Grumpy ducks and paint pots

Picture the scene if you will.  

It is the end of the school day. An exhausted Mrs Crayon is staring vacantly at the contents of the sink in the classroom. The sink is brimful of dirty paint brushes and paint pots. As she turns on the taps and begins to fill the sink with water, Mrs Crayon is suddenly transported back to the time when she was standing at a very similar classroom sink back in November 2012, preparing to do battle with a dozen paint brushes that were firmly welded together in a pot of hardened PVA glue. As she innocently turned the taps full on and squirted washing up liquid into the sink, a little learner appeared alongside her and told her in no uncertain terms that if she let the taps run 'the ducks wouldn't have any water.'

Unsure whether the little learner was referring to the ducks of Whippy Cove or just ducks in general, a somewhat conscience-stricken Mrs Crayon found herself heeding the little learner's solemn warning by turning off the taps and leaving the gluey paint brushes to soak in the detergent. In no way did she want to be the one responsible for draining the Whippy Cove duck pond, and leaving the poor Whippy Cove ducks high and dry! 

As her thoughts returned to dealing with the present day painty mess in the sink, Mrs Crayon felt totally inspired by all this reminiscing about ducks and decided at the next convenient moment to write a duck poem. So after washing up at home that evening (with just a minuscule amount of water in her washing up bowl) Mrs Crayon penned the following. 

Oh, spare a thought for all the ducks

 Oh, spare a thought for all the ducks 

That live near you and me,

For when you're running water

The ducks don't get any.

A duck bereft of water 

Is not a happy chap,

He'd boldly go in search of more

If he could read a map!

Oh, spare a thought for ducks near you,

And all the ducks beyond, 
For when you're running water

You're emptying their pond!

"Oh, for heaven's sake....who left the taps on?"

Twirly leaves and wonky trees

There's nothing quite like going off on a tangent!

It happens frequently in the Reception Class at Sunnyside School. Whilst the little Sunnyside learners enjoy participating in an exciting array of activities linked to the their various themes and topics, there is always room for going off on a tangent.

The tangent is almost always inspired either by little learner ideas, interests and fascinations, a comment they've made, or indeed (as in today's case).......the weather!

Whilst it was gloriously sunny in Whippy Cove today, it was also extremely windy. 

As the little learners prepared for lunch by way of their usual toileting and hand washing routine, a certain little learner poked his head over the toilet cubicle and announced to the patient (yet somewhat fidgety) waiting line, "Mum says when the trees wobble, that's when you can make kites!" Following this proclamation, everyone in the toilet line seemed to forget they needed the toilet and headed straight for the creative table hoping to rustle up some home-made kites before the dinner ladies were due to take them all to lunch! 

When it became obvious that it wasn't possible to make a kite in thirty seconds, The Team promised the little learners that if the trees were still wobbling after lunch they could make and create as many kites as they liked.

By the time the afternoon session began, the once wobbly trees were now almost bending double as they see-sawed back and forth in the strengthening wind. So the race was on to build a kite and start flying it before the weather had the chance to change.  Amongst the reels of sellotape, the sticks of glue, the bits of paper and yards of string, a variety of home-made kites began to emerge ready for testing!

As it turned out, it wasn't only the kites that were being tested this afternoon, it was also the little learners' resolve. Within seconds of launching their prized possessions into the air, they were instantly robbed of them, as sudden gusts of wind indiscriminately snatched kites from little fingers, sending them off into the stratosphere never to be seen again. (The kites that is, not the fingers.)

Undeterred by this unfortunate occurrence, the little learners were cobbling together their mark two versions before any tears of sorrow could be shed. However, no sooner had they stepped outside to set their kites free for a second time, they were back in yet again clutching the only piece of evidence to suggest there ever was a kite in the first place......their piece of string.

And so it went on all afternoon: make kite, launch kite, loose kite, make kite again, until every scrap of sellotape had been ripped from it's reel, and the clock in the classroom had struck three.

As Miss Kind and Mrs Crayon bade farewell to the last little learner at the end of the day, they were informed by his Mummy that it was due to be very windy for the rest of the week.

Best top up with more sellotape and string ladies!

IT'S A STRING THING!

When trees are wobbling left and right,

Its time to fly your home-made kite,

But don't forget to hold on tight, 

To your piece of string!

