Our topic this half term is Minibeasts! We have already spotted lots of minibeasts in school and the school grounds and Woodland Class is definitely very familiar with some of them! The children will be learning some Makaton signs to name the names of some of the most common creepy crawlies.

Woodland Class will access horse riding during the summer term at the RDA in Epsom. All children and adults are very excited for this. If you haven’t already, please send in a pair of tracksuit bottoms for them to change into for our horse-riding sessions. Tracksuit bottoms will be sent back home every week to be washed ready for the next week.

The children will learn new words and Makaton signs and will practice their writing skills using different writing tools on different formats, such as sand, paper, flour or foam! Children will continue to access the library once a week for 1:1 reading sessions and will continue to look at different books and choose one to take home.

This term we are introducing Mathseeds in the classroom, to enable children to work at their own pace towards different mathematical targets on their individual Mathseeds account. Children will also work towards their targets in numeracy including pattern, playing games which use dice and understanding positional concepts such as in on, over and under. Children will continue to develop their understanding of grouping objects and matching objects and pictures according to different criteria.

Our focus in Science this half term is Biology. Woodland Class will spend some time looking for minibeasts in the school grounds using our magnifying glasses. The children will also learn the names of most common minibeasts and some of their characteristics.

Woodland Class will be learning about relationships during Jigsaw PSHE sessions. These sessions will be Attention Autism based so that children can learn more abstract concepts in an engaging way. The children will have the opportunity to talk about their families and other people they see on a daily basis and learn about healthy and kind relationships.

Even though we have seen big progress in this area, Woodland Class will continue to participate in personal care sessions. Please could we ask that you return the named wash bag with toothpaste, toothbrush and a small towel or flannel to school. Thank you!

During making activities, children will create minibeasts using a variety of materials to decorate our display board such as pipe-cleaner spiders, apple print ladybirds and egg box bees!

We look forward to spending more time outdoors this term looking for minibeasts.

Kris and Woodland team