Butterfly Class
A very big welcome to the children starting school in September and the Year Ones who are returning to Butterfly Class. We are a mixed Reception and Year One class.
Your class teacher is Mrs Waters and the teaching assistants are Miss Hardiman and Mrs Smith. We are here to help support you settle into school life and teach you lots of new and exciting things!
Our Learning Environment
We have a fantastic learning environment in Butterfly Class. We love exploring our outdoor area and using it to be creative.
We have lots of resources including bricks, pebbles, sand, wooden planks, guttering and milk crates. We have an area where we can dress up and act out stories. We have a sand pit, a digging area and a huge mud kitchen.
Inside we love to build in the construction area and make things in our creative area, paint or draw. We also have a great book corner.
Please click on this document to see our Year 1 Curriculum Map and all the different subjects we will be learning this year.
We are currently following Map B.
Pupils in EYFS and Year 1 are expected to complete reading 5 times a week. Pupils in Year 1 are given Purple Home Learning books to practise age-appropriate spellings and Maths facts.
Please see the documents below for your termly home learning work. Remember to also use Numbots to practise your Maths facts!
Class Author – Term 5 and 6
Our class author for terms 5 and 6 is Chitra Soundar. As well as writing books, Chitra is a speaker, oral storyteller and screenwriter. Her stories are inspired by her family, her childhood in India, which was filled with epics and folktales, and her travels around the world.
Term 6
This term, our theme is ‘Into the Deep Blue’. We will learn about different types of sea creatures – large and small. We will think about the beach, rock pools, the arctic/Antarctica and hot/cold climates.
PSHE -Changing Me
We have been thinking about our body parts and how we have changed since we were babies. We discussed what our bodies need to grow and be healthy. We also thought about how we will change and be in different year groups in September.
We sorted female and male body parts!
FIRST HAND EXPERIENCE
Trip to Cholderton Rare Breeds Farm
We had an amazing visit to Cholderton Rare Breeds Farm. We enjoyed ‘guinea pig fishing’. feeding sheep, goats, horses and llamas and handling rabbits and guinea pigs. We also loved watching the pig races!
Term 5
This term, our theme in EYFS is ‘In the Garden’. We will learn the names and features of different mini-beasts, going on mini-beast hunts. We will visit the school pond to see what mini-beasts we can find there. We will be thinking about the signs of Spring and exploring new plants and growth of a plant.
Science
In Science this term we are learning about living and non-living things. We will explore different animal groups – mammals, reptiles, amphibians, fish, birds and insects.
Life Cycle of a Caterpillar – AWE AND WONDER!
We looked after tiny caterpillars and watched them get bigger and bigger until they formed a cocoon. We moved them into a net and watched them everyday! Once day we were thrilled to find caterpillars which we loved setting free. It was an amazing first hand experience.
Design and Technology
We used a slider which allowed an animal to move across the page.
Geography
Our focus in Geography was ‘The Farming Year’. We found out about arable and pastoral farming and where it happens in the UK. We found out how a farm changes through out different seasons and we compared towns with the countryside.
Computing – moving a robot
We programmed ‘Dash Robots’ to move in different directions using an Ipad controller.
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Term 4
This term our theme in EYFS is ‘Journeys’. We will be thinking about the ways we travel – car, bike, train, aeroplane, boat and the journeys we take. We will learn about the history of transport through stories and pictures.
Easter Around the World Topic Day
We enjoyed taking parts in lots of Easter activities in the classroom. Then we visited the church and learnt about different parts of the Easter story. We even got to meet real donkeys!
History – Beyond Living Memory
In History, we have been learning about ‘Transport – Beyond Living Memory’. We found out about the engineers; George Stevenson (who invented the locomotive), Isambard Kingdom Brunel (who invented the passenger ship SS Great Britain) and Karl Benz (who invented the automobile).
As a part of our topic on transport, we learnt about emergency vehicles and had a fantastic visit from PC Ferguson. We were able to see inside a police car and a police van.
PSHE/PD Healthy Me!
This term, we discussed different food groups and why it is important to have a ‘balanced diet’. We learnt how to clean our teeth, why it is important to drink water, sleep and exercise too. Finally, we discussed the importance of an adult administering any medicine and how to cross roads safely.
World Book Day Week
We read the story ‘Once Upon a Wish’ by Amy Sparkes. We brought the story alive by making our own potions and then writing instructions on how to make a wish. We thought of our own wishes and popped the bubbles to grant the wish, just like the wish giver in the story!
Design and Technology
In Year 1, we have been practising our sewing skills. We designed and made a purse. Then we evaluated our product. In EYFS, we practised our scissor skills, made sliders and found out how to accurately fold paper.
Design and Technology
We made yummy fruit kebabs by using a knife to carefully cut up fruit and thread it onto a stick.
Science – Plants
We planted our own broad beans. We are watching them grow this term. We will talk abut the lifecycle of a bean and what a plant needs to survive. We will learn the parts of a plant – root, shoot, stem, leaves, seed and flower. We will learn the names of wild flowers and sort deciduous and coniferous trees.
As the weather gets warmer, we will learn about Spring!
