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Larch 2

 
Welcome to Larch 2!
 
 
2023 - 2024
 
Mrs Stockton - Class Teacher

Mrs Calloway/Mrs S Spencer/Mr Smith - Teaching Assistants

On Friday we discussed safe and unsafe secrets in our PSHE lesson.  We discussed how to identify a safe or unsafe secret by thinking about how it makes us feel (for example, do we get our early warning signs by keeping the secret), also considering if it was a nice or sad outcome and the length of time the secret had to be kept.  We then sorted different scenarios into safe and unsafe secrets.
Today, Year 2 have enjoyed a practical maths lesson, using their learning from the last two weeks.  The challenge was to make a  specific 2-digit number.  It included the greatest and smallest odd/even number.  Well done Year 2, you did a super job!
On a school trip to Buckingham Palace, you meet the King, but he is behaving strangely! When you discover the real King locked in the basement you must go on a mission across The UK to foil her imposter, the evil Dr Disguise - and free the King!
Year 2 were in a sticky marmalade situation this morning when they received a message from Paddington asking for help! We started the day by working out where Paddington's tea party will be. After discovering it will be in London, we located the city on a map of the UK.
 
We will be exploring our capital city, looking at human and physical features, famous landmarks and comparing modern London to how it was in the 17th century.
 
Autumn 1
 
Bright Lights, Big City
 
Welcome to Elm 1!
 
 
2022 - 2023
 
Miss Aston - Class Teacher
Mrs Mills/Mrs Cook - Teaching Assistants
 
 
Summer 2
 
Enchanted Woodland
 
Breaking News! During today’s science enquiry lesson we made an interesting discovery about the shape of bubbles
 
Summer 1
 
Rio de Vida
 
Today we have made a delicious pasta salad with roasted vegetables. We carefully chopped the vegetables using the bridge and claw technique then mixed all the ingredients together. We all wanted second helpings!
 
'I didn’t think I would like the vegetables but when I tasted it, it was the best thing in the whole wide world!' Dominic.
In today’s science lesson we identified the different trees growing in our school grounds. We took some leaves back to the classroom and sorted them into two groups - deciduous and evergreen. Finally we described the difference between evergreen and deciduous trees.
We used the world map to locate the seven continents. We then used simple compass directions - North, South, East and West to describe their location.  Scan our QR code to find out more.
To celebrate King Charles IIIs coronation we had a fun packed day which started off with a forest schools session where we made coronation flower bombs and ended with a tea party fit for a king!
Happy panda day! As Birchwood has decided to sponsor the panda this year as our chosen animal from WWF, we enjoyed dressing up in black and white and finding out all about this giant animal.
Today we have been mixing primary colours to create secondary colours and exploring whether it is easier to paint geometric shapes with thick or thin brushes in preparation for creating our own Castle and Sun masterpieces in the style of Paul Klee. Scan the QR code to find out which paint brush we liked the best.
Today in maths we showed our understanding of tens and ones by finding the number line and part whole model that represented each number. We also had to explain how we knew that we were correct.  Scan the QR code to see our learning in action.
 
 
Spring 2
 
Monarchs
 
 
Today we used the Bee-Bots to program a route from a start point to an end point. We discussed how a right/left turn corresponds to a quarter turn clockwise/anti-clockwise.
 
 
Year 1's Lords and Ladies of Birchwood had a great day at Tamworth castle helping the Lady of the castle to dress the table for their evening banquet and learning about what it took to be a squire or knight during medieval times. The bill drill was great fun!
 
 
Today, Year 1 had a visit from GXO and had fun exploring their truck.  We found out that the trucks wheels are nearly as tall we are, it costs £600 to fill the tank with petrol and when we went into the cab we realised the driver can only see some places on the road around them so we have to be very careful. 
 
 
Happy World book day 2023! What a fun day we have had dressing up as our favourite book characters, listening to stories, creating reading rivers and completing activities based upon this week’s book ‘The Invisible’ by Tom Percival.
 
 
Spring 1
 
No Place Like Home
 
 
What an exciting morning Elm 1 had when we met some very special visitors!
 
