w/b 11th December 2017

The children have been fantastic this week whilst taking part in the Christmas concert! Da iawn pawb!

In maths we have been looking at money this week. The children have been practising paying for items costing up 10p/20p/£1. Once we were confident at doing this, the children were also challenged to find different ways to amounts with a limited amount of coins. E.g. make 13p using 3 coins.

In literacy we have been looking at the story of the first Christmas. The children either had to complete a comprehension activity or picture sequencing activity.

We also continued with our Christmas stocking decorations.

In PE we learned the bunny hopping movement. We played some fantastic games using the bunny and foxes movements.

w/b 4th December 2017

This week the Christmas concert rehearsals have been very productive! The children are really excited for you to see their performance, and they are working hard to remember their lines. Well done everyone!

In maths our focus for this week was addition. We started the week by learning how to use counting on to add numbers together for when we run out of fingers! We had to look at the addition problem, put the biggest number in our pockets and then count on using our fingers. The children did very well at this so we were able to move on to addition games towards the end of the week. We'll keep practising this in Quick 5!

In literacy lessons we have been discussing where Beegu could go on her next adventure. We looked at the different planets and talked about how Beegu would feel and what she would see when she arrived. The children then wrote about Beegu's new adventure in their books.  

In PE we continued with Gymnastics. This week the focus was on the happy cat and angry cat shapes. The children had to learn this shapes within a sequence of movements that we created as a class.

This week we also started our Christmas crafts. The children have been creating Christmas stockings to hang on the Christmas tree. They have been very sensible with the sewing needles and are very excited to for you to see what they have made!

w/b 27th November 2017

This week we have been very busy starting our Christmas concert rehearsals. The children are doing fantastically well and we are very excited for you all to see it! Letters have been sent home this week regarding costumes. Please let me know if you didn't receive it.

During literacy lessons this week, we worked with partners to make catapults to fire Beegu back into space. We had to read the instructions very carefully so that the catapults would work! On Friday afternoon we tested the catapults with marshmallows and discussed how we could improve them to make Beegu fly further. We then went on to draw our new and improved catapult designs.

In maths we looked at addition. We used ten frames to help us find the missing numbers in addition sentences.

w/b 20th November 2017

This week we have been busy finding out about the planets in our solar system. The children worked in pairs to use Encyclopaedia Britannica on Hwb to find interesting facts about their chosen planet. Next week we will be sharing what we found out with other pairs so that we have facts about all of the planets!

In literacy we focused on capital letters and full stops. We went outside to learn some punctuation ninja moves and then used these to fix some sentences with missing punctuation. We went on to write our own sentences later in the week, making sure that we used capital letters and full stops in the correct places.

Our maths focus for the week was recalling one more or less than any number up to 20/100. Some children moved on to find 10 more/less than any number to 100. We also did some work with 5/10 frames to help us with addition. We were able to find the missing numbers in addition problems by looking at the empty spaces on the 5/10 frames.

This half term Miss Vicci's groups will be looking at what makes a good friend. The first group have discussed and mind mapped their ideas and then created posters on j2e to find Beegu a new friend. The rest of the children will also have the same opportunity at some point this half term.   

w/b 13th November 2017

This week was Anti-Bullying week. We spent some time discussing what we like to see in our school (e.g. sharing) and what we don't like to see (e.g. someone feeling left out). We talked about how to help someone if they are feeling left out or lonely. Towards the end of the week we welcomed an imaginary child to our class (called Charlie!) and wrote down horrible things that might be said to him on post it notes. We then put all the post it notes on the board and imagined how Charlie would feel if these horrible things were said to him everyday. We decided that Charlie wouldn't feel very good at all and we talked about how Charlie might then behave as a result. We all agreed that we wouldn't like anyone in our school to feel that way and decided to keep an eye out for people who are feeling bullied.

The pupils brought in their homework projects this week and I was very impressed with the amount of effort that had gone into them! Thank you to everyone that helped. The knowledge that the pupils have developed has certainly motivated them to learn even more through our classwork.

Our literacy focus for this week was beginning to write the story of Beegu as a part of our storytelling project. The children had a go at either independently writing the story or telling the story orally. My observations from this activity will now lead into my planning for literacy skills this half term.

In maths we focused on partitioning 2 digit numbers and comparing/ordering numbers to 10/20/100. We took part in lots of practical activities, including number hunts in the garden, building numbers with blocks and ordering number cards with a partner.

Open the document below to see some of the exciting things we've been doing during choosing time.

w/b 16th October 2017

This week our main literacy focus activity was writing potion recipes for the Wicked Witch (from The Jolly Postman). We worked with a partner to come up with a list of gruesome ingredients that might be found in a witch's store cupboard and then shared our ideas with the class to create a huge mind map. From there we went on to choose 4 ingredients for our own recipes and some of us started to write out the instructions as well. We had to make sure that we numbered each step and used time connectives (first, then, next, etc.) Not everyone got to finish, so we will continue next week.

