Embedded Files
literacy - Writing a sentence
This week, our literacy focus has been on developing key skills and understanding grammar to write simple sentences. We began by reading the model text Duckie's Rainbow, which sparked creativity as we recreated Duckie’s journey home around our school.
In pairs, children then used colourful semantics to create their own sentences, making sure to include a noun, verb, and noun. They followed a sentence checklist to ensure their writing was clear and accurate—checking for capital letters, finger spaces, full stops, and reading over their work to make any necessary corrections.
We then invited the children to bring in their own teddies and take them on an adventure. Next week, each student will create a unique story based on their teddy's journey.
week beginning 22nd September
Our artwork
We learned about the life and work of folk artist Clementine Hunter and used her work to inspire our drawings of flowers in a pot. We explored line and shape using 2b pencils.
trip to fairlynch farm
This week, Class 1 and 2 enjoyed a fantastic local walking trip to Fairlynch Farm. The children explored Mr Dyer’s beautiful apple orchard, where they learned how apples are grown and discovered the wildlife that thrives among the trees. They even had the chance to pick their own apples, which was a real highlight!
From the top of the farm, the children took in views over Braunton village, spotting the estuary, Saunton Sands, and Braunton Burrows. They also learned about the local produce harvested from the historic Great Fields.
Back at school, children practised their chopping skills to make a delicious apple crumble.
It was a brilliant day of learning, nature, and sunshine. Year 1 should be very proud of how sensibly they behaved on the trip.
PE - fundamental skills
Week Beginning 29th September 2025
Children had the opportunity to meet the childrens' author and illustrator Duncan Beedie, who read the story 'I Really Really Love My Noisy Bum". They created some fantastic bush baby characters during our draw along and had the chance to ask Duncan some great questions about his job. Children all took home a copy ofthe story to read at and enjoy at home.
science explorers
As part of our learning about the different seasons and weather, we worked together in groups to find signs of Autumn around the school.
Week Beginning 13th October 2025
We continued learning to order numbers and write number words this week. Then we began learning about number bonds within ten, using a part whole model and a range of manipulatives to help us to think about our learning.
After learning about the seasons in science, we began to look at the parts of a plant which also links with our observational drawing of flowers in art.
OUr new literacy sequence
OUr new literacy sequence
We are focusing on a non fiction recount for our next literacy unit. Children will explore the model text 'My Day at the Zoo' and will later write a recount of their own school trip.
PE - ball skills
The children have been practising aiming for a target using an underarm throw. They worked as a team to encourage one another!
week beginning 13th October 2025
Class 1 walked safely to Saint Brannock's church where they learnt more about the history of Saint Brannock and story of the sow and the three piglets.
They learned more about the story of Saint Brannocks favourite cow which is shown on the Braunton shield of arms and is carved into one of the church pews.
They we lucky enough to ring the church bells and climb up the old church spire to watch the old clock mechanism in action.
This week, Class 1 have been introduced to adding using number bonds, and part whole models to create number bonds within ten.
We have had some great discussions about number bonds and deriving from known facts. If you would like to practice at home more with your child, please see the following link for fun educational videos: Numberblocks - Series 2: Just Add One - BBC iPlayer
Numberblocks - Series 3: Fruit Salad - BBC iPlayer
We experimented with oil pastels and patterns to create a background for our individual portraits.
Week beginning 20th October 2025
Class 1 did themselves proud at the Autumn Harvest festival in Saint Brannock's church.
After lots of practising, they were so brave and sang beautifully for the rest of the school and parents watching.
Class 1 have been learning to create addition stories and solve picture problems within ten. They did a fantastic job at explaining their reasoning and working in pairs to solve the addition problems.
Children have been practising ball skills. Dribbling, throwing, bouncing and catching.
They took part in attacking and defendnig games and practised team working skills and how to encourage others,
Week beginning 3rd November 2025
In our final week of Autumn 1, Class 1 explored the school grounds looking for signs of Autumn and collecting evergreen and deciduous leaves, conkers and more for our smelly potions. We used our 5 senses to think about what would make a great smelly potion just in time for Halloween!
week commencing 10th November
week commencing 10th November
This week, Class 1 have been learning about the relationship between addition and subtraction within ten to create number stories and solve picture problems.
