We began this half-term with fireworks night, organised by many of our parents. We learnt about firework safety and used our knowledge of shapes to create firework pictures. We wrote recounts of the event using our carefully formed letters and planned our sentence structures.

We have recorded the changing weather during November, making written and drawn observations of Autumn. We read books, Trees: Seasons Come and Seasons Go by Patricia Hegarty and Leaf Man by Lois Ehlert to discuss similarities and differences between our environment and literature. 

Robin class made poppy lanterns to decorate the church for the Remembrance Day service. We took time to reflect on the importance of this event. The children were respectful throughout the whole service and were a credit to themselves! We also watched the CBeebies Rabbit animation, which beautifully illustrates the events of the wars in an appropriate way. Remembrance Day film for kids - CBeebies 

Our literature focus books have been 'Funnybones', by Janet and Allen Ahlberg, and 'Through the Magic Mirror', by Anthony Browne. These have inspired our writing, retelling and reimagining. We always remember to use correct formations and check the size of our letters as we write. 

Maths – Reception have been finding, subitising and representing numbers to 5. We have been using the language of '1 more' and '1 less' as we build and explore numbers. We have identified shapes with 4 sides and shapes in our environment, as well as securing our understanding of routine and sequencing daily activities.

Maths - Year 1 have been identifying and recording fact familes. We have been using our bonds to 10 knowledge to help us, and to systematically record all the different ways of adding and subtracting to a given number. We have also identified shapes, including 2D and 3D, and using them to create patterns and structures within our learning and play.

Art - Using a range of objects, we have explored texture and pattern, printing into our sketchbooks. We have also used materials other than paintbrushes to apply paint and see the effects produced. 

This links to the Eco Arts Competition that Bishop's Palace organised, and we entered. We used recycled materials to add texture and patterns as we created 3D sculptures. The theme was Christmas Carols and the whole school contributed sculptures of characters from Christmas carols, singing their own carol! The children in Robin class made a donkey, from the carol, Little Donkey. It was made from recycled boxes and crisp tubes, along with disused metalware that was donated by parents. They used plenty of glue to attach old trinkets, costume jewellery, nuts and screws onto the donkey, adding texture and interest to the design. We used Robert Bradford and Karen Hurley as our artist inspiration. Robert Bradfors uses recycled materials to create interesting pieces of art. Chewton Mendip won the Creative Interpretation of the Theme category! 

Music and drama - Whoops-a-Daisy Angel, our nativity, has been our motivation and musical focus this half-term. We have applied our knowledge of pitch and beat to our songs and included percussion instruments to add effect. We have also spent time working on projecting our voices as we speak and sing. It has been a lot of fun adding drama and expression to the performance. We are looking forward to showing you!

We have been lucky enough to listen to some of our parents reading their favourite stories to us, which has been wonderful! The children enjoyed listening to different adults share a wide range of stories. We have also continued our weekly meet-up with Buzzard class who come and support us with our reading each week. 

PHSE has generated some interesting discussions about 'Building Relationships', including peer relationships and family, and how we share. We each shared what we felt made us unique, such as what makes each of us unique and our similar, same and different hobbies outside of school and our differing interests. 

During Road Safety Week we had a visit from Somerset Council who taught us how to keep ourselves safe when crossing roads, as a passenger in a car and walking near roads.