Maths main lesson... and Christmas!

Here's stuff that I've done.. but today when i go back to settle the classroom, i'll take photos of what the kids have done in the ML books. They are stunning!

Baba Yaga

The kids loved the Baba Yaga stories, which then led on to the Baba Yaga games. We used these to do multiplication, division, addition and subtraction. Basically they had to escape from Baba Yaga by doing chores for her. Like sorting the gifts collected along the road and counting in threes and eventually sevens. There was a lot of screaming and yelling... as usual. I think the kids actually prefer the maths main lessons to the English ones!!

Gingerbread house

 It was universally declared that the Christmas party we had in our classroom was the best Christmas party ever on account of the gingerbread house. It lived for less than 24 hours!

The Fool of the World and the Flying Ship

Getting ready for Advent!

Getting ready for Advent...stars start to emerge

More beeswax...

New nature table

12 dancing princesses underground world -
diresctly inspired by trip to Venice

New Advent song

Mary and Joseph make their way to Bethlehem

Spinning!!!

Drop spindles

Spinning wheel

Used to teach maths - can u spot the 12th princess and the soldier?

Diorama to teach multiples of 2, 3 and 4

It is now the Maths main lesson. Now that we have learnt the four operations etc, it is about having fun with numbers! So most recently we made twelve pairs of shoes per pair - like the Elves and the Shoemaker - a story i recently told - and then did division - but of course i didn't call it division. Next week we will do multiplication - but it is all about getting the ol mental maths working in their heads by getting the body to do the work.

In the unabridged Brothers' Grimm version of the Elves and Shoemaker the elves are two naked little men - and i left this detail in - usually they are clothed in rags, and of course the children found this incredibly funny. I thought it was a harmless funny, but i do apologise if the children keep talking about naked elves.

We also finished off our wildlife garden. We weeded, raked, put in a bird table, made birdfood and THEN we sowed some garden wildflower mix, some countryside wildflower mix (like redshank and quinoa), and then LOTS and LOTS of flax. I can't wait to harvest some of the flax to show where linen comes from!

Today is the Advent festival - our classroom has been turned into the Crystal Forest. Come along to experience some wonderful Advent spirit!