Cedar Class has 30 children. The Cedar team are Mrs Giles, Mrs Bones, and Mrs Benny. Making learning fun is our speciality! There are so many fun things to look forward to in the year ahead.
Please do not hesitate to get in touch if you ever have any queries or concerns.
PE days - PE will be on Tuesday and Thursday each week. Please wear your PE kit to school on these days and bring a sun hat too.
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Getting into the Christmas spirit!
Decorating the tree for the competition. Our Arts ambassador is in charge! Thank you!
The finished tree! All trees can be seen on the Arts webpage,
Just a sample of our Christmas craft fayre makes.
Shape work with Mrs Bones
Using playdough to help learn about 3D shapes
Identifying the 2D shape faces that make up the 3D shapes.
Counting facing, edges and vertices.
How many of these shapes can you find and name at home?
Science - Sun - Is it a hero or villain?
Causes sun burn and wrinkles!
Is a source of light and provides warmth.
Helps people make vitamin D and plants make food.
causes skin cancer and damages the eyes.
Maths - multiplication and division
Do you know and use all the variety of vocabulary associated with X?
What about the division sign?
We adapted the '11' game to practise our 3x table. Ask your child how we play it!
Can you create, draw, represent and write number sentences accurately?
These are some of the questions we have been tackling.
Can you explain your thinking like an expert mathematician?
It's OK to work practically if that helps you to learn best.
Is it correct sometimes, always or never? Prove it with more than one example.
Shape maths with Mrs Bones
Naming and identifying shapes.
Describing shapes using correct mathematical language.
Sorting and drawing shapes. What shapes can you spot in your home?
Dance Workshop with Cameron - Learning a dance routine to 'Stick It to the Man' from School of Rock
Hearing about the storyline to help us understand the meaning of movements.
Counting the musical beats and moving in time to the music.
A fun and formative session brilliantly delivered plus insight into the life of an actor.
Reflecting on Remembrance Day
Over several days, we read 'War Game' and reflected on what it was like in WW1. From the excitement of signing up to the army thinking that an adventure lay before them, to the angst of their parents watching their children leave, to fear in battle, camaraderie, trauma of losing loved ones and much more. A football game brings people together despite everything. There is so much to reflect on in this wonderful book.
Making lighter and darker shades with watercolour paints
Use the palette tray to mix the shades.
Add white a bit at a time to make a shade lighter.
Add black a small amount at a time to make it darker.
How many different shades can you make?
What would an artist call all the different shades on paint sample charts?
Use adventurous vocabulary for colours in your writing!
Science - Magnificent Mirrors!
Draw a line on the ground. Hold the mirror above your head..
Looking only at the reflection of the line in the mirror, follow the line.
This is quite tricky, because the image we see is reversed.
We need to move the opposite way to what we actually think!
What would happen if we didn't have mirrors? What impact would it have on lives as we know it?
We couldn’t see what we look like. Keira
We could never see our faces and whole body. Talitha and Theo
We wouldn’t have angles. Sienna (reflection)
People wouldn’t be able to do make up themselves. Eva
No-one could see to put their hair up. Keira
People couldn’t play mirror mazes. Sienna
We need mirrors to look at and fix the underneath of cars. Margot
Mirrors are needed when brushing teeth to check you have cleaned them properly. Juliette
We couldn’t reverse properly in cars - we would crash! Tristan
Dentists use mirrors to look at the back of your teeth. Nieva
We wouldn’t have kaleidoscopes. Talitha
Art - Creating different shades
What is the lightest shade you can make by just tickling the paper with a light touch?
What is the darkest? Creating shades in between.
Last term we read a book that only used shades created from one pencil.
Reflecting on how we can use this skill in the future to improve our work.
PE - Developing hockey skills
We have learnt how to hold the stick correctly,
use one side of the stick only, position the ball and stick so we can run,
keep stick down low, and use a push pass to send the ball through a gateway to a partner
Science - Investigating which materials are reflective?
Door challenge!
We thoroughly enjoyed the door challenge in Cedar Class!
The class wanted leaves, lots of different coloured leaves on an autumnal tree with some wildlife.
We set about making sewn leaves, embellished with beads and buttons. to further develop our sewing skills. Children chose autumnal coloured threads and accessories. Every child made a sewn leaf.
To generate even more leaves we did leaf rubbings with crayons and pastels. There were exclamations of, "It's magic, it really is!" going around the class. These leaves were cut with an emphasis on professional cutting. Some people even looked closely at the leaves, especially the veins, and created observational drawings.
