Saturday 13 December 2014

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!

Tuesday 28 October 2014

Chestnuts and cartwheels








Believe it or not it is half term. 

Although it doesn't seem the slightest bit possible, the Sunnyside little learners have been attending school for seven whole weeks now. Yes......seven weeks.....and as far as Mrs Jolly, Mrs Very Jolly, Miss Kind, Mrs Caring, Mrs Crayon, and Mrs Organised are concerned, those seven weeks have simply flown! 

However, during this time the little Reception learners of Sunnyside School have been busy getting to grips with the rules and routines of the setting, as well as learning how to source and access activities independently, how to play cooperatively with one another, and how to be responsible for all their belongings, especially their clothes when changing for P.E. (Yes that o'l chestnut again.)

The perils of P.E. and the changing of clothes for a P.E. session, has been well documented in numerous Sunnyside stories over the last couple of years, and it seems this weekly round of loosing and mislaying shorts, tops and plimsolls is set to repeat itself all over again, (much to the dismay and despair of the Sunnyside Team.) 

If you want to see a Sunnyside practitioner openly weeping into their paint stained hands, it will be following the aftermath of changing thirty little learners from their P.E. kits back into their school uniforms again.

However, despite the monumental, not to mention nerve jangling effort that's required to change little learners for this twice weekly delight, the Team really enjoys seeing them relish their beloved P.E. sessions!  

There are little Reception learners in the group who take their P.E. very seriously, and one little learner in particular who takes it so seriously, that as far as she is concerned, every moment is a P.E. moment! It has been noted that she spends the vast majority of her school day either leaping, hopping or tumbling, and she appears to look every bit as much at home upside down as she does round the right way. Walking anywhere without breaking into a skip or a handstand seems virtually impossible for this little acrobat, and let's face it, why should one walk anywhere when one could leap or hop or even throw in a sneaky cartwheel when no one's looking?

So, it is this budding little gymnast and her preferred means of traversing from A to B that has inspired Mrs Crayon's poetic offering this month.


Over to you Mrs Crayon!


WHY WALK?

Why walk when you can skip?
Why skip when you can run?
Why run when you can tumble?
Tumbling's so much fun.
Why tumble when you can jump?
Why jump when you can hop?
Why hop when you can twirl so fast
You find it hard to stop?
Why twirl when you can roll?
Why roll when you can swing?
Why swing when you can dangle
From almost anything?
Why dangle when you can bounce?
Why bounce when you can leap?
There's time for one last cartwheel,
Before I go to sleep!




"Tomorrow I shall tumble....then I might skip......I'll definitely do a handstand......then a....."

Sunday 12 October 2014

Chit-chats and currant buns






The most exciting aspect of a brand new academic year, is the acquisition of a brand new class of Reception learners. The best bit about the acquisition of a brand new class of Reception learners is..............getting to know them!

And this is exactly what the Reception Team at Sunnyside School has been doing these past few weeks - enjoying getting to know each and every little learner in their care. 

As the group becomes more settled in their new surroundings, they begin to exhibit a growing confidence, especially when it comes to participating in new learning experiences. 

There is nothing more enjoyable as far as the Sunnyside Team is concerned, than to sit alongside little learners as they explore the sand or the water tray, or indeed experiment in a junk modelling or painting activity, and to have a good o'l chat in order to learn more about each of them. 

It was Mrs Crayon's turn to support the little learners who'd chosen to have a go at the 'paint a picture of yourself' activity this afternoon. 

Each little learner was given a mirror which allowed them to study the features of their face and decide on their hair, eye, and skin colour before dipping their brushes into the paint pots. 

It was during the gentle ebb and flow of the conversation around the painting table, that Mrs Crayon decided to pose a question to the group regarding eyebrows.
"What are they for?" She asked them, hopeful of an insightful explanation or maybe a fabulously funny little learner quip. But there was no quip, neither was there an explanation, in fact there was no comment at all...not a word...not a whisper....nothing! There was however, a great deal of looking blank and skyward, as if the answer to this somewhat out-there question was scribed across the classroom ceiling. 

