As the end of the term approaches, you’d think it was time to wind down. Well, not in Year 1!
The children have continued on with their learning and we have turned some Christmas crafts into great learning opportunities.
Maths with gingerbread men?
This was an opportunity to create some repeating patterns, some symmetry, counting and even some addition and subtraction.
Careful cutting
Whilst making their Christmas cards, the children were encouraged to cut things out for themselves.
Using a pair of scissors can be tricky. However, all the effort was worth it when snowflakes appeared like magic!
Threading salt dough
Another craft activity we have completed is making decorations with salt dough. This involved careful painting of both sides which was a challenge. The children worked out that asking a friend to hold the decoration whilst they painted the back was a good solution. Everyone threaded some ribbon through the hole and some attempted to tie a knot in the ribbon.
The four seasons
These calendars were created with a theme of the four seasons. The children thought carefully about each season throughout the year. Then, using the image of a tree they added detail according to the relevant time of year. Lots of colour and some very detailed painting.
It’s been an absolute pleasure to have been working with the Year 1 children. Over the last few months, I have seen talented artists, creative writers, resilient mathematicians, enthusiastic readers and much more. A change of adult can be quite unsettling for some children. I have to say, the whole class have coped well with this and the changes have not affected their high standard of learning. In fact, I have been amazed by the quality of the work produced by the children.