The finishing touch was an owl sat in the tree. Thank you Holly!
We really enjoyed the collaboration in this project. We have received lots of praise from other children and staff for how colourful and attractive it looks.
Have a look at the Arts web page to see all the doors from across the school.
Door challenge preparation
RE Learning about Diwali, the festival of Light
We watched videos about the festival of light and significance of light to Hindus.
To celebrate, many women have a Mehndi pattern on their hands.
In the story of Rama and Sita, light symbolises the victory of good over evil when King Rama defeated Ravana. Rows of clay lamps lit their way home.
What does light mean for you? We discussed how light makes some of us feel safe and warm. It gives some people hope.
Maths - Number Bonds to 100
Using Diennes to work out number bonds.
Building up visual images.
Choosing and using equipment to work independently.
Discussing the number sentences, using a variety of maths vocabulary. and number stories.
Recording it into books.
Writing - Halloween poems
PSHE One of the warm up games we played recently...... there was a lot of laughter!
The Farmyard Game - 3 people make one animal
Pig = snout and 2 ears
Cow = horns and 2 patches
Duck = beak and 2 wings
Make the animal quickly when your name is called. Get your team on board!
Speed and quick thinking is needed. Sound effects are compulsory!
Passing the talking object in lessons - showing the value of respect by listening to all.
Discussing ideas about scenarios in groups and feeding back to class discussion.
Stone Age Cave Art
A brilliant book on our project, and information about cave art findings in France.
Thinking about the reasons behind cave art. What messages were being conveyed?
What were the most important things to communicate and why do you think that?
Sharpie pens and brown paper. Scrunch up once finished to give it an old cave look.
Spelling and Maths with Mrs Bones
Magnetic letters turning spellings into fun and games learning.
Working independently, selecting and using resources and getting everything right!
History and Art - Learning how to make Stone Age dyed cloth
People from the Stone Age are thought to be the first humans to wear clothes. They made things like trousers, tunics and cloaks. Animal skins
were stretched out and scraped clean. The clothes were cut out from hide and holes were made around the edges of each piece so that it could
be sewn together using a bone needle. Later in the Stone Age, people started weaving cloth which was coloured using natural dyes such as flowers,
bark, seeds and leaves. This led us to have a go at dyeing some muslin cloth. We used a hammer to press down to extract the colour - we could hear a slight 'crunching' sound and then quickly saw that the dye had been pressed onto our cloth. We removed any residue of leaves and berries and then rinsed it in cold water. It was then left to dry. Some leaves and berries were more effective more than others because of their vibrant colours and due to their texture and moisture content.
Drama - Getting into role as 'Ug', a character from The Stone, in a hilarious picture book by Raymond Briggs.
Ug is ahead of his time with his ideas and finds the world he lives in very limiting!
Stepping into the shoes of a character and sharing their inner thoughts and feelings.
Ug had a lot of anger and frustrations that his good ideas weren't taken on board!
RE - Reflecting on Harvest
Thoughts about HARVEST following our harvest festival assembly in school with Rev Kev.
Aren't we lucky to HAVE .....
so much food to EAT and
to SAVE food for the future and
to SHARE with others
so that people don't have to STARVE?
We couldn't do it without the HEAT of the sun.
Thanks to the farmers for bringing the harvest in! We hope they enjoy a good REST!
Art - Using charcoal to explore cave painting
Do you form your numbers correctly? Correct formation helps your work to be read accurately.
5 Straight back, fat body and a hat on top / fishing line, fishing hook, put on the bank.
8= Like a letter s to begin with!
9= Start like a letter c up in the air!
Growth mindset
Growth mindset creates a love of learning, and resilience that is essential to achieve.
We are always endeavouring to get into the 'stretch zone' where we can learn new things.
Music - Learning the recorder
Our 'Steps to Success' - Use a gentle breath - like making a candle flicker!
Use your lips and not your teeth!
Keep your recorder close to your body, not out front like a trumpet!
Keep your fingers flat not scrunched. Cover the holes with your 'pudgy' finger tips.
Left hand goes at the top. Check with the picture on the wall in the classroom yourself!
Note B = thumb and top finger - 'pinchy crab claw'. Cover the holes!
Note A is lower, use the same as B plus the next finger over the next hole.
Make a nice sound!
The first piece we learnt. We couldn't fall into the traps which were the minim rests...
It is important that everyone plays the silence correctly which is harder than you think!
Project work - making a project page about what we have learnt.
Stone Age people were 'hunter gatherers'.
They moved around in search of food in the Old Stone Age.
Weapons like spears and axes were made from wood and stone to kill wild animals.
