Friday 21 December 2012

Nativity and happy endings


At last, after weeks of learning new songs, many many rehearsals, making costumes and props, the Sunnyside Nativity came...and went today!

However, there was a slight hiccup, (just before things got started) when Mrs Very Jolly spotted the empty crib on the alter of Whippy Cove Church. She hastily signaled to Mrs Crayon to run back to school and grab something, anything, to fill the crib. Mrs Crayon took to her heels, grabbed the first thing she could find in the classroom and was back before anyone knew she'd even gone.

The little learners sang like angels and made the team cry, along with all the parents, grandparents, and friends of Sunnyside School. It was the most wonderful and uplifting way to end the little learners first term in school.

So that is it, the term has ended, Christmas is here and after the holiday the fun and learning will continue.

The team would like to wish you all a very, very happy Christmas and a peaceful new year.

See you all in January.
  


We've lost our baby Jesus


We've lost our baby Jesus,
 We can't find him anywhere.
We've searched in all the cupboards
 And looked under every chair

We thought he had ascended
 To the roof of our shed,
But sadly, we were mistaken,
 It was a basket ball instead.

But never mind, all is well,
Because we've found another one.
our brand new baby Jesus, 
Is as yellow as the sun!!! 


When you need an understudy,
Let it be a Teletubby!!!

Thursday 20 December 2012

Christmas crumbs and wise reindeers


There was another explosion today at Sunnyside School! 
But it wasn't glitter this time that covered the floors and surfaces, it was bread, biscuit and cake crumbs. 

Today was Christmas party day for all the little learners. It was a day packed with much fun and merriment, lots and lots of food and a visit from a very special man in red. The little learners were beside themselves with excitement at the thought of meeting Father Christmas (in the grotto that Mrs Very Jolly and Mrs Crayon hastily threw  together yesterday) and they couldn't wait to put in their Christmas present orders which consisted of everything from a laptop to a word search magazine.

When the day was done and the little learners had all gone home, Mrs Very Jolly, Mrs Jolly, Mrs Crayon, Miss Kind, Mrs Caring and Mrs Organised  took to the grotto and collapsed in a heap with a cup of tea.

They were soon joined by Miss Spic and Mrs Span who were already weeping uncontrollably into their dusters!!!

Never mind ladies..... Just one more day to go!!!  







Here is today's interesting Christmas fact.

"The sticky up things on a reindeer's head are chicken feet!"



Tuesday 18 December 2012

Glue sticks and wise donkeys


There has been a definite flurry, if not a frenzy at times, of Christmas makes going on among the little learners recently and today was no exception.

The team want the little learners to be able take home as many Christmassy bits and bobs as possible at the end of the week, so the classroom looks very like Santa's workshop at the moment. The tables are covered with shiny paper, tissue paper, cellophane, sequins,glue sticks, sellotape and of course the inevitable mound of glitter! And just like happy little elves, the little learners have been singing Christmas songs as they work. 

They have also been imparting to the grown ups (as they've been beavering  away) some little known but terribly interesting, Christmas facts.

With the help of Mrs Crayon the team would like to share some of them with you all.

Here is today's interesting Christmas fact.



"Father Christmas lives at the North Pole.... You know near Portsmouth"



Monday 17 December 2012

Missing V.I.P!



The Sunnyside Nativity draws ever closer. The little learners have been practicing (daily) the songs and words they'll be performing and if the dress rehearsal from today is anything to go by, the rafters of Whippy Cove church will be raised high on performance day.

There is just one teeny tiny thing concerning the team and the little learners as it happens and that is, the baby Jesus they have been rehearsing with since the very beginning, seems to have gone missing!!!

The little learners reported seeing him at one point on the shed roof in the playground. However when Mrs Very Jolly went to rescue him, there was no baby Jesus unfortunately......only a basket ball! An easy mistake to make.

