Year 2: Blog items
Date: 22nd Nov 2021 @ 5:15pm
Today, Year 2 had a visit from some Firefighters. Figherfighter Luke, Firefighter Nathan and Firefighter Josie taught us all about their role as a Firefighter and made us think about all the different jobs they do from putting out fires to rescuing animals that might have got stuck; they also showed us the different equipment they would use in all these different situations. Then, they taught us some vital skills to ensure we keep ourselves safe in our home and community, the importance of a smoke alarm and we learnt how to help ourselves if an item of our clothing caught on fire- Stop, Drop and Roll. Lastly, they got us to practise our new knowledge of what to do if there is a fire in our house by completing some role play. Miss Duckworth and Miss Hooson were proud of how well the children listened and engaged with the Firefighters and how much they learnt.
Date: 19th Nov 2021 @ 3:59pm
Today, alongside the rest of school, Year 2 celebrated Children in Need. This morning, we all dressed in spots or stripes and we joined in with the Joe Wicks live Children in Need workout combining 20 minutes of exercising with answering different general knowledge questions. This afternoon, we joined the rest of school in assembly to learn about the importance of Children in Need, who it supports in our local community and why we fundraise for the cause. To end the day on some fun, in the true Children in Need style, we performed the Hand Jive. We had lots of fun dancing but also remembered why we raise money.
Date: 19th Nov 2021 @ 3:43pm
This week was Anti-Bullying Week. On Monday, we began the week with an assembly to introduce our focus 'One Kind Word' and we all wore a colourful accessory. We also wrote notes to someone who has helped us to say thank you. When we had all finished, we went to the Kindness Post Box and posted them to be delivered to their recipients. Later in the week, we used the Now Press Play equipment to act out a story about kindness. All the children knew when Safia (one of the main characters) wasn't displaying kindness and we all chose the kind thing to do.
We are living in a material world...
Date: 13th Nov 2021 @ 2:34pm
This half term, our Year Two Science focus is Everyday Materials. This week we took our learning outside as we went on a material hunt. We were looking for items made from common everyday materials such as wood, plastic, metal, glass and paper. We also began to discuss the propetries of each of these materials such as whether they were hard or soft, rough or smooth, transparent or opaque. We found lots of items made from metal, plastic and wood but very few items made from glass and none made from paper which began to make us think about the durability of different materials.
Date: 13th Nov 2021 @ 2:09pm
Year Two have been working hard on developing their understanding of adding and subtracting a 1-digit number to and from a 2-digit number. We have been using lots of concrete resources such as Base 10, tens frames and place value counters to help us fully understand the concept of addition and subtraction within 100. We will be building on this knowledge throughout the half term and our end goal is to be able to accuratley add and subtract two 2-digit numbers.
Date: 12th Nov 2021 @ 4:27pm
Year Two have been working hard on developing their fundemental skills since returning this half term. This week our focus was on improving our skills when kicking a ball. We practised hard kicking the ball with both our left and right feet. We had to think carefully about how hard we were kicking in order to control where the ball was going. We also had to think about which part of our body we wanted to make contact with the ball first. We quickly realised that getting the ball in a target was not as easy as it first seemed. Generally, we made great progress and displayed a positive attitude towards improving our skills.
Date: 12th Nov 2021 @ 4:15pm
As part of our whole school Remembrance, Year Two made poppies to plant in our Remembrance Garden. Each poppy held the name of a soldier that was lost in the Great War. We discussed the importance of Remembrance and why we remember those who have lost their lives in past conflicts.
Year Two were also lucky enough to recieve a visit from a veteran soldier, Mike Warren. He told us about his medals and what the poppy symbolises. He also gave us some information about the Bristish Legion and how they help to support ex-service people. He brought in some artefacts from World War I that we will be looking at in more detail during our History topic of Remembrance.
Date: 12th Nov 2021 @ 3:39pm
This week, as part of Remembrance, Year 2 created paintings of a poppy field. In History, we have been learning about why we wear a poppy to remember Soldiers who lost their lives and created paintings of the poppies in Flander's Field. This was a brilliant opportunity to learn about Primary Colours to allow us to make the colour green. We also discussed the importance of creating poppies different sizes depending on their position within the field. Miss Duckworth and Miss Hooson were very impressed with the end results.
Date: 1st Nov 2021 @ 4:32pm
As an introduction to our new History topic - Remembrance - Year 2 made Peg Soldiers. To do this we used dolly pegs and wrapped them in wool to create their uniform before we added some pipe cleaners decorated with wool for the soldiers arms. Lastly, we cut some felt and created hats and drew faces on our soldiers. It wasn't as easy as the children first thought but Miss Duckworth and Miss Hooson were impressed with the Growth Mindset displayed by all.
Date: 21st Oct 2021 @ 5:01pm
Over the past three weeks, Year 2 have been getting their hands dirty and enjoying learning outside. In the first session, the children explored the different outdoor areas and enjoyed making cake and other treats in the mud kitchen as well as doing some leaf painting. During the second week, we built dens and bird boxes for next year before learning to light a fire so we could cook apples and dip them in melted chocolate of caramel. This week, both classes learnt about the cardinal directions (North, East, South and West) and what each one represents. We created pieces inspired by Andy Goldsworthy to represent the Earth (North), Air (East), Fire (South) and Water (West). Lastly, we enjoyed toasting marshmallows. We have enjoyed our three weeks outside and look forward to our next sessions in the Summer.
