Unicorn Class Blog                    Term 5 Week 4                  Week Commencing 6th May 2024

This week we have been exploring habitats. As part of this we have enjoyed discussing and searching for different creatures and items on the pictures of different habitats. We matched the pictures of animals onto the habitat where they live and we took part in a habitat quiz. On the interactive whiteboard we loved watching creatures in the sea and seeing them in their natural habitat. After we carefully cut out pictures and chose what we wanted to have in our sea pictures, some of us added drawings to our pictures too. In the water tray we explored the sea creatures and boats. We played together, extending and elaborating our play ideas. In the tough spot we enjoyed exploring the Arctic animals, clear gems and shaving foam. We thought the shaving foam looked like snow but did not feel as cold. It felt very sticky and some of us loved using our fingers to make pictures. The sunny weather and dandelions have attracted lots of butterflies and bees to our garden. We have been fascinated watching them collect nectar and wondered whether they had collected pollen on their bodies too. We have been interested in looking at books about different habitats. 

During Forest school we enjoyed looking for minibeasts in their natural habitats looking under logs, digging in the wood chips piles, climbing trees/logs using the wheelbarrow and taking turns with the hammock. We were amazed at how tall the stinging nettles had grown. We enjoyed drawing and playing with the soft fluffy teddy animals.

Outside we have been taking turns with the cars, bikes and scooters. We enjoyed throwing, catching and kicking the balls, climbing the climbing frames, using construction, playing ‘Hide and Seek’ and playing families. We used our imagination and enjoyed selling and buying ice creams and smoothies which included rainbow ice creams which had various flavours for the different colours.

This week lots of children have been delighted by using the watercolours to make beautiful pictures. It has been lovely to see children helping each other, for example explaining and demonstrating how to use the water colour paints, helping to put dressing up clothes on, showing where things go at tidy up time and helping to refill the water sprayer for the plants. We have loved caring for our plants and were very excited this week when we noticed that some of our bean and sunflower seeds had started to grow shoots and leaves.

We have enjoyed using the Duplo and magnetic shapes to make towers, houses, tents and rockets.

During maths this week we have been practising doing lots of counting, comparing and matching the quantities to the number. During snack time, in the home corner, thread, using the construction and playing with the toy cars has been the perfect opportunity to practise our counting and comparison skills. Some of us have wanted to practise writing numbers  whilst making a mobile phone, writing numbers on the small white boards, on their pictures and whilst playing shops. Playing shops have been a particular interest this week, there have been toy shops, ice cream shops and supermarkets. 

We have enjoyed exploring musical instruments and singing nursery rhymes. We have been learning the r and h sound. We are getting good at recognising the sounds we have learnt so far and thinking of things that begin with that sound. We are getting experts at Georgie's Gym and working out robot talk. 

On Friday we had a visit from Bill Pollard and his friend Matt Richardson with their Penny Farthings as they will be raising money for Macmillan Cancer Support by cycling from Henley all the way to Paris in France. We were impressed with how far they would be travelling. We were fascinated that the bike had one big wheel and one little wheel. We were amazed at how big the front wheel was, we wondered why one wheel was big and the other one was small and how they would get on to the bike. We were fascinated with watching how they got on the Penny Farthing, then loved watching them riding around the big playground and getting off. We were also interested in their 19th century clothing choice including their Top hat and Bowler hat.

This coming week we have got a Fruit theme, we will be using our senses to explore different fruits, we will be setting up a market and making fruit kebabs.

Children have loved sharing their baby pictures with each other. If you have not had a chance to send pictures of your child/children as a baby you are welcome to do it this week either by emailing the Unicorn class email address which is unicornclass@nettlebed.oxon.sch.uk or bringing in a photograph.

Now that the weather is getting warmer please can you make sure your child/children bring in a bottle filled with water, named sun hat  and sunscreen is applied before school.

Hope you are all having a lovely weekend.

Best wishes

Mrs Fenwick