Octopus Class News
Octopus Term 6 2021-2022
This term in Octopus class, the children have continued to work incredibly hard! They have demonstrated their phonic knowledge through a range of games and activities and have attempted independent reading and spelling with increased confidence. In maths, the children have explored number, measure and money in real-life contexts - looking for numbers in the environment, buying items from the local shop (or our role play shop) and comparing weight using the see-saw in the school garden.
During PSHE this term, we have been focusing on our bodies and growing up. We have named parts of the body, ordered the human life cycle and considered what activities are appropriate for different ages. We have also continued to develop friendships and turn-taking; coming together as a group, listening to each other and sharing Jigsaw Jack with others as part of the session.
The children have also been involved in whole school activities this term. Sports day was lots of fun and all of the children took part in some of the activities, being cheered on by parents, carers and each other. The Teddy Bear's picnic at Coate Water was also great fun. The children particularly enjoyed the train rides and their ice creams/ice lollies in the sun.
It has been very hot at times this term! The children have benefitted from eating ice lollies and having lots of water play to help to keep them cool. Some of the children also enjoyed seeking out shady spots in the school garden and sitting up in the trees!
All of the children have worked incredibly hard again this term. It has been a wonderful year in Octopus class. The children should be very proud of all they have achieved this year. Well done Octopus class! Have a wonderful summer break.
Octopus Class Term 5 2021-2022
This term in Octopus class, the children have enjoyed lots of time learning outside. We have engaged in Measures Week and prepared for the Queen's Platinum Jubilee celebrations. We have also engaged in lots of activities based on our topic of 'Down at the Bottom of the Garden'.
Linked to the topic, the children have taken part in minibeast hunts, completed writing tasks to describe different minibeasts and have made their own minibeasts using salt dough. The children have explored minibeast habitats, using magnifying glasses to look closely around the environment. As part of our visits to the UET Farm, some of the children have been able to collect tadpoles when pond dipping and observe changes in the tadpoles as they have grown. During these visits the children have also handled and fed some of the animals including chickens, which were a firm favourite for some children!
During Measures Week the children explored measure in a range of ways; they compared size, used language appropriate to measuring, used a range of measuring resources and predicted what (or who) would be the heaviest and lightest, using the see-saw in the school garden to see if they were right.
The children have enjoyed cooking and art and have developed skills in independence throughout these sessions. The children have also continued to work on their literacy and maths skills and are earning lots of rewards for their efforts. It has been a fun term with lots of sensory play and exploration in the environment.
Once again, we are very proud of all the children for their hard work over the term. Well done Octopus class! 🙂
Octopus Term 4 2021-2022
Wow! Term 4 has been such fun! This term we have celebrated World Book Day, Autism Acceptance Week and have learnt lots about 'People Who Help Us'.
For World Book Day we had extra visits to the school library, voted for our favourite books, shared books together in small groups, settled down with books during relax time and shared hot chocolate with Helena in the main hall while she read 'Hug' to us by Jez Alborough. We also completed lots of art and craft activities linked to reading such as making bookmarks and designing book covers.
For Autism Acceptance Week we celebrated our differences, discussed what makes us special, shared our likes and dislikes and took part in a colour run event which was lots of fun! Linked to this event, some of the children took part in creating a large collaborative art piece using splatter painting. It was very messy, but the artwork produced is stunning and will be donated to the staff at the Prospect Hospice in Wroughton to say thank you for all of their hard work.
The children have really enjoyed our topic of 'People Who Help Us' this term. They have watched videos, matched equipment to jobs, e.g. hoses for the fire service and medical supplies for paramedics and have thought about situations when people might need to access help. The children have painted emergency vehicles and have created their own emergency vehicles using junk modelling.
We have continued to do lots of learning outdoors this term and have noticed changes in the weather each day; splashing in huge puddles, taking shade from the sun and watching some snow fall. Some of the children have visited the UET farm this term where they have helped to care for the animals; feeding them (including preparing the food), collecting eggs, holding the animals and learning about grooming them.
