In a Nutshell Newsletter 16th October: Happy Half Term

Willow Class have been working carefully on their beautiful letter books, learning about the story behind Incy Wincy Spider, drawing spider webs, and practising their letter formation. Willow Class have also been exploring the sense of touch in Science with lucky dip games!

Birch Class have been creating Wanted posters for animals that were around in the Stone Age but are now extinct, such as the Dodo. In Maths, Birch children have also been creating their own number lines to revise counting on and counting backwards.

Chestnut Class are delighted to share that their poems have been accepted into the Young Writers’ 2023 Anthology of Poems! Huge congratulations to our talented poets. We also had Milla giving a special presentation in Science of an adult female deer skull (expertly cleaned for school use), which fascinated the pupils as we looked at its teeth, jaw movement and how heavy its skull was.

Oak Class have been exploring the military technology that was used in WW1 as well as expanding their vocabulary with learning the definitions of words such as ‘alliance’ and ‘imperialism’. What’s more, Chestnut and Oak children have begun their football training in conjunction with Hall School Wimbledon for our tournament after Half Term; they returned from last week’s training session buzzing!

Willow Class

The children developed their mud work, some finding the consistency of clay good for a repeating pattern along a log, while others painted tree trunks. We talked about why earth around tree roots can’t be the mud source! Lots of autumnal decorations were made, like a leafy, feathered wand, a string of bright leaves and a leaf and twig mobile, hanging well once we found its centre of gravity. There were a couple of small bark boats launched, and experimentation with the sounds of rocks plopping into the stream. We ended in our circle, looking up at the leaf-patterned sky, which is a relaxing celebration of the trees before they are bare again.

Birch Class

The rich provision of autumn inspired much making: ‘Hangy’, a bright leaf strung on a stick, appeared along with several imaginative sock animals. Selected leaves went into the flower-press. By the stream there were observations of  water resistance (‘the water feels heavy’), while other students waded to a mid-stream log, continually testing the water’s varying depth with sticks (to observe the stream, and avoid wet socks!) Two students completed the tiny den discovered in the woods on Monday, with sheep’s wool, leaves, and a twig path to the door. The mood was harmonious, ending with a game of coo-whit and the story of the Wolf and the Walker.

Chestnut and Oak Classes

The class were keen to forage for berries, so we gathered rosehips at the edge of the meadow. In the woodland everyone worked hard at colouring their ‘spirit shields’ and we heard wonderful stories about the inspiration for some of their designs at the end. The whole group then spontaneously balanced on the huge willow logs and looked very tall and proud.