Today Elm 1 have enjoyed number day. We started off the day by listening to the book ‘The Jolly Postman’ then completed lots of activities based upon the story. This included sorting his post and looking at the numbers on his letters and ordering them from the  smallest number to the greatest.
 
 
We have been using our sorting and grouping skills in science to explore similarities and differences between common animals.
 
 
Creating our plans in preparation for writing our own versions of ‘The Enormous Turnip’ next week.
 
'My story is going to be called ‘The Enormous Potato’ and I’m going to pull it up with a pig and a rabbit.'
 
 
'It must have been Goldilocks that left the note! The chairs and bowls are the three bears!'
 
We wrote a set of instructions to let Goldilocks know how to make porridge.
 

Today, we had a mysterious visitor in school.  The visitor had eaten a bowl of porridge and had left year one a note asking for instructions of how to make it because it was so tasty.  Our only clue was an initial G at the end of the letter. 

 

 
Autumn 2
 
School Days
 
 
Year 1 spent an enjoyable morning at Polesworth Abbey. After paying our taxes we received a special badge. We followed the signs to Bethlehem and met Mary, Joseph and Baby Jesus
 
 
Today we travelled back in time to the Victorian era. After paying our school pence we sat in rows to complete the 3Rs. We also completed drill exercises and learned about Victorian punishments. The teachers were very strict. We had to stand when they entered the room. We had our hands checked to make sure that they were clean and we were not allowed to speak unless spoken to!
 
'Schools were very different in Victorian times,' Jacob.
 
The Fire Service visited Elm class today and taught us how to prevent a fire from starting and what to do if we should ever be caught in a fire.
 
As part of ‘Maths Week,’ we became detectives and had to crack the codes to find a number of words relating to our theme ‘School Days.’ Mission accomplished!
 
As part of anti-bullying week our Now Press Play experience allowed us to think about bullying and what can be done to overcome it so that we can all work together and be friends.
 
This half term Year 1 are looking into the past.  We are on an adventure back to the Victorian times.  This week we were sent a memory box that had been dug up near Polesworth Abbey and we have been asked to investigate what was found inside. 
 
 
Autumn 1
 
Space
 
In todays Science lesson we explored which materials floated and which sank. We came to the conclusion that the ones which did not soak up water floated.
 
'All the ones that have soaked up the water have sunk to the bottom,' Oliver.
 
After using the iPads to take a picture of our chosen characters, we drew a line to make the mouth then recorded our voices. We then shared our ChatterPix. We enjoyed watching them talk!
 
This week we have made pitta breads. We weighed the ingredients then used our hands to mix them together and make a dough. After rolling the dough into a ball we used a rolling pin to make a flat shape. Again using our hands we kneaded the shape to form a pitta. Finally we cooked them in the oven.
 
We had so much fun participating in Forest School this afternoon. After playing a game of trust we went into the wooded area and found out how to light a fire safely. We then explored the area and who should we find hiding there? Stick Man! We enjoyed listening to the story whilst sitting around the fire. Finally we helped to put the fire out.
 
Arriving at school on Wednesday morning we discovered that a UFO had crash landed outside the classroom. After further investigation we also discovered a passport in a nearby bush! It appears that the UFO belongs to an alien called Beegu. We have written letters to her to find out more information.
 
 
Welcome to Acorn and Chestnut!
 
 
2021 - 2022
 
Mrs Smith/Miss Lowe - Class Teachers
Mrs Spong/Mrs Tweed - Teaching Assistants
 
 
Summer 2
 
Mad About Minibeasts

When we visited Ash End Farm, we explored the creepy critters and held snakes, lizards and a tortoise. Then we went to see goats, alpacas and cows grazing in the fields. We met Steve the man who looks after the birds of prey and learned all about owls. Did you know owls have no noses?!

After lunch we fed a whole range of goats, cows, sheep and even held some baby chicks and ducks. Some lucky children had a special treat because it was their birthday and had a special "happy chick day" song sung to them with chicks that hatched that morning!

