Friday 31 May 2013

Grazed knees and remedies



It comes to something when this trusty piece of paper...




... the humble paper towel, mopper upper of all manner of drips and spills, mender and soother of every kind of little learner bump and scrape, friend to all early years practitioners everywhere, just doesn't cut the mustard! 

Under normal circumstances, the paper towel once folded and dampened with a little cold water, will comfort and satisfy even the most hysterical of little learners following a falling down. Under normal circumstances, after some paper towel remedy, a little learner will be back on his feet, dashing hither and thither, in readiness to take a tumble again... and again!

However, an incident took place very recently, whereby the aforementioned paper towel was about as useful as a roll of sticky tape with no visible end (and no hope of finding it), when there is a long queue of little learners all relying on someone to find it because it's the last roll left in the whole school and all they want to do is join a few boxes together before home time!!!!!  (A very familiar scenario to plenty of early years practitioners!)


The incident in question happened on a beautiful sunny afternoon last week, when the little learners were enjoying a PE session outside on the playground.
The objective of the PE session was for the little learners to practice their ball skills, so this involved them using bats and balls and footballs of varying sizes and bounce!
It was all going swimmingly, until one by one, little learners started to fall down, sustaining very minor scrapes to their knees mostly. After a check up and some paper towel remedy from the grown ups, the little learners were back on their feet again and scoring goals within minutes.

However, one little learner to come off the pitch, did so in floods of tears and nursing a very minor injury to his knee. Mrs Crayon immediately sprung into action, and armed with a paper towel and some comfort, she was ready to fix the little learner up as quickly as possible, in order that he could rejoin his friends before it was time to go in.  

The one thing Mrs Crayon didn't expect from this particular little learner, was that he would become almost hysterical at the mere mention of a paper towel, let alone allowing one to come into contact with his knee. After much persuasion, Mrs Crayon managed to get the little learner to agree to the dampened paper towel, and although it successfully stemmed the drip of blood from his knee, it did nothing to calm his mounting hysteria. When he did eventually calm down, the next hurdle to conquer was the walk back to the classroom.

This was never going to be an easy thing to do, when you are a bent double little learner, unable to straighten you're wounded knee or put any weight on it. But that was the vision that befell Mrs Crayon, as she gathered up the stray footballs left on the playground. A crooked little learner, hobbling along at a snails pace, grabbing everything and anything along the way to steady himself, until finally giving up and collapsing on the steps leading into school.  

"Are you alright  poppit?" called a concerned Mrs Crayon from the playground.
"No!" Cried the little learner from his resting place on the steps. "I tried to walk but it wasn't very exciting..............................I think I need a wheelchair!"
When Mrs Crayon finally caught up with the little learner on the steps, she sat herself down beside him and whilst struggling to keep control of all the stray balls she was holding, she turned to him and said. "I'm really sorry poppit, but I don't have a wheelchair."
The little learner looking more wounded than his knee, replied, "But they have them at airports!!!"

Mrs Crayon knew where she could lay her hands on a wheelbarrow, but she thought better of it! 


"I'll just sit here and wait for a wheelchair shall I?"

Saturday 25 May 2013

Black belts and yellow hair



Once upon a time, three bears take a walk in the woods while their porridge cools. While they are out..........

Now there's a very familiar opening to a very familiar and much loved traditional story. But has anyone out there ever heard of this lesser known version of 'Goldilocks And The Three Bears', entitled 'Yellow hairs And The Three Karate Bears.'

In this delightful version, to pass the time while their porridge cools, The Three karate Bears join the army. They put on special clothes to make themselves look like trees and bushes and then they sit in the woods for an hour or two. When they get fed up with sitting about pretending to be trees and bushes, the three karate bears head home to their house, the kind of house "what's stuck to another one" and has a giant attic in the roof in which they store their toys. As they walk home, Baby karate Bear takes it upon himself to run on ahead of his mum and dad. He reaches their semi detached house long before they do, allowing him plenty of time to eat Yellow hairs all up!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This is definitely an unusual twist on one of the most popular fairy tales in the English language, but the team believes it to be one of the most original. This version of course, comes straight from the imaginings of one of the Sunnyside little learners and it was told to Mrs Crayon this week, when the little author took part in a literacy activity to create his own three bears' story.