Not one to give up easily, Mrs Crayon thought she'd ask the question again. As she did so, a little learner leaned over to her from an adjacent table (where he was busy fashioning five delicious looking currant buns from his blob of fluorescent green playdough) and said, "I know what eyebrows are for!" 

An intrigued Mrs Crayon immediately reached for her post it notes, and with pen poised and breath bated, she awaited the little learner's take on the purpose of the human eyebrow. 

Would he say, she wondered, that scientists aren't entirely sure why humans have kept this bit of hair other than to protect the eyes from moisture and debris? Would he comment that the humble eyebrow is one of the most distinctive and expressive features of the human face, and that with one's eyebrows one can easily communicate one's feelings to other people? Or, would he perhaps observe that eyebrows shape the human face and give definition to one's eyes and forehead? No..... of course not! No, this particular clever little learner blew all of those lah-di-dah theories clean out of the water. 

And so dear reader, you can now discard such long held and popularly believed theories regarding the main functions of the eyebrow, and know that their real purpose is, (and this is true because a little learner said so) "They help you do the chores!!"

Bet you didn't see that one coming!




Eyebrows

I'm not coming out to play today,
I've got to stay indoors.
You see I need to show my eyebrows,
How to help me with the chores.
You may think that I am joking,
But you didn't ought to smirk,
Because while you're all busy slaving...
I'll let me eyebrows do the work!






"Phew! I'm definitely gonna need me eyebrows to get through this lot!"

Tuesday 26 August 2014

Daring Dan thinks he can........





Way, way back in October 2012, the little Sunnyside Reception learners of the day participated in the annual national drawing campaign, The Big Draw. In doing so, they were fortunate enough to be able to work alongside representatives of the extremely clever and creative cooperative Eccleston George Public Artists when they met with them on Whippy Cove's magnificent beach.

Using the beautiful golden sands as their blank canvas, and a variety of specially handcrafted little learner friendly tools, as well as natural finds from the beach itself, everyone had a marvellous morning drawing and creating some brilliant original beach art.

One particular member of the E.G. team who was supporting the little learners that day, was Daring Dan Recycle Man, so called because of his ability to invent and create amazing things from.....well....rubbish, essentially. One of Daring Dan's greatest achievements has to be his enormous wooden tricycle which once he'd finished creating and piecing together, he promptly jumped upon and pedalled off to Spain!

Mrs Crayon became all inspired about Daring Dan Recycle Man and his inventing antics, and this in turn led to the idea of a young aspiring little learner-type inventor which she subsequently wrote about in her poem DARING DAN THINKS He CAN...........FLY. It tells the tale of a young inventor chappie and his desperate attempts to get off the ground despite the continued health risk warnings from his exasperated mother. (Wings and Springs posted November 2012.)


Today, Mrs Crayon is delighted to present to you dear reader, the follow up to said poem. 

So before the new academic year commences and the little Sunnyside learners of 2014-2015 begin their adventure in the Reception Class, let's celebrate once more the genius that is Daring Dan Recycle Man (albeit as he was as a teeny tiny little learner) in his latest daring adventure.




Daring Dan thinks he can...

COOK!


Daring Dan found a book, 
The kind that tells you how to cook.
But Dan was small and still learning to read,
So he wasn't sure of the things he would need.
He thought and thought, and then he said,
"I'm going to make it up instead,
I don't need to read this book, 
I know exactly how to cook!"

Dan found an apron and a wooden spoon,
He found a bowl with lots of room.
He put in jam,
And slices of ham,
He put in bread,
And chocolate spread.
He tipped in three eggs,
And two chicken legs.
He added sauce... 
Tomato of course.
He threw in red cherries,
And juicy strawberries,
He spooned in custard, 
And multi-grain mustard.
He added more sauce,
Tomato of course. 
Then he built a tower with self raising flour,
He spiced it and iced it for half and hour.
He poured on cornflakes,
And stuck in teacakes.
He grated cheese, 
And sprinkled peas,
And round the edge placed lettuce leaves.

