Jigsaw

During the morning sessions of Jigsaw the children have just finished a poetry unit. They explored various poems first, identifying the different features they have. They then used this information to create their own Haiku poems. These look simple however the children needed to use their knowledge of syllables to help record sentences that contain 5 syllables, then 7 syllables and finally 5 syllables. They then decorated their final versions.

Nurture Group

snack time:

The children have been encouraged and supported to help make the snack at the end of each session in Nurture, with some of the younger members of the group challenging themselves to complete this task. This supports the children to develop new skills and use their secrets of success to show kindness towards the other members of the group.

Anti-bullying week 2023

This month in the Nurture group, the children have been reflecting on what it means to be a good friend, how we can make people feel welcome and show kindness during Anti-bullying week. The children were challenged to create a gift for another member of the group – focussing on what they like and how it would make them feel to receive a gift. The children worked hard to create a wide range of gifts and enjoyed sharing them as much as receiving their own gifts!

The children also made gifts for their classes to take back and share with everyone. The children very much enjoyed the process of making chocolate fudge and were really pleased to be able to share these treats with their friends. The children understood that it is kind to do something for someone else without asking for anything in return.

The children in Jigsaw have being working on their Proud books this month. This is an opportunity for them to identify learning from both Jigsaw and their class that has made them feel proud. The children have enjoyed selecting their work and then sharing the books at home.

In Jigsaw this month the children have been focussed on addition and then problem solving by working systematically. The children have worked collaboratively and independently to complete tasks.

In literacy, the children have been focussing on non fiction texts. The children have read and evaluated pieces of writing and then worked hard to plan and then record a leaflet about how to keep your phone safe before entering The Dragon’s Den with their persuasive text for a brand new gadget! The children particularly enjoyed developing the gadgets abilities and potential. Maybe we have some budding entrepreneurs in the class.

I am thrilled that so many children are bringing their reading books and reading diaries to school each day. On top of this they are reading at home, which is helping to develop their confidence and skill in reading in class – this has been a great improvement. The children are also completing and returning their homework each week! Thank you for your continued support with these learning activities, it makes a real difference to the children’s progress.

This month the children have been exploring colour theory. They have used primary colours to create new, secondary colours. When they felt more confident the children then create shades and tones, using inspiration from artists to use block painting. This work with be collated to create a ‘colour wall’ in the eco lodge.

The children were keen to explore using different tools. Here they are working on their gross motor movements to use a peeler. The children worked with sticks which then quickly developed to the apples that are growing in forest school. The children understood the need for care and safety, which is why they are sitting down and using gloves.

The children have been excited to invite their friends or family members to experience an afternoon in Nurture. The children created invitations and then spent the afternoon exploring forest school and sharing a positive experience with them.

Following on from the success of the peeling earlier in the month, the children’s learning developed to using the apples to cook with. The children were taught how to light a fire safely, using a fire stick, and then they prepared their apples and cooked them like a kebab and then wrapped in pasty. The best part was the tasting!

Finally, the children were thrilled to invite parents to a stay and learn session where they carved pumpkins and then decorated them. The children were keen to share their nurture experience with their adults and demonstrated real pride in their learning.

Welcome to the Jigsaw provision groups in school. I am very impressed and pleased to say how well the children have settled into their new routine and how well they are working with me and the other adults in Jigsaw.

We have started our guided reading sessions where the children spend sessions reading with Mrs Housley, then answering questions independently and then editing their answers with Mrs Barnett. The children then have a session to read their reading books, or their library books or using the computer based reading and spelling intervention called Nessy.

In Literacy the children are following the RWI Literacy and Language programme and have thrown themselves into it with real enthusiasm. The children have already shown confidence to share their ideas and offer answers and suggestions. The children particularly enjoyed the role play activities that we have completed called ‘hot seating’ and ‘conscience alley’.

In maths lessons, the children have been focussed on developing their place value knowledge and their quick recall and use of times tables facts. The children have used a variety of resources to help them to feel more confident and secure with this knowledge.

In the Nurture provision, the children have met the challenges that we have given them so far, with enthusiasm and energy come rain or shine!!

The children are developing their new friendships and learning how to support each other and work together in different learning activities.

The children have relished the opportunity to be responsible for making snack for the whole group and they have taken this task very seriously – as have the children who have enjoyed their hot chocolates and biscuits! We feel it is a valuable skill to understand how we can take care of others and respond appropriately with politeness and kindness.

A large part of the Nurture session is being part of the daily circle time, where the children are encouraged to share how they are feeling about their day, through selecting a coloured gem and then explaining why they feel this way. Supporting the children to be able to identify and discuss their feelings is hugely valuable in supporting them to develop self-help and self-regulating skills. The colours are based on the story “The Colour Monster” by Anna Llenas.

Welcome to Jigsaw in May.

The maths group have been focussing on a range of maths concepts this month, these have included measures of length, turns and angles. The children have worked practically and more formally to consolidate their understanding of the concepts. The children really liked using the angle finders to identify 90 degree angles in the classroom. They also completed some team challenges involving the concepts they have been investigating. Below are some photographs of these.

The Nurture group have been busy too. There was a special focus around the Coronation of King Charles 3rd. The children created coronation cupcakes for the celebration. They are developing and improving their cooking skills, ensuring quantities are measured accurately with scales, and using a range of skills, including mixing, folding and egg cracking to complete the bakes.