As always, we have continued to develop our skills in maths and literacy. As part of our PSHE sessions this term we have learnt about keeping our bodies healthy and have engaged in lots of healthy food tasting and exercise to support this.
All of the children have worked incredibly hard again this term and their confidence continues to grow and grow. Well done on your efforts this term Octopus class.
Octopus Term 3 2021-2022
This term has been a busy one in Octopus class. We have enjoyed our topics of Heroes and Villains (red group) and On the Farm (blue group).
In maths we have continued to work on our number skills; counting, adding, subtracting and some children have now started to explore multiplication. We have also looked at measure and shape focusing on using the correct vocabulary to describe size, shape, position and direction.
In literacy we are continuing to practise letter formation and have been using our phonic knowledge to try to spell words independently. We have enjoyed regular visits to the school library and are enjoying an increasing range of books. We are looking forward to welcoming some parents to class next term to share our books as part of World Book Day.
For our 'Heroes and Villains' topic we have dressed up, designed our own superhero characters, written speech bubbles and made shields and capes. For our 'On the Farm' topic we have focused on imaginative role play, naming animals, exploring sensory materials associated with the farm, including food items, and have created sentences to comment on what we can see at the farm.
During our visits to the school garden we have learnt about safety and have demonstrated that we can follow instructions to keep ourselves safe. It was great fun making dough twists on the fire! We have also done lots of work about staying safe online as part of Online Safety Day.
This term's PE has had a focus on gymnastics and balance. The children have demonstrated great focus during these sessions and have been able to follow routines and have even created their own routines. The children have tried really hard to show independence in changing for PE.
All of the children have made excellent choices this term and have worked super hard so we are looking forward to celebrating their achievements with a mini party for the last day of the term. Well done Octopus class on another amazing term!
Octopus Term 2 2021-2022
In Octopus class this term we have been working hard and learning to understand and share celebrations.
In PSHE, we have talked about people's differences; eye colour, hair colour, families and beliefs. We have talked about different events that people celebrate and completed artwork to illustrate different celebrations. The children have been very good at sharing ideas as a group and talking about the way they differ from each other. The children have also thought about how our differences can sometimes mean that we want to do different things; this knowledge has helped to support children's friendships in class. We have also talked more about our class rules and how to be good friends. We have shared lots of time together practising following our rules.
In maths the children have continued to develop skills in number and counting. We have also started to explore multiplication by pairing wellies and grouping objects.
In literacy this term, the children have focused on letter formation, writing simple sentences and using punctuation.
During our sessions in the school garden, the children have explored the area using their senses, made leaf mobiles to hang from the trees, created leaf rubbings and used tools to make wooden Christmas decorations.
The end of term has seen the children get very creative as they have started to explore Christmas. They have made Christmas cards, lists and placemats and have acted as elves, wrapping presents using our junk modelling resources. The children even made extra Christmas cards to be delivered to care homes in the local community. As a class, we have also explored the sensory aspects of Christmas from the sounds of music to the texture of snow to the smell of orange and spices.
Overall, the children have had a wonderful term sharing celebrations! The children have worked really hard this term and should feel very proud of themselves. Well done Octopus class!
Octopus Term 1 2021-2022
Octopus class have enjoyed coming together as a new class this term; meeting new friends and adults and building positive relationships together. As part of our PSHE work we established class rules that will help to keep us all happy and safe.
During busy time sessions the children have used different communication strategies to make requests and have enjoyed exploring the resources and games available to them.
During literacy we have focused on our letter recognition and correct formation, as well as spelling words using our phonic knowledge and starting to write short sentences to caption pictures. We have chosen books from the library to read for pleasure with an adult and have developed our phonic knowledge through 1:1 focused tasks. At the end of each day, we have shared stories as a group and been working together to describe characters, predict what might happen next and sequence stories.
In Maths, we have been focusing on counting objects reliably, number recognition and solving addition and subtraction problems using objects and number lines. We have also explored measure in practical situations and used comparative language to describe length and height.
As part of our topic work, we have talked about ourselves and our families and shared our likes and dislikes about a range of items and activities.
We have particularly enjoyed learning outdoors, completing rainbow challenges and spending time in the school garden.