When leaves are swirling everywhere,

And wind makes tangles in your hair,

You won't mind you only care,

About your piece of string!

When wind is gusting all around,

And you can here a woooing sound,

Don't be sad when you have found,

You're left with just your string!

So stick things down with all your might,

Before you fly your home-made kite.

Then everything will be all right,

With your piece of string!

"Seems it's too wobbly for kites today!"

Jungle Nymphs and power drills

Question. What has two ears, four legs, whiskers and a wagging tail?

The answer to this question will be revealed a little later.

The little learners of Sunnyside School (that's the little school that sits proudly in the heart of the seaside town of Whippy Cove, which in turn is situated on the South Eastern shore in the Isle of Wight) are currently enjoying their topic on animals. 

Already this week the little Sunnysiders have met and learned all about a Tenrec, a Bearded Dragon, a Jungle Nymph and a Tawny Owl when they welcomed an animal keeper from Whippy Cove Zoo into the classroom. In addition they also met Bracken, a nine year old Springer Spaniel brought into school by her owner, a veterinary nurse from Whippy Cove's very own Veterinary Surgery. Bracken's sweet and extremely laid-back nature allowed the little learners some quality time to get to know her. As they combed her glossy liver and white coat, they wrapped bandages around her paws and listened to her heartbeat using a real stethoscope. They also learned about the role of a veterinary nurse, as well as all that's involved in owning and caring for a pet. 

Consequently since encountering these animals, the little Reception learners have been keen to share information about their own pets. Once such little learner approached Miss Very Jolly this afternoon and blurted out that her cat Rosie had had her kittens in her mummy's bed. "Oh how exciting!" shrilled Mrs Very Jolly at a pitch audible to only small dogs and bats. "How many kittens did Rosie have?" 
"Five!" stated the little learner thrusting five fingers in Mrs Very Jolly's face. "But they're a bit bitey and scratchy!" 
Mrs Very Jolly sympathised with the little learner then asked her what she was planning to do with her five kittens. "I'm gonna train 'em!" exclaimed the little learner with utter conviction. "You really can train kittens you know!" she went on reassuringly. 

Stealthy reaching for a post-it note and pen (for she felt sure a little learner gem was imminent,) Mrs Very Jolly asked the next obvious question which was of course, "What are you going to train your kittens to do?" As quick as a wink, the deadly serious little learner replied, "Well first I'm gonna train 'em to do art and to bake, and then......I'm gonna train 'em to fly!" 

Needless to say, a giggling Mrs Very Jolly couldn't wait to pass her post-it note to her colleague Mrs Crayon, for she knew the words scribed across it would be all the information Mrs Crayon would need to inspire her next doodle and rhyme.

Oh! And finally, in answer to the question, what has two ears, four legs, whiskers and a wagging tail?.......Well, it's a whale, surprisingly and the suggestion offered by one particular little learner when he took part in a 'guess the animal' quiz this afternoon.

Whilst a whale with four legs, two ears, whiskers and a wagging tail has all the required elements for a delightful doodle, Mrs Crayon has nevertheless opted to go with the kittens on this occasion!

Training Kittens

If you're smitten with your kitten,

But you're getting scratched and bitten,

And your furnishings are hanging by a thread,

Make your kittens well behaved, 

Then your curtains will be saved,

Yes, training kittens is the only way ahead.

It may take a little while,

But kittens can be versatile,

If you train them to one inch of their nine lives,

You can teach them how to sew,

Paint a landscape and make dough,

Use a power drill and sharpen all your knives.

Show them how to ride a scooter,

Teach them skills on the computer,

Do the ironing, mow the lawn and even fly,

Show them how to trampoline, 
How to scrub your dishes clean,

Play the flute and hang the laundry out to dry.

They can handle all the plumbing,

Ice a cake when someone's coming,

Tile the bathroom and compose a symphony,

Teach them how to roller skate,

Fix the hinges on the gate,

Drive a bus and make the perfect cup of tea.

So should you want to be a teacher
To this little furry creature,
Keep the kitten training up the whole week through, 
Though it may seem tedious,
Your pet will be a genius,
Yes, he'll wind up far more cleverer than you!

"Come on now....there's just time for some guitar practice before your driving lesson!"