Outside, the children have taken on a new challenge of creating ‘memory sticks’ that will be planted in forest school, as a memory and representation of themselves and their time in the Nurture group. The children initially started by exploring how they could add texture and patterns, using a chisel and hammer. They understand the need for care and accuracy when using these tools. The children demonstrated resilience when it didn’t quite work for them and reflection, so they could refine and improve their designs.

Continuing the coronation theme, the children have dedicated a raised flower bed at the front of the school to the celebration. They worked collectively to decorate flower pots and a reclaimed tyre with colours representing the celebration and then planted up the bed with plants offering similar colours. The children’s understanding of plants and their needs has increased over this term and they work independently to design, plant and maintain the beds. The final touch was to add hand drawn and designed rocks depicting motifs and colours of the coronation.

Pizza was the order of the day here – the children are enjoying making and eating food from around the world and this week we landed in Italy. The children planned their pizzas first, including the ingredients they would like before making them and then of course tasting them. Everyone agreed they tasted delicious!

Finally, this month we said a sad goodbye to some of our Year 6 children who have now returned back to class in preparation for their move to Year 7. We celebrated the children’s contributions and progress with an afternoon of fun games, gymnastics for some, and a picnic snack. Although we are sad to not have them with us each afternoon, they all still pop down to Nurture for snack once a week so we can catch up with them and hear all about what they are doing.

Nurture

Revitalsing the flower beds at the front of the school

The children have worked through wind, rain and sun to renovate the beds at the front of school to make them more appealing as well as consolidating their understanding of life cycles, what plants need to survive and the variation of plants and vegetables. Each bed is dedicated to a different theme, ranging from vegetables, wildlife friendly, sensory. Keep a look at for the coronation bed that is currently under design. Lots of the children enjoy the calming feeling of gardening as it uses their senses in different ways and they are discovering hidden talents for planting!

Fire pit and cooking bread

The children have learnt about fire this month – they have been challenged to understand what a fire needs to be successful and how their behaviour must change when they are near the fire pit. The children were able to learn how to light a fire, using a fire stick. Then they created a bread dough and cooked it on the fire that they had created.

Cheesecake

The children have wanted to make their own cheesecakes for several weeks, so this month they have had the opportunity. The children understand the need to weigh ingredients accurately, to ensure that the recipe is successful. They know to maintain high standards of hygiene whilst they are cooking and of course, how to follow a recipe.

The cheesecake ingredients were a little confusing to the children, when they were using actual cheese, however, the proof is in the pudding, as they say and the cheesecakes were a huge hit! Even if they had to share them at home too!

circle time

Circle time in Nurture remains a priority for several reasons. It encourages the children to reflect on their day and how this has made them feel, whilst being able to identify and acknowledge how they are feeling without judgement. The children are all encouraged to select a coloured gem, which denotes a particular feeling, and then take it in turns to share how they are feeling. The rest of the group and expected to listen respectfully and ask appropriate questions or offer support and advice. The children enjoy this part of the session and are very open and honest when discussing how they are feeling.

Maths

In maths this month we have been exploring shape. Both 2D and 3D and investigating their properties. The children drew them, built them and created with them to consolidate their knowledge of shapes.

Literacy

In Literacy the children have been reading a play about a girl who moves to a new area and the challenge that she has to make new friends. The children engaged with this subject incredibly well and very very honest when discussing their own opinions and views of honesty and friendship. They were then challenged to write a scene of their own based on the play extending the action between the characters.

Here you can see the children freeze framing on particular emotions that the characters of the play experienced.

Nurture

The children continued to explore the forest school habitat, including the pond. They were really fortunate to find a wide range of creatures living there.

This month, the children were also able to invite a friend/sibling to come and spend the afternoon with them in Nurture. This was a huge success, enabling the Nurture children to share lots of positive experiences with their friends. The children are very keen to repeat this experience.

Literacy

The children have worked practically to enhance their understanding of non-fiction texts. They read information texts from their books and then planned and wrote their own guide to holidays. They included facts and helpful ideas for when you go on a variety of different holidays.

Maths

The children have proved that they can use a mixture of resources effectively to clarify their understanding of the maths learning and to ensure they are working accurately.

Collaboration and teamwork

This has been the theme in Nurture this month. The children have problem-solved together to set up new ways to use the resources in forest school. They have designed and refined their work to help them create seesaws and dens. The children also worked together to complete a physical challenge involving the swingball.

Pond dipping in the forest school habitat.

The children have worked carefully and alongside each other to begin to explore the habitat of the pond – closely observing what they have seen and classifying it within the animals that live there. The children were very careful to ensure that the animals, insects and habitat was left undisturbed.

In Jigsaw maths lessons, the children have focussed on using resources to consolidate their knowledge of place value, which has then enabled them to complete more complicated addition and subtraction equations, where they have been able to expand the numbers they have used to ensure the accuracy of their work. The children have demonstrated good resilience and confidence when working this month, embracing new challenges and using their ‘Secrets of Success’ when trying new things and pushing themselves.

In the Nurture group, the children made the most of the sprinkling of snow that fell – exploring it by making snow angels, walking in it, and creating their own mini snowmen. The children have also worked on creating dens and habitats out in the forest school area. This has involved using tools safely to cut twigs and wood, as well as developing their collaborative skills when negotiating which areas and resources to use.

In the Nurture group, the children celebrated Chinese New Year. They explored creating Chinese symbols and tasted a variety of Chinese foods – not all of them were a hit! They worked to create their own spring rolls, which involved chopping, frying, folding and then baking. The children even used chopsticks to eat with for a more authentic experience.