Willow - WB 28.11.2022

It has been another busy week in Willow Class and there have been some new experiences in our Hindu workshop as well as some revision of the key skills we have covered throughout the term. 

On Monday, the children made gnomes for the Christmas Fayre to raise money for the PFA. The children worked hard and were very proud of what they have made and look forward to seeing them on sale next week. On Tuesday afternoon, Key Stage 2 went to the playing fields to take part in the house cross country competition. They all tried really hard and were very determined to do their best. 

On Wednesday the children in Willow and Oak Classes took part in an interactive Hindu Workshop. The classes were taught a traditional Hindu stick dance and performed in groups with their friends. They learned why we say 'Namaste' with a bow and how Hindus offer respect to each other. The girls dressed up in traditional saris and the boys dressed in prayer shawls and turbans. They learned about the significance of a bindi dot on the forehead.  They also learned the technique of yoga breathing, pranayama, a means of centring oneself in the midst of the bustle of daily life that produces a state of calm and well-being. The children could look at various authentic artefacts and found out about various beliefs. They listened to a Hindu story and song. At the end of the session, the class were able to choose a diva lamp to take home. They all thoroughly enjoyed the morning. Take a look at some of our photos in the gallery. 

In our Topic lessons, we have been learning about the Ancient Egyptian process of mummification and their beliefs on the afterlife. The children acted out the process, which was great fun and very memorable, then we used this information to write a detailed set of instructions on how the Pharaohs were mummified. We had to include imperative verbs to focus on the actions that the Egyptians did and also the use of fronted adverbials to organise our instructions. We were fascinated to learn that the process took 70 days and the reasons why, for example, they removed the Pharaoh's organs and placed them in canopic jars before wrapping them tightly in metres of material. 

In our Maths and English lessons, we have been completing some end of term quizzes to show what we have learnt throughout the term. We have been very impressed with how focused the children have been during these and they did a brilliant job of retaining lots of their learning.