Jolly jaunts and raisins

Did you know that the ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London, popularly known as Beefeaters, not only eat beef, they eat chicken as well? Did you also know that the current British Monarch is actually called 'Queen Vic-Livia' and not Queen Elizabeth at all? Are you aware that Queen 'Vic-Livia' sits quietly in her bedroom each day because she is forbidden to speak to anyone.......ever? 

These pearls of royal wisdom were revealed by the Reception learners of Sunnyside School today. 

Yes, Sunnyside School has gone all royal by launching headlong into an exciting 'Kings and Queens' topic as part of a whole school learning experience. So to get things started, small groups of Reception learners participated in a brainstorming activity about the current British Royal family. It was during said brainstorming activity that the little learners delivered a whole range of fascinating if not quirky royal insights.

As well as conveying the favourite nosh of a Beefeater, the Reception learners also divulged details of the Queen's own rather specialised dietary preferences, the truth about her favourite mode of transport, the arrangements regarding the storage of her jewels, what her crown is made of, who it is that guards her castle, and the official name of her faithful and fearless husband.

The Sunnyside Team are therefore delighted to share with you these hitherto unknown royal facts via the rhyming couplets of Sunnyside team member, Mrs Crayon. 

So..............be amazed, be very amazed!

About the Queen...

She's married to Prince Charming,

Her crown is made of ice,

She's not allowed to speak a word,

Which can't be very nice.

Her jewels sit in a cupboard

Under lock and key,

She eats raisins for her breakfast

And bananas for her tea.

Prince Charming guards the castle

Armed with his trustee 'spike',

Whilst Her Royal Highness

Tours round London on her bike!

"One could pedal twice round London after a bowl of one's raisins!"

Chicken wings and camel pants

Pants, pants, pants, pants, pants! 

It doesn't matter how many times you say it or how often, little learners everywhere will laugh out loud the moment they hear the word pants! 

For some reason little learners find pants funny. They like to talk about pants and they especially love to read stories all about pants. They even like to show you their pants when they're especially proud of them! So it goes without saying that when Mrs Very Jolly told the little Sunnyside learners that 'Aliens love underpants' was story of the week this week, they responded with their usual outburst of raucous laughter as well as cries of "Ooh! Mrs Very Jolly said pants!"

This fascination with all things pants subsequently lead to the reading of other stories about pants this week, (yes are there are quite a few) and it was while Mrs Very Jolly was sharing the book 'Pants' by Giles Andreae with the group, that the focus suddenly switched from pants to........camels!

One of the many hilarious pictures by Nick Sharratt features a camel sporting a pair of pants on his humps. As the little learners rolled around in hysterics at this delightful vision, Mrs Very Jolly posed the question to them all of what a camel might store inside his humps. After she did so, the classroom fell uncharacteristically silent for what seemed an age as the now fully recovered little learners considered their answers. It was a huge relief to Mrs Very Jolly when eventually a lone hand tentatively rose skyward.

"Ooh! do you know poppet what a camel might store in his humps?" an excited Mrs Very Jolly asked the plucky little learner in question. Mrs Very Jolly felt sure the answer she was going to hear to this camel conundrum was going to be water (a common misconception among little learners,) so she was rather baffled to say the least when this particular little learner said........'acorns'! 

As she tried unsuccessfully to stifle a fit of her own giggles upon hearing this completely original and slightly out there suggestion, Mrs Very Jolly was then treated to a barrage of other suggestions from the rest of the group which included, Jaffa Cakes, chicken wings, apple crumble, bananas, popcorn, spaghetti hoops, ice cream and fish fingers. 

Whilst Mrs Very Jolly felt truly enlightened (if not a little hungry) by these camel revelations, Mrs Crayon on the other hand felt truly inspired and could instantly feel a camel poem coming on!  

Let's celebrate the camel

Let's celebrate the camel and his two amazing humps,

In one he keeps his acorns, in the other sugar lumps.

There's room inside for chicken wings, for popcorn, and for cake,

If you're going on a picnic it's a camel you should take. 

When you're longing of an ice cream, the camel will provide,

He's got so many flavours, you will struggle to decide.

If you ever fancy sausages with gravy and some mash,

The camel's got it all, and he won't even want your cash.

So when next you see a camel and his two amazing humps,

You'll know those things upon his back are more than just two bumps.

You may think they're holding water, but there're hiding so much more,

Which makes the clever camel.....Mother Nature's superstore! 

"Mum says do you do prawn balls?"