As 'Goldilocks And The Three Bears' is the story for this week, there are lots of bear related activities on offer for the little learners to participate in. For instance, they've all been invited to bring their favourite bear into school to use in a still life drawing activity. The team have been amazed at the quality of their bear paintings so far, so much so in fact, they will now take pride of place  in the hall so that everyone at Sunnyside School can view them. 

A Three Bears' role play area has been created right next door to 'The Sunnyside Dinosaur Museum'. If they so desire, the little learners can roll right out of Daddy Bears' bed straight into a dinosaur dig area, then pop back again for a hearty bowl of nicely cooled fake porridge! 

The classroom is wall-to-wall teddies of every size, shape and colour. It's not so much 'Goldilocks And The Three Bears' as 'Goldilocks And The Thirty Bears'. When their teddies are not being used for the observational drawing activity, the little learners have been dutifully tucking them up in a big bed on the floor in the role play bears' cottage. Their teddies look terribly comfy and cosy snoozing away under the mound of covers and pillows the little Sunnysiders have provided for them. And when the teddies awake, they will find thirty bowls of lime green, (ginger smelling) playdough waiting for them. Yummy!!!!!!!  






HAPPY HALF TERM HOLIDAY EVERYONE!!!

Wednesday 15 May 2013

Bright sparks and Sunnyside larks



Uh-Oh! It's happening again!

The Reception team at Sunnyside School have gone all reflective and sentimental. It happens every year at this time and it's something the team just have to work through!! They will snap out of it eventually though, usually at the start of new term in September, when it's time to welcome the new intake of little learners into the Reception Class for the first time.

So what is it exactly that has prompted all these feelings of nostalgia? Well... it's pretty obvious really. It's always at this particular time in the academic year that it becomes evident how far the little learners have come in their development and learning. Each of them has become an independent, self reliant and confident little learner, who is excited and eager to undertake new challenges and experiences. The team feels so proud of them all, and it's these feelings of pride that has a tendency to make the grown ups turn all silly and soppy for a bit.  

A fine example of how far one little learner has progressed in her learning and understanding, came to today during a P.E. session outside. 

The little learner in question ran over to Miss Kind and whilst bouncing her football up and down, she told Miss Kind that she was going to get her mum to buy her a parrot, so that she could teach it "about sounds and trigraphs." Yes.... trigraphs indeed!

The team have to constantly remind themselves of the fact, that some of these clever little learners are still only four years old, and yet here they are wanting to teach parrots all about trigraphs if you please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


To celebrate this time of reflection, the team have created a photographic display (to share with parents and carers), documenting some of the most memorable moments from the little learners' year so far.

It was only when the display was complete and the team stood back to look at it for a moment, did they fully appreciate firstly, just how busy the little learners have been since last September, but also, how many different people they've been lucky enough to meet from the Whippy Cove community.

How could the team forget the first of two visits from the local constabulary, when the little learners were insistent that the only thing a policeman did all day long, was to run around arresting baddies and carting them off to prison!

Flashing lights and cumbersome bandits


Then there was the wonderful afternoon spent with Elvis the lollipop man and his portable zebra crossing, when the little learners misunderstood his question and ended up giving him a run down of the phonic sounds they'd been learning.
However, the little learners had great fun dressing up in Elvis' lollipop attire and ushering each other across his roll out road.
Lollipops and zebras

There have also been visitors of the furry and feathery kind to the Reception classroom. Like Mrs Very Jolly's teeny weeny puppy Little Mo for instance. Little Mo trotted in on the shortest legs imaginable and spent the afternoon eating playdough crumbs off the carpet.
Dominoes and Little Mo


A day or two later, the little learners welcomed Jean into their classroom. Jean is an African Grey Parrot, who upon entering the classroom, took an instant liking to a little red teacup she found in the home corner. She held it firmly in her beak for the duration of her visit, as if waiting patiently for a refreshing cup of tea!   
Teacups and feathery friends


In addition to meeting Little Mo, the little learners were also lucky enough to meet Bonnie the sniffer dog and Sasha the guide dog, when they visited Sunnyside School earlier in the year. Other visitors included, PC Matt the dog handler, four fire fighters from Whippy Cove's fire station and the lovely ladies from the local senior citizen keep fit class. The ladies demonstrated their keep fit routines to the whole school and before long little learners and staff alike were on their feet joining in, flailing their arms and legs this way and that!!!

