Please remember to scroll down the page to see what we have been learning about. 

Welcome to Chestnut Class' information and blog page.  Here you will find general class information and see what we have been up to in our learning

We look forward to welcoming the children to Chestnut Class and working together to ensure they are happy and successful in Year 1.

Geography: London

In geography we have been learning about different landmarks in London and using our knowledge of compass points to navigate between different landmarks.

World Book Day

DT: make a vegetable soup

In DT this week we have been learning about being safe with knives and peelers. We have used this knowledge to chop, slice, peel and dice different vegetables. We then made this into a delicious soup and had a try. 

Italy Day 

We had lots of fun on Italy Day. We learnt about different Italian foods, had a go at counting to 10 in Italian, and imagined we were Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel. We finished our exciting day by trying some pizza. What fun!

History 

In history this half term we are learning all about Rosa Parks and Nelson Mandela. We used what we learnt about and information from previous terms to put the cards in chronological order. 

Design and Technology

In DT we have been using a lever mechanism to make a Christmas card.

British Values Week

We have been learning more about British Values and using handprints to make a display. 

Odd Socks

We came in in our odd socks for Anti-Bullying Day. We discussed how bullying is STOP (several times on purpose) and what to do if you or someone else if being bullied. 

Science

In science this week we have been exploring the changes we see during Autumn. We discussed how the weather is usually colder, but like today, it can be sunny. It can also be windy and rainy. We also discussed how different animals prepare in the Autumn, for example some hedgehogs hibernate and squirrels bury their food. We also looked at the trees and saw how deciduous trees leaves turn yellow, brown, red and orange and fall from the trees, while evergreen trees keep their leaves. 

Art

In art this half term, we have been painting pictures that depict the Great Fire of London, in the style of Claude Monet.

Red Words

We have been doing lots of reading and writing of red words in a fun game with our partners. 

Art

In art we are exploring sculpture. We have experimented with different techniques to join clay, as well as using natural objects to imprint designs onto clay. 

This week we have been concentrating on our mental health. 

We have been acting out how we feel with big emotions like anxiety, fear, anger and joy. We have also been using yoga to help our mental health.

Winter to Spring

We went for a walk to the local park to look at the changes that take place as winter becomes spring.

The Tiger Who Came to Tea

In English we have been reading the book ‘The Tiger Who Came to Tea’ by Judith Kerr. We have been having a carpet tea party and using prepositions and conjunctions to tell our partner about what we see and what we are doing. It was lots of fun. 

Design and Technology: mechanisms

In DT this half term we are exploring wheels and axels and designing, making and evaluating a toy car that can move across the floor and has bright colours, to fulfil a request from children in reception. To start the process we evaluated existing toy vehicles that have 4 wheels. We evaluated the material they are made of, their function, the intended user, whether they are appealing and their ease of movement. 

Easter Disco

We all had fun, dancing away at the Easter Disco. 

Design Technology

This term Miss Maynard tasked us with designing an appealing box to hold a special egg in her office. We made prototypes of the box, evaluating it to make sure it was strong, stiff and stable.

World Maths Day

To celebrate World Maths Day and to look at real world applications for maths we painted water colour pictures in the style of Paul Klee, using shapes to draw the buildings.  

PSHE

In PSHE we have been learning about people whose job it is to help us in the community. We discussed different types of jobs and with our partners we talked about the people who helped us.

We love books

In Chestnut our reading area is growing. We have small books written by children in the class on our reading tree. 

Yoga

In Chestnut we have been enjoying doing some yoga to start our day. 

Design Technology

In DT this half term, Miss Maynard has requested we design and make a box to hold her special painted egg that will sit in her office. This week we learnt about reinforcing a butt joint with triangular supports as well as safety with saws, before using a saw to practice our safe sawing skills. 

World Book Day

we had lots of fun celebrating World Book Day. We wrote our own stories, decorated book marks and talked about our favourite authors. 

Where would you rather be-Blackpool or Rio?

We have a focus on Geography this half term and are learning about two places Rio de Janeiro in South America and Blackpool which is in Europe and in the country we live in.

We will learn lots of facts about these places, compare them and ultimately decide where we would rather be! 

The knowledge organiser below will tell you more about our learning.

Where would you rather be -Blackpool or Rio?

In geography we have started answering the question about whether we would prefer to be in Blackpool or Rio. To learn more about the areas, we have looked at atlases and Google Earth and learnt that Blackpool is a town in England, in Europe. It is next to the Irish Sea. Pounds and pence is the currency used. 

What do we know about our school?
We have a focus on History this half term and are learning about the history of our school-the buildings, what it was like to be a pupil here in the past and how things have changed compared to today.
The knowledge organiser below will tell you more about our learning.

Music

In music we have been playing glockenspiels and learning about the notes C, D and E. 

New Moston Acrostic Poem

Together the children in Chestnut class wrote an amazing poem about our school. 

Christmas Party Day

We had lots of fun crafting, dancing, playing games, eating party food and even meeting Santa. 

Design and Technology

In design and technology we have been designing and making sandwiches. The children drew a cross-sectional diagram following design criteria of a sandwich to share with friends that had a mixed filling and salad ingredients. The children all cut the ingredients, then mixed and spooned them onto their sandwich. They tasted yummy.

