Today we were lucky enough to get a visit from Zoo Lab. We saw giant snails, rats, snakes, cockroaches and tarantulas. Pupils all held or touched the animals. They had a great time. Some of the animals even got a special elbow bump from one of our pupils!
The pupils in 11W have shown their support to the England team today by making bucket hats and England cakes. They have practised their fine motor skills in lots of different ways, i.e. helping to use a ruler, painting with a paint brush and mixing with a spoon. We wish England well on Sunday. Come on England!
Today 11W had a day at beach! As we couldn’t go in person, we brought the beach into the classroom. We started off the day by decorating England flags to go into our sandcastles. We then went in the sand and the sea. The pupils listened to the sea in the shells. We had a sandcastle competition and Lesley judged the winner. It even began to rain just like a typical day at the British seaside! Nicola and Rita had to shelter with an umbrella! We had fish and chips for lunch followed by an ice cream topped with sprinkles, sauce and a flake! They were delicious! We had a great day.
In 11W we have used an old piece of wood and plastic bottle tops to create a tulip for the sensory garden. First we painted the wood, then varnished it. Finally we used the drill and hammer to attach the bottle tops to the wooden flower. We hung it in the sensory garden for everyone to enjoy.
In 11W we are learning about recycling. We used old plastic bottles and old socks to make bubble blowers. We cut the bottoms off the bottles and cover the ends with our old socks. We then dipped the bottles into washing up liquid mixed with florescent power paints. We then blew into the bottles and made long bubble snakes. We had lots of fun but made lots of mess!
11W had another great sensory music session with Jo from the Durham Music Service this morning. This is a weekly session for pupils who have PMLD to help to further develop listening, interaction and choice making skills. This half term our topic has been nature. Pupils explore different instruments, textures and sounds (some louder than others – sorry to our neighbours !) Jo has been inspired by Alfred Lord Tennyson’s poem “The Brook” to create a multi sensory music session which all of the pupils enjoy. The staff think it is fab too ! Check out the video links below. (RRS Article 31)
In 8L today, we played the drum with our drumsticks, we placed different objects onto the drum and watched how they jumped into the air. We had lots of fun and we made lots of noise.
We have been very busy in the sensory garden, we continue to look after our plants. As part of our topic Re-create, we are learning about water conservation. We recycle rain water from the water butts to water our seedlings in the greenhouse. This week we have had a special task, we have transformed a flower bed and planted lots of beautiful plants in memory of our friend Ryan. We planted a special red Rose named “Thinking of you” in Ryan’s memory. We are looking forward to watch our flowers grow.
11w are working on improving their fine motor skills. We had to concentrate to thread Cheerios carefully onto pipe cleaners. We then bent the pipe cleaners into circle shapes and attached string. We went out into the Sensory garden and hung them on the trees for the birds to enjoy. We also made bird food by mixing different types of seeds with lard. It was a messy job but we all enjoyed using our hands to manipulate the mixture. We had to press the mixture into the old tubs we have recycled. We will watch the birds enjoy their food out of our classroom window.
For our ASDAN Transition Challenge we are learning how to look after 3 chicks Pip, Lavender and Willow. They are 2 weeks old now and are growing very fast.
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