So the hunt is on. Baby Jesus must be found before Friday's performance or the unthinkable may have to happen and an alternative baby Jesus will have to step in!  


"Come back Baby Jesus, we really miss you!"
  

Wednesday 12 December 2012

Hot ears, warm hands



The team have long been aware of the mystical and magical properties of the humble school paper towel.

When folded three times and dampened with water, this very uninspiring little piece of blue absorbent paper becomes the healer of all manner of bumps, bruises, grazes, scrapes, headaches, tummy aches and sore throats. It also has other (non medical) uses such as, a hand wipe, table wipe, floor wipe, bicycle wipe, in fact a wiper of anything anyone cares to wipe! It is indeed the team's best classroom friend.

The little learners adore the paper towel in all it's forms and will use them in their thousands given the opportunity.
So, it came as a bit of a shock to Miss Kind, when first thing this morning a little learner actually refused her offer of a dampened paper towel following a slight bump to his ear.

"But your ear does look a little red." Said a concerned Miss Kind."
"My ears are always red!" Came the reply loud and clear. "That's because.... I always have a temperature in my ears!" 

 The paper towel didn't go to waste, Miss Kind used it to mop up her tears of laughter!   


"Ahhh! Who needs gloves when we've got your ears!"
















Friday 7 December 2012

Floppy antlers and crunchy carpets



There was an explosion today, an explosion of glitter the like of which has never been seen before at Sunnyside school.

The little learners were joined by the slightly older learners from years one and two for a day of festive makes. Before the grown ups had drawn breath to warn them all to go easy on the glitter, the damage was already done and the pattern on the carpets had instantly vanished under a monstrous covering of multicoloured sparkles.


 The little learners made glitter coated paper chains, glitter encrusted robins,
paper plate reindeer, with antlers made floppy due to the copious amounts of glitter weighing them down, lanterns, wreaths, and tree hangers all of which were doused in a mountain of glitter. 

Glitter was spread to all the corners (and the bends) of Sunnyside School and by the end of the afternoon everyone seemed oblivious to the fact that the carpets they were walking on were crunchy under their feet! Everyone, with the exception of poor Mrs Spic and Miss Span, who openly wept into their dusters when they saw and felt the glitter mound that greeted them when they arrived to clean.

However, the glitter madness inspired Mrs Crayon to want to write a rhyme and create a doodle. So during a walk on Appleville Downs with her dog Mrs Crayon wrote the following verse.



We spread it here...

We spread it here, we spread it there,
We spread our glitter everywhere.
It's in our eyebrows and up our nose,
It's even in between our toes.

At night we brush it out our hair,
And shake it from our underwear.
It's in our milk and on our lunch,
It gives our food that added crunch.

It makes our parents groan and say,
"Please don't bring it home today!"
But glittering is so much fun...


...So let's get spreading everyone!!!









Monday 3 December 2012

Festive fun and holy hair clips




Hurrah!
Christmas has come to Sunnyside school!

Alongside the daily diet of focused phonic and number activities, the little learners are now involved in lots of christmassy fun and frolics.
As one little learner perfectly stated to Mrs Very Jolly today. "When you put your teeth in your smile, that means you're very excited!"
Judging by Mrs Crayon's doodle the grown up Sunnysiders seem to be just as excited as the little Sunnysiders that Christmas is on it's way.

The team have turned a blind eye to the current glitter infestation, in fact Mrs Caring didn't bat an eyelid when she found purple glitter in her wrap at lunch time and Mrs Jolly was very nonchalant about the fact that when she blew her nose she found silver glitter in her tissue!  The team have given up pointing out to one another that they have glitter in their eyebrows, and it's par for the course for them to walk around with glitter spangled playdough stuck to the bottom of their shoes.

 This week rehearsals begin in earnest for the Sunnyside Christmas nativity. Mrs Organised is living up to her name and organising the production. She needs to find donkeys, sheep, cows, shepherds, kings, an innkeeper (and his wife) and of course the stars of the show, Mary and Joseph, or as the little learners call him, "Jovis."     
Then there's songs to be learnt, costumes to be made and a hall to decorate.