Science

We used glitter to conduct an experiment to show how germs are spread. We also tried different things to remove them and found the best thing to wash your hands with is soap and water.

Well done to our wonderful certificate winners for this week.

Attendance Heroes

Well done our attendance heroes

Friendship Week

This week we have been discussing what bullying is and what to do if it happens. 

Children in Need

We dressed in our pyjamas to raise money and awareness about Children in Need. 

What do we know about our school?

We have a focus on Geography this half term and are learning about our school-it's location, where things are in our school and using maps, compasses and other sources. 

The knowledge organiser will tell you more about our learning.

Who is your hero?

We had some heroes talk to us about what they do. We had Miss Maynard discuss how she is not only a headteacher, but also founded a charity that supports homeless people. Firefighter Pete also spoke to us about what he does to help people. 

Poetry

We wrote some amazing acrostic poems about crocodiles and performed them to the class. 

Addition and Subtraction

In maths we are learning about addition and subtraction. We have been using concrete resources to support our understanding alongside writing addition sentences. 

Plants

In science we have been designing an experiment to explore what plants need to grow. We discussed how to ensure our experiment is fair. We have put planted some cress seeds and put them on the window sill with water, on the window sill without water, in the fridge and in the cupboard as well as placing some seeds on paper towel. Which do you think will grow?

The amazing certificate winners this week. 

One more and one less

This week in maths we are looking at one more and one less for numbers within 10. The children have been using concrete resources to help their understanding.

Maths

In maths we have been learning about place value within 10. We have been learning how to sort objects by colour, shape and size. 

Welcome Back

We have had lots of fun settling into Year 1 and discovering all the things in our new classroom. 

Archive 2022-23

It’s been a pleasure to teach Chestnut class this year. We will miss you all. Have a lovely well deserved break before your exciting adventures in Year 2. Thank you for being amazing. 

Mrs Kerry and Miss McKenna

The children have learnt about what the Pride flag represents and why we have Pride month. They then discussed why Pride month is important and the importance of equality and tolerance in today’s society. 

Another fun activity we did for National Numeracy Day was making the numbers 1 to 10 with our bodies. Some were a bit tricky but I think they did very well. 

For National Numeracy Day we had lots of fun doing some dances and drawing pictures of the jobs we would like or the hobbies we do and how they involve numeracy. 

Today we had lots of fun celebrating the upcoming coronation of King Charles III. The children enjoyed dressing up and crafting lots of items like bookmarks, collages, coronation plates and coin designs. In the afternoon we got to enjoy jam, sandwiches, cucumber and scones. What an amazing day!

Knowledge Organiser Spring 2

This knowledge organiser will give you information on what your child will be learning in their next History based block of learning which is titled: "How have Rosa Parks and Nelson Mandela helped to make the world a better place?"

You can also see the books they will be reading linked to this and may want to read these with your child at home.

Spring 2 Homework Grid

Below is the Homework Grid for Spring 2 for your child. 

All the instructions and expectations are on the grid.

I can't wait to see what everyone does :)

Archive 2021-2022

This week we had a school disco and danced our hearts out. The children enjoyed dancing the night away and showing off their best dance moves.

This week we celebrated with ice-cream, popcorn, tattoos and endless amounts of entertainment. The children enjoyed bouncing on the inflatables and laughing along with the entertainer who came to visit.

I hope you all enjoyed celebrating everything that you have achieved this year.

Here are some photos of the children enjoying sports day!

It was lovely too see everyone getting involved and cheering each other on. Thank you to everyone who came along and we hope that you enjoyed the day as much as we did.

World Maths Day 23/3/22

Today is World Maths Day. 

Below are some ideas of activities you can do at home with your child. 

We hope you enjoy doing some of them.

Hi Chestnut Class, 

Here is your homework grid for Spring 1!  

2D Shape Digging

In Chestnut class, we have been learning about 2d shapes. We have been naming them and describing their properties. Today, we did a shape dig where we looked at large shapes, described and named them, then found as many matching shapes as we could in 30 seconds! 

What shape names can you remember?

How many sides/vertices does it have?

Are the sides curved or straight?

We have begun to learn all about Florence Nightingale. We passed around lots of medical items and a nurse outfit to allow the children to deduce more about who Florence Nightingale was. We had lots of fun using the equipment.

We have been learning all about everyday heroes; people who work in jobs that help others. We had some heroes come in and speak to us. We held a Q and A session with Vicky (a paralympian with her guide dog), Craig (a police officer) and John (a local PCSO). We generated thoughtful questions and learned a lot about their jobs.

Google Classroom

We are now putting homework on Google Classroom for the children to complete. 

There would also be learning put onto Google Classroom if the school had to shut due to unforeseen circumstances.

There has been an invitation sent for them to accept and join the classroom. 

Every child has their e mail address and password which they will need to access the classroom in their reading record book. 

I am also attaching a guide to using Google Classroom which will hopefully help you if you are new to this!

If you need any support with this, please contact your child's teacher or me (Mrs Waddell) and one of us can go through this with you. 

There are also useful Read, Write, Inc videos for the children to watch to support their learning in school. 

Remember: we are here to help! 

Mrs Waddell

Today in Chestnut class, we decorated biscuits using our superhero designs. We incorporated a variety of colours and followed our designs carefully.