stop him floating around. We discovered how astronauts brush their teeth and prepared food and drink in space too. So that we could pretend to be astronauts the children created an astronaut assault course and went to space camp!
Week 1
The children seem to have enjoyed being back at school following the festive break and have settled back into our routines well. They have been very keen to play with their friends and have enjoyed getting outside to pretend to be astronomers and explore the sky despite the chilly weather!