Computing – Word Processing
In our computing sessions this term, the Year 1s have been learning how to edit text, type and save using Microsoft Word.
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Term 3
This term our theme in EYFS is ‘Our Wonderful World’. We will start with visiting North America and the Arctic circle! We have an exciting igloo roleplay area with many Arctic animals. We will also visit Africa, Asia, South America, Australia/Oceania, Antarctica and Europe. We will learn about the different weather, animals and people living there. We will also be celebrating Chinese New Year with a class topic day!
English
Our model text for ‘Talk for Writing’ this term is ‘The Gingerbread Man’. This is a quest tale and we will focus on characterisation, creating our own characters who go on their own quest!
The ‘Hook’ for this story was finding a video of the Gingerbread Man (and his friends) in our classroom. As you can imagine this sparked ALOT of excitement! See the video above, your children will probably ask you if they can watch it again and again.
English
Our model text for ‘Talk for Writing’ this term is ‘The Gingerbread Man’. This is a quest tale and we will focus on characterisation, creating our own characters who go on their own quest!
The ‘Hook’ for this story was finding a video of the Gingerbread Man (and his friends) in our classroom. As you can imagine this sparked ALOT of excitement! See the video above, your children will probably ask you if they can watch it again and again.
Geography – The World
In Geography this term, we will learn the names of the 7 continents and 5 oceans. We will use atlases to locate the continents and oceans. We will find the equator and poles, whilst discussing the different weather and landscapes in different places of the world.
Art and Design
In Art and Design this term, we are learning about the artist Clare Youngs. She is a designer maker working with paper and fabric.
Longleat Outreach Visit
Butterfly and Owl Class were lucky enough to have a visit from two of the keepers from Longleat, Ben and Alex. They brought some different animals with them for us to learn about.
This snake is a royal python which is a type of constrictor. This animal squeezes its prey until it falls asleep!
Guinea pigs are rodents, which are types of mammals. Their teeth never stop growing!
These are Madagascan hissing cockroaches. The “hissing” sound (expelling air through their bodies) is their primary defence, to frighten potential predators, as they cannot fly and are easily captured.
We want to say a big THANK YOU to the FOSS for funding this visit for us and to Miss Smith for organising this.
We celebrated Chinese New Year. We dressed up and explored Chinese artefacts, ate Chinese food and explored Chinese writing symbols.
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Class Author – Term 1 and 2
Our class author this term is Tom Percival. As well as being an amazing children’s author and illustrator, Tom Percival is an artist, video producer and musician.
To find out more about Tom Percival, you might want to have a look at his website: tom-percival.com | All About Tom Percival
Term 2
Our theme within EYFS this term is ‘Autumn Days’. We will be learning about lots of festivals and celebrations which take place in Autumn. These will include – Bonfire Night, Remembrance Day, Diwali, Hannukah and Christmas. We also have our school nativity to look forward to.
Remembrance Day and British Values Topic Day
We had a whole school topic day about Remembrance Day and British Values.
In the morning we learnt about WWI and WWII. We talked about the symbol of the poppy and then the children created their own poppy pictures.
At 11am on 11th November, we took part in a 2 minute silence to remember those who had fallen in WWI or WWII.
In independent learning, some children built a tank, an army base or explored small world army role play.
History
We have been learning about ‘Guy Fawkes’ and his role in ‘The Gunpowder Plot’. We know that the story of The Gunpowder Plot is the reason we celebrate Bonfire Night today. We learnt the story of the Gunpowder Plot and retold it using drama and roleplay. We also talked about our experiences of Bonfire Night. We then created rockets and fireworks pictures.
Design and Technology
In Design and Technology this term, the children in EYFS will learn lots of different ways to join materials – split pins, junk modelling. We will then practise spreading using a knife as we move on to food technology. The Year Ones have their own project to complete. This term they are evaluating existing toys and then planning and making their own toys.
*Thank you to the parents that attended our Phonics Showcase last week!*
Nativity Performance
We are so proud of the children in Butterfly Class and Owl Class for a fabulous performance of our school nativity ‘Prickly Hay’. A super show!
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Term 1
Our theme within EYFS this term is 'All About Me!' We will be getting to know each other, learning the class and school rules and settling into school life. Establishing trusting relationships with the adults and children in our class and building friendships is our priority this term. Here are some pictures of our Reception children in their first week of school. We have very busy!
Our talk for writing text this term is 'Sidney Spider - a tale of friendship' by Alison Cooper.
We are exploring print, collage, sculpture, paint mixing, drawing and textiles in our art sessions this term.
The artist we will learn about this term is Henri Matisse. This is his famous artwork ‘The Snail’.
Computing
In Computing we are learning to take digital photographs using an Ipad. We will learn about portrait and landscape pictures.
We had a fantastic ‘Stay and Play’ session with Butterfly Class EYFS parents!
Geography
This term we are learning about ‘Our School’. We found Stratford-sub-Castle on a map and located our school. We went on a welly walk in Stratford village and followed a map to find lots of local features e.g. the church and river. We looked at an Atlas to find the UK and we created our own maps.
