Mary’s Knitting – KS1 Nativity
Our Year One children have amazed us with their beautiful performance of Mary’s Knitting! After weeks of practice, they overcame their nerves to stand confidently in front of their families and share the true spirit of Christmas.
From learning their lines to singing with joy, every child worked so hard to
make the performance a success. All their preparation truly paid off, as the show ran smoothly and was a delight to watch.
We are so proud of each and every one of them for their courage, teamwork, and dedication. Well done, Year One and the whole of KS1!
Exploring 3D Shapes!
This week, Year One has been learning about 3D shapes. A 3D shape is solid and has depth, width, and height.
We’ve identified spheres, cubes, cuboids, cones, cylinders, and pyramids, then explored our classroom to find them in real life!
Help at home
At home, you can support your child by spotting 3D shapes in everyday objects like cans, boxes, or balls. Ask: “What shape is this?” and explore together.
Nativity
The children have been thoroughly enjoying rehearsing their nativity play and are excited to share it with you next week. As part of the performance, we’ll be singing Away in a Manger. The lyrics have been sent home today, so we kindly ask you to practice them with your child. We’ll also be singing this carol at the Church service on Thursday afternoon this week.
Here are the lyrics:
Away in a manger
No crib for a bed
The little Lord Jesus
Laid down His sweet head
The stars in the bright sky
Looked down where He lay
The little Lord Jesus
Asleep on the hay.
Be near me, Lord Jesus,
I ask Thee to stay
Close by me forever
And love me I pray
Bless all the dear children
In Thy tender care
And fit us to heaven
To live with Thee there
Thank you so much to those who have already sent in costumes! If you haven’t yet, please ensure all costumes are brought in by Friday, 13th December.
Thank you for your support!
National Santa Dash
On Friday, all children took part in the National Santa Dash. This event was all about having some fun whilst being active.
We’ve decided to extend this event: we’ll be holding an Easter and Summer Dash, too! Our goal is to allow pupils to set some targets and improve on their personal bests through the year.
Here are some photos – enjoy!
Super sentences
This week, Year 1 have been busy writing character descriptions for Cyril the Squirrel from The Squirrels Who Squabbled by Rachel Bright.
The children focused on using adjectives to add more detail to their writing, making Cyril come to life with words like “cheeky”, “fluffy”, and “playful.”
They independently wrote sentences to describe Cyril, being careful to include our must dos, which are capital letters, finger spaces and full stops.
They are becoming super noun and adjective detectives!
Help at home:
- Play “I Spy” with adjectives e.g. “I spy something soft and yellow.”
- Describe favourite toys using adjectives e.g. “My teddy is cuddly and brown.”
- Read books together and spot adjectives in the text.
Maths: adding and subtracting
In Maths, we’ve been learning how to add and subtract one or two from a single digit number. We’ve been using a number line to help us.
Check out our amazing work below.
Help at home: Complete the number sentences. Remember to check the symbol (+ or -) before you start.
2 + 1 =
4 + 1 =
7 + 2 =
5 + 2 =
4 – 1 =
6 – 1 =
9 – 2 =
2 – 0 =
Year One Topic Review
We ended this week with a review of our previous topic unit, The Great Fire of London. The children were thrilled to welcome some of you to join in the fun and take part in our Great Fire of London quiz.
Everyone worked brilliantly in their teams, answering questions about key events, Samuel Peyps and life in 1666. The children impressed us all with their knowledge and enthusiasm. They proudly showed off their learning, explaining how the fire started, why it spread and how it was eventually stopped!
The children also had the opportunity to show off the painting they have been working on in their new topic, Art. Sharing their knowledge of the artist George Seurat and the style of art he created, pointillism.
Thank you to the parents who joined us—it was lovely to see such teamwork and encouragement. This event was a wonderful celebration of the children’s hard work!
Help at Home:
- Visit your local library to find books about the Great Fire of London.
- Explore online resources together, like videos or interactive timelines.
- Practice timeline skills by talking about events in your child’s own life.
Living and Learning: I can talk about my feelings
This week, we’ve been exploring emotions and how they shape our feelings. We’ve talked about how emotions can change all the time and how it’s completely normal to experience a wide range of them—from anger and fear to happiness and excitement. Emotions are an important part of our mental health, helping us understand ourselves and others.
During our circle time on Monday, we focused on specific emotions: happiness, excitement, worry, and tiredness. Together, we reflected on how each of these emotions feels in our own experiences.
- “I felt worried when I stayed at my cousin’s house, and my mum wasn’t there.”
- “I feel happy when I come to school because I love learning.”
- “I felt excited when I went on holiday.”
- “I felt happy when I had hot chocolate while feeling unwell.”
Today, we became “emotion detectives”! We practiced identifying emotions by studying pictures. We carefully examined facial expressions and body language to decide which emotion best fit each character. It was a fun and insightful way to learn how to recognise feelings in others!
Afterward, we all took turns demonstrating how different emotions might look and feel through facial expressions and body language.
proud
surprised
fear
nervous
sad
happy.
Help at home: Take moments throughout the day to check in with your child and ask how they’re feeling. Encourage them to think about their emotions—what might that feeling look like? Does it have a colour, shape, or even a sound? This can help them better understand and express their emotions.
Pointillism in Year 1
This term, Year 1 have been diving into the wonderful world of George Seurat and pointillism! Last week, we explored Seurat’s paintings, noticing how he used tiny dots to create beautiful scenes. The children were fascinated by how these little dots come together to form a bigger picture.
This week, they became pointillist artists themselves! Using bubble wrap and Q-tips, they experimented with primary colours (red, blue, and yellow), dabbing dots of paint to create textured masterpieces. They also explored colour mixing, discovering new shades and tones as the dots overlapped.
Help at home:
- Encourage your child to create dot art using cotton buds or paint brushes.
- Look at nature – leaves, flowers, or clouds – and discuss how tiny details create a whole picture.
Science: Materials
This term, our Science topic is Materials. Today, we explored a variety of rocks, observing and describing their texture, colour, size, and shape. We also considered how different types of rocks might be used in real-life.
Here are some of the ideas we discussed:
- “We could use this rock to build a house or a wall.”
- “This one could be used to make a table or a bench.”
- “This type of rock would be great for carving a statue.”
- “Some rocks are perfect for kitchen worktops because they’re hard and strong.”
We compared the rocks, noting their similarities and differences. For example:
- Some rocks were smooth, while others were rough.
- Certain rocks were heavier, and some were much lighter.
Finally, we sorted the rocks based on their size and then texture, arranging them from rough to smooth. It was fascinating to see how varied and versatile these natural materials can be!
Help at home: Go on a materials hunt at home! Look around and see if you can find objects made from different materials e.g wood, plastic, rock, or metal. Use the key vocabulary below to help you describe the items you discover. What textures, colours and uses can you identify? Happy exploring!
