Simple activities are sometimes the best!

December 7, 2019 sabrinafayepinnockLeave a comment

My class loved entering the classroom this week and seeing a selection of Christmas books, a Christmas tree and advent calendars too.

I created an activity of wrapping boxes for Xmas presents and they absolutely loved it! The children dressed up like elves and wrapped the presents carefully. It also linked into the English lessons of using the language of first, next, then and finally!

I found this idea on an Instagram page so I tweaked it to fit our class puppet Gertrude. A simple assessment of finding out who can write their numbers and letters the write way around. It’s been a huge focus this week as some children are still finding it tricky.

Check out the link of this resource and download it for free on my resources page on Sunday!

I was amazed at how many children chose to sit and do this activity!

Dojo points definitely helped.. some children received 10.

The children have also been busy creating repeated patterns and using an iPad to capture it. The use of technology is great in provision. I often use them when the children build models too!

Just a few more weeks of the festive fun, we can do this!

#MissPinnock

The life of me

4 weeks on…rules and routines!

September 29, 2019 sabrinafayepinnock2 Comments

It is so important to establish rules and routines in the first half term of school. As I am in year 1 and having continuous provision (CP) within the curriculum, it has been crucial (but extremely hard work) to teach children how to look after resources and use them appropriately.

I can now see children tidying up the areas properly but most important effectively using the provision.

Child have used this area to practise writing sentence. They have problem solved by creating their own recipes and meals with their friends.

The small world area and construction areas provide open ended scrap resources. It has been great to see the children’s creativity as they design and create their own models and stories.

Children really do see things so different to how we as adults do, so their models have been pretty amazing and beyond what I could think of!

I have got to the point where I feel that I can teach small groups whilst the rest of the children are purposely learning through play.

Play is effective when it is at the right level, with activities children can access and also with some adult interaction!

We use class dojo points, this really helps as an incentive for children to stay focused and play purposely in all areas of provision. The best part is… its free to use too! Take a look by clicking the link.

More enhancements and posts of CP in Year 1 will continue!

#MissPinnock

The life of me

All set for Year one!

September 3, 2019September 29, 2019 sabrinafayepinnock6 Comments

After a super busy holidays, my classroom is finally ready for the year one children tomorrow.

After an amazing chat with Gregg, the author of the book ‘can I go and play now?’ I was eager to set up open ended provision for children. Children are imaginative, extremely creative and see things completely different to us adults. So why discourage this with closed activities and themes?

I have aimed to create a natural classroom, with open-ended play activities to encourage and value creativity and independence in play – whilst also meeting the objectives of the national curriculum!

I will be blogging about it throughout the year so I will keep you posted!

So this marks the first post. I am just going to post an insight into each area of provision I have created, with a bit of reasoning behind it….

My Notice board!

This has a few bits of useful information on such as a timetable and rota’s, along with some lovely motivational teacher gifts which I have previously received!

As a safety procedure it’s important to know the number of children in the class am and pm each day. I decided to link this into place value and maths. The children will count how many children are here in different ways and help write and discuss the amount too!

Maths talk is so important in building up understanding in mathematics, so having it as part of a routine is an easy way of children developing greater depth.

The maths area contains a range of resources that children can independently access.

There are challenges on the table tops for children to explore.

I have prepared the maths area as an assessment to see who can order numbers, recognise them and understand number bonds to 10.

As the children move on throughout year one, there will be written challenges based on maths mastery lessons and linked to the the White Rose maths schemes of work! This scheme has amazing ideas for developing understanding in maths.

I am really encouraging the fact that writing should be everywhere this year, and the children will be encouraged to use clipboards, create books and stories, write lists and letters in any area of provision linked to their own interests.

I have also created a stationery stop to influence children to pick up stationery and use it anywhere… as long at they tidy up too!!

I am super excited to have enough space in Year 1 to create a DT area. The children will independently set up their area with either junk materials or paints and create whatever they wish!

I am looking forward to displaying their artwork too and encouraging their creativity.

