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It has been a busy and productive half term with lots of Christmas inspired activities, an amazing performance and a trip to the city centre!
We have been learning all about people who inspire us through our IPC topic ‘People of the Past’. At home, the children researched a person who stimulated their imagination and who’s actions inspire them. During our Entry Point, the children shared this information with one another, bringing books, images or items related to that person. We have a wide range of interesting and varied individuals ranging from artists such as Frida Kahlo, to activists like Susan B. Anthony and King Sejong, the inventor of the Korean alphabet.
Using the beautiful series of books Little People, Big Dreams the children have been delving into the lives of amazing people who have made a difference to the world. They have been learning how to draw out relevant and interesting information and how to present it. They made beautiful and informative posters about these incredible people and their achievements.
We went on a walking tour of Gent to discover more about it’s rich and varied history. Our lovely guide Bruno gave the children some remarkable insights into our beautiful city, he also introduced them to the local hero Jacob Van Artevelde- a famous Gentian whose statue stands proud on the Vrijdagsmaarkt. We will be exploring more about this intriguing man and the times he lived in when we return to school in January.
We have also been learning about a famous author- the wonder that is Dr Seuss. The children learned to recite his much-loved tale The Grinch Who Stole Christmas. Using the Talk for Writing method, they came up with a series of actions to illustrate the words, these actions helped imbed the patterns of language and memorise the poem. They did a beautiful performance with an animation video in the background using puppets and scenery that they had made themselves! It was a beautiful end to a fun and busy term, and I was so proud of each and every one of them.
All that is left to say is a very happy festive season to you all- may it be fun-filled and relaxing. See you all in 2020!
Erica
Welcome back! I hope you all had a fantastic autumn break and are feeling rested and ready to begin another fun-filled term.
In literacy, the children have been working extremely hard at writing their very own creation myths. They began by creating and developing the characters in their stories by making beautiful masks and then interviewing one another to really delve into their creator and how they made the world. They recorded their thoughts through story mapping; a process that helped them develop their ideas and think carefully about the beginning, middle and end of their stories. They then took these ideas and translated their story maps into a storyboard. Finally, the children choose to record their creation myths as beautifully illustrated books, like the much-loved Fire Children original. We invite you all to come and have a look outside our classroom where they are on display for all to enjoy.
We have been getting out and about in nature as much as possible and have been developing many skills such as cooperation and resilience through these valuable outdoor experiences. The children have also been using this time to delve further into our topic work such as creating self portraits with natural materials and creating settings for their Fire Children stories and using these settings as a springboard to develop vocabulary and ideas.
In IPC, the children have learned all about their bodies and organs and the important role each one plays in keeping us alive and well. We have also been learning to express ourselves in different ways and used our experiences during our trip to SMAK to create ‘All About Me Boxes’ where each child produced a small box filled with their favourite things as a means to express their identity and individuality. On Friday, we had the exit point for our topic – Who Am I? Thank you to all who joined us to celebrate all the hard work and effort that the children put into their first months back at school- it was a great success and was thoroughly enjoyed by all involved.
We have had a super start to the school year and the children have spent lots of time learning about one another and building new friendships. It’s been wonderful to hear about all their summer holiday adventures and get to know each child individually. It has also been great to see some familiar faces and to welcome some new friends to ISG: welcome Bianca, Laura and Berit; it’s fantastic to see how quickly you have all settled into your new school and class!
Our current topic is Who am I? Through this topic we are busy exploring our identities; celebrating our differences and the characteristics we share. For our Entry Point the children looked at photos that had been changed so that only their very basic facial features were recognisable and had great fun trying to find out who was who. They then drew some lovely sketches of their faces which are on our classroom door. We have also been on a trip to the SMAK museum where the children were introduced to a variety of artists and saw the many ways they expresses themselves and their identities. We will use this visit as a springboard for children to make their own personal and expressive works of art.
In literacy, all of Year 1 and 2 are also currently working on a creation myth from West Africa called The Fire Children. Through the story the children are doing lots of different activities from story circles to making their own fire children characters from clay. These sessions help bring the story to life and allow the children to explore all areas of the literacy program in a creative and meaningful way.
Our numeracy programme has started well, the children have been building on their numeracy skills, revisting numbers, number facts and number bonds. We will be moving on to shape and symmetry next week.
I am looking forward to a fun year of learning and watching each child grow, develop and enjoy their time together!