Dan didn't stop there, he added more,
Like beans and spaghetti and crunchy coleslaw.
Dan looked for more food, but there was none,
So he declared his masterpiece was done.

Now...on cooking time Dan wanted to save,
So he crammed it all in the microwave.
He pressed the buttons one, two, three,
It started to cook....then SUDDENLY...
There was a crash, and then a clang,
And then a pop, and then a BANG!!!!!

The door blew open, Dan was petrified,
But then he saw the mess inside!
Custard was here and mustard was there,
His tower of flour was everywhere. 
There was cheese on the ceiling and peas on the floor,
There was ham up the walls and jam on the door.

"Uh-oh!" Sighed Dan, "I'm in trouble now,
I need to clean up but I don't know how!
Which of these liquids and sprays do I need?
They're covered with words that I cannot read.
I know!.....I need to invent a machine I guess,
And one that can deal with this terrible mess!"

 So Dan thought and he thought and he thought a bit more,
And then he remembered the dog from next door. 
"Hurrah!" Cried Dan, "This'll be fun!"
And in less than ten seconds the clean-up was done!





Tuesday 12 August 2014

Bits and bobs and tumbleweed






As Miss Kind desperately tried to ram one last dust pan load of detritus into the classroom's already overflowing waste bin this afternoon, she took a moment to stand back and survey the stark display boards, the clear glass of the classroom windows, (which incidentally no one has seen since the beginning of last September, prior to them becoming covered in vast amounts of bits and bobs,) and the lengths of string (minus their dingle dangles) hanging from the ceiling and gently swaying in the warm breeze emanating from the open windows. All that was needed now thought she, was for some tumbleweed to come rolling past her, and the sad and sorry scene would be complete.

Yes....it is the end of term! The academic year is done, and the time has come when little learners must move on to the next phase in their educational journey - that of year one. 

The Sunnyside Team have been here before, many many times in fact, but this annual event, still remains as poignant and as emotional as ever. 

While Miss Kind was battling with the waste bin, Mrs Very Jolly and a band of little learner helpers, were busy retrieving all the Blu-tack blobs left behind after the removal of the classroom's mountain of paintings, posters and dingle dangles. 

With their work almost done, and their expanding Blu-tack blob now the size of a tennis ball, Mrs Very Jolly was keen to ask her little helpers how they felt about the prospect of moving to year one.
"The work is really, really hard you know!" Stated one little learner.
"You do really tricky numbers." Said another.
"You don't do fun things in year one.....that's for the little kids." Ironically informed a third little learner.
"And....." Shouted a little learner from the back of the group as he popped a blob of Blu-Tack in his trouser pocket, "The grown ups aren't allowed to help you in year one, you has to do everyfin' by your own!"

Standing at Mrs Very Jolly's side was a little learner intently listening to all this spurious information as he was busily squishing a small blob of Blu-Tack between his fingers.
"What about you poppet..." Mrs Very Jolly asked him, "What are you hoping to learn in year one?"
"Well..."  Pondered the little learner for a moment, still furiously squishing his bit of putty, "I'd like to learn to juggle!" 

"Oh!" Was the response to that from a somewhat crest fallen Mrs Very Jolly, because sadly she is unaware of any juggling year one teachers at Sunnyside School, in fact, she's not aware of any juggling teachers at all!

So, dear reader all that remains is to thank you once again for being a faithful visitor to the SUNNYSIDERS blog.

Sunnysiders will return in September with a brand new crew of little learners, led as usual by the non juggling Mrs Jolly, Mrs Very Jolly, Miss Kind, Mrs Caring, Mrs Crayon and Mrs Organised. 

See you then for more fun and learning!




No fun in year one

There's no such thing as fun
When you're learning in year one,
You don't get help, so everything's a struggle.
But the fact is I don't care,
You see I'm only going there,
Because I've heard the grown ups teach you how to juggle!

"When I've mastered the Blu Tack I'm allowed to juggle with real balls!"


Saturday 26 July 2014

Porridge oats and Pigeons








Dried pasta, porridge oats, uncooked rice, squidgy playdough!