It is thought that dogs may have helped people to hunt.
Nuts, berries, dandelions and nettles were all eaten.People only drank water.
Meat was eaten raw until the New Stone Age.
Mental Maths - Hit the Button
This is the link! It is free if you use the one saying 'Quick Fire Maths'.
Press play!
Today we started with number bonds. Accuracy is most important first of all.
Speed comes with accuracy! Don't guess. Have thinking time. Aim to improve your score.
Letter formation - Mrs Bones lets them write on the table!!!!!!
'Afterward, Everything Was Different' by Rafael Yockteng and Jairo Buitrago. An amazing book plus a bonus observation in mark marking skills! So much discussion is being generated looking at this book together in class, with differing views, thoughts and opinions.
Maths - Exploring number bonds to 10 and 20 through practical games and using equipment
Learning about the properties of rocks - finding out about durability, permeability and density through our own tests.
Could each rock be eroded with sandpaper?
This recreates the erosion by wind and rain.
Is each rock permeable (letting liquid pass through it)...
or impermeable (not letting liquid pass through.) We used syringes filled with water.
Do rocks float or sink?
Rocks are generally denser than water.
Some of our thoughts after the experiments.
Gardening with Mel
First Forest Session
In our first forest session with Lizzy today, we were introduced to 3 important ideas.
We must look after ourselves, each other, and the forest and it's inhabitants.
We were given a tour of the different forest areas - fire circle, mud kitchen, screen or performance area, music area, mud pit, and two camp making areas.
We were shown how to carry sticks and much larger logs and palettes safely. We were asked to only please get mud for the mud kitchen from the mud pit, otherwise digging holes on the paths could make them dangerous. Also, no gun play please in the forest!
The groups were given free time to explore the area for themselves. The mud kitchen was particularly popular with all sorts of potions, soups and medicines being concocted!
Water colour technique creating sunset or dusk and silhouettes of Stonehenge which we have been learning about in our reading sessions.
'Steps to Success' for the silhouettes included...
stones must meet the ground, show the best bit of your watercolour effect in the gaps,
interesting heights of stones, no straight lines,
professional sticking and cutting skills.
'Taking a line for a walk' and further exploring mark marking including adding colour
Practising different types of sentences. Can you come up with your own ideas using these structures?
Lots of learning here about adjectives, capital letters and full stops....
correct use of commas.....
nouns and......
coordinating conjunctions. Keep practising these to keep them fresh!
Handwriting
Revising correct letter formation and positioning on the line.
Learning about entry and exit lines ready for joined up writing.
Joining pairs of letters with care. Good presentation is important at Fir Tree!
Assessing our own work. Putting a star next to our best ones.
Circle Time
In a circle time activity on Friday afternoon, Cedar Class were asked what they wanted their class to feel like and be like for the entire year ahead.
Below are some of the many answers they gave.
Children coming to school and going home with a smile on their faces!
Happy
Quiet
Calm
Time to think
Like home/Like a family
Safe
Cool
Caring
Focussed
Respectful
Happy
Fun
Energetic/bouncy
Colourful
“Feel like fizzy sweets” (feeling lots of energy)
Lots to discover/excitement
Challenges
“Delicious learning”
Extra plays (for hard word)
Children will be brave/confident
Everyone will show kindness
Trying their best
Making mistakes
We are confident that we will achieve all of the above.
Which three words or phrases do you think are the most important and why? What further ideas might we add as time goes on?
Mark Making
We have been exploring mark making techniques to create interest and texture.
DT- Paper challenge to make our own version of the Eiffel Tower. It wasn't easy!
Design and technology - Exploring techniques to strengthen paper. Which techniques will be best when we have a go at making our version of the Eiffel Tower?
Roll tightly, sticking with just a little bit of masking tape (environmentally friendly!)
Folding with nice sharp folding - using the back of a nail works well.
Zig zagging like a fan.
extra support to make a cylinder stand up.
Two rolled tubes secured together.
Folding a square base makes the sheet of paper stand up.
Recreating faces in the style of Pablo Picasso on the Year 2 change over day
Below are some of the photos and learning from last academic year.
Term 6 - The Tempest, Plants and Wallingford
Learning about The Tempest through forest learning with Lizzie
Gardening with Mel
The challenge - to weed an area pulling up plants by their roots to stop regrowth.
Once the area is cleared, bark chippings will be put down to retain water in the soil.
We made links with our class learning about different parts and jobs of the pllants.
Drama work bringing the beginning of The Tempest to life
PE - Handball
In today's lesson we practised the shoulder pass and chest pass technique.
