Mars
Welcome to Mars!
EYFS & Year 1
MARS CLASS 2020.2021
We are all looking forward to all children returning to school for the Autumn Term. We will be starting the term with a whole school project, all children will complete work based on 'Here We Are' by Oliver Jeffers.
In Mars class Miss Kelly will be the class teacher supported by Mrs Williams.
For this term, Mars class has been set up differently (following government guidelines). Expectations and procedures will be shared with the children on the first day of school.
We understand that some Y1 learners may not have been in school for quite some time, so we are approaching the first few weeks slightly differently to a 'normal' return to school.
We hope that you have all had a restful break over the summer and are looking forward to returning to learning within your classrooms.
PowerPoint to share with children before returning to school. This will also be shared on the first day of school in class.
MARS CLASS 2019.2020
Mars Class is a mixed class of reception and year 1 children. Our teacher is Mrs Hampson and Mrs Williams is our TA. This year we have 12 Reception children and 14 Year 1 children.
We are fortunate to have our own outside learning area which we use everyday, come rain or shine, to enhance our learning. The ethos in our class is to promote happy, independent and confident learners who are willing to try new activities and find success in their everyday learning. We believe every child is unique and we aim to tailor lessons to the individual needs of the children.
In Mars we have our own class bear called Edward, who goes home with a child each weekend. He is normally a very well behaved bear and, with the help of the children, records his adventures in his very own diary! The children are always very excited when it is their turn to take Edward home and we all look forward to hearing about their time together. We also have our very own African Snail called Stanley. We love to take turns to look after him making sure he has enough food and water.
On this page you will find weekly updates of our learning and any exciting things we have been exploring! We hope you look forward to reading all about our learning journey.
Things we get up to in Mars!
Spring 2020 Overviews
Week Commencing 7th October 2019
We had such a busy week in Mars Class last week! In English we continued focusing on our text ‘The Queen’s Hat’ and year 1 finished writing and illustrating their own book using their story map to help them. I was very impressed with the language they used as well as how independent they were! In maths we carried on using ordering numbers using the ‘greater than’, ‘less than’ and ‘equal to’ symbols alongside recognising and using the 100 square. We also spent some time this week designing and making a new hat for the ‘Queen’. I think you’ll agree they did a fantastic job! In phonics we finished learning/recapping our phase 2 sounds and so we will be spending this week consolidating and practising these. Year 1 will also practise phase 3/5 sounds too.
On Tuesday afternoon Mars Class enjoyed a little visit to St Andrew’s Church in the village. We learnt about the different parts of the church as well as looking closely at the stained-glass windows as we are making our own in art! Mrs Williams and I were very proud of how safe and sensible the children were whilst walking to and from the church, especially as we all got caught in the rain on the way back!
On Friday we looked closely at some of the photographs of the stained-glass windows in the local church. We talked about how they tell Bible stories as well as conveying some important messages to church goers. The children then used a plastic wallet and tissue paper squares to create their own stained-glass window to represent the Christian faith. They children showed excellent concentration and persistence when they were finding it hard. To create the cross the children drew around a template and cut it out independently. Over the course of the week the children will all finish their windows and we will display them proudly in our classroom. I think you’ll agree they are stunning!
Mars Class
What a busy week we have had in Mars Class! To start the week we had a RE with Mrs Passan learning about the Bible and how and why Christians use it. In Maths we have been practising counting with 1:1 correspondence as well as comparing numbers. In English we have been continuing to learn the story of 'The Queen's Hat' through talk for writing and have started to write the story in our little booklets. The children have all really impressed me with how well they have remembered the story - their writing is fantastic! In PE we have continued our multi-skills unit and have been practising how to move safely in the hall. The Phonics Fairy has helped us to learn lots more sounds this week and we had lots of fun discovering the bag in the hall with mirrors to practise forming our 'h' grapheme. To end the week we had a forest school session with Mrs Tickle. We explored the outdoor area to find lots of conkers, sticks and leaves before building a hedgehog out of them. The children also leant about where conkers come from and that we can plant them!
Week Commencing 2nd September 2019
What a busy 3 days we have had in Mars Class! Our new reception children have settled really well and year 1 have wowed us with how sensible, kind and caring they have been towards the new members of our class. We have spent lots of time this week familiarising ourselves with the classroom and outside area as well as talking about how we can be a good friend to others. This included coming up with our own class rules to make sure we can all have fun and be safe. On Friday we tackled our very first forest school session with Mrs Tickle and the children had a fantastic time exploring and looking for different minibeasts. Mrs Williams and I are very proud of all of the children and we are looking forward to seeing them all again next week!