No, not the ingredients to a somewhat suspect light supper, but four firm favourite ingredients for a spot of sensory exploration among the little Reception learners at Sunnyside School.

Little learners everywhere will naturally gravitate toward sensory activities. These can include: sand, water, dough, shaving foam, gloop, compost, jelly, paint, pasta, rice, oats, shells, stones and seaweed. 

Apart from contributing to brain and fine motor development in crucial ways, being presented with the opportunity to cover oneself in jelly whilst participating in a sensory activity, is just too good an opportunity to miss for most little learners! 

In the last few days the little Sunnysiders have enjoyed exploring the dried pasta, rice and porridge oats provided in the Tuff Tray outside. It has sparked some wonderful tea shop role play as well as the creation of a variety of delightful and unusual little learner recipes! 

As the little learners transport the dried ingredients all round the garden during their role play games, a large proportion of pasta, rice and oats has travelled to all the four corners of the garden and everywhere else in between! 

Whilst this makes for a tricky clean up operation (try sweeping a ton of oats and rice out of the grass at the end of a busy day) it has greatly benefited the resident Wood Pigeon in the garden, who has taken full of advantage of all the spillages by conducting his own clean up operation after the little learners have returned to the classroom. 

Subsequently, said Pigeon has become a very large Pigeon indeed, and it was Mrs Crayon who observed him this morning (after he'd eaten a breakfast of dried pasta and playdough) furiously flapping about the garden in an attempt to get airborne. In spite of all his efforts, the poor exhausted chap only managed a few brief moments in the air before crashing into the garden's cherry tree, sending a cloud of leaves, feathers and cherries to an altitude significantly higher than the one he was able to reach . 

After a good o'l chuckle to herself, the cogs and wheels inside Mrs Crayon's head started to whir, as a pigeon-type rhyme began to formulate in her mind. So, when she got home that night she penned the following.



THE PIGEON IN OUR GARDEN


The pigeon in our garden (although gentle, calm and quiet,)
Has grown to huge proportions from a most unhealthy diet.
He eats up all the pasta that's fallen to the ground,
All the porridge oats, the grains of rice, and any playdough that he's found.

That pigeon's in our garden eating non-stop every day,
And now he's so enormous that he cannot fly away!
He flaps about this way and that, his efforts all in vain,
 It would appear his pigeon wings just cannot take the strain.

The pigeon in our garden (once so gentle calm and quiet)
Is feeling mighty grumpy since we've put him on a diet.
We sweep up all the pasta that's fallen to the ground,
All the porridge oats, the grains of rice, till nothing can be found!

Yet that pigeon keeps on searching as he waddles on his feet,
The poor thing doesn't understand there's nothing left to eat.
Now the Pigeon in our garden just mopes about and cries,
But he's showing signs of shrinking to a normal Pigeon size!


"It's just peas for you Mr Pigeon for the foreseeable!"

Saturday 12 July 2014

Handbags and bell-bottoms







The end is nigh! The finishing line is in sight! Journey's end is all but complete!

Which ever way you care to express it, the academic year is drawing to a close, and the little Reception Sunnyside learners will soon be heading off to pastures new. 

However, before they leave the Reception class to continue their educational journey into Year 1, the Reception Team comprising of, Mrs Jolly, Mrs Very Jolly, Miss Kind, Mrs Caring, Mrs Crayon and Mrs Organised, have planned lots more exciting learning opportunities for the little learners to enjoy in the remaining few weeks of the summer term.

It is also in these last few weeks that The Team tends to reflect and take stock and begin to fully appreciate just how far the little learners have come since they took their first tentative steps into Sunnyside School's Reception class way back in September. Those once reticent little learners have developed into independent and confident individuals, eager to try out new things and to share their newly acquired knowledge and understanding with anyone who'll listen. 

And it is listening to the little learners that the Team enjoys most of all. Armed with clipboards and pens, team members can be seen all over the setting, listening to little learners and gathering important information that will ultimately help to determine their progress and plan their next steps. 

