This week we learned how Antarctica is different to Repton.  We looked at photos of Antarctica and talked about what we could see – a lot of snow!  We noticed how Repton is very green.  We compared roads, houses, (and the lack of) weather, etc.  We also thought about what we would need to wear if we went to Antarctica.  We learned that the scientists and explorers wear special warm clothes, which are brightly coloured so that they can be seen.  They have special goggles, hats, gloves and coats that keep out the wind too.  We cut and stuck clothes into a suitcase to show what we would need for a trip to Antarctica.  We also learned that food has to be delivered to Antarctica as not a lot grows there!  The only foods we could think of that Antarctica could provide was fish! 

Can you tell your grown up what you packed in your suitcase for Antarctica?

In maths we compared length.  We ordered different objects by their length, using language such as longer than, shorter than, longest, shortest etc.  We then measured them using non-standard units. We used cubes to place next to the objects to see how many cubes long each was, eg, The spoon was equal to 9 cubes.  We recorded our findings using pictures and wrote how many cubes long each object was.  We also discovered how long a minute was and thought about what we could do in that time, such as put on our shoes.  How many times could we walk across the classroom in one minute?  How many jumps could we do in one minute?

In English we continued our learning through the story ‘Lost and Found’ and this week we thought about how the character of the penguin was feeling.  We wrote letters from the penguin to the boy, telling him that we felt lonely, or sad or had no one to play with and would he be our friend?

In Monster Phonics this week, we have learned the phoneme 'or’.  It also features in our Hansel and Gretel story which I added on last week’s weekly update, should the children wish to read it again.  We wrote and read many words with this sound in.

In PSHE, we learned that medicines can be helpful as well as dangerous and talked about how we must only ever take medicine that our grown up gives us.  If we took too much or before it was time, we could become very poorly instead of better.  We met Teddy who had found a bag of what looked like sweets.  We talked about whether it was a good idea for Teddy to eat them or not.  Why not?  What should he do?  The children decided that Teddy should ask a grown up as they may not be safe to eat; they could be tablets instead.

We have reached the mid-point of the school year!  We will have parents evenings next term to talk about the progress of your child.  We return to school on Tuesday 28^th February after the half term holiday.

Have a lovely half term week everyone!