This afternoon Mrs Crayon worked with a small group of little learners to make a start on the Christmas displays. She wanted the Mary, Jovis, and the baby Jesus part of it to be completely their own work. Those clever little learners did a wonderful, wonderful job. Mrs Crayon was particularly thrilled with the baby Jesus who came into being complete with flowery hair clips!!! 


Happy Mary
Startled Jovis
Pretty baby Jesus














Thursday 29 November 2012

Funny green things and Jam


The Sunnysiders are having so much fun meeting some of the people who live and work within the Whippy Cove community.

They have already enjoyed spending time with Mr and Mrs Creative and Daring Dan Recycle Man, the talented public artists from Ecclestongeorge, Elvis the friendly and helpful Lollipop Man, and WPC Zelda, PC Clive, and Sergeant Dudley, the bandit trappers extraordinaire.

Today, the little learners had the opportunity to make, cook and eat their own pizza, at the invitation of Mr and Mrs Cuisine, owners of one of Whippy Cove's finest restaurants.

 Twenty nine little learners took turns to dress their pizzas, under the watchful eye of chef Mr Cuisine and they were able to see their creations disappear into the pizza oven and then reappear as a beautifully cooked and deliciously smelling bespoke pizza.
Twenty nine little learners then sat down together in the restaurant to eat their pizza, along with the Sunnyside grown ups and several parent helpers.

It was a wonderful experience and one that will inspire some fun filled follow up activities over the next couple of days.




Funny green things and Jam

We made our very own pizzas,
We put on cheese and ham.
We put on funny green things,
And stuff that looked like jam.


They went into the oven,
which was very, very hot,
And when they came back out again,
We polished off the lot!!!


"Make it go higher, Mr Cuisine"!

      

Tuesday 27 November 2012

Clipboards and glittery dusters




Out came the bottle, off came the lid and within seconds the floors, surfaces, little learners and grown ups alike were covered in a layer of gold and silver glitter. 

It may not be December just yet, but it couldn't be helped, glitter was required for certain activities today and now that it is out in the open, there is no going back. So the Sunnyside grown ups officially announce,


 "Tis the season to spread glitter. 
Fa la la la la la la la la!"


Mrs Spic and Miss Span work very hard each day to keep Sunnyside School shiny and bright and they have been known to have a little weep when they find glitter trailed here there and everywhere. It clogs up their hoover and sticks to their dusters, so all the grown ups were on their hands and knees at the end of the day trying to pick it all up and directing what they couldn't under the rug!!!

A few days ago a very kind grown up donated an enormous bag of plain white shirts to Sunnyside, with the hope that the little learners would find a use for them. Today the little learners found a brilliant use for them.
Continuing with the "People who help us" theme, this week the role play area has been set up as a doctor's surgery. The over sized shirts made for the perfect doctor's white coat. The only thing was, out of twenty nine little learners, twenty eight of them wanted to be doctors, so that left one little learner who was happy to be the patient. She seemed unperturbed when she was swooped upon by twenty eight doctors all armed with clip boards, stethoscopes, hypodermic needles, beeping pagers and ringing mobile phones! With half a dozen teddies stuffed up her jumper, it wasn't too difficult to work out what the emergency was all about!










Thursday 22 November 2012

Tuesday 20 November 2012

Wide eyes and chatty hamsters




The first little learner to come bursting through the classroom door this morning, marched straight up to Mrs Crayon with his eyes as wide as he could make them, and declared. "I sleeped with my eyes open!"
Before Mrs Crayon could respond, the little learner had gone off to seek out his friends.

Several hours later, at home time, the last little learner to leave the classroom, tapped Mrs Crayon on the arm and beckoned her to come closer.
"My hamster repeats everything I say!" Whispered the little learner.

