Mice
Welcome To Mice Class Page 2023-24!
Week Beginning 22nd April
Mice class are thoroughly enjoying our new Transport topic. They have been busy creating monster trucks from crates and tyres, digging in the mud with tipper trucks and building vehicles from junk modelling resources. There have been lots of opportunities for the children to develop their team work skills like working together to build a train track or a ramp for the cars. This week’s focus book ‘The Train Ride’, led us to compare trains from the past to trains today. We watched videos of trains, researched in books and looked at photos.
This week we have all enjoyed writing about our sponsored bike and scooter ride. We tried hard to use our phonics knowledge to sound out each word and remember to use capital letters, finger spaces and full stops.
Week Beginning 15th April 2024
Mice Class thoroughly enjoyed cycling and scooting around the school grounds as many times as they could on Monday to introduce their new learning topic, ‘Transport’ and to raise money to buy new resources for our outside area. There was lots of laughter and huge smiles on the children’s faces. Thank you to everyone that has collected sponsorship money or made a donation!
We have been learning doubles this week through song and practical resources. The children used counters to find double the amount of spots on their ladybirds. They also found matching Numicon shapes to help them recall double a number. Some children were able to write doubles as number sentences. Well done everyone!
Week Beginning 25th March 2024
Mice Class have had a busy week with lots of Easter crafts. We made and decorated salt dough egg decorations to hang up at home and we tried hard to create repeated patterns with pasta shapes on cardboard eggs. Although our Easter bonnet parade had to be adapted for the weather, we still enjoyed it and had fun parading around the school to share our bonnets with everyone. Today we made Easter nest cakes, they were delicious!
Week Beginning 18th March 2024
Mice Class have been learning about germs this week. We did an experiment to show how easily germs can be passed on to others and spoke about the importance of washing our hands to keep us clean and help us to stay healthy.
In Maths we have been exploring the number 10. We have looked at different ways of arranging 10 objects and spotting two numbers that make 10 when they are added together. Two numbers that make 10 are called number bonds to 10. Everyone had lots of fun exploring number bonds on the pretend bus in the playground. If there were 2 passengers we knew that 8 spaces were left on the bus and if 5 passengers got on we knew there were 5 spaces left.
Week Beginning 11th March 2024
Spring has arrived in Mice class this week! The classroom has been decorated with our pencil drawings of daffodils. We named each part of the flower using the vocabulary, stem, petal, flower and leaf. Then looked closely at each part and drew it using sketching pencils. We tried hard to draw it to scale and fill most of the page.
Mice Class have enjoyed learning about the life cycle of butterflies. They have used their new knowledge to write sentences with capital letters, finger spaces and full stops.
Week Beginning 4th March 2024
In Maths this week we have been thinking about Time. We began by sequencing events in time order using vocabulary such as first, next, then, after that and finally. Then we learnt the days of the week with songs and our focus book, ‘The Hungry Caterpillar’. We all enjoyed recapping what the Hungry Caterpillar ate on each day of the week. After that we explored different amounts of time using a sand timer, stopwatch and a clock. The children had to clap for 10 seconds, jump for 30 seconds and sit silently for 2 minutes, which some people found quite tricky!
World Book Day was lots of fun and everyone looked amazing in their costumes. Throughout the day we visited different classes to listen to our favourite stories, took part in world book day crafts and chose a book to rehome. We were also lucky enough to have local author Liam White visit us at the end of the day and share his story, ‘Hugo The Hungry Horse’!
Week Beginning 26th February 2024
Inspired by our focus book ‘Aaaaargh Spider’, we have been on lots of bug hunts around the school grounds this week. Luckily we found spiders webs, egg sacks and spiders of different shapes and sizes. We used non fiction books to learn more about spiders and got creative making spiders and webs from different materials.
In Maths we have been using mathematical vocabulary to compare objects by length and height. We have identified how some of us are taller or shorter than others and how some of us have longer or shorter hair. Everyone had lots of fun finding objects from around the classroom that were longer or shorter than chosen items. We also built towers that were longer or shorter than our partners. Finally we compared the height of three teddy bears and measured their height in multilink.
Week Beginning 19th February 2024
Mice Class are very lucky to have Coach Louise teaching Gymnastics for some of our their P.E. sessions this half term. This week they learnt how to make different body shapes like the pike, tuck and straddle. They initially worked individually then progressed to making the shapes with a partner. Everyone listened well and worked hard and we can’t wait to see what we will learn next week!
Week Beginning 5th February 2024
This week, Mice Class have been working hard to find pairs of numbers that make 6,7 and 8. We did this by using counters to give ladybirds different amounts of spots and played a target throwing game where we counted the amount of bean bags inside and outside of the basket.
