Y2 Spring

WB: 06.01.25

2 Maathai were all really excited to be back after the Christmas break-  sharing all of the wonderful things they got up to whilst at home!

Design and Technology 🚘

The children successfully applied their knowledge of transport and its environmental impact to design an environmentally friendly wheeled vehicle for the future.  They then built their designs selecting appropriate tools and materials. They particularly enjoyed learning how to use a hand saw to cut the wooden dowels to the correct length they needed.  They will now evaluate the cars they have built considering how successful their design was and how well they constructed it.

Temperature

W/B 13.01.25

2 Maathai have started a new chapter in Maths and are learning about temperature and thinking about what we might use to measure temperature. We looked at a thermometer used for measuring the temperature of water and how to read and write the temperature indicated and introduced the sign for degrees Celsius. We learned that temperature is determined by counting the number of units.

Fire brigade workshop

W/B 20.01.25

On Tuesday, we had a special visit from London Fire Brigade. 2 Maathai met a real firefighter and learnt all about fire safety and how to stay safe in the event of a fire. Some of us knew really important safety tips already which was fantastic. Everyone went through firefighter training and passed with flying colours! It is really important that everyone is aware of the little things we can do in our homes to prevent a fire. Every child took home a fire safety plan to discuss with their adults at home, so do take a look and work through the checklist to ensure your home is as safe as possible! 

This week, 2 Maathai visited the Ragged School Museum where they traveled back in time to 1885! The children were taught by Ms.Perkins who had a very different approach to teaching! Some thought she was really strict and were surprised to learn that Victorian children would be hit with a cane if they misbehaved or did not complete their work. It was an extremely eye opening experience for everyone and all the children agree they much prefer school in 2025 than 1885!

For the second half of the workshop, the children 'visited' a Victorian home. They all got to see how Victorians lived and were shocked that a big family would all live in one room without any access to fresh water or even a toilet. They realised very quickly that the Victorian people didn't smell very nice and good hygiene was not common practice back then due to the lack of washing facilities and items such as soap and soap powder. 

There is so much that 2 Maathai learned and experienced -please do ask them to tell you more!

Children's Mental Health Week

To mark children's mental health week, 2 Maathai joined an online assembly with thousands of other schools in the country. It was amazing to be a part of something so big! The theme this year was Know Yourself, Grow Yourself, with the aim to equip and empower children and young people across the UK to embrace self-awareness and explore what it means to them. We had a team of students on the Wellbeing Team come to our class and help us identify how we feel and what strategies we can use to regulate ourselves. We all made identity trees which included all of the different things that make us an individual and how we would like to continuing growing in the future. We also played Zones of regulation bingo.

Valentines Day

As some of the children in 2 Maathai said they would be celebrating Valentines Day with their families, the class decided to make some cards thanking people in their life who make them smile! 

Money

This week in Maths, we have been focusing on money. We have explored all of the notes and coins that we use in the UK so that children are familiar with the currency. We have then looked at how to count money and even how to make different amounts in as many ways possible! The children have enjoyed using the plastic coins and notes with their partners when solving challenging problems. We will continue our focus on money next week.

Science Week!

On Friday, the Year 2 students had an amazing time exploring all sorts of fun and exciting experiments! They started the day by blowing bubbles on their desks, watching in wonder as the bubbles floated and popped all around them. It was so much fun to see how big they could make their bubbles and how the light shone through them in all sorts of beautiful colors! Then, the children tried separating ink using special paper, and it was like magic as they saw the different colors in the ink spread out and form rainbow patterns. The excitement didn’t stop there! The students also got to design their very own peppered moths. They thought carefully about how the moths could blend into different backgrounds to stay safe from predators. Some moths had dark colors to blend with tree bark, while others had lighter shades to match the leaves. It was such a wonderful day full of learning, creativity, and hands-on science, and the children couldn’t wait to share their discoveries with their friends and teachers! Everyone had so much fun and learned a lot about how science is all around us. 

Instruments from around the world

This week, the children have been exploring the lives of their peers across different continents, focusing on the role of song and musical instruments in various cultures. They have learned about how children in countries like Brazil, India, Kenya, Spain, South America and Trinidad use music as a form of expression, communication, and tradition. By exploring the types of instruments children in these countries play, such as drums in Africa or sitars in India, they’ve gained insight into the importance of music in daily life. This ties into the child's right to play, as outlined in the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, which emphasises that play is vital to a child's development and well-being. This unit links directly to our school thread 'Our Rights' which aim to help the children understand their rights in the world. Music and song are fundamental ways children around the world engage in play, fostering creativity, building social connections, and enriching their cultural experiences. Everyone had the chance to play some of these instruments with the Djembe drum and Steel pan drum being the class favourite!

Games from around the world

This week we looked into the games that children from the world play and decided we should give them a try and see how much fun they are! We played 'Kiss the stick' and ' Catch the dragons tail' from Asia, 'Ampe' from Africa, 'Everything with feathers flies' from Europe and a few more. Our favourite game was 'kiss the stick' as we enjoyed hiding and running away when our friends tried to catch us. It was great to relate to children around the world!