Whilst Mrs Crayon was trying to decide whether or not she had playdough in her ears, which might have been affecting her hearing, the little learner had gone out the door and was heading homeward. 

Both of these rather unusual comments came at a time when Mrs Crayon was unable to ask the little learners to elaborate, so as it was, it left her with food for thought and certainly food for a doodle or two! 





Thursday 15 November 2012

Flashing lights and cumbersome bandits


There was an air of great excitement about the place this afternoon.

The little learners went outside to the drive way and saw a police car with it's lights flashing and three members of the Whippy Cove constabulary standing next to it.

Sergeant Dudley, PC Clive and WPC Zelda were invited to Sunnyside School to talk to the little learners about the role of the Police within the community.
It transpired during the visit that the little learners had their own very definite ideas about what a Policeman does all day. They were extremely preoccupied with the crime aspect of a policeman's role. So when WPC Zelda asked the little learners what they thought a policeman's job was, the resounding reply was. "Catching the baddies!"
When she tried to get them to think about what else a policeman might do, they said. "Chase the baddies."
Sergeant Dudley changed tact a little bit and asked the little learners what might a policeman use to help him in his work. The general consensus was, a car to put the baddies in and a dog to bite the baddies. So it was no surprise to anyone that when the little learners were asked what does a policeman carry when he's walking about, they said. "The baddies... off to prison!" 

The little learners had great fun trying on police hats and jackets. They even had the opportunity to hold (very carefully) WPC Zelda's police radio.

Before leaving Sunnyside School (to go and catch more baddies), Sergeant Dudley ensured that the little learners clearly understood that a policeman is  primarily there to help and not just there to cart the baddies about here, there and everywhere.



Phew! There's got to be an easier way to make a living!!!!


Tuesday 13 November 2012

Telling tales and making maps


The story of "Little Red Riding Hood" seems to have really captivated and inspired the little learners. 
One of the activities today involved them making a drawing of the route from "Little Red Riding Hood's" house, to Grandma's cottage. The little learners were very keen to include all the characters from the story in their drawings and some of them wanted to have a go at labelling them too. So, when a little learner approached Mrs Very Jolly and asked her how to write the word "woodpecker," she was somewhat surprised. 
"I don't remember a woodpecker appearing in the story of "Little Red Riding Hood." Said Mrs Very Jolly.
"Yes there was!" Insisted the little learner. "He was chopping wood in the forest with his axe and he was Little Red Riding Hood's Dad and he saved her from the nasty wolf."
"Aahh!" Giggled Mrs Very Jolly. "I see where you're coming from."



Deep in the forest, the Woodpecker was hard at work chopping wood, when suddenly he heard Little Red Riding Hood scream..... 


Monday 12 November 2012

Angry ducks and forty-one legs



Miss Kind was issued with some sound advice this morning, as she was busy at the sink trying to release several paint brushes from a pot of hardened PVA glue.
"You mustn't leave the taps on." Warned the little learner. "Or else the ducks won't have any water!"
Miss Kind found herself turning off the taps immediately and leaving the firmly set paint brushes to soak in some warm soapy water. 

It is all things "Little Red Riding Hood" this week.

  • Discussing the characters and the setting of the story
  • Retelling and re enacting the story
  • Puppet making
  • Map making (the route to Grandma's house)
  • Counting the items in Little Red Riding Hood's basket
Later in the week the Sunnysiders will be welcoming another visitor from their community to come and talk to them about keeping safe. This time it will be a representative from the Whippy Cove Police Station.
So, it is shaping up to be yet another very busy week in the Reception Class at Sunnyside School. 

