Primrose class was in full swing this month as we prepared for The Holy Family School's 50th anniversary, as well as learning about Autumn and delighting in Halloween fun. In Music and Drama class, we practised imitating and performing 'Rock the Boat' and 'We Are Sailing' we got dressed in our 70’s clothes in preparation for the performance we were giving. We also acquired new Lámh signs to go along with our songs.
We went on an excursion to the fairy forest in SESE, Geography, using a pre-prepared sheet to seek for indications of Autumn - acorns/horse chestnuts/leaves. We collected, examined, and investigated a variety of natural materials in the local area in order to match item silhouettes.
Children investigated Halloween celebrations throughout history through stories, songs, games and Halloween costumes. Using our voices, students learned about leaves changing colours and falling off trees in science via stories and songs. We sang the songs using our voices, Tobii devices and sign language. Autumn leaves are falling, and we read the book Peppa's Windy Day.
The children had the freedom to work independently throughout the day, only receiving assistance when necessary. In SHPE, children were given the liberty to make independent decisions about their snack, play and TV. In Art, we explored the colour orange and made a squirrel collage out of crumpled paper.
For our Halloween art, we constructed scarecrows and painted pumpkins. 'I' and 'P' were this month's Phonics sounds. We discovered Mat Man Learning Body Awareness and Writing Preparation through our handwriting without tears programme. We also sang the letter song and the tapping song.
In Oral Language, pupils used their preferred style of communication (Tobii, Lámh, Verbal) to make requests at break/lunch time and to confidently communicate personal needs, ideas, and preferences.
There was a lot of hard work put in at the teachers' table for numeracy, which was Data this month, utilising songs, lámh, and concrete materials to sort objects that are the same together, while we continued with our workstations and task boxes.
Some of Primrose pupils are now working independently on their 'TTRS' (Touch, Type, Read, Spell) course, which is progressing very well. Our PE teacher, Kerri, assigned us to a range of captivating activities that we all enjoyed. We went for a walk to a side street café where we learned about traffic safety. We had a nutritious dietary experience this month when Food Dudes Ireland supplied daily fruit and vegetables for us to try.
