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Somewhere Over the Rainbow

What a half term we have had here in the Skylarks! It may have been a shorter term but it has been jammed packed with lots of learning opportunities! 

Our story ‘The Wizard of Oz’ has been at the heart of our learning this topic. We went with Dorothy and her little dog Toto as they got caught in a tornado before being dropped in munchkin land! We continued with them as they had the help of the good witch to follow the yellow brick road where we met a scarecrow, a tin man and a lion. Together we met the great and powerful Oz before we had to defeat the wicked witch! Who knew it only took a bucket full of water! We learnt that those things that Dorothy, the scarecrow, the tin man and the lion wished for they had the power to achieve all along!

In our ‘Attention Autism’ sessions we have recreated scenes and characters through different materials, light and craft. The performing adult presented the class with red glitters to create the ruby red slippers, emerald green materials to create the land of Oz and yellows and golds to create the yellow brick road. The adult modelling in the ‘Attention Autism’ sessions helped us to create our own scenes and characters in our creative development sessions. We used red paint and glitter to create Dorothy’s shoes, we used a range of paints to create our own rainbows, we used green glitters and materials to create the Emerald City and used yellows and gold glitter to create the yellow brick road. We combined all the art and craft together to create our own ‘Wizard of Oz’ grotto in our class entrance way.

This half term we have been working very hard to further develop our independent skills through our personal care routines. We have been trying hard to undress and dress ourselves during our weekly swim slot in the big splash pool. Each morning as we come into class we have been using our very own facecloths and toothbrushes to brush our teeth and wipe our faces clean. After each bathroom visit, messy session and before and after each meal time we are working on using hand wash and paper towels to wash and dry our own hands! We are even starting to help fill our own wash bowls and get the paper towels ready!

This half term we have been fortunate to have two very big celebration days here in school. At the end of April we celebrated Eid. We enjoyed sensory exploration sessions where we could explore and mark make in different spices while listening to Eid celebration music. We shared an Eid story which involved exploring scents, lights and different materials. Then, at the beginning of May we celebrated the coronation of King Charles by having our very own class tea party! We made jam and cheese sandwiches and enjoyed lovely cakes and biscuits and even made our very own Union Jack flags. We sat and shared the story of Charles’ rise to the crown before having our very own coronation ceremony in class!

At the end of the half term we took part in the ‘Living Eggs’ project. Over the course of the 10 days we got to see 10 eggs hatch into 10 spritely chicks! 5 yellow and 5 brown! Each morning we helped our teachers to give them water and feed and help to change their bedding. As we had more time with the chicks, we got brave enough to stroke them and even hold one or two! As the half term came to a close, we were sad to see them go.

From us all in the Skylarks we hope you have a restful half term break. We will see you in June ready for some more exciting learning opportunities in the sunshine (we hope).