Soggy tights and butter mounds

As the doors to Sunnyside School were flung wide this morning, thirty red-cheek, windswept little learners blew straight in. 

Along with the howling gales that had swept them through the classroom door, an ill-timed deluge of rain had also managed to soak each and every one of them right through to their skin. Within minutes dripping wet trousers, skirts and tights were whipped off and hung from every surface in the Reception classroom in order to dry. Following a swift change into their P.E. kits, those undeterred little learners immediately leaped into their activities with their usual gusto and excitement.

Sadly, gusto and excitement had bypassed one particular little learner at snack time today when she took part in a sandwich making activity. It was Mrs Caring who noted the decidedly irritated little learner struggling to spread a gigantic mound of butter on her scarcely visible slice of bread. After a few moments of observing her tutting and muttering, Mrs Caring seated herself next to the demoralized little learner and asked, "Can I help you poppet?" 
"Yes please," replied the little learner casting aside her knife and slumping down in her chair. 

Mrs Caring took the greasy knife and began to scrape away the copious amounts of butter on the little learner's plate, and just as she was thinking she could finally detect some remnants of bread lurking beneath, the fed up little learner sat bolt upright and blurted out for all and sundry to hear, "Anyway, when I'm King, I'm not doing anything.....I'm just going to sit down all day!" 

As a rather startled, yet smiling Miss Kind found a fresh slice of bread for the self-proclaimed heir apparent, she thought to herself that's it's probably never too soon to settle on a career path.......how ever ambitious it may be.

When I'm King

Yes it's true I tut and mutter,

When I'm trying to spread me butter,

I get in such a pickle on my own.

So when I become a king, 

I'm not doing anything,

I'll bark orders from the comfort of me throne.

When I am 'Your Majesty'
Everyone will wait on me,
Then you'll never hear me tut or moan again.
The only words I'll utter, 
Will be 'fetch me bread and butter,'
I will be the archetypal royal pain! 

"Off with them crusts.....or heads will roll!"

  

Vampires and grumpy shepherds

Fasten yer seatbelts everyone....Christmas has cometh! 

Once again glitter and sparkles of every kind has found it's way to all the four corners of the Sunnyside classroom, dusting floors, surfaces and every scrap of furniture on it's way. 

As Mrs Very Jolly crunched her way across the classroom carpet this morning in order to grab a quick sip of her glitter topped cup of coffee, which was situated atop the glitter coated sink drainer, she knew for sure that Christmas had well and truly descended upon Sunnyside School.

And with the glitter and the sparkles comes the not to be missed Sunnyside School Nativity. However, before said Nativity can be deemed as 'not to be missed', the little learners (and Team) must first weather some serious Nativity rehearsals. 

With a cast of sixty angels, shepherds, innkeepers, sheep, cattle, donkeys, the all important Mary and Joseph (plus their understudies) to herd and direct over the coming days, it will be testing times indeed for everyone involved. As Mrs Crayon tried to console the disgruntled shepherds (disgruntled because they wanted to be Christmas vampires), whilst attempting to remove the green pearlescent paint that adorned the face of the poor baby Jesus, she also had to give some thought to his crib which unfortunately appeared to have two missing legs. 
Oh dear! Testing times might just be an understatement. Never mind Mrs Crayon there's always lashings of glittery coffee to steady your nerves!

 

Mary's Lament

Away in a manger, 

No crib for a bed,

And so we are using 

A milk crate instead.

The stars in the bright sky 

Won't stay on the wall,

Which means the poor shepherds 

See nothing at all.

The cattle are scrapping, 

And so are the sheep.

The angels are crying 

And Joseph's asleep.

I love thee Lord Jesus, 

Tho' you look a mess,

You're covered in playdough 

And wearing a dress.

Be near me, Lord Jesus, 

I ask thee to stay

Don't fall out my arms 

And end up in the hay.

Bless all the dear children 

As they trudge up the aisle,

Pray they don't pick their nose 

But remember to smile.

Away in a manger, 

We're glad you could come,

Now I'm needing a wee 

And I'm missing me Mum.

The innkeeper's lost it, 

The donkey has fled,

My teachers look peaky,
In fact they've fainted.

"So........it's just you and me then that hasn't gone to pieces!"

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE.....THANK YOU FOR STOPPING BY.

SEE YOU IN THE NEW YEAR!