Citywest ETNS Senior Infants - Laura's Class

Maths is Fun!

11/26/2021

2D Shapes

We have recently been learning about 2D shapes.

We learned about a circle, square, rectangle and triangle in a variety of ways. We engaged in some interesting talk and discussion about the sides and corners of each shape. Did you know that a circle has one curved side?

We progressed to some station teaching. We spent six minutes at each station and completed a different activity based on 2D shapes. These activities included creating shapes from playdoh, using whiteboards and markers to draw 2D shapes, creating 2D shapes using a piece of string and tracing 2D shapes using a pencil. This was a fun and active way to learn!

We then integrated our Maths and Visual Arts learning by creating 2D shape monsters. We got the chance to practice our cutting skills and to explore our creativity.

We spent some time (and played some interactive games!) learning about pattern. We identified and created shape pattern as well as colour pattern.

Check out some of our work below!

A Wonderful Wednesday!

11/18/2021

Hot Cup of Chocolate

Last week, we constructed mugs of hot chocolate in Visual Arts. This week, we tasted some for real!

First, Linda kindly poured some milk into her slow cooker. Then, we each added a heaped tablespoon of Cadbury's drinking chocolate. We took turns to mix the milk and drinking chocolate together (and remembered to make a wish!). We then continued with our learning while the mixture heated up.

After yard, our hot chocolate was just right. We chose a cup and passed it to Sinéad. She filled it using a ladle and returned it to us. We then used a spoon to add marshmallows and/or chocolate sprinkles to our cup. We didn't make much of a mess!

Finally, we had the chance to relax and enjoy our hot cup of chocolate. What a treat!

Construction Time!

11/12/2021

Brrrr, It's Cold in Here!

We have spent the last two weeks constructing mugs of hot chocolate as part of our Visual Arts learning.

First, we used lollipop sticks and PVA glue to construct the body of the mug. Then, we took some time to paint them. Finally, we used pipe cleaners to construct a handle, cotton wool to create marshmallows and sequence to decorate our mugs. Now, we use our imagination and pretend that our mugs are filled with tasty hot chocolate!

This activity not only got our creative juices flowing, but helped us to develop our fine motor skills. This activity also connected nicely to some other aspects of our learning, e.g. Winter is approaching and learning about "Bia" in Gaeilge.

We hope to get the chance to enjoy some hot chocolate for real over the coming weeks!

Let's Get Moving!

11/12/2021

Cosmic Yoga, Sonic Style!

This month in P.E., we have been learning about athletics. Our focus recently has been on running.

As well as practicing this skill ourselves outdoors and in the P.E. hall, we've spent some time watching videos of athletes competing in races. They ran at super speed! We were very impressed.

We acknowledged that it's not safe to practice running in our classroom. Instead, we decided to engage in some yoga with a super, speedy theme- Sonic the Hedgehog.

Check out some photographs of us in action below!

Cosmic Yoga can be found on You Tube. Perhaps you could try it at home!

Nocturnal Animals

10/22/2021

Bat Attack!

This week, we have been learning about nocturnal animals. We explored photographs of some of these animals and played some games.

We chose to focus on one nocturnal animal in particular, the bat. We spent time learning some bat facts. They are interesting little creatures!

We created bats as part of our Visual Arts learning. This involved painting, cutting, sticking and folding or manipulating pipe cleaners. Check out some photographs of our bats below!

Have a safe and happy mid-term break!

Restorative Practice

10/19/2021

Share the Love!

Over the last couple of weeks, we have been learning about Restorative Practice.

We have begun to learn about values such as fairness, respect, inclusion, empathy and nurture.

We have also begun to understand what a "lovebomb" is- sharing love with those around us. We discussed some ways in which we can do this. Some suggestions included giving someone a hug, including someone in our play, sharing toys with others and if someone is hurt, asking if they are okay.

For this week, we are participating in a lovebomb challenge! We hope to share lots of love with one another before mid-term break. Each time we do so, we will colour in a heart on our "Lovebomb Tracker". We hope to colour each heart before the end of the day on Friday.

Wish us luck!

Group Work in Laura's Class

10/19/2021

Sequencing Superstars!

Recently, we have been learning about sequencing; ordering events in a story.

In keeping with our learning about Autumn, we listened to the story of "Fletcher and The Falling Leaves". We discussed and illustrated events that happened at the beginning, middle and end of the story.

We took this learning and applied it to the poem "The Incy Wincy Spider" (we have been spotting little spiders around our school!). We worked in small groups to sequence the events in the poem. This was our first experience working as a group. It was a good opportunity to develop our problem-solving skills whilst having fun with friends.

We consolidated this learning again by reading the story of "The Gingerbread Man". This complimented our learning about the bakery nicely. We focused on the events that came first, next and last in the story. In our groups, we sequenced some pictures in the correct order. The sequence of the pictures helped us to retell the story effectively. We even went on to create our own gingerbread men!

We feel confident about this learning and loved working as a team!

Check out our wonderful work on display!

Yay for Yard Time!

9/13/2021

Our Grass Agreement

We were delighted to learn that our play space this year would be on the grass beside the junior yard. This has been both fun and exciting but has also come with it's challenges!

We recognised that we would have to make some changes in order for us all to have a safe and happy yard time.

Check out Our Grass Agreement in the photograph below.

By signing, decorating and cutting out a flower, we showed that we agree to uphold each statement. There has been a good improvement so far.

We are looking forward to many more safe and happy times on the grass!

Let's Get Drawing!

9/13/2021

Our School Community

As part of learning in Geography, we took time to discuss and show appreciation for some of the people in our school community.

We headed over to our school's website and identified some of the adults that work in our school. We saw some familiar and unfamiliar faces!

We talked about the roles that some of the adults have in our school. This was an interesting and informative conversation.

We then illustrated an adult of our choice. These illustrations are displayed in our classroom. Look closely! Who can you see?

September in Senior Infants

9/13/2021

Getting Set for Sucess!

We spent some time at the beginning of the month learning about our school's Golden Rules.

We discussed each rule and ways in which we can show understanding of them.

To show our understanding and acceptance of the rules, we traced one hand onto some coloured card. We decorated and signed our hand print before cutting it out. Check out our colourful display below.

We feel set up for success in Senior Infants!