As well as welcoming people from the community into school, the little learners have been out into the community meeting all sorts of interesting people, like the public Artists from Ecclestongeorge. Mr and Mrs Creative and the ingenious Daring Dan Recycle Man, invited the little learners along to Whippy Cove beach to take part in The Big Draw Project. The little learners had the most wonderful time mark making in the golden sand, with a variety of brilliantly hand crafted little learner friendly tools. The little learners were then invited back to the artists' studio to see some of Daring Dan's amazing, whacky and truly inspirational inventions, before everyone sat down together to eat their packed lunches and to sing songs!  The aftermath of their picnic would have kept all the seagulls living around Whippy Cove, very happy and full for several days to come!!!!!
Beach School and The Big Draw


Another very memorable occasion, was the trip the Sunnysiders made to one of Whippy Cove's finest restaurants, where every little learner had the opportunity to make and eat their very own pizza. As the waves crashed on to the beach below them, the little learners sat in the cosy restaurant and crunched and munched their way through their bespoke handmade pizza, followed by yummy Malteser cake and ice cream. If there had been a pattern on their plates, the little learners would have eaten that too!!!! 
Funny green things and jam
    
There have been many other truly memorable and wonderful moments with  the Sunnyside Reception Class of 2012. The great thing is, there is still plenty of time left to create lots more!

Stay tuned!!!!!!! 

Thursday 9 May 2013

Novelty cars and holiday camps



It's pens, paper and clipboards at the ready as the team will be asking the little learners lots of questions (but in a fun and informal way) all this week. 

The team want to find out what each little learner enjoys doing most in school, what it is they find tricky and need help with and what it is they think they're good at. In addition, they also want to ask each little learner what it is they believe in. This last question relates to Sunnyside School's motto which is, "Inspire, Believe, Excel" and the little learners' answers will form part of a school motto display in the classroom.

The team relish every opportunity to chat with the little learners on a one to one basis, likewise, the little learners are always very happy to stop what they're doing for a moment to chat with the grown ups. 

One of the reasons why little learner conversations are so enjoyable, is because more often than not, they tend to veer off on a delightful tangent, to the point where everyone has forgotten what the original question was, but nobody ever minds because they've all enjoyed a jolly o'l chinwag!

The Reception team at Sunnyside, would therefore love to share with you the results of some of the conversations that took place today.

So, in their own words, (or word in some cases) here are some of the little learner answers to the question, "What do you believe in?"   









The team Believe that the little learners of Sunnyside School, are absolute superstars and it's thanks to each and every one of them, that the team have such an enjoyable time being part of their education.    

Friday 3 May 2013

Diamond sea and furry builders


The sun shone brightly on Whippy Cove today, making it the perfect day to take in some fresh Whippy Cove sea air.
And that's exactly what the Sunnyside learners and team did this very afternoon. They all went for a walk!

The current topic is "Where we live", so the idea of the walk was for the little learners to make a note of the local landmarks and observe the various different features of their seaside town. Like it's grand Victorian hotels and guest houses for example and it's variety of church buildings.

A walk around Whippy Cove would not be complete without a stroll along the esplanade, taking in the golden sands and the sparkling sea of Whippy Cove beach. And oh! How the sea sparkled this afternoon. As the excited and noisy little learner convoy made it's way along the sea front, the team couldn't help thinking just how fortunate they all are to live, work and go to school in such beautiful surroundings.

Before the walk had even begun and everyone was outside school waiting to set off on their adventure, Mrs Caring asked the little learners next to her to take a close look at the church situated in the Sunnyside School grounds. She asked them whether they thought the church was an old or new building.

"I know that it's old." Said one little learner immediately.
"How do you know it's old?" Asked Mrs Caring.
"Because it's made of stone!" Replied the little learner very definitely. "And I can see bits falling off it."

Mrs Caring was very impressed with the little learner's accurate observations and she was even more impressed with what the little learner said next.

"The building is so old." She went on. "That it was made by bears!"
The little learner was adamant that she was right about this fact, saying that the church "was made before there were people and there were only bears!"

Could it really be so, that Whippy Cove's historic buildings were built by bears?
If it isn't so, it's a truly wonderful thought. 

Mrs Crayon carried that thought all the way home and after a cup of tea she created a bear related doodle!