Welcome to Larch 2!
2025 - 2026
Mrs Stockton/Mrs Brelsford - Class Teachers
Miss Dow, Mrs Calloway, Mrs Faultless - Teaching Assistants
Spring 1
Alive and Kicking
Year 2 had a fantastic time celebrating Number Day! We loved dressing up in clothes with numbers on and sharing our amazing outfits with our friends.
We listened to The Rabbit Problem by Emily Gravett, which helped us learn about the Fibonacci sequence. We discovered that the Fibonacci sequence can be seen in many places in nature and art. We combined our maths learning with art and science by creating our own Fibonacci snails. We talked about where we have seen the Fibonacci spiral before, such as in sunflowers and pinecones. We also made paper clocks and answered questions based on our book about time.
What a fun and busy day of learning!
Year 2 have had so much fun creating their colourful jumping bean salad! We learned how cous cous is made and how to tell the difference between a fruit and a vegetable.
The children used a range of skills, including bridge and claw cutting techniques, and carefully added all of the ingredients. To finish, we squeezed in some fresh orange juice for extra flavour. It looked sooooo delicious!
Thank you to all the grown-ups for bringing in tubs so the children could take their salad home to enjoy.
Larch Class have continued their computing learning by exploring the importance of putting instructions in the correct order. We used the same four commands to instruct our Bee-Bots, but even though the commands were the same, changing the order gave us a different outcome.
This helped us understand how sequencing is an important part of computing. Well done, Larch Class – what super learning!
This week, Larch Class have immersed themselves in a new text, The Selfish Giant by Oscar Wilde. We listened to the story and then discussed how the children must have felt when the Giant banished them from his garden.
The children thought of lots of convincing reasons why the Giant should open his garden and allow the children back in. These included ideas such as winter going away, the children being safe, flowers blooming and smelling sweet, delicious fruit growing, and birds singing beautifully.
We then created a conscience alley and chose one person to take on the role of the Giant. After this, the children role-played in partners, with one person acting as the Giant and the other as a child trying to persuade him to open his garden.
What a great way to immerse ourselves in our text and develop our speaking and listening skills!
Year 2 Larch Class have been exploring colour in art. The children have been creating tints by adding white to their base colour and shades by adding black. Well done to all our budding artists!
This half term in Computing, Larch Class have been learning about how computers work by using algorithms. We learned that computers need clear and precise instructions to work properly.
Mrs Stockton first gave us some very vague instructions for a picture she wanted us to draw. She didn’t tell us what the picture was, so everyone’s drawings turned out very differently. When we tried again, she gave us precise instructions, and this time we all created the same happy face picture. The children also worked with partners, taking turns to give and receive instructions. This helped us understand how important it is to listen carefully and be clear.
We then took turns pretending that our partner was a Bee-Bot robot, giving them clear, step-by-step instructions to help them move in the correct direction. We had lots of fun while learning how important it is to be precise when giving instructions to a computer.
This week in Larch Class, we have been continuing our learning about abstract art. We explored the work of artist Mark Rothko and learned about his famous colour field paintings. Inspired by his work, we created our own colour fields and even gave them special names.
Well done, Larch Class – fantastic creativity!
This half term, Larch Class have been focusing on team games in PE. We have been practising dribbling the ball and passing it, while learning how to work together as a team. The children have shown great enthusiasm, teamwork and determination. Well done, Larch Class!
In Larch Class, we have been learning all about animal habitats. We completed an activity where we matched different animals to the habitats they live in. We learnt that animals are specifically suited to their individual habitats. Some animals can manage hot or cold temperatures, some use camouflage to blend into their surroundings, and others have special body structures that help them survive where they live. We really enjoyed learning how animals are perfectly designed for their homes!
This week, Year 2 went on an exciting habitat hunt around our school! We explored the wooded area, the playground and the kitchen garden to see what microhabitats we could find. After our walk, we returned to the classroom to talk about what we had discovered.
We learned that different microhabitats have their own temperatures and amounts of light, which help living things survive. While we were outside, we were lucky enough to hear our little local celebrity, Peter the Robin, singing to us! The children shared some fantastic ideas:
‘We saw slugs under the wood because they were hiding from the birds,’ Felicity.
‘We saw lots of worms under logs so that they don’t get dry skin,’ Leah.
‘The birds like to be up high so that they can look for prey and stay safe from predators,’ Harley
Well done, Year 2 Larch, for your brilliant observations and thoughtful discussions!
This half term we have started our maths learning by exploring arrays. We began by using concrete resources, such as counters, to build our own arrays. We then moved on to drawing arrays and linking them to multiplication and division. The children have shown great enthusiasm and understanding as they developed their learning step by step.
Well done, Larch Class – what a fantastic start to our maths learning!
This week in art, Larch 2 began learning about the artist Piet Mondrian, who was an abstract artist. We looked closely at some of his artwork and talked about what we liked, how the paintings made us feel, and what they reminded us of. We noticed that Piet Mondrian often used straight lines and primary colours (red, yellow and blue) in his paintings. The children shared lots of great ideas and opinions during our discussions.
After exploring his work, the children had a go at recreating Mondrian-style artwork using a range of different media. They worked carefully and creatively, and the finished pieces look fantastic! Well done, Larch 2!
The start of our Spring term has brought with it some snowy weather! We have enjoyed making lots of memorable experiences, exploring and playing in the snow together. While having fun, we have also made sure to keep ourselves well wrapped up so that we stay cosy and warm.
This week in dance, Year 2 have been focusing on the story The Elves and the Shoemaker. The children explored how different characters might move and used their bodies to show these ideas. We thought carefully about the frail, old shoemaker and how his movements might be slow and gentle. We also became the tiny elves, creeping quietly around the shop at night and trying to avoid the cat! The children also worked on using facial expressions to show feelings. We practised the shoemaker’s shocked face when he discovered the shoes had been made overnight. Everyone showed great imagination and enthusiasm, and it was wonderful to see the story come to life through dance.
This week in Year 2 we started reading our new book, The Wolf Story by Toby Forward. In this book, we hear the story from the wolf’s point of view. We learned that, according to the wolf, everything that happened was just a big misunderstanding!
To help us immerse ourselves in the story, we listened carefully as the book was read aloud. We then took part in a fun role-play activity where we became reporters interviewing the wolf. We asked the wolf questions such as:
· How did you get into Granny’s house?
· Why did you put on Granny’s frock?
· Why did you lock Granny in the cupboard?
· What were you doing at Granny’s house?
· Does your tail hurt where the woodcutter hit it with his axe?
We had lots of fun asking questions and using our knowledge of the story to answer in character as the wolf. This helped us to understand the story from a different point of view and develop our speaking and listening skills.
This half term in dance, we are learning how to portray emotion through movement. We have explored strong starting and finishing positions, facial expressions, and how using different levels can help create variation and interest in our dances. The children have shown great creativity and confidence as they express themselves through movement – well done, Larch Class!
This half term we have a science focus and an exciting challenge! Miss Haynes has written to us to say that if we can learn all about the basic needs animals need to survive, she will send us a wildlife creature to take care of. How exciting!
To get us started, she sent us a book by Chris Packham. We have loved finding out about him, learning how much he cares for animals and the environment, and thinking about how we can look after wildlife too.
In writing, we are also very excited to begin exploring fairy tales this half term – especially ones with a twist!