We all had lots of fun making teddy bear toast. Once the toast was cooked, we spread the jam ourselves and then added banana and blueberries to create a teddy bear face. Then we wrote simple instructions so others know how to make it. We had to remember to use capital letters, finger spaces and full stops in our sentences.
Mice Class have been learning about Chinese New Year. As it is the year of the Dragon, we drew pictures of dragons, made spiral dragons and lanterns to decorate the classroom.
Week Beginning 29th January 2024
Mice Class have been learning to subitise the numbers 6,7,and 8. This involves recognising objects in a group without having to count them. The children have enjoyed playing subitising games this week and are getting very fast at it!
Week Beginning 22nd January 2024
Our focus book this week has been Goldilocks and the 3 Bears. Mice Class have loved listening to it and retelling the story with actions and through song. We also made porridge and added different toppings to it. Our overall favourite was porridge and jam!
Some children in Mice Class have been learning to write sentences using capital letters and full stops. Others have been writing short phrases, remembering to use a finger space between each word. Everyone has also been continuing to practice writing words with three sounds in. Well done Mice Class!
Week Beginning 15th January 2024
Mice Class have been very creative this week and made a mask of their favourite character from the book ‘Polar Bear, Polar Bear, What Do You Hear?’ The children thought carefully about what colour to paint their masks and what materials to use to add the details. We think you’ll agree, they have all done a fantastic job!
Week Beginning 8th January 2024
This half term Year R are thinking about how they approach new challenges and the importance of being resilient. Last week Mice Class were set the challenge of learning to do up their coat up independently. We are all very proud of how hard the children have worked on this challenge and are pleased to say that the majority of the children can now do it. Well done Mice Class!
Following with the same theme the children were also set some exciting challenges in the Year R playground this week. They were given a Winter word hunt to solve, a snowball skittle game to play, an iceberg trail to cycle around on the bikes and a variety of sensory snow and ice activities to explore and describe. The children tackled each challenge with gusto and had lots of fun in the process.
Week Beginning 3rd January 2024
Happy New Year!
Mice Class have returned to school after the Christmas break, full of energy and enthusiasm and we have managed to fit lots into the short week. Everyone has enjoyed reading our new focus book, “ Polar Bear, Polar Bear What Can You Hear?” by Bill Martin and Eric Carle. We have taken it in turns to act out the story and discussed our favourite parts and characters. In maths we have had lots of fun singing number songs, counting forwards and backwards to 20 and we have been practising finding 1 more and 1 less than a number mentally and with toys. When the weather has allowed we have also enjoyed spending time in the outdoor area, delivering parcels on the bikes and writing thankyou cards for our Christmas presents.
Week Beginning 11th December 2023
Well done to Mice Class for their amazing performance in Hiddledy Piggledy Nativity. They all worked hard to remember the words and actions to the songs and thoroughly enjoyed performing in the Church.
We wish you all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!
Week Beginning 4th December 2023
In Maths this week, Mice Class have been consolidating their knowledge of finding ‘1 more’ than a number to 5, and learning to recall ‘1 Less’ than a number. They have used 5 frames to physically add or take away 1 and number lines to jump forwards and backwards. The children have also enjoyed practising their skills through play, such as counting the cars and then taking away one to find ‘out what ‘1 less’ would be. Or, stating what ‘1 less’ spoonful would be, when counting ingredients in the mud kitchen. Well done Mice Class!
Week Beginning 27th November 2023
It was a chilly autumn day on Wednesday, so Mice class dressed warmly and explored some of the trees around school. We noticed that some had already lost all their leaves while others were still covered in beautiful, red, yellow and orange leaves. We loved collecting different leaves and noticed that oak leaves are bumpy, lime leaves are curved and some horse chestnut leaves are enormous! We found out that ivy is evergreen, so its leaves don't change colour or fall off in autumn. When we looked carefully we could see little buds that would become new green leaves in the spring. Finally, we used our creativity to make interesting pictures with leaves and twigs. A great time was had by all!
Week Beginning 20th November 2023
This week Mice Class have read ‘Stanley’s Stick’ by John Hegley. In the story, we see Stanley use his imagination and turn his stick into lots of different things. We were all inspired by the story and loved taking part in the Stanley Stick Challenges that we discovered in the Year R outdoor area. There were sticks for counting and for writing our name. Some of us even got creative with our sticks and made wands or stars. We even put sticks and other objects in the water to see if they would float or sink. But the stick dancing was our favourite challenge by far!
In Maths, we have been learning new number songs with actions. When we count forwards and backwards we also choose different actions to make it more fun. Everyone is getting very fast at recognising our number flash cards and ordering numbers from 1 – 10.
Our main focus this week has been on representing the numbers 4 and 5. We have explored lots of different ways of making the numbers 4 and 5 with different objects inside and outside, our fingers and with drawings. Brilliant work, Mice Class!
