Here is a closer look at our Australian Art and tapping sticks that we created as part of our class Australia Day:

In gymnastics this week we had some very exciting equipment to use. We continued to develop our sequences of gymnastic actions to include travels, rolls and pike, tuck and straddle shapes. We started to work with a partner to develop a sequence to include these actions. 

In RE with Mrs Bayliss, we have been learning about the Christian Creation Story. We created some art using paper plates to represent different parts of the story. The plates are based on the tops of the paint pots from our Big Frieze. We read the creation story in the Bible, and also the poem/ picture book 'In the Beginning' by Steve Turner. We chose which aspect of creation we would like to show, using the images in the book as inspiration. 

G'day mate! We have had the most fantastic Australia Day in class. There were lots of different Australia themed activities throughout the day and it was great to see the children getting into the spirit of it all. A HUGE thank you to Rebekah for working so hard on this amazing day for us. It really brought the day to life and we very much appreciate everything that went into organising and resourcing all of the activities. Thank you so much. 
Here are some of the activities that we took part in along with some photos from our day. 

“There’s a Sea in My Bedroom” (by Margaret Wild)
We began our day by reading this Australian story. It was great to use our imagination for our journey to Australia and learning about why we can hear the 'sea' when we hold a shell to our ear. 

Language 
We then thought about similarities/ differences between English and Australian words. We learnt some Aussie slang for words such as sausage (snag), wellie boots (gumboots), flip flops (thongs) and duvet (doona). We played a game where we had to choose the correct Aussie word and we showed the action that went with that word. 

Aboriginal Art 
After break, we focused on Aboriginal Art. We learnt all about the storytelling involved with creating the dot paintings and the symbols that could be used.  We thought carefully about the colours that would've been used and how they would have been made from things found within nature e.g. green from grass/ leaves. We then created our own dot art painting where we used dots/ symbols around the outside of the Australia outline and then we painted a landscape scene within the outline. We think that they look absolutely brilliant and they will be on display in our class soon.

Tapping sticks 
After lunch, we took part in our own Aboriginal Corroboree where we learnt a dance with our tapping sticks. We practised the routine to a very famous Australian song-Waltzing Matilda. Here is the link to the song if you would like to create your own tapping stick dance at home: 
​www.youtube.com/watch?v=BOWuIKv-ZLM

Musical Statues-Australian Animal style! 
We played musical statues where we danced along to songs by Kylie Minogue! When the music stopped we had to freeze as a statue in the shape on an Australian animal. Take a look at the photos and see if you can guess which animals we were showing: 

ANZAC Biscuits ​ 
We learnt about ANZAC biscuits which are special to Australians, and enjoyed particularly on ANZAC day (25th April), which is the Australian equivalent of Remembrance Day (11th Nov). We thought about the ingredients that are used to make the biscuits. They were so delicious that we all had a second biscuit to eat! We also learnt about why these biscuits were sent to the soldiers in the war (they lasted for a longer time than other biscuits). 

Evenlode Class and the Epic Australian Voyage 
At the end of the day we gathered to listen to one final story. This was a very exciting story as it was written and created by Rebekah. As we listened we noticed that there were some familiar characters including Miss Leggett and all of the children. How fantastic! We listened to the children going on their Australian adventure and learning all about life in Aus. Not only did Rebekah very kindly gift us a copy of the book to keep in our class but she also created individual copies for each of the children to take home too. We are so very lucky, thank you so much! We hope that you enjoy sharing this wonderful story together at home.

We have had a great week in Evenlode Class. Here are some of the activities that we have been doing: 

Science 
We focused on the Five Senses and went on a walk around the school grounds to identify what we could see, hear, smell, taste and touch. Take a look at the photos in the post on our class latest news page. We also thought about what happens if one of your senses is weaker than another, particularly with animals such as a mole. 

English 
We have continued our work on Wombat goes Walkabout and we are now up to the part where there is a bush fire. We thought about the different parts of the trees that the fire would be leaping from/ to along with using colours and similes to describe the fire. Mrs Smith led a drama session focusing on the bush fire. Take a look at the photos from this in the post on our class latest news page. 

PE 
I was really impressed with the children's ability to be Fearless Foxes in gymnastics this week. We created sequences of actions including travelling, tuck, pike or straddle shapes and rolls and we performed these on gym equipment. It was the first time that we had used the ladder connecting to two gym tables and it was great to see the children overcome their nerves to travel over this piece of equipment. Well done gymnasts!

Maths -Place Value to 20
Our focuses this week were on comparing groups of objects and numbers using key vocabulary such as greater than/ less than and equal to and ordering groups of objects/ numbers from smallest to largest and largest to smallest. We really enjoyed playing this number ordering game: 

www.topmarks.co.uk/ordering-and-sequencing/chinese-dragon-ordering

In our Jigsaw lesson we focused on achieving together. We worked with a partner to design and make wellies which will be part of the whole school Jigsaw display-Our Dreams and Goals Garden. It was great to see everyone working together as a team, communicating with each other, sharing and taking turns. 

As part of our work on Humans including animals in Science, we learnt about the five senses. We worked with a partner to go on a senses walk around the school where we identified what we could see, hear, smell, touch and taste. 

As part of our work on Wombat goes Walkabout in English, Mrs Smith led a drama session focusing on a bush fire. We recapped the events in the story so far and thought about the actions of the animals during the bush fire. We also thought about how the animals would be feeling and why. 

We had a great time at the school Christmas Craft Fair, making some beautiful Christmas crafts, taking part in Christmas themed activities and even getting a visit from Santa! Thank you to the Friends of Appleton School who worked so hard in putting the event together for us.

As part of our RE work this term, we have been exploring the events in the Christmas Story. We thought carefully about the gifts that we would want to give baby Jesus if he would have been born in Appleton. Take a look at some of our ideas: