2024/25
Term 1
It was wonderful to welcome all the children back to school today. We had a lovely day in Willows class getting to know each other and our new classroom.
During the first term in Willow trees, our science focus will be animals (including humans), we will be making moving books in Design and Technology and in Art we will be making bug and bird sculptures. In Maths lessons, Willow trees will be learning all about place value from zero to twenty. We will be focussing on 'writing to entertain' in English using the book Mixed by Arree Chung and the poetry book Zim Zam Zoom by James Carter, whilst our class shared reading book will be Fantastic Mr Fox by Roald Dahl. The class will have PE with Mr Brooks on Mondays (invasion games) and Fridays (dance).
Our learning experience
Willow trees will be learning all about animals, developing identification and sorting skills as they discover different varieties and classifications of animals such as mammals, amphibians, reptiles, birds and fish. They will also learn the differences between herbivores, carnivores and omnivores and classifying animals appropriately. We will also be using our research skills to work on fair testing, pattern seeking and making observations around the school as the season changes. The class will also be visiting the Rare Breeds Centre in Woodchurch (more details will be provided).
If you would like to read more about what we will be learning about in Science, please click the link below:
Maths
This week in Mathematics, we have been learning to count on from 10. The children in Willows class were making use of manipulatives to create teen numbers.
English
Our class book this term is Mixed by Arree Chung. The children did brilliantly in retelling the story by making story maps. These are just a few examples of the excellent work that they produced. We're all very proud of our work in Willows.
Art - Animal Sculptures
During our art sessions this term, we explored the work Barbara Kobylinska and Vicki Atkinson. We looked at the materials and techniques that they used within their work and used these to inspire our own bird and insect sculptures.
Design and Technology - Moving Picture Books
Willows have been learning about moving picture books. We have looked at the different types of mechanisms that can be created, such as levers, wheels and pop-up flaps and how they can make the images move. The children looked at pre-existing moving picture books and after planning and testing their ideas, produced their own versions of the Gruffalo by Julia Donaldson.
Dover Transport Museum
During our History topic, we have been learning about transport through the ages. We were fortunate enough to be able to visit the Dover Transport Museum where we wowed the brilliant volunteers with our knowledge of historic transportation.
Christmas Fire-pit and Marshmallow toasting
As part of our twelve days of Christmas celebrations, the children had the opportunity to toast marshmallows on the school fire-pit.
Music - Glockenspiels
In our music topic this term, Willows class have been learning to explore and play with the school glockenspiels. The children will be developing their skills on the glockenspiel throughout their time at Greenfields, so they will soon be expert musicians!
Term 2
Religious Education - Christianity
The children have been learning all about Christianity and Christian beliefs in Willows class this term. The class have been looking through artefacts and discussing what Christians believe, where they worship, their celebrations and ceremonies.
English
This term, our class picture book is "The Pirate Mums" by Jodie Lancet-Grant. This is a wonderful book about diversity within families, and it has been inspiring the children as they learn about conjunctions in sentence structure. Our chapter book this term is "Sam Wu is not afraid of ghosts" by Katie Tsang and Kevin Tsang. The children have been thoroughly enjoying taking it in turns to read out loud all about Sam Wu's adventures. Our poetry book this term is "Wiggle and Roar" by Julia Donaldson.
Terms 3-5
Geography - Country Study Mexico
KS1 had the most incredible time learning all about Mexico in our Geography topic. We started off with a plane ride in our school hall to learn all about the journey and the time it would take to travel there, what language is spoken, the landscapes, seasons and even had a look at the Mexican flag. We followed this up with a carousel of learning about Mexican traditions, music and dances. We spoke Spanish and even got to taste some traditional Mexican food. We finished the topic off by inviting our grown-ups in to see all the wonderful work that we had produced.
PSHE - Health
During our PSHE week, we focused on our health. This included the importance of washing our hands to remove germs, and how to keep fit and healthy. We found out the importance of the 'pants rule' with help from 'Pantosaurus', and we were fortunate to have the wonderful dental nurse Sarah come in to teach us all about how to brush our teeth.
History - Castles
Leeds Castle visit
To kick off our History topic of castles, we went to visit our local one, Leeds Castle. Even though Leeds Castle has changed a great deal since King Henry VIII's stay, we still managed to identify some of the original defensive features of the Castle. We also had the most wonderful fun exploring the grounds and gift shop!