In maths we have been focussing on working out what number is one or two more/less than a given number. This was very tricky but the children persevered very well! By the end of the week we started to look at counting groups in sets, with the Year 2 children beginning to look at multiplication.

In RE we learned about the Hindu creation story. We compared it the Christian creation story and wrote about it in our books.

On Wednesday afternoon we took part in a smell investigation. When we initially read The Jolly Postman, we discussed how we could get the wolf out of Grandma's cottage. The children had suggested baking something that smells yummy to lure him away! We decided to smell different foods to decide which would smell the best to the wolf. The children made predictions and recorded their results. Next week we will be using the most popular ingredient to cook something delicious!  

w/b 9th October 2017

This week we went on a trip to the Jambori at Rhyl leisure centre. The children had a fantastic time joining in with the Welsh songs.

In maths we continued with our work on measuring length. We estimated lengths and then measured them, we measured how far we could throw a beanbag and we built huge 2D shapes with specific measurements.

Following on from our map work last week, we discussed the features of Bodelwyddan. We talked about things that we like and dislike, and then sorted them into human and natural categories. The children had a lot to say! On Thursday we then went on a walk around Bodelwyddan to see if we could add any ideas.

In phonics, Group 1 looked at g and u. Group 2 looked at oi, er and ar.

In PE we did yoga. The children loved this activity! We use a youtube channel called Cosmic Kids Yoga. Click the link below if you would like to have a go at home!

w/b 2nd October 2017

This week we have been busy learning all about maps. We looked at a map of Fairy Tale Land and discussed the different things that we could see. We used the words symbol and key. We worked in groups to create felt maps on the floor and then tried to record what we had made in individual map grids. This was very tricky, but we got there in the end! Later on we learnt how to use coordinates to locate places on our maps.

Following on from this activity, we wrote directions for the Jolly Postman. We used bossy words and time connectives.

In maths we completed our work on subtraction by going on a QR code hunt outside. Once we found a QR code we had to scan it, solve the given subtraction problem and record the answer in a table. We then moved on to measuring length. We did lots of practical activities outside where we practised measuring with cubes (Reception/Year 1) and rulers/cms (Year 1/Year 2). Towards the end of the week we used what we had learnt about measuring length to estimate the length of a set of objects.

In phonics, our sounds for this week were:

Group 1 – d, o, u

Group 2 – ue, ou, oi

In RE we learnt about the Christian story of creation. We had lots of fun searching for pictures outside which we then sequenced as in the story. Afterwards we created our own pictures to match each day of creation.

In ICT we logged on to Hwb and completed a coding activity where we had to move a rocket around the screen to visit different planets.

We’ve also had lots of fun outside in the mud kitchen this week. Unfortunately we only have a limited amount of spare welly boots for the children to borrow. Please ensure that your child has their wellies in school every day. Thanks

w/b 25th September 2017

This week has flown by! The children have been very busy with lots of exciting activities.

We started the week with a visit from the local postman. He came in to answer questions from the children and show them around his post van. The children learnt lots of new information and took away some ideas for their own post van models.

Once Postman Matt had left, the children asked if they could write letters to post..so we did! The children decided who they would like their letter to be for, wrote their own letters and addressed the envelopes. During Golden Time we walked to the local post box and posted the letters. We’re very excited for them to arrive at home!

Our maths focus for the week was subtraction. We practised ‘finding the difference’ and drawing pictures to help us solve subtraction problems. We also completed a problem solving activity where the children had to find pairs of numbers that had a difference of 1, 2, 3 or 4. This was very tricky, but many of the children showed fantastic perseverance. Da iawn!

In phonics, Group 1 looked at the sounds r and m. Group 2 revisited th and qu.

As part of our topic planning at the beginning of the year, the children had expressed an interest in helping Goldilocks to build a new chair for Baby Bear. Last week we received a letter from Goldilocks asking for some help (as Baby Bear was being very picky about his new chair!) This week we worked in groups to compare and discuss our individual plans to create a group design. We then worked together to build our new chairs, making sure that they were 30cm tall, could hold Baby Bear’s weight and that they had a picture of Baby Bear on the back. Once we had finished building them, we tested them and recorded the results. All of the groups did very well!

On Thursday afternoon, the class took part in a debate to find out which of the characters from ‘The Jolly Postman’ was the meanest. First we sorted the characters to find a shortlist and then we split into two teams – Team Wolf and Team Witch. The children had to work with their team to think of as many different reasons as they could to justify their character being the meanest. We then went into the hall to hold mini debates. For some of the children, this was their first time taking part in a formal debate and I was very impressed with how they tried to adapt their speech to suit the situation.

In PE this week we continued to practise rugby skills. This week’s focus was throwing and catching. We worked in threes to practise underarm passes and discussed what we could do to improve our own throwing/catching.

