Our Year 2 and 3 class is called Squirrels

2020-2021

Summer Term

Art day

On our Art Day we looked at the artist Chuck Close, a modern American artist who has achieved international recognition for his large scale portraits of himself, his friends and family.  He was paralysed but managed to find the strength to have physio-therapy and get some strength in his arms to carry on painting.The first task was to colour our section of the portrait. We had to adhere to the guidelines so that the final image would be clear.  Once the backgrounds were coloured,  we used any type of pattern we chose to decorate our section but again followed some rules. We then put all our sections together to create a portrait.

We used clay to make tree sprites to go in our outside area.    We moulded the clay into the shape of a head, then formed the face, squeezing and pressing the clay to produce features.  We used water to blend and smooth the clay.   We put the sprites into the trees and pressed the clay against the bark and branches.

Number day- 6th May 2021

We had great fun on Number day cooking number biscuits, using our maths skills to weigh ingredients and think about how long the biscuits took to cook.  We also made patterns on squared paper and worked out the fraction for each colour.  Using the three times tables we made some modern art!

 

Science

In science we are learning about sound.  We have twanged an elastic band to see how vibrations have made sound.  We have covered boxes of marbles in different materials to see which one is best at blocking sound.  We even put an alarm clock (in a waterproof box) under water to see if sound can travel through water!

 

Spring Term

Census Day

We took part in some census activities to find out more about why and how we do the census.

The census
The census is when we count everyone, every 10 years. They ask you questions and if you don’t answer you get a fine. The census has been around for 200 years! On 21st March 2021, or before, you have to sign in. It is done because they need to know if places need any more schools or hospitals. Everyone gets a say.
E.

What is the census?
The census is a survey that all of England has to fill in. The census happens every ten years and it has been happening for 200 years!
The census ask you lots of questions for example:
• How is your physical and mental health?
• How many people live in your house?
• What job do you have?
• Where do you live?
Every person in England has to fill in the census and if you don’t you get fined a lot of money.
E.

We also did some surveys so that we can understand how the census helps the government to come to decisions.

Red Nose Day

To raise money for Comic Relief we dressed up as superheroes or inspirational figures.   Joining us for lessons were several superheroes, footballers, Youtubers, Boris Johnson, Einstein, Amelia Earhart and Frida Kahlo!

Science Week

During Science week we enjoyed our hands on science experiments. We discussed what we thought might happen and then had discussions on why we thought the experiment had worked or not worked!
We made “gliders” using card and straws or thin dowling.  We discovered that the longer the dowling the further the glider flew. All the gliders flew well and some spun round whilst flying. The science showed us that the big hoop created air resistance whilst the smaller hoop kept the glider flying in the correct direction.
We inflated balloons using bicarbonate of soda and white vinegar. When the vinegar and bicarb mixed together it created a gas. Gas needs a lot of room so it expanded into the bottle and then into the balloon.
We made “blobs” in a bottle of liquid. Having put oil, water and drops of food colouring to a bottle we added a fizzy tablet. The oil stayed above the water and when the tablet was added it sank to the bottom and created a gas. When the gas bubbles rose they took some of the coloured water with them.
We looked at optical illusions and couldn’t believe our eyes! We made helicopters using paper and paper clips. We made wrote secret messages and flowers on paper, folded the paper and watched the paper unfold on water!

World Book Day 2021

We had great fun on World Book Day!  We all dressed up and joined in with a quiz, either at school or at home.  We made dioramas, potato characters, egg box characters and designed 2p art!   Do you know which stories our dioramas represent?  Which characters have we made out of potatoes?

Romans

We have been looking at Roman architecture and thinking about how their buildings and roads were made.  It is amazing that we still use some Roman roads today!

Mental Health week.

We did lots of activities – thinking about how art, music and physical exercise can help with our thoughts.   

Science

Animals including humans

We have been looking at teeth – the type, their function and how to look after them.  We carried out an experiment to see the affect that different drinks would have on egg shells.  We were shocked to see what happened to the egg shells over a week.  We used tea, coffee, diet fizzy drink, water and a sugary sports drink.  The water was the only liquid that didn’t change the egg shells.  We have all decided that we don’t want to drink sugary drinks and if we do we will brush our teeth extra well!

We have also been looking at skeletons, muscles and what a healthy diet is.

Autumn Term

Elf Day

We made a difference today by raising money for Alzheimer’s by dressing as elves.

 

Incarnation

In RE we have  been thinking about incarnation.  We have thought about the importance of water in our everyday lives and how it is used in baptisms in both children and adults.  We have looked at religious art and thought about the different symbols used to represent the Trinity – God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.  We then made our own art work to represent the Holy Trinity.

 

United against bullying

We took part in Odd Socks Day to show that we are all united against bullying.

Remembrance Day

We wrote poems and prayers.  We also painted poppies over some black and white world war photos to remind us why we remember.   To make a difference to our school display we painted some pebbles with poppies and mindfulness sayings to give people courage and strength.

Science – Light

We have been looking at reflective materials.  We did an experiment to find which materials are reflective and which are not.  

Mirrors

We have looked at why mirrors are so reflective.  We then played some games using mirrors, walking along a wiggly line looking up at a mirror and writing a message in mirror writing to our friends.

Stone Age to Iron Age.

We examined some “Stone Age poo” to discover that Stone Age people started off as hunter gatherers and ate grasses and berries!  We were glad that we didn’t do the same for the Bronze Age people!

 

Art

In art we have been learning how Jane Goodall used her sketch book to look at nature.  We took our books outside and sketched different trees and plants.  We thought about all the wonderful colours of nature before trying to mix the correct autumnal colours for a leaf using only primary colours.

In PE we are learning about tag rugby.

Here we are!

We have been looking at the book Here We Are by Oliver Jeffers.  We have written poems about our wonderful world and others about the sky, sun or stars.

 

Please read the letter below which sets out our expectations for this year.

Expectations September 20

Squirrels children have made their own class charter showing how we will behave in school.  Everyone had some input and the result is below:

Squirrel Class Charter

We are looking forward to welcoming you back to our class!