This afternoon, Mrs Caring positioned herself (for a spot of listening) close to the cut and stick table where a group of six little learners were busy making laptops, handbags, robots, rockets, kites, and a in one particular case, a bunkbed for Sleeping Beauty.


As they snipped and trimmed, taped and tied, folded and glued, this group of little makers chatted to one another about all manner things, leaping seamlessly from one topic to another at breakneck speed for the entire afternoon.

Despite the flames that billowed from her Biro, Mrs Caring did her utmost to accurately note down the little learners' flow of entertaining chit-chat. Luckily for her, she's never quite forgotten the abbreviated symbolic writing method of shorthand, that she learned way back in the days of Raleigh Shopper bicycles and denim bell-bottoms, that helped her complete this task.

Well done Mrs Caring, lets now enjoy all your hard efforts. 

Picture the scene. Six little learners, some seated, some standing around a large table completely covered with a variety of junk and collage materials. The classroom is quiet and free of other little learners allowing Mrs Caring to hear the six little makers' conversation in detail. 

So here is just a small extract of that conversation.


Little learner 1 "I'm making a handbag!"

L.l 2  "Mine's not a handbag, mine's a bag for my laptop."

L.l 3  (wearing a sun hat) "Well do you know? I'm wearing my delicate sun hat. I got it at Egypt and do you know, I went fishing at Egypt but I couldn't catch some fish 'cause they were too quick for me.......they were turbo fish!"           
L.l 4  "There's no need to shout!"

L.l 5  "If you shout, it hurts your feelings!"                 
                                     
L.l 4  "And your elbow!"

L.l 5  "No! Not your elbow!" 

L.l 3  "If you shout more loud than me, then that's dinosaur shouting!"                  
L.l 6  "Some dogs are allergic to cats, I'm allergic to dinosaurs and roses!"

L.l 1   "I'm going to be a mum when I'm forty four...that's okay isn't it?"

L.l 2  "Well my Mum's really clever, she can hang things and fold things!"  

L.l 5  "Well my Mum's really clever 'cause she can use tweezers!"

L.l 3  "In Benidorm tweezers cost one hundred, but in this world they cost fifty!"

L.l 2  "I've been to Butlin's!

L.l 6  "I've been to Butlin's too!"                                      

L.l 4  "And I have!"

L.l 6  "I never saw you there!"

L.l 2  "Well, I'm going on holiday in a rocket to look at planets!"

L.l 5  "If you tell lies that's naughty. If you're naughty you go to kids' jail. You don't go in a police car, you go in a white cart and they have toilets and I heard on TV they have comfy beds!"

(stunned silence)

L.l 3  "Why did the shoe cross the road?"

L.l 4  "Because it was magic!"

L.l 3  "Nope.......Because it had a foot in it!"

(raucous laughter) 


Guess what Mrs Crayon did when she read the longhand version of Mrs Caring's observation?






Pass the felt pens please


As we're cutting this and taping that,
We take our time and have a chat. 
And chat we do about everything, 
As we stick with glue and tie with string.
There's our clever mums to talk about,
Who fold things up and hang things out.
There's dogs with curious allergies,
Can you pass the felt pens please?
There's our feelings to discuss and share.
I need scissors, have you got a pair?
There's fancy holidays abroad.
I cannot cut this bit of chord!
There's dinosaurs and growing flowers,
Two topics we'll discuss for hours.
On having kids we will debate,
Like.....is forty four a bit too late?
There's our ailments and our remedies,
Not to mention all our injuries.
There's fashion and the current trend.
Me Sellotape has lost it's end!
We'll share the jokes that make us laugh.
This stupid thing won't fold in half!
Now hurry up it's half past two,
It's time to pack away the glue,
The scissors and the Sellotape,
The string, the felt pens and the crepe. 
We've made our laptops, bags and kites,
 We've also put the world to rights. 
The day is done, and we are gone
But our words of wisdom linger on!



Tah-Dah!......A fine afternoon's work!

Sunday 22 June 2014

Travel plans and traffic jams







Hurrah, the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games are almost upon us! 

