Curriculum News
Owls!!
The Swans have been writing reports about Owls in English this term. To enhance their learning, we have been dissecting owl pellets! There were some interesting discoveries!
Puppets
This half term in Design Technology the children have focused on Puppets. The children have learned how to join fabrics together using different methods. The children learned how to pin, staple and glue two pieces of fabric together. The trickiest method was using...
Farmer James
The children were very excited to see the tractor arriving at school. They went out to see the tractor and Farmer James. Farmer James talked to the children about his tractor and about what he does on his farm. The children were able to answer questions that the...
Clay Animal Sculptures
The Reception children became ‘artists’ and thought about the question - Can we begin making a 3D clay sculpture using the designs created last lesson? The children listened to the instructions and explored the clay. The children were asked to create an animal...
RSPB Bird Watch
The children became bird watchers and went into the Forest Schools area to see what birds they could see and to count how many. They spotted a Bullfinch, Blue Tit, Great Tit, Robin, Wren, Pigeon, Seagull and Blackbird. They completed an RSPB check sheet and the...
Spider Sculpture
The Year One children became ‘artists’ and thought about the question - Can we plan and create a sculpture as a class? The children were introduced to the artist Louise Bourgeois and the Maman sculpture made from bronze. The children were asked to give adjectives to...
Still Life Images
In art, The Swans have been using oil pastels to create Still Life images. They worked hard on building up the layers to deepen the tone of their work as well as blending colours together to create depth and tone.
Charles Darwin’s Theory of Natural Selection
The Swans have been learning about Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution by Natural Selection. Using different sized tweezers and tongs and a variety of seeds, they had to work out which finch lived on which island. They learnt that the smaller finches with the...
Tree of Life Sculptures
The children in Kingfishers class thought about the question - Can we apply paper-shaping skills to make an imaginative sculpture? The children were asked to look at the 3D art on the board. They were then asked to pick one element from the model and re-create their...
Owls Forest School
This half term, Owls class are doing weekly Forest School sessions. We are linking these to our topic on the Battle of Hastings and the Norman invasion. In this week's den building challenge, children were challenged to build a den as similar as possible to a Norman...
Still Life in Swans
The Swans have begun their drawing unit: Still Life. This week we were drawing using charcoals. We looked at how shading can create depth to a drawing as well as proportion and space. They used white chalk to show the light reflecting off their object. Their work...
Young Voices 2024
On Friday 19th January, 20 children from Owls and Swans joined nearly 8,000 children from around the country, at the O2 arena, to take part in the Young Voices concert. The children performed with professional artists, including Urban Strides, Natalie Williams and...
3D Drawing
In their art lessons, the children continued focusing on Sculptures and 3D. Recently, the children became ‘artists’ and thought about the question - Can we shape paper to make a 3D drawing? The children continued to look at the work of the artist Samantha Stephenson....
Sculptures and 3D Creation Station – Play Dough
The children became ‘artists’ and thought about the questions - Can we explore playdough and its properties? Can we use tools safely and with confidence? The children started the lesson with a ‘Dough Dance Party’ manipulating the clay in time to music. Mrs Clark put...
Immersion Afternoon Toys
The children began exploring their new topic for this half term. The children received a parcel. Miss Jones opened it and read the letter. The children were asked to work together to complete a puzzle. The children worked as a team and completed the puzzle. They...
Art – Sculpture and 3D
This half term the children will be focusing on Sculptures and 3D in their art lessons. This afternoon the children became ‘artists’ and thought about the question - Can we roll paper to make 3D structures? The children looked at a piece of art by Samantha Stephenson...
Battle of Hastings
This half term, Owls' History topic is the Battle of Hastings and the Norman Invasion. We launched the topic with an immersion day. We looked at the three contenders to the throne in 1066: Harold Godwinson, Harald Hardrada and William, Duke of Normandy. We hot seated...
Wooden Reindeers!
The Swans had a great afternoon outside making their reindeers. They also learned how to strike sparks to create fire. Thank you Mrs Martin for all your help.
Moon Talk
On the evening of Monday 18th December, over 40 children and their families stayed after school to listen to a talk from Mike Barrett of the Dedham Vale Dark Skies campaign. During the talk, we were taught lots of facts about the Moon and about the various types of...
Tilly the Tale Spinner
On Thursday 14th December the children in Kingfishers and Woodpeckers class were very lucky as they had a story telling session with 'Tilly the Tale Spinner'. 'Tilly the Tale Spinner' told the children lots of Christmas tales. The children interacted and participated...
Winter Snowflakes
The children became artists and created their own snowflakes. Mrs Clark and the children talked about snowflakes and how they are made, the way they look and the fact that they are symmetrical. The children were given three pipe cleaners and asked to lay them on top...
The Boy who Harnessed the Wind
The Swans have been learning about William Kamkambura and how he harnessed the wind to create electricity for his village in Malawi. They were then set the challenge to create a windmill that could lift a small bucket of marbles! The classroom was full of excitement...
Autumn Wreaths
This afternoon the children became artists. Today, the children went on a nature hunt to collect leaves, pine cones, tree bark, evergreen stems and other signs of autumn. The children used the items they had collected to create a wreath using a paper plate. The...
Afternoon Tea for some Special Visitors
The Swans had a lovely time providing a WW2 themed 'afternoon tea' for the elderly members of their community. They had really enjoyed sharing information about life in the village during WW2 and wanted to say 'thank you' for coming into school and sharing their...