Castle Room News

This will be the final focus over the last few weeks of term as we bring our year to a close. We will be focused primarily on ensuring that the children are ready for transition, giving them the last confidence boost so that they are ready to set off to their big schools!

Our last two books of the week are all about the ocean, with Someone Swallowed Stanley and Julian is a Mermaid, as we draw our children's focus to looking after the environment. We will build on our knowledge of looking after the planet from our focus on protecting the bees and consider what we can do to look after our world!

In the Garden we will be exploring ocean life as we use nets to locate different sea creatures hidden in our rock pools. There will be different pools set up, some that are filled with larger rocks, some are more sandy and the children will need to work together to find some of the more stealthy critters. The children will have the choice to paddle through the pools and then dry their feet to independently put on their socks and shoes.

In the Water Tray we will be following the theme of the Book of the Week, Someone Swallowed Stanley as we look at the problem and impact of rubbish in the ocean. The children will learn about how rubbish can harm the creatures living in the sea as will discuss what role they can have in keeping our oceans clean.

In the Role Play Area the children will be working together to follow a recipe to make a fresh rhubarb and gooseberry crumble. They will need to organise themselves to complete the step by step plans and share out the different jobs to make a delicious dessert!

In the Creative Area the children will be meeting the artist Monet as we learn about his famous collection, Waterlilies. The children will observe real waterlilies and compare their likeness to the abstract painting of Monet. We will use acrylic paint alongside jelly mats and rollers to consider different prints and ways to represent the water and the plants, not focusing on the form of the plants but instead on the abstract appearance.

Our first Book of the Week will be Somebody Swallowed Stanley by Sarah Roberts. Stanley is no ordinary jellyfish. Most jellyfish have gangly-dangly tentacles, but Stanley has two handles. Other jellyfish have a magical glow, but Stanley has stripes. A story about animal behaviourist and wildlife expert, Sarah Roberts, about the problems a simple plastic bag can create in the oceans. Here is the story to share at home; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8DXJM9YQj7Y 

Our second Book of the Week is Julian is a Mermaid by Jessica Love. The day Julian sees three amazing women dressed up as mermaids, everything changes. All he can think of is becoming a mermaid himself. But what will his Nana think? Here is the story to share at home; https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62HGRe_QuhU 

The final story we will look at will be on the very important and sensitive topic of Safe Touch. We will follow the NSPCC Guidelines using the story Pantosaurus as we talk through the concept of our bodies being our own. Here is the official guidelines to share at home. https://www.nspcc.org.uk/keeping-children-safe/support-for-parents/pants-underwear-rule/