Welcome to Year 1

People who help us

As part of our ‘Marvellous Me’ topic we have been looking at people who help us to have better lives. Whether it be from scientific contributions in the past e.g. Louis Pasteur and the discovery of vaccines, which make us better when we are poorly to everyday and often unsung heroes like doctors, police men and women, firefighters, vets, nurses and lollipop people who assist us with crossing the road safely.

Year 1 discussed together about how these amazing folk go above and beyond the call of duty to make sure everyone can live in a safe, secure world and get the help they required when it is most needed.

The children then chose one role model to make a cone puppet of and wrote an explanation as to why they’d selected that person.

Here are a few reasons they gave:

I picked the firefighter because ‘They put out fires and save cats’

I chose the policeman because ‘They chase baddies’

I nominated the builder because ‘My Daddy is a builder and helps make houses for people to live and be warm in'

I selected the vet because 'They help animals when they are poorly'

Our Trip to Whipsnade Zoo

On Wednesday 4^th July 2018, year 1 went to Whipsnade Zoo. Our topic this term is ‘Our Wonderful World’ and we have been learning all about animals, their habitats and what animal group they are in. Throughout the day we got to see many different animals such as, a crocodile, a penguin, giraffes, brown bears, penguins, and many more.

We also went to a workshop called ‘Fur, Feathers and Scales’. The children discussed the differences between reptiles, mammals and birds. They then had the opportunity to handle real objects from the natural world, from a lion skin to an ostrich egg. They used descriptive words to label and sort the animals into groups. At the end of the workshop they had a surprise guest which was Cornelius the corn snake. This was very exciting and we had some brave children who were not afraid to pet the snake.

Our topic this term is Eye on London. The children have been learning all about London and have particularly enjoyed learning about ‘The Great Fire of London’. On Monday 29^th January Year 1 & 2 had a Great Fire of London workshop. The hall was set out as Pudding Lane, where the fire had started. There were different activities the children could take part in which included:

Barber Surgeons, Apothecaries, Leather Workers, Chandlers, and Weavers.

While the children were taking part in their activities some children were chosen to act out different parts of the event such as putting out the fire, or collecting and killing the rats. All the children were completely engaged and took on their responsibilities very seriously. They had to be responsible for putting out the fire and pass a bucket to each other quickly before the fire got worse. This was an experience the children will never forget and it helped enhance what they already knew about the fire and also taught them many more facts that they didn't know.

On Friday 6^th October Year 1 went to the Gunpowder Mills.

The children took part in 4 different workshops which taught them about Victorian Life. The first workshop was the ‘Holiday’ workshop where the children were shown photographs and taught about where Victorian children would go on holiday and how long for. In the second workshop the children were shown Victorian toys. They looked at the material the toys were made out of and were given the opportunity to play with the toys.

In the third workshop children were given the opportunity to experience life in a Victorian classroom. They had a strict teacher who made them recite the alphabet and use chalk boards to write.

The last workshop was the Victorian house where the children were asked to do house work. They had to polish shoes and wash the clothes. The children enjoyed this workshop very much and were more than happy to do household jobs.

We had a fantastic time on our school trip and the children had a fun and educational visit.