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Foundation Stage (3-5 years) – Pearl Class
School Year 2020-2021
The Year Ahead in Pearl Class
Here is a little insight into the teaching and learning that has taken place so far with the topic in Pearl class:
What has been happening in our class in Term 1?
Early Years have had a wonderful start to the term. For our Awesome Autumn topic we have been crafting and creating hedgehogs and owls. We have enjoyed learning about Florence’s Paper Lantern event, the Mid-Autumn festival celebrated in Asian cultures and the Harvest Moon.
Alongside the rest of the school, we have been exploring the ocean inspired by the tale of Duffy, a turtle who gets very poorly after mistakenly eating some discarded plastic. We have been actively involved in Barlavento’s Positive Pathways program enjoying our relaxing calm corner, our daily well-being check in and our breath and meditation sessions.
What has been happening in our class in Term 2?
.Inspired by our class motto: ‘We Can Do Hard Things’ we will look at people from the past and present who have shown resilience, perseverance and determination on their adventures and explorations. Each week the children will have a story connected to the Explorer or Adventurer of the week. One week they may be transported to the cold Antarctic with Felicity Aston and the next to Africa with Mario Rigby. We’ll climb mountains with Gerlinde Kaltenbrunner, head into space with Valentina Tereshkova and be wowed by ultrarunner Jasmine Paris. The children will learn the stories of Portuguese explorers including Vasco da Gama. Our topic will represent our diverse world and show a commitment to promoting diversity in all its forms.
Our topic will not be limited to a representation of white male explorers as is the norm in this area of history. We will learn about Amelia Earheart, Felicity Aston, Mario Rigby, Matthew Henson and many more. The children will be inspired to find their own desire to explore and adventure and each week will have a mini imaginative journey together developing their skills of observation, map reading and teamwork.
Class teacher: Lindsay Gale
Drama Day – Adventurers and Explorers
To celebrate the end of our topic we took the children on a mini adventure to the local park in Espiche. The children dressed up as their favourite explorers from the topic and brought in things they might need for their adventure: binoculars, magnifying glasses and hand drawn maps. They packed up their rucksacks with food to sustain them on their journey and set off for the walk under very dark clouds. Undeterred by the threat of rain, they walked with determination and dodged the showers by sheltering under the trees.
Finally, we made it to the park and the children were rewarded with fair weather and even some spells of sunshine. After a couple of hours of exploring all the things at the park and eating our picnic lunch, the children made the journey back to base camp and enjoyed their afternoon snack with rosy red cheeks and big appetites.