As part of our fitness unit in PE, children worked in pairs to compare how they felt after exercise versus slow breathing. Children learned about how exercise is important for keeping our minds as well as our bodies healthy.
Class 1 have put all of their cutting and peeling skills to practice in order to make a healthy fruit salad in DT.
week beginning 17th November
handwriting practice
Year 1 children have been busy practising their pre-cursive letters this week. They are developing their confidence in forming each letter with the correct strokes, preparing them for joined handwriting later on.
In Year 1, children have been exploring colour mixing as part of their art learning. They enjoyed experimenting with the primary colours—red, blue, and yellow—and discovering how these can be combined to create secondary colours. The children then used their new knowledge to create their own colour wheels, proudly showing the colours they mixed themselves.
week beginning 24th November
The children have been carefully spraying their bean germination experiments each day and observing the changes over time. They created detailed booklets that include a labelled diagram of their experiment setup, their own predictions, and space to record their observations as the beans grow. We are excited to see how their plants develop over the coming weeks!
During quiet reading time, the children enjoyed choosing a book of their own and settling down for some peaceful, independent reading. This special time helps them develop a love of books, build their reading stamina, and explore stories that interest them. It’s a wonderful way to end the day calmly and positively.
In PSHE, the children explored the theme of celebrating differences. They discussed their similarities and differences and reflected on why it is good and important to be unique and special. Through these conversations, the children developed a greater understanding and appreciation of themselves and others.
week beginning 1st December
In Year 1, children have been developing their understanding of numbers to twenty. They have been exploring how numbers can be made using a “ten and a bit” structure, using ten frames and counters to help them visualise how numbers are built.
Children have also been revisiting their understanding of more and fewer to compare and order numbers within 20. They are beginning to explain their thinking using simple reasoning. For example, one child said:
“13 is less than 18 because I have to add 5 more on the number line to reach 18 from 13.”
This shows how children are starting to use number lines and mental strategies to compare numbers and understand the relationships between them.
This week in Art, children have been experimenting with colour mixing. They practised combining primary colours to create secondary colours and used a colour wheel to help them explore how colours relate to one another.
They also thought carefully about their painting techniques, including how much water to add and how to use a paintbrush with control to create neat, vibrant colours.
To finish, the children got festive by designing and making their own Christmassy window decorations for Class 1 — adding a cheerful seasonal touch to our classroom!
week beginning 8th December
This week, we recorded our observations from our bean germination experiment.
The children looked closely at how their beans had changed over time and compared their results with their friends. We discussed why some beans might have taken longer to germinate than others, thinking about factors such as water, light, and temperature.
We then used our scientific observations to help us begin writing our own independent non-fiction texts in literacy. The children enjoyed using real information from their experiment to plan and write factual sentences about how beans grow.
In maths, the children have been using cubes and other manipulatives during group discussions to order and compare numbers within 20.
They have been practising using key mathematical vocabulary such as more than, less than, greatest, and smallest, and are becoming increasingly confident in explaining their reasoning using these terms.
The children also practised counting forwards and backwards and continued number patterns, helping them deepen their understanding of number and place value.
week beginning 15th December
After weeks of practising and working hard on their lines and actions, Class One did a fantastic job singing and performing in our Christmas nativity, Santa’s Hat alongside the year 2s.
They all did themselves proud, showing great courage by standing up and performing in front of the whole school and their families. A truly festive performance — well done to everyone! 🎄✨
In Computing this term, Year 1 children have been learning how to stay safe online, including the importance of keeping passwords private and knowing how to seek help if they feel unsure about anything they see or do online. Building on this, the children practised logging into their Chromebooks using their own login details and passwords, developing their independence and confidence with technology. They also used Numbots to practise and strengthen their numeracy skills. Numbots is a fun, interactive resource that you can access at home to support your child’s number fluency. Your child’s login details can be found at the front of their reading record.
The children enjoyed taking part in a learning landscape to practise this term’s graphemes and common exception (tricky) words. They worked through a range of fun, hands-on activities, applying their phonics knowledge while building confidence and independence in reading and spelling.
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