With the opening ceremony just 31 days away, Sunnyside School is celebrating this international multi-sport event by naming all classes in the school after some of the participating nations.

As the Reception Class will now be referred to as 'Ghana Class' for the duration of the games, Mrs Very Jolly was very keen today to seek out some interesting facts about this sub-Saharan country. So where better thought she, than to start with the little learners themselves. 

It is an established fact that little learners everywhere know absolutely everything about absolutely everything. With that in mind, Mrs Very Jolly began her fact finding quest by asking the little learners in her class if they knew where Ghana was in the world. As quick as a grasshopper in a Formula 1 racing car, a little hand shot into the air with it's exuberant owner shouting out to the group that Ghana was near the library!

This then seemed to open up an enormous can of worms, as a rather heated debate erupted amongst the little learners as to the actual whereabouts of Ghana. As some little learners agreed that Ghana was near the library, others were adamant it was next to the theatre. One particular little learner said he'd seen it by the zoo, whereas another argued that it was "up north".

Whilst Mrs Very Jolly was encouraged by the latter suggestion of "up north", as it did at least venture off the Isle of Wight and on to the mainland, she still felt that she needed to give the little learners a helping hand, by whipping out her whizzy world globe in order to pinpoint Ghana's exact position on the map. 

However, the very idea of popping in to Ghana after returning one's books to the library, seemed an excellent one as far as Mrs Very Jolly was concerned .  




Isle of World

Say you wanna go to Ghana,
You don't have to go by plane,
You just turn right at the library
And head on down the lane.
When you reach the theatre,
Ghana stares you in the face,
You honestly can't miss it,
It's such a massive place!

When you've had enough of Ghana,
Just continue down the lane,
Simply walk around the corner
And you'll find yourself in Spain!
If you go a little further,
And when you have the chance,
Walk directly past the zoo,
And then you'll be in France.

If you're feeling tired and hungry
And you need a cuppa tea,
Catch the number thirty bus,
And ask for Germany.
When it's getting near to bedtime 
And you wanna head back home,
Don't turn left at the pet shop,
Or you'll end up stuck in Rome!



It's a small world!

Wednesday 11 June 2014

Annoying pets and yummy baguettes







The first little learner to step into the classroom this morning, did so by announcing to the world that he was a tuna baguette! 

He was of course sharing his choice of school dinner for today, but it is spur-of-the moment and out of context statements such as this one, that always manages to raise a smile and a good o'l chuckle among the Reception Team at Sunnyside School. Indeed, such statements positively enhance their day. It is also statements such as this one that continues to keep Mrs Crayon well stocked with some splendid doodle and rhyming material.

Other classic little learner one-liners have included: "I've got a kangaroo in my book bag", "There's an elephant in my pond", and "I've got an Easter egg blocking my throat".

However, it was the little learner who announced to The Team, that his hamster repeated everything he said, that has always firmly stuck in Mrs Crayon's rhyming mind. And just as the whole dinner lady trapping incident featured in last week's post prompted a long over due rhyme, so has the notion of an overly chatty hamster.

So.....take it away once more Mrs Crayon!




I bought m'self a hamster

I bought m'self a hamster,
But he's gettin' on me wick,
It seems he has developed
An irritating trick.
For everything I say to him 
He then says back to me,
I never knew a hamster
Could chatter endlessly.
At first I found him funny,
So I showed him to me mates.
But now he's gone beyond a joke
'Cause on me nerves he grates!
I think it's time he took a hike
'Cause in my family,
There's room for just one chatterbox,
And that chatterbox is ME!



"I should have bought a rabbit!"

Tuesday 3 June 2014

Dust pans and dinner ladies






There is something afoot! 

Something mysterious involving the classroom dustpan and brush! It, along with all it's subsequent replacements are vanishing from the Sunnyside Reception classroom.

The Team are not only puzzled by these dustpan disappearances, they are also extremely frustrated by them, because without a dust pan and brush, ridding the classroom floor of a ton of rice, pasta, and out of season glitter, is a virtual impossibility. Therefore, it has become absolutely necessary lately for the Reception Team to appeal to the caring and sharing nature of the Sunnyside School dinner ladies for the use of one of their state of the art, 'no need for bending', industrial strength dust pan and brushes. 