Medium Term Planning Overview - Mars Class YR/ Y1 Spring 2019
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Science In science this term we will be learning about animals, including humans. We will learn to classify different animals, learn about their habitats and what they need to survive. We will also be learning about the human body, how we change from babies into adults and what humans need to keep healthy. |
History We will be exploring the life of Samuel Pepys and the impact of his diaries. We will be using his diaries to learn about the Great Fire of London. We will compare things from the past to today such as fire engines, houses and making bread. As part of our topic we will also be learning about the monarchy, British kings and queens and today’s royal family. |
Geography In geography this term we will be developing our map reading skills. We will also be exploring key towns and cities in the UK and what key facilities towns and cities need. We will also be learning about key land marks in London and how it has changed since the Great Fire of London. |
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Maths In maths we follow the National Curriculum for Year 1 and Development Matters for Reception. This term we will be learning about measuring length, height, weight and volume. We will also be recapping the 4 operations: multiplication, division, addition and subtraction. Reception will continue to develop key number skills, learn to add and subtract and be able to measure within the continuous provision. |
Fire! Fire! The Great Fire of London |
English In English we follow the National Curriculum for Year 1 and Development Matters for Reception. We will be exploring a wide range of texts including Samuel Pepys and diary writing, newspapers and chronological reports. We will develop key grammar and punctuation skills. Reception will be working on building simple sentences, using finger spaces and developing and applying their phonics knowledge to reading and writing. |
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Music In music this term we will be using our voices to sing songs, chants and rhymes. We will be learning some new songs and nursery rhymes as well as learning to play instruments together as a group. |
PSHE We will continue to learn about having a Growth Mindset and what we can do to keep a Growth Mindset. We will also be thinking about how we can support our community. |
Art In art this term we will focus on developing key skills using colour, brush and pencil strokes. We will explore the work of Monet and recreate our own interpretations of his work. |
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Computing In computing this term we will be practising and learning about e-safety. The children will be developing their coding skills using simple programs, Beebots, ipads and cameras. They will learn to store and retrieve data. |
RE We will be exploring Judaism and Islam this term as well as exploring Christian celebrations such as Easter. |
DT In DT this term we will learn how to make bread and will developing our cooking skills. We will also be designing, building and evaluating our own Tudor houses. We will be learning about joining methods and how to make our models stronger. |
PE: Fundamental Movement: balance, agility and coordination.
Week Ending 10th May
What a busy week Mars Class have had! Despite the cold and VERY rainy weather we have not stopped learning! In maths we have been learning about money, focussing on coin recognition and combining coins to make different amounts. We have even introduced a 'mini shop' at playtimes whereby the children are given an amount and have to present the money in exchange for their fruit! This has really helped to consolidate their knowledge.
In English we have been continuing to learn about Mr Grinling the Lighthouse Keeper and the children have been learning how to write purposeful letters alongside practising our handwriting.
Reception have really wowed Mrs Williams and I with their determination to complete their rainbow challenges. They particularly enjoyed making dens outside and writing signs for them. To end our week we had a very special science lesson with Mrs Linda Jane Fowler who came in and taught us all about our skin. The children were fascinated by the huge model and enjoyed using the microscope to see the cells clearly. Alongside this we all drew a diagram of our skin and tested the lightness of our skin using a special device (when I remember its name I will post it on here...!).
Animals Including Humans
In Science we have been learning all about animals, particularly how we can group them according to their features and according to what they eat. To finish our unit on this we have been learning all about the importance of looking after pets properly.
On Wednesday afternoon (27th March 2019) we had a very special visitor in Mars Class - Clark! Mr Nelson very kindly talked to the children about all the different ways he takes care of Clark such as taking him on walks, providing him with somewhere safe and comfortable to sleep, taking Clark to the vet and even how he brushes Clark's teeth! He also showed the children some of the different things he uses to help Clark stay happy and healthy including his shampoo, hairbrush and toys! The children all behaved beautifully and asked some really fantastic questions to find out more information. They then made a poster all about Clark and how to take care of him. Big thank you to Mr Nelson and, of course, Clark!
Mystery Reader 29th March 2019
We had a very special mystery reader today! The children all sat super quietly so we didn't wake the baby. Well done everyone!
Week Ending 15th February 2019
After completing a design sheet the children finally made their 3D Tudor houses from the Great Fire of London. They worked exceptionally hard and explored different ways of joining materials together. I think you'll agree that they are all fabulous!
We also finished our unit about the 5 senses with a BIG taste, smell and touch experiment. To explore our sense of taste the children dipped bread into numbered pots and had to record in their books what they thought was in each pot. The blindfolds meant we could only focus on our sense of taste - and the taste wasn't always nice! Next, blindfolded, we smelt the contents of different numbered pots and had to record what we thought the contents were. Finally we explored a number of different objects and had to describe the properties by using our sense of touch. We ended the week with Nate's Grandma coming to be our mystery reader - thank you!!
Valentines Day
Mars Class had a super afternoon celebrating Valentines Day by making bracelets, cards and biscuits! Mrs Williams and I were so proud of how much detail the children added to their cards - we hope you loved them! 🥰
Mars Class Week Ending 8th Feb
Phew! What a jam packed week!
This week we have been very busy exploring capacity and volume practically by using water beads. The children used some super mathematical vocabulary to describe the volume of the containers before beginning to predict the capacity and measure it using a non-standard unit of measure. It's safe to say the water beads ended up everywhere! 🙈
In Science this week we have continued to learn about our senses with a focus on our sense of hearing. The children learnt that sound travels via vibrations and made string telephones to explore this further. They also learnt that some people need help to hear and that sound can help to warn us of danger.
After a discussion about how birds survive in winter (after seeing lots of birds pecking the icy ground) we made pine cone bird feeders this week. The children followed the instructions and combined lard and birdseed before squishing it all together and pushing it into the pinecone. They then took them outside during forest school and hung them around the outside area.
On Tuesday we learnt about how we can stay safe on the internet and the children completed some quizzes on espresso (check them out using the log ins that were sent home!) and made posters explaining how to stay safe online.
We also had a fab time exploring Chinese New Year and will be using the children artwork to create a wonderful display!
I have been SO impressed with how well the children have behaved this week. They have all learnt so much and been SO sensible with all the practical activities. Well done Mars!
The children have one more busy week before a well deserved rest! 😁
