Blog 26 - 17th May

Hello Apples, 
 
 
 We've had a jam packed full of fun, learning and playing week! 
 
When we arrived in Apple Class on Monday morning, we had a problem. The animals had all lost their babies and it was our job to see if we could name them and find them on our animal cards. We started by naming each animal and seeing if we knew what they were called. it was a little tricky as we hadn’t heard of some of the babies before. We took it in turns to match the offspring to their mum before playing a matching game. It was a great opportunity to work on our turn taking skills and learning that we don’t always win every game. As well as making sure we now know the names of all the babies down on the farm.
 
The animals and their young that we learnt about were: 
sheep and lamb,
cow and calf,
goat and kid,
horse and foal,
pig and piglet,
duck and duckling,
hen and chick,
swan and cygnet,
goose and gosling,
cat and kitten,
dog and puppy.
 
 
You could play this game at home! 
You say a 'cat' and see if your child can remember 'kitten' for example! 
 
 
The visit from the lambs a couple of weeks ago, sparked and led much of our discussions again this week. We discussed what a newborn lamb needs to thrive and survive - can your child remember something that a lamb needs? 
 
Our mathematical learning this week came from making our own farms and using mathematical questions to challenge the children's learning. 

We asked questions like:

How many ‘cows’ do you have on your farm. 

Can you add 3 pigs to your farm? 

If you have 1 dog and 2 ducks, how many animals do you have altogether? 

On my farm I have how many animals? Can you make a farm with the same amount? Can you make a farm with more/fewer animals than me?

 
We've sung many songs this week (I hope you've heard them too at home!) The old favourites have been sung - baa baa black sheep, Old McDonald, The farmers in the den, Mary had a little lamb. 
In addition to this, we played a fun game in Musical Apples. While the music played, we ran, skipped, hopped and jumped like lambs but when the music stopped, we ran back to the mats where the mum sheep (the ewes) were waiting to eat and drink. It was great fun!
 
 
Have a lovely weekend everyone.
 
Mrs Farrar