Year 1 and Year 2 had an amazing day exploring Plymouth Aquarium!

The children loved discovering the incredible variety of species that live in our oceans and enjoyed learning fascinating facts about the different marine animals they encountered.

During our visit, we also learnt about the importance of protecting the seas around the United Kingdom and how we can all help to care for our marine environment for future generations.

In Design and Technology, we designed and built our own moving fairground wheels. We explored how wheel mechanisms work, carefully selected suitable materials, and constructed strong frames with rotating wheels. We also gathered feedback from others before adding colourful pods and decorations to complete and evaluate our finished creations.

We had a fantastic day visiting The Box Museum, where we learnt about Plymouth in the past and explored some interesting historical artefacts. We then enjoyed a trip to the Theatre Royal to watch The Tiger Who Came to Tea. The children thoroughly enjoyed the performance and had a wonderful day.

This term, we’ve been exploring maps in our art lessons. We started by drawing simple maps of each child’s journey to school, thinking carefully about the shapes, landmarks, and routes they know so well.

The children then used their drawings to inspire 3D map artwork, choosing different materials to bring their journeys to life. They’ve loved getting creative and experimenting with textures and layers.

This week, our outdoor learning focused on the fascinating world of bees. We explored why bees are so important, both to the environment and to us as humans. The children learned how bees help pollinate plants, which allows flowers, fruits, and vegetables to grow. We also talked about how bees play a vital role in keeping our ecosystems healthy.

To bring our learning to life, the children took part in a creative activity where they made their own bees using natural materials.

This week we created natural repeating pattern bracelets. 

Sewing our finger puppets.

Inspired by the story Bonkers About Beetroot, the children were challenged to create their very own new character! They could choose to draw their idea or bring it to life using construction materials. We loved seeing their creativity, imagination, and fantastic ideas — each character was completely unique!

Today we started thinking about our new story, “Bonkers about Beetroot.” We spent some time looking carefully at real beetroots and talking about what we noticed. We looked at their colour, shape and texture. After that, we tasted the beetroot to find out what it was like to eat.

Next, we thought of lots of adjectives to describe what the beetroot looked like and what it tasted like. We used words such as purple, shiny, round, earthy, sweet, juicy and soft.

This week, we have been learning all about weather and how forecasts help us to understand what the weather will be like today and in the days ahead.

The children watched a weather forecast and used weather symbols to talk about what the weather was like across the UK. They then enjoyed role playing as weather forecasters, sharing their own forecasts with the class using the correct vocabulary and symbols.

Our learning question was: What do animals need to survive?

The cards were sorted into two groups by deciding whether each item was:

• A need – something a human baby had to have to survive

• A want – something that helped the baby and was important, but was not essential for survival

In our recent History lessons, we have been exploring the Great Fire of London, focusing on the impact it had on the city and its architecture. To enhance our understanding, the children engaged in a hands-on project where they designed and constructed their own Tudor Houses.

Prior to the building activity, we examined the distinctive features of Tudor houses that contributed to the spread of the fire. This discussion provided the foundation for the children’s designs. Using materials such as straw and hay, they created roofs that reflected the historical accuracy of the period.

To conclude their projects, the children added flames to their houses, symbolising the catastrophic events of the fire. This activity not only reinforced their learning about the Great Fire but also developed their designing and making skills in a creative and engaging manner.

We all enjoyed watching an amazing music and dance performance! The performers used music and dance to retell the stories of “The Hare and the Tortoise” and “The Monkey Puzzle.” We even joined in with lots of fun dance movements, making the experience interactive and exciting!