Willow Class Blog Summer 1 Week 4
Date: 8th May 2026 @ 12:20pm
What a busy week it has been!
This week in Phonics, the children have been working hard to develop their spelling knowledge. Year 1 have been learning to add the suffixes -er and -est, exploring how these endings change words to show comparison. In Year 2, the focus has been on adding the suffixes -ment and -ness, with the children practising how these turn words into nouns and build meaning in their writing.
In English, both year groups have begun boxing up their innovated narratives based on The Tiger Who Came to Tea. We have changed the visitor in the story and imagined what they got up to instead. The children have shown lots of creativity and imagination during this planning stage, and it has been a pleasure listening to their ideas as they prepare to write their own versions.
In Maths, Year 1 have been adding single-digit numbers to 10 and practising bridging over. They have used number bonds and practical resources to support their understanding and explain their thinking. Year 2 have been learning to find one third and two quarters of shapes, amounts and objects, focusing on sharing into equal parts and applying their understanding in a range of contexts.
In Science, we looked at the life cycle of humans. The children really enjoyed bringing in and looking at their baby photos and identifying how babies change as they grow over time. This sparked lots of discussion and excitement — can you guess which baby photo belongs to each teacher?
In Music, we continued learning Rockpool Rock, exploring the genre of rock and roll music. The children practised the song and actions, showing great enthusiasm and energy while developing their sense of rhythm and performance skills.
In RE, we wrapped up our learning about Easter by sequencing the story and discussing how Easter is celebrated by Christians, as well as the ways it can be marked by those who celebrate it in non-religious ways. In DT, we finished adding the final details to our pull along toys.
In PSHE, we continued learning about healthy eating by designing a healthy lunchbox. The children enjoyed thinking carefully about food choices and discussing how different foods help keep our bodies healthy.
Today was also David Attenborough’s 100th birthday, and we joined a live lesson with Steve Backshall to celebrate his incredible achievements. We watched some of his most famous clips and learnt about his life and passion for protecting the natural world.
As part of our play project, the children extended this learning through a wide range of creative activities. They made birthday cards, cakes and bunting, created animal and plane models, made clay animals, and set up a water scene in the water area. It was wonderful to see their curiosity, creativity and teamwork shine. What A Wonderful World performed by David Attenborough - BBC David Attenborough - Little People, Big Dreams I Read Aloud I Biographies for kids
We have enjoyed:
- Making my model plane - George.
- Making a bed out of the bricks - Loris.
- Making my clay animal - sloth - India.
- Making a toy with Raf and Gracie - Della.
- Designing a healthy lunchbox - Sophie.
- Making a playdoh icecream - Edie, Alicja and Szymon.
- Making my pull along toy - Bunny.
- Learning facts about David Attenborough - Daisy-Mai.
- Making a watchtower for David Attenborough - Noah and Grey.
- Playing with the polydron - Roberta.
- Playing with the numblobs with Felix -Alice.
- Making a ramp with the guttering - Felix.
Have a fabulous weekend,
Miss Jackson, Mrs Gardener, Julia and Willow Class