Sending the ball accurately and considerately to a member of your team ...
...enables them to return the ball quicker and be more efficient.
Look at this superb hand position - ready to receive the ball with W shaped hands.
Communicating with each other when needed to get attention.
Remember springy legs for more power!
P.E Athletics - Shot put skills
Steps to success include.......start with shot put under jaw and against the neck.,
hold shot put with fingers not palm, feet shoulder width apart, one in front, one behind
elbow up and to the side, aiming arm straight and in front,
bend knees for springing forward and getting greater distance,
push forwards and up working with knees for power.
These little angels have been creating and finding right-angles! (We have been talking about the difference in spelling between angles and angels!)
Acute and Obtuse angles too!
Describe what these angles are. Prove you know the difference between them.
Drawing acute and obtuse angles.
'We're going on an angle hunt!"
Playing at being detective again, this time outside.
Which type of angles are there the most of I wonder and why?
Maths - Turns
Recognising, describing and making half, quarter, three quarter and full turns
both clockwise and anticlockwise.
Using the 4 points of a compass to help learn about angles of turn.
Term 5 - Take One Tale and Amazing Bodies
Fantastic 'Amazing Bodies' homework which the class LOVED sharing with each other. Thank you to everyone for all your hard and creative work!
Bradley's homework
Mental Health Awareness Week - focussing on anxiety
What is anxiety? What are the signs you are feeling anxious?
Have you ever experienced it or seen it in someone else?
What strategies can you use to help with anxiety?
We explored ideas and then made board games with Mrs Bones to explore ideas further.
Playing the games was such fun!
"I liked Bradley’s game because it was very creative." Joe
"I liked Jago’s game because the space before the end said you had to go back to the start if you landed on it. " Eriin
"I liked Matilda’s game because it was very colourful and she had used bubble writing!" Sarah
"I liked playing Bella’s game because every time you got near the end, if you rolled a four or six, you had to go back one place." Louie
"Freddie’s was my favourite game because if you landed on number seventeen, you had to go right back to the start." Matilda
"Sinead’s was my favourite as it was really fun. I liked that there was lots of details on it." Emily
Mental Health Awareness Week - Anxiety focus
If you feel anxious you could.....
think about those people you love....
or the people that love you dearly,
or the things that you love doing and make you smile the most.
Talking to someone you trust is a good idea.....
they may be able to help reduce your anxiety.!
Spelling Conga!
Spelling hard work and progress in the week is celebrated....
.......with a conga on a Friday!
Games and challenges to learn days of the week and months of the year
Not only sequencing months and days....
But also working out what comes before and after
without having to go back to the beginning!
Half of us had a session in the forest before the torrential rain!
Games in the forest today.
Hide without being seen! Rescue any team mates who are being held prisoners by the tree.
Sneak up when you dare. Take risks and keep your wits about you.
Fire safety rules are always revised.
Taosting our own marshmallows over the fire.
Smores - chocolate biscuits and marshmallows. Delicious!
National Vegetarian Week - Making Lasagne
So many skills being put into practise here.....
cutting, blending, grating,
halving, quartering, using a bridging technique to cut safely,
teamwork, cooperation, sharing,..... and more!
Knowledge gained too about where foods come from, how they are grown,
how to be hygienic whilst cooking
Sensory experiences being put into words....
Describing herbs- "fresh, pungent, spicy, sweet,
bitter, sharp, strong, fragrant and more!
Lots of you were going to be trying new foods! We hope you enjoyed the experience.
'Dem bones, dem bones! Can you name all these bones with their everyday and medical name?
Skull
Collar bone or clavicle
Shoulders or scapula
Hip bone or pelvis
Rib cage
Radius and ulna
Fibia and tibia
Femur or thigh bone - the longest and heaviest bone in the body!
Spine or vertebral column
Humorous - sometimes called the 'funny bone'.!
Geography - Learning about map symbols
Brainstorming what map symbols we can already remember from previous experience.
Using Ordonnance Survey maps of Oxford, we looked for features and symbols we had learnt .
We used the keys to identify all sorts of features like viewing points, camp sites,
nature reserves, different types of churches, car parks, castles,
and more! Sadly, there were no lighthouses on the Oxford map! (I wonder why?)
How many symbols could you recreate from memory?
Dance - Exploring the main characters of Roald Dahl's book, 'Matilda' - Mr Wormwood, Miss Honey and of course, Matilda.
Brainstorming what we know about each character.
Miss Honey - kind, patient, smiley, encouraging, gentle.