Oak Class Blog 2025/2026

Term 1 Week 7

This week we have been enjoying learning all about the celebrations and traditions of Diwali.  In English we have read the story of Rama and Sita and fact files about Diwali.  We have followed instructions to make salt dough diwa lamps and paper lanterns which have been beautifully decorated.  We have looked at the shapes and patterns in rangoli patterns creating our own using chalk and pens.  

In maths we have continued our work on addition, doubles and near doubles and begun to use part whole models to record fact families.   

Next week we will be enjoying a Diwali feast before writing our own fact files about the festival. 

Term 1 Week 6

This week we have been busy following instructions! On Monday we made baked apples, carefully following the recipe, on Tuesday we made a jam sandwich and then wrote or sequenced our own instructions for making a jam sandwich.  Finally on Thursday we planned and wrote instructions for how to make a disgusting sandwich! 

In maths we have been thinking about number bonds within 20 and doubles.  

In the afternoons we have been using Purple Mash 2Paint a Picture to create impressionist style art work using a digital colour palette.  We have also harvested some of the tomatoes grown by Acorns class last year and used pastels to draw them.  They are quite amazing! 

Next week we are looking forward to our first Cross Country race at Langtree and learning about the traditions of Diwali. 

Term 1 Week 5

Thank you everyone who came to our Lighthouse Exhibition this week, the children were so proud to show off their creative and unique work.  

In English we have been reading The Disgusting Sandwich which the children have been thoroughly enjoying. We have used the text of the book to look at adjectives, verbs and nouns as well as sorting simple instructions.  Next week we will be following instructions to make apple crumble and jam sandwiches before writing our own instructions for a disgusting sandwich. 

In maths we have been working on number bonds within 10 and beyond. 

Next week we will be thinking about the seasonal changes that Autumn brings alongside our usual maths, phonics, reading and English learning.

Term 1 Week 4

This week we have begun creating our 3d lighthouses! The children have been so creative using a mixture of recycled materials to create their structures.  Next week we will be completing them ready for our exhibition in the hall on Thursday after school and Friday morning at drop off time. 

In maths we have been comparing numbers using our knowledge of place value to use language such as greater than, less than to sort and order numbers.  

In English we have been thinking about adjectives, using these to describe the Grinling's cat Hamish.  We are also having a focus on letter formation and handwriting.  The sand tray has been very helpful for this! 

Next week we will be celebrating harvest, holding our exhibition and beginning our unit on instructions in English. 

Term 1 Week 3

This week in English we have been thinking about the events of The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch, planning for our retelling next week.  In maths we have been partitioning numbers into tens and ones, sequencing numbers, counting in tens and creating a human number line. 

In PE we have been developing our football skills, enjoying space on the field outside. 

In art we have been looking at famous landscape artists who painted seascapes.  We then used a painting by Birdy rose as inspiration to create our moody seascapes, mixing different shades and tints of blue and thinking about the texture of the sea and sky. 

The paintings look fantastic and we are looking forward to inviting you to our art exhibition soon (date tbc). 

Next we will be making 3d lighthouses, retelling the story of The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch and continuing to think about place value in maths. 

Term 1 Week 2 

This week we have been learning all about the seaside in the past.  On Wednesday we had a wonderful workshop and seaside craft day and in our afternoon lessons we have learnt about entertainment, clothing, transport and food at the seaside during the Victorian times. 

In our English lessons we have been learning about lighthouses, exploring the 'wow' vocabulary used in the Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch and thought about all the different jobs Mr Grinling has to do. 

In maths we have been exploring two digit numbers up to 100. 

We also made a flock of scavenging seagulls!

Next week we will be looking at how artists have represented the seaside and creating some art work of our own. 

Term 1 Week 2 - Seaside Day 

What a wonderful time we had at the 'seaside' yesterday! Oak class made sandcastles, hokey pokey ice cream and a wonderful array of traditional seaside crafts.  Mary shared with us her experience of travelling to Brighton by train for the day in 1850 and we all enjoyed the Punch and Judy show.

Term 1 Week 1

Welcome back Oak Class! It was so lovely to welcome the children back to school and to see how ready they were to learn.  We have had a busy first week back with lots of fun too especially in our PE lessons. 

We have started our Learning Project 'I do like to be beside the seaside' thinking all about the seaside in the present, what it what was like to visit in the past.  In English we are reading the story of The Lighthouse Keeper's Lunch and we are all enjoying the adventures of Mr & Mrs Grinling and Hamish the cat.  We have written postcards this week.  In maths we are thinking about place value and learning to read and write the number names. 

Next week we will be having a Seaside day on Wednesday - don't forget your bucket and spade!