And it is this somewhat uninspiring, yet absolutely vital classroom implement that has inspired Mrs Crayon's rhyme today. 

As she was carefully considering how best to ask a kindly dinner lady for the use of her dustpan and brush yet again, she was suddenly reminded of the time when a dinner lady entered the Reception classroom, (to retrieve her unreturned dust pan and brush) in which Mrs Very Jolly was clearing away the aftermath of a Papier Mache activity. The resulting copious amounts of runny glue and newspaper coating the classroom floor, caused the poor unsuspecting dinner lady to stick firmly to it. 

When the combined hysterical laughter of Mrs Very Jolly, trapped dinner lady, and little learners had subsided, they all managed to compose themselves long enough to release the poor dinner lady from her sticky snare.

Whilst Mrs Crayon celebrated this unlikely yet hilarious episode with a doodle some time ago, she has long felt it her duty to compliment said doodle with a short and snappy rhyme.

So here it is..........better late than never Mrs Crayon!




If you want to trap a dinner lady. 


If you want to trap a dinner lady
All you have to do, 
Is take away her pan and brush,
And coat the floor with glue.
When she comes to look for them
Of this you can be sure,
She'll find herself completely stuck,
To your classroom floor! 



Monday 26 May 2014

Wonky cows and custard





The little Sunnyside learners of Whippy Cove have been out and about again.

This time when they boarded the Sunnyside School minibus (with their trousers tucked firmly into their Wellington boots), they headed straight off to one of the Island's dairy farms. 

As part of their health and fitness topic this term, the Team arranged for the little learners to visit a dairy farm specifically to learn about and experience first hand 'The Story of Milk.' 

Consequently, this fun and exciting dairy adventure inspired a multitude of follow-on activities back in the classroom. All this week little learners have been constructing farms from large foam bricks, role playing farmers and farm shops, reading farm animal stories, junk modelling farm animals, painting farmy type pictures and writing a few words about their farm trip in their writing books.

Today though, the little learners worked in small groups on a milk related brain storming activity. The objective of the activity was to name as many foods as possible produced from milk, and to then jot them down on a hastily drawn and slightly wonky cow, courtesy of Mrs Crayon .

Once the little learners had suggested the more obvious foods, such as butter, cheese and yoghurt, they became rather stuck and had to don their thinking caps in order to come up with some more ideas. However, following some gentle prompting from the supporting grown ups, little learners were soon reeling off a whole variety of foods including custard, rice pudding, squirty cream, ice cream, milkshake, and.........soup! Yes, soup was the suggestion from one particular little learner, much to the surprise of Mrs Crayon!
"Do we actually get soup from a cow?" Mrs Crayon asked the little brain stormer in question . 
"Yep!" she replied with a certainty that almost had Mrs Crayon convinced. "And do you know?" she continued, "Mummy gives me poorly soup when I'm poorly, but poorly soup just makes me more poorly, and do you know poorly soup hurts my feelings!"
Forgetting about milk products for a moment, a very intrigued and smiling Mrs Crayon couldn't help but ask the little learner, "If poorly soup makes you poorly, what kind of soup makes you feel better then?"
"Proper soup of course!" replied the little learner colouring the udders of Mrs Crayon's wonky cow in a rather fetching purple felt pen! 


Before you could say, cream of tomato soup, Mrs Crayon had already felt the rumblings of a soupy rhyme coming on.



Poorly Soup

Please don't give me Poorly Soup,
Poorly Soup's a curse.
Whenever I eat Poorly Soup,
It makes me feel much worse.
I cough till I turn purple,
My tummy starts to ache,
Me nostrils end up snotty,
And me bones begin to shake.
My legs go weak and wobbly,
Me head does loop the loop,
But the one thing that will cure me,
Is a bowl of Proper Soup! 



"Can I please just have a bowl of Proper Soup!"