The first Sports Day we have been able to have for reception children in 2 years! Every child in reception took part in every event and we were cheered on by so many parents, grandparents and carers. Every single child managed to get at least one 1st, 2nd or 3rd place sticker over the course of the afternoon, which is an amazing success for not just their house teams but for them personally. Well done Reception!!
This half term we came off of our LTP and engaged with a week full of Platinum Jubilee celebrations with the children. It was such an important part of their history we wanted to make a big event of it. The week consisted of following a book called The Queens Hat, where we got to use a lot of prediction and inference skills to try and guess where the hat might be. It was an amazing text which allowed the children to discover areas of London and use their imagination. Over the course of the week we designed new hats for Her Majesty the Queen, made drawings of the crown jewels and painted portraits of her, as well as many more other royal activities. On Thursday all the children in the school dressed in red, white, and blue and we had a tea party on the upper school playground. Here are some of the wonderful photos of that week.
 
Summer 1
 
The Sights and Sounds of Africa
 
This half term we have been learning traditional African dances. One from Ethiopia, Kenya and finally Nigeria. We have been creating sequences of movements and moving to music. 
 
On Fridays we have been learning all about being an athlete. Looking at different ways to move, negotiate space, throw and work as a team. We play a lot of games and have practiced our new skills outside. 
Science is so fantastic! We have been learning all about gravity and bubbles today. Professor Bubbleworks was so engaging and so FUN! Everyone in Acorn class got involved and either blew bubbles, tested gravity or became stuck in the middle of a bubble! We love science! Our understanding of the world grows with all of our experiences.
We were so lucky to have a drumming expert to come and visit us this half term. We got to sing traditional African songs and play African instruments. It was so magnificent, so much learned.
Acorn class participated in some Census fun. We took a traffic survey from the top of the school drive. First we made predictions on what would be the most popular mode of transport moving past our school gates. Then the children were on the look out for cars, vans, lorries and motorcycles. They worked in pairs and completed a tally. The result was confirmed, the road outside Birchwood Primary School has far more cars passing it than vans, lorries or motorcycles. 
Outdoor learning is essential for EYFS, where we build our understanding of the world and physical coordination and strength. Look at all the fun we have had!

Summer 1 has enraptured the children in the diversity of Africa! The children will look at the continent and visit particular countries within it such as Kenya, Nigeria and Ethiopia. They will be immersed in the vivid colours of artists, traditional food and even regional African dances. Learning to play real African drums in a special drumming session will help with their rhythm and composing skills.

With beautifully rich literacy texts such as Anna Hibiscus' story and Handa's Suprise. The children will get to compare their own daily life to that of children across the world.

Animals and all their wonder will also be explored, allowing the children to become familiar with animals we may only see on TV and in books.

The sights and sounds of Africa really will be the most amazing adventure for all our reception children!

 
Spring 2
 
 Dinosaur Stomp
 
Reception have had a very exciting couple of weeks as we received a special parcel. In line with our learning about Spring and new life, we have had the exciting experience of watching chick's hatch. We have since enjoyed learning about caring for chicks, watching and observing their behaviour and most importantly, having a little cuddle.
Children were greeted this morning with some mysterious footprints leading out to our outdoor area and an egg in a nest. We are going to be keeping a close eye out to see if anything happens to the egg over the next few days.
 
Spring 1
 
Winter Wonderland
When we arrived back to school after our Christmas break, we were excited to see lots of changes both outside and within the classroom. We began our learning by discussing what we already know about Winter and ice. This involved making our very own ice lollies, "they were so yummy!" The children then enjoyed exploring our first key text 'Snowflakes by Cerrie Burnell' where we were able to show our learning around ice, snowflakes and seasonal changes in a variety of ways. To finish our work on this text we made our very own tree decorations just like those in the book and went to hang them on the trees around the school grounds. 
 
Autumn 2
 
Why do squirrels hide their nuts?
 
 
Autumn 1
 
 We all belong here!
 
To celebrate European day of languages we played French games, ate French food and learnt about the French culture. We discussed how we could get the France from Birchwood school and even got a French lesson from our bilingual classmate. It was a wonderful day.
 
We all belong here! 
 
Our first theme is all about celebrating each other, our similarities and differences. We have spent the first few weeks looking at the routines of school and how to do our Birchwood best.  Last week we investigated how to be a good friend, what ingredients make the best friends and which ingredients we try to avoid.  The children have engaged in some amazing learning and formed wonderful relationships with their teachers and each other.