This afternoon the little learners disappeared off to the hall to join the year one little learners for a story (on the big screen) from India.
Mrs Crayon stayed behind to tackle the rock hard paint brushes and it has to be said that she made sure that the running of the taps was kept to an absolute minimum.  When everyone came back, Mrs Crayon asked one of the little learners what the story was about.
"It was about a man with ten heads, twenty arms and forty-one legs!" Declared the little learner.  That brought a smile to Mrs Crayons face after the arduous task of cleaning the gunged up paint brushes!


"Oh! For goodness sake, who left the taps on?"

  

Friday 9 November 2012

Lollipops and Zebras


Sunnyside school welcomed a visitor this afternoon in the shape of Elvis, the local lollipop man.
In addition to the traditional tales theme currently running, the little learners are also looking at people who help them within their community. The team invited Elvis to come in to talk to the little learners about road safety.

He arrived in his full lollipop attire and brought his roll out zebra crossing with him so that the little learners could practice walking across the road in a safe and sensible fashion. He also brought a spare uniform for the little learners to wear when they took a turn at being a lollipop person.

To illustrate the dangers of a fast and busy road like the one close to Sunnyside School, Elvis showed the little learners a series of picture cards of  different kinds of vehicles. He asked the little learners to name each vehicle and then make the sound that particular vehicle made. So for example, when he showed them a car, he wanted the little learners to go "vroom! vroom!" Similarly with a police car, "nee nar! nee nar!"  However the little learners were on a completely different wave length to Elvis at that moment, and chorused the initial phonic sound for each of the vehicles instead. The team were very impressed!

Just before Elvis left to go and stand at the real zebra crossing, Mrs Very Jolly asked. "Does anyone have a question for Elvis?" 
It is always at this point that the grown ups hold their breath for what might come next, so when a little hand shot up immediately, Mrs Very Jolly tentatively asked. "Do you have a question for Elvis, poppet?" 
"Yes." replied the little learner. The little learner turned to Elvis and at the top of his voice he shouted. "Do you know what a post office is?"

Well, this particular little learner certainly did, (as his learnt all about it yesterday) he just wanted to check that Elvis did too.

 
"Mind the, c,c,car and the b,b,bus!"

Tuesday 6 November 2012

Billy goats and chirpy ogres


It was a cold and frosty morning in Whippy Cove. The little learners arrived at Sunnyside School (after their half  term break) suited and booted for the sudden drop in temperature. This will now mean a daily hunt for hats, scarves and gloves before the little learners go home, because just as there are meddling P.E. fairies, there are twice as many accessory fairies up to tricks and causing all sorts of mix ups.   

The topic for the next couple of weeks is traditional tales. It's a topic that leads nicely into Christmas and it's absorbing enough to keep the glitter at bay for just that little bit longer. Once the glitter comes out for the Christmas activities there is no turning back!!! 

Anyway, the traditional tale for the next day or two is, "The Three Billy Goats Gruff."  Mrs Very Jolly introduced the little learners to the story this morning and she asked if anyone could tell her what a troll is. "It's an ogre." said one little learner. "What's an ogre?" asked Mrs Very Jolly to the same little learner. "Well." said the little learner. "They live under bridges, and when you walk over them, they just pop up!!! How lovely.

 Mrs Caring worked with a group of little learners re-enacting the billy goat story. The activity was so popular that eventually as more and more little learners joined in, it became the lesser known traditional story of ... "The Twenty Five Billy Goats Gruff!"  It was a very long story, but it was a delight to see so many potential thespians in the offing.

The team can't wait for the little learners' forth coming production of, "Little Red Riding Hood." They have the feeling she could be eaten by a pack of wolves!!!




"Morning!"

Friday 2 November 2012

Wings and springs


Over the years, the team at Sunnyside have had many conversations with little learners about what they'd like to be when they grow up. For the little girls, becoming a princess has traditionally been a very popular option and for the boys, a footballer. In all the conversations that Mrs Crayon has personally had with little learners on this subject, not one of them said they'd like to be an inventor. Mrs Crayon would love to know therefore, whether Daring Dan Recycle Man ever had aspirations to become an inventor when he was a little learner, and whether he shared his ambitions with his teachers. What ever the answer is, Mrs Crayon has got all inspired about the idea of a little character who possesses a very inquiring mind and the ability to make stuff!
So, following several hikes on the downs of Appleville with her dog, Mrs Crayon has come up with this next offering.