Week Beginning 13th November 2023
Mice Class have been artists this week and have all created their own Stickmen using clay. They had to squeeze hard to mould the clay and then used a tiny bit of water to help connect the arms and legs. They also used special tools to make bark patterns on the clay.
On Thursday, Mice Class had a visit from Stagecoach Totton. They all loved retelling the Stickman story through songs, actions and with props. Some children even took on solo roles and performed very confidently.
We have also been learning to use our ‘Fred Fingers’ to help us write words. Some of us have been listening to the initial sounds in words then writing them down. Lots of us have written three letter words and others have written short phrases with two, three letter words. Well done Mice Class, keep up the hard work!
Week Beginning 6th November
Mice Class have had lots of fun this week completing a Stickman Obstacle Course, where they developed their gross motor skills whilst retelling the Stickman story. They went creeping over the bridge, through the tunnel, under the nets, into the puddles and on to the stepping stones!
The children were also set some Stickman challenges. They worked hard to, make their own Stickmen, build a Stickman castle, make a nest out of sticks and write a postcard to the Stick Family.
In Maths we have been exploring the numbers 4 and 5, finding different ways of representing them with objects from inside the classroom and the outside area. We have practised accurately counting 4 and 5 objects to say how many there are altogether and played number games to help us spot 4 and 5 objects. What a busy week!
Week Beginning 30th October 2023
There has been a lot of rain this week which made our playground flood. Everyone enjoyed jumping in the puddles and playing in the rain. We explored which areas were shallow and deep then used our problem solving skills to try to reduce the flooding. Well done Mice Class!
On Monday we learnt the sound ‘L’. We thought of lots of words that start with an ‘L’ sound, which led us to look at the colours of the Autumn leaves outside. Everyone was very creative and mixed paints to make Autumn colours then used them to print leaves onto a class tree.
Week Beginning 16th October 2023
We can’t believe that Mice Class have finished their first half term at school! They have all settled in well and we are so proud of how confident and happy they are. It has been a very busy half term and they have all learnt so much already, as well as having lots of fun. Well done Mice Class!
In Maths this week we have sung lots of counting songs and counted forwards and backwards with actions. Everyone has also tried hard to recognise and order numbers to 5. We have begun to use objects and our fingers to count backwards to find 1 less than numbers to 5.
We have been artists this week and painted our favourite character from ‘The Little Red Hen’ story. We looked closely at the colours we should use and tried hard to create the correct shape for our characters.
Week Beginning 9th October 2023
A huge well done to all of Mice Class for another busy week! They have learnt the sounds, g, o, c and k and how to form each letter, as well as revising the sounds they have learnt so far. The children have loved the daily enhancements with activities that promote the sound of the day. Such as, painting using o-o-orange paint, playing with o-o-oranges in the water tray and mud kitchen, making c-c-crowns and counting with c-c-conkers. They have been counting forwards and backwards to 10 and ordering numbers to 10 with help. Everyone has also enjoyed learning what 1 more than a number is, through songs and play.
Mice Class were amazing chefs on Wednesday and made their own bread rolls, just like 'The Little Red Hen'. They helped measure the ingredients and took turns to mix them together in a big bowl. Everyone got very stick hands when they kneaded their dough and rolled it into a ball shape, just like we do with playdough. Hopefully they tasted as delicious as they looked!
Week Beginning 2nd October 2023
Mice Class have enjoyed reading ‘The Little Red Hen’ story. We have retold it with actions and drawn a story map to show the sequence of events. The Little Red Hen works very hard to grow and cut down some wheat, which she then uses to make bread. Mice Class were very excited to explore the look, texture and taste of bread and then toast. They used some brilliant vocabulary to describe each one. Well done Mice Class!
Week Beginning 25th September 2023
Mice Class went on a welly walk this week. They explored the school grounds and used their senses to describe what they could see, hear and smell on their journey.
The children have been introduced to the sounds m, a, s and d. They have all worked very hard learning to say, read and even try to write each one.
Everyone has enjoyed singing lots of number songs and practising, counting forwards and backwards. The children have also found natural objects to represent numbers to 5.
Most importantly, we have all continued to have lots of fun, learning and exploring through play!
Week Beginning 18th September 2023
Mice Class have enjoyed having their first school meals this week. Everyone has taken the lunchtime routines in their stride and there have been lots of empty plates! We have had great fun playing with our friends and have all painted a self portrait. Well done Mice Class!
Week Beginning 11th September 2023
A huge well done to all of Mice Class on their first week of school! The staff are all very proud of how well they have settled in and tried hard to remember the school rules and routines. Everyone has made new friends and had lots of fun playing and exploring the classroom and outdoor areas.