As part of our Music and Computing, the Year 2 children have been listening and responding to different types of music. We listened to Holst's Mars, Venus and Jupiter and the children were able to give their opinion on the piece of music, as well as dance and pretend to be the conductor.
Over the coming weeks, the children will learn how to make their own music using a music programme.
Damson Tree have had a great start to the new term. We have been reading Oliver Jeffers' Lost and Found and taking part in a number of activities related to the story and to Antarctica. We have made up actions to remember the story and can now retell the text from memory. We have been doing a lot of sensory play and even rescued penguins from giant blocks of ice! We loved making penguins on our creative table. Next week we will be writing our own versions of the story too.
Year 2 are enjoying their new topic 'Stories Through Music' and the fun doesn't stop in PE! This week, they have been using the music from The Firebird to refine their skills in moving with control.
When introducing Year 6 to their new topic, The Ancient Maya, we played a game of Pok-a-Tok, an ancient Mayan game.
The game was played for fun but there was also a more sinister side to the game. Some people believe that the captain of the losing team was sacrificed as punishment for losing!
The game, which is somewhat similar to football, is played on grass and using a ball made out of rubber. The aim of the game is to hit the ball over the 'goal' or into the opponents side of the pitch.
However, it's much harder than football because players have to use their elbows, knees and hips to move the ball - they are not allowed to use their hands or feet!
Our new topic is Celebrations and last week we learnt about the religious festival Diwali. The children made diva lamps using salt dough - don't they look great! They recalled their learning from last half term about The Ramayana to support their understanding of why diva lamps are lit at Diwali.
Computing in Year 2
In Year 2, we have linked our Science topic of Plants with our Computing lessons to create a document with research questions about things we would like to find out about plants.
