Junior and Senior Infants

Outdoor classroom day 2019

"I wish it wasn't home time." JI pupil. A real sign of a great day!!! Today the children were explorers, scientists, artists, athletes and problem solvers. We were very lucky to get the last fine day of May's sunny spell for our Outdoor Classroom Day. We used our five senses to get in touch with nature all around us and realised there is so much going on in our school field that we hadn't not even noticed. We now understand it is important to slow down and look and listen. There are a variety of habitats for numerous minibeasts, birds and animals. Up to twenty native flowers growing also some of which you can see in the slideshow. Thanks to Mrs. Fairweather for sharing her tent with us for our picnic lunch.

Maths week

Another wonderful Maths week filled with measuring, estimating, numbers, shapes, group work and dressing up. Have a look at some of the work we did while using our maths eyes.

THe Pet Shop

A pet shop was opened in our classroom this week fully equipped for all your pet needs. The children made dog collars and leads, pet mazes, aquariums, bird cages, food bowls and bought and sold their products in the shop. Lost posters were designed for missing pets and lovely puppy puppets were made.

Farming

The children loved learning all about life on the farm. They designed their own farms and farmhouses. Created some beautiful art using cows for inspiration! We learned how important it is to always be safe on the farm and to always listen to the adult we are with and never to go out on the farm without an adult. We had a visit from Luan's dad James who told us all about being a farmer. The children asked lots of interesting questions and were delighted with the fabulous Tractor Ted pencils from Luan's parents.

PIrates

We sailed the seven seas on ships the children built themselves and explored islands for buried treasure. We learned all about how pirates spoke and the jobs carried out on their ships which were called Sloops and Square Riggers! They designed Jolly Rogers and came up with pirate names for themselves.

Book Week and visit with rory o' shaughnessy

Book week was, once again, a big hit this year. The children brought in their favourite story books to read, we had a "Book Swap" to give life to some of our old favourites. WE had buddy reading, poster competitions and of course dress up day.

We were very lucky to have a visit from local historian Rory O'Shaughnessy . He shared lots of wonderful stories with us about the life of St. Colman and Kilmacduagh.

In the morning/ home

We have been singing lots of lovely new morning songs to greet each other this fortnight, which ties in perfectly with our social skill of the week saying hello and smiling! The children built their own little house (which had to be a bungalow of course, how could they build and upstairs ;) ) Some of the furniture thye had to build themselves such as tv units, cots, washing machines. We studied the artist Vincent Van Gogh, in particular the painting "Bedroom in Arles." The children were very disappointed to learn that no one appreciated his art until after he died. The children worked in groups to write some poems about mornings at home to continue our work on poetry.

The Arctic

We became Arctic explorers in January, learning all about the animals that live their, how thee have adapted to live in such cold conditions, the Inuit tribe, their homes, food and clothing. We built igloos, wrote acrostic poems and started cursive writing. We learned how to draw snowy owls and went on a yoga adventure with a polar bear!

Some of the topics to come in the New Year are the Arctic, the home, the jungle, the farm, the supermarket, at the airport and the seaside so watch this space!

The Nativity

Thanks to all the parents and grandparents who attended our Nativity play on Friday the 14th. We were so proud of all the children who sang and acted their hearts out.

Christmas

December was quite a month! Writing lists, letters and cards, setting up Santa's workshop, making toys for the children on the nice list, designing and building a new sleigh for Santa, dressing up, learning new drawing skills, making lots of beautiful art, painting, bingo, Christmas yoga, turning our classroom into a cinema, the Nativity play, lots of singing and dancing and playing and most importantly fun!

Science Week

I think it's fair to say making slime was the highlight of science week! The children had so much fun with all our wonderful visitors learning about levers, tension and farming. We made paper airplanes, slime, rockets, magnet homes and learned how much fun science is.

Healthy Eating Restaurant

We opened our own healthy eating restaurant. Our focus was on serving healthy, balanced meals in a polite manner! We spent a lot of time learning about how to fill our plates with the correct balance of protein, carbohydrate, dairy , fat and fruit and vegetables. Children also wrote menus, made pizzas, worked on procedural writing and of course washed up!

Weather Station

Rainclouds in jars, weather reporting, testing materials for durability, mixing colours and having fun painting with the outcome! A fun time was had at the weather station.

Have you tried our tongue twister yet?

Whether the weather be hot,
Or whether the weather be not,
We'll weather the weather whatever the weather,
Whether we like it or not!

Halloween

Lots of fun was had buying and hiring costumes from our costume shop. We made some lovely Halloween art using handprints. In maths we have been working on pattern and in english our focus has been on categorisataion both of which we explored in our sand area. Check out our spooky patterns!

OUr favourite Halloween yoga poses

Autumn Yoga

We learned half moon pose, frog pose, rain pose, tree pose, bear pose to name but a few and had lots of fun too! Can you guess which is which?

Autumn October 2018

We've been learning all about what's happening around us in nature during autumn. Leaf Man and Hog the Hedge were some of our favourite stories for this theme. We had lots of fun learning how to make leaf rubbings, pointillism and printing using leaves and sticks. The squirrel was our focus animal. Why not ask us some of our new rhymes The Dingle Dangle Scarecrow or Whisky Frisky?

The Doctor

We've been very busy taking temperatures, using stethoscopes and bandaging wounds! We filled in appointment books, wrote prescriptions and patient records were updated. We built some hospitals and designed wheelchairs. We learned rhymes about Doctor Foster and the story of Topsy and Tim go to the hospital.

We're Back! September 2018

Welcome to all our new Junior Infants. We have been very busy settling back and exploring the school theme this September.

Maths week Fun!

celebrating outdoor classroom day 17th may 2018

Junior and Senior infants had so much fun learning outside for the whole day today. We searched for minibeasts and a variety of plants, we planted sunflower seeds, we searched for and made shapes, listened to the sounds of nature and even had time for a little yoga. We enjoyed a picnic lunch in the tent.
Over 1.7 million children took part worldwide and we were delighted to be part of it.
#outdoorclassroomday
To find out more information on the initiative look at https://outdoorclassroomday.com/