In Welsh this week we introduced the phrase ‘Ble wyt ti’n byw?’ to tie in with our work around addresses. We will continue with this next week.

Phew! What a busy week!

w/b 18th September 2017

We've had another extremely busy week in Dosbarth Moel Siabod!

Our maths focus for this week was addition. We looked at lots of different ways to solve addition problems, including drawing pictures, counting on with a number line and using counters or blocks. The children are being encouraged to use whichever strategy works best for them!

By Friday we needed a little break from addition  so we went out to the Forest School area to see if we could build 2 digit numbers, using sticks to represent the tens and leaves for the units. Friday was quite windy and some of the children came up with their own plans to represent their number without the leaves blowing away!

In phonics this week, Group 1 looked at the ck,e and h sounds. Group 2 looked at oo, ch and sh sounds.

We have continued with our topic all about The Jolly Postman this week and completed our letters to the Wicked Witch. We've also worked together on a collaborative art project that will be displayed on our new post office role play area when it is completed. The children have been working with Mrs Constanzo to paint a map of the Jolly Postman's journey in Fairy Tale Land.

On Tuesday we received a letter from Goldilocks asking for some help. She's been trying to re build Baby Bear's chair but she's been struggling because he is quite picky. He wants it to be a certain height and able to hold 500g of weight. We decided to help out by drawing some designs that Goldilocks could follow when building the new chair. We looked at the available materials and discussed what we could do with them to ensure that the chair would be strong enough. Next week we will work in groups to create some new chairs!

We've had lots of fun outside this week. We have been making use of the new stage area whilst acting out the story of The Jolly Postman. We've also been working our finger muscles whilst creating bird feeders to hang on the trees.

In PE this week we continued practising rugby skills and the children are getting much quicker at dodging cones in our team games. In Welsh we practised responding to command words such as canwch (sing).

w/b 11th September 2017

Our maths focus for this week was counting objects accurately. We had 3 levels of challenge - counting up to 10 objects, up to 20 objects and up to 100 objects (using grouping). The children had lots of opportunities for practical counting activities and we discussed different strategies for making sure that we counted the objects carefully. We also played some games on the iPads and I have added the links for these games to the class website. Towards the end of the week we completed a problem solving activity using the posititional language right, left, above and below. The children worked really well with their partners to read instructions and discuss where numbers should be placed on a blank grid. 

We continued with our storytelling project this week and the pupils are doing really well. Hopefully next week we can record the children performing the story and add it to our class page. 

Our literacy focus this week was writing letters to the Wicked Witch from our class story. All of the children chose a character to be and wrote their own letters. Not all of the children managed to get to this activity, so we will continue next week. 

In phonics, group 1 looked at the i, p and sounds. Group 2 looked at ee, or and ng. 

As part art of our topic work we discussed the job of a postman. The children had lots of questions about post men/women and the post office. The children decided to write down some of their questions and I have arranged for the local postman to come in and see us next week! 

In Welsh we practised asking 'Sut wyt ti?' The children enjoyed taking part in some role play and then drew different pictures to show a variety of emotions.

Our PE lesson this week focused on rugby skills and the children are really eager to continue next week! 

We we had a visit from PC Catrin and she gave us lots of information about people who help us. We looked carefully at all the tools on her uniform and some of the children were even put in hand cuffs! We role played 999 call scenarios and discussed when it's appropriate to call the emergency number. 

w/b 4th September 2017

Welcome back! We’ve had a very busy week learning all of the new routines and expectations that come along with a new class and teacher. The children have coped very well and I’ve been very impressed by their attitudes towards school. Da iawn pawb!

We started the week by working together to decide on a set of class rules that would ensure that we were all happy, all having fun and all learning lots! The children came up with a very sensible set of rules, which are now on the wall for all to see.

In literacy we have started to look at our new focus story – ‘The Jolly Postman’. We read the story together and tried to solve some problems from the text in small groups. The children came up with some very imaginative ideas! These ideas will now be the basis of our activities over the next few weeks. We’ll be looking at maps, our local area and the postal system.

For phonics we have split into 2 groups. Group 1 have been practising the letter sounds s, a and t. Group 2 have looked at ai, oa and ie.

We also started handwriting practise this week. Some of the children are beginning to learn cursive handwriting. We focussed on the letter I.

In maths we have been looking at number formation and ordering numbers to 10/20/50. We took part in lots of practical activities such as writing numbers in glitter and flour, using the chalks on the yard and painting numbers around the school with water.

In PE we started learning about rugby. We played team games using rugby balls where we had to race around the cones. Please make sure your child’s PE kit is in school every day so they don’t miss out!

In Welsh we practised asking ‘Pwy wyt ti?’ (Who are you?) The Year 2 pupils wrote simple sentences to match pictures, whilst Year 1 and Reception played games outside where they could practise asking and responding to the question.

A fun and busy first week back!