Incy Wincy Spider

Nursery rhymes are important for so many reasons: 

Last week we looked at The Incy Wincy Spider. We practiced rhyming, counting syllables, performing the rhyme, oral language and more! 

While Juniors and Seniors did a cut and paste sequencing activity for the rhyme, 1st Class came up with this great version and made posters for it: 

 Poor Incy!!!

Check out each pod performing the rhyme below

Rhyming and Writing our Names

We listened to this great rhyming song, and then made up our own versions! We all got squashed when the elephant sat on us! We even squashed some of our family members 🙈

Then we practiced writing our names. It is really important to use the correct pencil grip, so please try to encourage this at home when possible! The Juniors need to build up the muscles in their hands before they start formal writing in school. Loads of playdough, cutting, tearing and building activities are great for this! 

We are looking for the Dynamic Tripod Posture! 

1st Class will be doing cursive writing this year, so they practiced writing their names in joined up writing. Seniors and Juniors did rainbow names! Great work everyone 👍

The Best Thing So Far...

Last week we practiced breaking sentences into words. Have a look at everyone's favourite part of school so far this year!

1st Class made brilliant projects this week about the different body parts for Science.

Tricky Words

Liam and Elisha made all of these tricky words today during English Stations! Everyone made a huge effort this morning at all of the different stations, well done! 

We do different activities each day for our stations. This is what we did today: 

Table 1: Phonics: we learned three ways to make the 'er' sound-er, ir, ur

Table 2: Tricky Words-practicing the words on our wall and building or writing different words

Table 3: Literacy through ICT (online games to reinforce learning)

Table 4: Fine Motor Skills-using new magnet boards

Construction Station

Here are some clips of the construction station during playtime. The children were given the task of designing, planning and building their own restaurant. They are developing drawing skills, spatial awareness, imaginative thinking and motor skills. There's English, Maths, Science, Art and SPHE. This station also provides opportunities for team work, oral language, problem solving and more! 

English Stations

Juniors and Seniors hard at work this morning doing English Station. Today our stations were

1. Phonics
2. Tricky Words
3. IPads (children could retell the stories they wrote last week during Writers' Workshop using the Sock Puppets App)
4. Oxford Readers

Aistear- The Doctors' Surgery

During playtime in school the children are given opportunities to learn through play. Every month there will be new themes and through Aistear the children cover topics in SESE, Drama, Art, Literacy, Numeracy, SPHE, etc...More information on Aistear can be found by clicking this link: AISTEAR

Our themes at the moment are Myself and The Doctors' Surgery. Each station has a different activity and over the week the children will experience each one. 

Table1: Cut and Paste items from the Doctor's bag. As well as developing fine motor skills, the children are working on language development as they recognise the different items.

Table2: Visual Art. This week the children are doing wax resist self-portraits. This is linking in with the story we did this week, Ronald the Rhino, where we learnt that the best person we can be is our self! They are also encouraged to talk about different features and colours they have (in English and as Gaeilge).

Table3: Role Play. After a whole class discussion and work on an interactive poster about the Doctors' Surgery, the children role play. They are using the new language they have learned, developing social skills, using Literacy and Numeracy informally...  

Table4: Construction. The children here have been asked to build a new hospital for Ireland. They work on spatial skills, teamwork, oral language and motor skills. 

We are also learning body parts as Gaeilge, so Aistear provides opportunities for the children to use their frásaí nua!

Have a look at our photos below!

English Stations

Here are some pictures of us working hard this morning during English Stations. 

At Table 1 we read one of Ms. Keane's favourite books, Rhyme Crime! The Juniors came up with new rhymes out loud and the Seniors did some writing. 

At Table 2, the children were building their names to work on recognition and formation.

Table 3 got the IPads and used an app to introduce them to sight words through fun games and stories.

The children got Oxford Readers at Table 4 and read these books. Every child will practice their reading on Monday and Wednesday using the readers out loud with an adult, and then read them at home for their homework too. These books are changed on Mon and Wed, so please ensure that they are in your child's homework folder every day! 

Airport Aistear!

Following on from our Travel Agent themed playtime, we are now in the airport! There is a playdough station with mats based on the story Up, Up and Away, an art station where we are making Mexican-inspired art using the hojalata technique (using tin to make artwork), a writing station based on the story, and, best of all, an airport drama station! Have a look...