He's small, he's feisty and he's not afraid of heights!

Daring Dan is desperate to fly. He may not have wings, but he has a cunning plan, a kite, several balloons and a whole lot of determination. All he needs now is a suitable launch pad and he's ready to take flight. It's that simple! Or is it? Lets hope the little lad has taken into account that, what goes up can sometimes come crashing down with a painful thump!

A

Monday 29 October 2012

Bare feet! Bear feet!

 Mrs Crayon has made an observation. Little learners like to remove their shoes and go about in their sock feet, or even their bare feet (if they can get away with it) at every opportunity. Whilst this is fine and jim dandy at home, it is a definite no no in a busy reception environment, where a seemingly innocuous piece of Lego can stab a little learner in the foot bringing them to their knees in searing pain in a trice. Therefore the golden rule is, shoes on at all times in school, with the only exception being a P.E.session in the hall where the floor surface is safe and free of troublesome pieces of construction. It is this observation coupled with an unremarkable comment from a little learner one day, whilst she was changing into her P.E. kit, that inspired Mrs Crayon to pen the following verse. The little learner in question asked Mrs Crayon if she needed to wear her plimsolls for P.E. " No not today, you're doing P.E. in your bare feet." Mrs Crayon told her. The little learner stared intently at her bare feet for a minute or two, then she turned to Mrs Crayon and said. " My Mummy calls them my bare feet."  It suddenly struck Mrs Crayon that it was possible the little learner had a different kind of bare feet in her mind when she made the comment. So that evening whilst walking her dog on the downs of Appleville, Mrs Crayon wrote....




Bare Feet

I don't like shoes and I don't like socks,
Laces are a pain and so are flip flops.
Tights won't stay up and plimsolls don't stay on,
I don't mind trainers, but I've only got one.

Wellies flop about and they hurt my toes,
Where my slippers are nobody knows.
I long to run about in my feet all bare,
But the grown ups frown at me and say. "Don't you dare!" 

I love my...

 ...Bare feet, bare feet, I don't have a care feet.
Stop and stare feet, don't you dare feet.
Out in the fresh air, in my feet all bare. 
That's where I want to be, barefoot and fancy free!

Sandals are okay every now and again,
but when I've got them on I still complain.
The only time I feel complete,
Is when I'm stepping out in my... 

...Bear feet!






Thursday 25 October 2012

Sing, sing, sing!.




The team can hardly believe that at the end of this week, Sunnyside breaks for half term and the little learners will have been in school for seven whole weeks. In that time, the team have got to know each little learner very well and they are extremely proud of them all for the way in which they have settled and embraced every aspect of Reception life.

The little learners have achieved so much in their first half term. They are becoming more and more confident, independent and self reliant. Their listening skills are improving daily, which of course has a positive impact on their learning. 

Miss Kind and Mrs Caring spent time today talking to the little learners about the activities and experiences they enjoy most in school. Almost without exception they all said playing with their new friends was their most favourite thing to do. The one exception came from a little learner who stated to Mrs Caring that his most favourite thing to do was make hats and sing Bruno Mars! That wasn't what she was expecting him to say at all.

One of Mrs Crayon's favourite activities is singing and performing with the little learners and today she enjoyed a whole afternoon of it. 
Mrs Crayon provided some "singing hats" for the little learners and they in turn   provided the entertainment.
The little learners decided to make tickets for their show and they set out chairs in rows for their audience. They sung all afternoon from their growing repertoire of songs to a very appreciative audience which included all the grown ups in the team at varying times throughout the performance.
Well done little learners! Roll on your next performance.