Blog 6 - 21st October

Happy Half Term Apples! 
 
The children have been very tired towards the end of the week and are definitely ready for a restful week off. Whatever you're up to, stay safe, have fun and make some unforgettable memories!

 

Just a quick reminder: this week we've had a real issue with shoes! The problem has occurred when children have change back into their shoes from wearing their wellies and their shoes haven't been named. We have many children in apple class and lots of them do have the same shoes - and even in the same size! Please, over the holidays could you write your child's name in all clothing and shoes! (Thank you and apologies if this doesn't apply to you!)

 

We've been back on the farm this week - this time focusing on the jobs that a farmer has to get on with at harvest time. We've watched combine harvesters in action and the children were fascinated by this amazing piece of machinery. We have had so many fabulous discussions about the function of the parts, the size, the colour and the crops that they cut.  Added to this, we continued to think about other pieces of farm equipment - the tractor and the telehandler which are also very busy during the harvest. The children took such effort and care as they made their own junk models of farm machinery and we do hope that you enjoyed seeing these treasures at home time. It would be great if you could spend time at the weekend chatting about how farmers harvest their crops and the job of the combine harvester. The important words we used about the combine were: 
header/reel - the bit at the front that cuts
cab - the bit where the driver sits
tank - the bit where the wheat grains are stored
shoot - the bit that transfers the wheat grains from the tank to the trailer
 
 

Afterwards we had a go at making our own farm vehicles! The children looked closely at images of combines and tractors and were able to recreate them using our junk model materials. They were able to explain their choices (this is a light for the tractor, these are the wheels, these are the seats for the passengers etc) and thought carefully how they could join the materials together and later improve their model. Well done everyone! 

 

 Back down in our outdoor provision the children again were drawn to making tractors and combine harvesters! They took it in turns becoming the farmer (driving the machine) and picking up more and more passengers on the way. Our conversations were mainly around  'whose turn it was next to become the farmer' - but we did get some purposeful conversations in too 'what would make good wheels for our tractor.' From one of the videos we watched at carpet time, it told us that the tractors have 'tracks' in the tyres which helps the tractor from getting stuck in the mud! 

 

Mrs Grimes managed to get a bunch of wheat from a local farm and the children very much enjoyed exploring this, finding the little grains and crushing them with a stone to make flour. 
 
 
Later in the week, the children found out about some of the less glamorous farm jobs - the farm yard needed to be cleaned and the farm vehicles needed a wash. Sweeping is great for our gross motor skills and it builds strength in our muscles. This is vital for good physical development and actually, the children think it's fun! Cleaning the farm vehicles is great for our fine motor skills - we have to apply enough pressure to get rid of all of the muck and dirt. 
 

In our mathematical learning, we had a go at making repeating patterns using autumn treasures. The children tried really hard and most of us understood a simple 2 part pattern (conker, pine cone, conker, pine cone) and some of us had a go at a 3 part pattern (conker, conker, pine cone).  It's important for children to understand pattern so that they can make predictions and make connections. Keep practising making repeating patterns at home. You could use any household items- fork, spoon, fork, spoon or sock, shoe  sock, shoe. I'd love to see pictures of you making your own patterns on your learning journal.

 

This week we were very excited to have a go at recreating Vincent Van Gogh's painting "The Mulberry Tree". First we talked about what an artist is and lots of children were able to reflect upon the paintings they have created recently. Excellent reflective learning Apple Class! Next, we discussed how we knew the picture was painted in Autumn time. Most of us could spot the yellow leaves on the tree. We also thought carefully about why the artist may have created "wavy" leaves on the tree. Some of their ideas were: "the leaves are falling off", "it is really windy" and "the tree is wobbling in the wind". We had some super thoughtful discussions, well done! Afterwards the children enjoyed recreating their own paintings just like an artist.  We have also enjoyed singing our 'Autumn Leaves are falling Down' song and the children enjoyed dancing like autumn leaves with paper streamers. This was so enjoyable for all!

 

We wish you all a very happy half term and we'll see you back in Apple Class on Monday 31st! 

 

Mrs Farrar and Mrs Grimes