Bodiam Castle visit
We spent the day exploring and discovering the ruins and remains of Bodiam Castle. We were intrigued to compare the contrast between the two castle visits as Bodiam has been preserved in its original state. This really brought to life what living in a castle was like, as it was cold and rather dark within the castle!
Castles in the classroom
In Willow Trees, we went all out by creating a cardboard castle in the classroom. This allowed us to really engage with our learning by re-enacting and role-playing what life was like in the castle. We discussed and created our very own Motte and Bailey, stone keep and concentric castles. We discussed what defensive features castles had and whether castles needed to change over time due to improvements in weaponry. We made play-dough medieval feasts, shot trebuchets, bows and arrows, and even took part in a jousting tournament! We even took our learning to the fire pit where we learnt how wood was not the best material to build castles from, as it burns easily.
Maths - multiplying, dividing and sharing
In Willows, we have been making the most of our wonderful new maths equipment. We have been using all the new resources to group, share, divide and multiply.
Music - Hands, Feet and Heart
During our Music topic, we had the most amazing time with Mr Wallace-Wells, who was kind enough to come into school with his electric and acoustic guitars and his amp. We spent the morning learning all about the different parts of the guitars, how different they sound and how to change the sound further by attaching the amp to the electric guitar. We then each got to rock out on electric and acoustic guitars! We also had the opportunity to explore different musical instruments before furthering our knowledge on the glockenspiels.
Computing - Programming
We had the most amazing time learning how to program using our little robot friend Indi. Indi used colour recognition LED sensors to drive over the different coloured tiles and undertake the different commands. We worked in groups to make a continuous loop, make our way around the classroom and even turned Indi into a remote-controlled car by using it with iPads!
Science - Seasonal changes
In Willow Tree Class, we became meteorologists for our seasonal changes topic in Science. We created different tools to measure the weather. We took readings each day of the temperature, weather type, the wind direction and the rainfall in our local area. At the end of the topic, we each took it in turns to present our findings in the form of a weather forecast.
Science - Materials
We also enjoyed investigating and experimenting with everyday materials. We got into groups and discovered the different properties of the materials. We listened to a story about a man called Tom who got shipwrecked on a deserted island. We then used our knowledge of materials and their properties to create a camp, raincoat and raft for Tom. We tested our products to see how well they would withstand the sea, wind and rain on the island.
Geography - Maidstone to London
London river boat cruise
During our Geography topic, we took a trip to London, travelled by underground to the London Eye and then took a river boat cruise down the Thames. This meant that we got the most incredible views of some of London's most iconic landmarks. As the day was beautifully sunny, we then took the opportunity to eat our lunch by the river and play in the park.
Back at school, we looked at aerial views and maps of both Maidstone and London and discussed the differences between the city and town. We found out how to use ordinance survey maps, compasses and used our knowledge of directional language to direct our friends around the school grounds. Finally, we created models of the landmarks that sit along the River Thames (London) and the River Medway (Maidstone).
Reading café
We love reading in Willows Class, so we had the most fantastic time sharing our love of reading with our grown-ups during our reading café. We read books, completed book-related activities and even had a drink and biscuits with our families.
Computing - Digital Art
In our Computing topic, we used our creative and digital skills to make and edit our own digital art. We found out how we are surrounded by digital art in our everyday lives. We then went on to create our own backgrounds, design our own pixel art and then had fun recreating it in digital form.
Road safety workshop
We had a fantastic visitor in school to give us a workshop on the importance of road safety. We discussed the five safety rules for crossing the road - 1. Stop, 2. Look, 3. Listen, 4. Think, 5. Hold hands.
We then took it in turns to put these rules into practice.
History - The Titanic
We started our Titanic topic with a Museum in the hall, where we had the opportunity to look at and touch many replica examples of objects from the Titanic. We then, as a key stage, heard all about the ill-fated maiden voyage of the "Unsinkable Ship". We found out all about the differences between the first, second and third class passengers, what they had available to them and what life was like on the Titanic in each class group. We discussed the communication of Morse code and even had the opportunity to use a real Morse code machine to tap out our names using dots and dashes. We discussed what happened in the build up to the Titanic striking the iceberg and looked into the reason it sank. We have looked at how the ship was built and even had a go at building it ourselves.
