We’ve had another wonderful week in Badger Class, full of exciting learning and lots of fun as we reached the end of our first half term together.

On Monday, we celebrated Diwali Day, which the children absolutely loved. We learned about the story of Rama and Sita, using puppets to act it out and retell the key parts. The children made beautiful Rangoli patterns, decorating them with bright colours and symmetrical designs, and created their own Diya lamps to take home. In the afternoon, we joined Miss Pritchard in the hall for a lively Diwali dance, moving to traditional music and learning some new steps. It was a brilliant day full of creativity, joy and celebration.

In Maths, we have continued exploring the numbers 1, 2 and 3, this time introducing the ideas of one more and one less. The children have been using practical equipment and games to see how numbers change when we add or take away one. We have also started to look at how numbers are made up of smaller parts, learning to see a whole number and its parts at the same time. This is such an important step in developing number understanding, and the children are really starting to see how numbers fit together.

During Drawing Club, we have been reading about Wacky Races, which links perfectly to our topic on transport. The children loved designing and drawing their own dream vehicles and labelling the different parts using the initial sounds they have learned. In English, our story focus has been Duck in a Truck. We’ve had great fun exploring rhyming strings, identifying rhyming words, and spotting patterns in the text. The children’s confidence with reading is really growing, and it’s lovely to see them beginning to blend sounds more independently. Thank you for continuing to read at home; it makes such a difference.

At Forest School this week, the children linked their learning to Diwali by creating Rangoli patterns using natural materials such as leaves, stones and conkers. They also used tweezers to carefully extract seeds from pumpkins, developing their fine motor skills and curiosity about nature. There was plenty of balancing along the wooden beam, teamwork, and imaginative play in the mud kitchen too.

Notices:

I’m doing my best to post more regularly on Tapestry, so please keep an eye out for updates and photos of what the children have been doing in class.

We are still looking for a few more reading volunteers, so if you have some time to spare each week, please do get in touch with me!

We are also planning a trip to The Village Veg in the second week after half term, provisionally on Tuesday 11th November. The children will be using the ingredients to make pumpkin soup, which you’ll have the chance to taste as well!

A quick reminder that children will need a labelled tricky word pot after half term so we can begin sending home tricky word cards to support reading practice. Forest School will now take place on Mondays due to timetable changes.

Thank you, as always, for your continued support. The children have worked so hard and have achieved so much already this term. I hope you all have a lovely, restful half term break!

Mr Harmer-Manning