The construction area has developed over time and I am excited to enhance children’s creativity with loose parts, as well as blocks and Lego.

I have got some shelf space for children to display their models and further space on another unit for them to display their models too!

I know how frustrated children get when another child breaks their model, so hopefully this will help, as their model will be celebrated by the rest of the class before being destroyed!

The start of year one will begin with a home corner.

Children will relate to a familiar environment, but hopefully a more up levelled version!

I have added weighing scales, real life objects such as cornflake boxes and tin cans of soup. I have also added pasta and potatoes too! Which will link in well with our soup making later on in the half term.

I am eager to see how children play and respond to real life objects….

As part of a daily routine and another opportunity for maths talk, children will come in and vote for the book they would like to listen to at story time.

We will discuss the groups of more and less to begin with and move onto discussing ways of counting them linked to 2s, 5s and 10s.

This has been a tricky corner to think about.. I am starting off by encouraging fine motor skills and building up their development from EYFS.

As we move on into the year, this area will progress into investigations and research where iPads, books and resources will be used!

I strongly believe in writing being available in all areas of provision. So this time I have only considered a phonics area near the reading area.

I have tried to encourage reading by creating a cosy area for children to quietly read a book.

I have also added loose parts and wooden people to encourage children to creatively make up their own story in the small world area.

This week is a focus on getting to know the children and setting high expectations in provision!

Good luck to all of those going back…

#MissPinnock

The life of me

A trip to the seaside!

June 14, 2018 sabrinafayepinnock2 Comments

What great way to start the half term with a trip to the SEASIDE! This really helped to kick start our seaside theme, the children were amazed and loved seeing the clear blue sea, the soft sand and the seagulls of course!

It may seem surprising but to many children in my class this was there first ever experience of the seaside. This is what certainly made the exhaustion of the trip worthwhile!

After an amazing trip the learning of Geography and some aspects of History have been transferred within the classroom. The use of twinkl resources have really helped to support the vocabulary links of the seaside. I created an ice cream shop in the classroom to introduce coins and money. I also used real ice cream cones and twinkl’s key words to reinforce reading and language.

Twinkls resources for this was amazing! The pictures and text for the seaside range is both appropriate and accessible for all learners. But certainly as a teacher balancing the children’s development in year 1 and supporting the National Curriculum, the WORK LOAD of the resources are certainly worthwhile!

The children also found a crab at the seaside. They were full of fascination and questions too. As a follow up activity I have found a great crab paper plate craft on twinkl too!

I like the way it comes with instructions which reinforces children’s independence to read for purpose in order to make it.

Take a look or download it here:

Twinkl Crab Craft

I am looking forward to carrying out this activity and there will be more pictures to follow after completion!

Let me know your thoughts!

#MissPinnock

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Early writing -AP Literacy part 2!

February 5, 2018February 5, 2018 sabrinafayepinnockLeave a comment

So I recently blogged about my passion and eagerness to get started with all the things I have learnt through the training with Alison Philipson.

I feel like our ‘Theme’ subject in year one has had a great turn around. The children have formed simpler sentences and we have spent more time practising and creating actions for sentences before writing them down. This has allowed children to focus on remembering capital letters, full stops and finger spaces and we are just practising that non stop!

I also encourage children to use their environment to help them write. Including prompts and tricky words that are displayed on a working wall.

Here is an example of how the use of talk for writing has helped a child write independently:

We used talk for writing to create a recount of our winter walk.

As you can see, this child hasn’t constantly remembered to use capital letters and full stops but has attempted to use them in most sentences. This is a child that previously forgot to put them in at all without a prompt! This child has also done a brilliant job at using their phonics knowledge to spell words.

I think for the end of January this writing is great and I can’t wait to see the outcomes in July!

Many more writing outcomes to come!

I have also set up an assessment folder based on AP Literacy assessment. It gives a clear link to the National Curriculum and where a child is at if they are working towards, meeting or greater depth.