Date: 21st Oct 2021 @ 4:53pm
Today, Year 2 experienced a musical treat. Travelling by Tuba brought their musical expertise to Boundary. First, we watched them perform a show where they played different instruments from different time periods and told us about where they came from. After the show, we enjoyed a workshop where we played different instruments. Elm created a musical masterpiece to a Spanish Tango meanwhile Birch created a Brazillian Samba. Miss Duckworth and Miss Hooson were impressed with all the children's participation and listening skills.
Date: 14th Oct 2021 @ 4:55pm
This week, Year Two have begun working on addition and subtraction during their Maths lessons. One challenge we enjoyed this week was to work together to 'check' a mix of addition and subtraction calculations. We worked collaboratlively, using number-lines, 100 squares and Numicon to sort calculations into 'True' or 'False' We did a brilliant job working together and discussing our mathematical reasoning.
Date: 14th Oct 2021 @ 4:45pm
As part of Black History Month, Year Two have been finding out about the amazing Rosa Parks. We found out about her life and how she was treated as a black person living in Alabama in the 1950's. We learned about how Rosa's actions sparked the 'Bus Boycott', which in turn helped to bring about a change in equality laws. We made links between her actions and our character curriculum and we discussed how she was brave, resilient, courageous, self-controlled and a great leader.
Date: 14th Oct 2021 @ 4:17pm
Over this half term Year two have been learning about ways to keep ourselves healthy. We have been learning about how sleep, excercise, a balanced diet and looking after our mental wellbeing are all important parts of staying healthy. This week our focus was on hygiene. We took part in a little experiment where we covered our hands in glitter to represent how bacteria can spread so easily if we do not wash our hands properly. We also practsied a good hand-washing regime.
Date: 6th Oct 2021 @ 3:54pm
Today, Year 2 explored their Science topic of Animals and their habitats further. We were aliens from another planet searching for another habitat and we had lost our co-pilot Shift. Whilst exploring the different habitats we encountered a variety of animals that would be found in that habitat. As we strolled through the rainforest a monkey helped us swing between trees and we grew feathers to keep warm in the Arctic. Miss Hooson and Miss Duckworth were impressed with the everyone's listening skills.
Date: 6th Oct 2021 @ 8:24am
On Tuesday 5th October, alongside the rest of School, Year 2 put all pens and pencils away for the day. This allowed us to concentrate on our listening and communication skills and we all enjoyed lots of valuable discussion. In Reading into Writing, we sorted different letters by their features and tried to help the postman by putting the correct letters back together and in Maths we continued practicing counting in 2's, 5's and 10's by creating number lines. We also re-capped all the things we have learnt so far about Christianity in RE focusing on creation and how the world is changed. Miss Duckworth and Miss Hooson were impressed with the discussions that took place across the day- well done Year 2!
Date: 1st Oct 2021 @ 4:44pm
On Thursday, alongside the rest of School, Year 2 participated in Election Day. Throughout the week, children from both classes presented a manifesto to their peers before an anonymous vote was made in the hall. We also had a special Election Day dinner and discussed democracy and it's importance.
Miss Duckworth and Miss Hooson were proud of all the children for participating and congratulating their winners who are:
Elm - Miya
Birch - Elsie
Well done girls!
Date: 28th Sep 2021 @ 4:53pm
Yesterday, alongside the rest of School we celebrated European Day of Languages. We began the day learning about who can celebrate it and why we celebrate the 24 different languages that are spoken across the European Union. Then, we moved on to learning some simple phrases in Italian and learnt that they have a formal (Salve) and informal (ciao) way of saying hello; we also learnt that 'buon giorno' means good morning, 'Per favore' is please and 'grazie' means thank you. Finally, we placed Italy on a map, learnt the meaning of the flag as well as having a look at their culture.
Date: 25th Sep 2021 @ 9:39am
This half term, Year Two have began learning about healthy lifestyles and thinking about all the things we do to keep ourselves healthy. The children all drew pictures of the things they do to keep themselves healthy and wrote some sentences to accompany it. Miss Duckworth and Miss Hooson were impressed with the answers the children came up with and we discussed how the amount of sleep we get, eating a balanced diet, speaking about our feelings as well as making sure we challenge ourselves is all included in keeping ourselves healthy.
Date: 22nd Sep 2021 @ 9:52pm
This half term, Year Two have been enjoying a dance unit focused on animals. We have been listening to different styles of music and moving like a range of animals including lions, elephants, giraffes and monkeys. We have shared lots of ideas about how these animals might move and we have been couting in sets of 8 to try and ensure we move in sync with our partners. We have been working togtether to create our own motifs and Miss Hooson and Miss Duckworth have been very impressed with our creativity and enthusiasm.
Date: 17th Sep 2021 @ 3:29pm
This week, Year Two have been learning about two Sculptors called Andy Goldsworthy and Dale Chihuly. We have been learning about the personal lives of both Sculptors as well as identifying the different materials they used for their amazing work. We learnt that although Andy Goldsworthy uses natural materials for his sculptures in comparison to Dale Chihuly using glass, both have a passion to create their sculptures to fit in with the environment.
You can count on me, like 1, 2, 3...
Date: 15th Sep 2021 @ 8:18pm
Year Two have been working really hard on understanding place value in numbers up to 100. We have been counting on and back within 100 and thinking about how many tens and how many ones make up different 2-digit numbers. We have been using a range of manipulatives, such as bead strings, place value counters, Base 10, Numicon and tens frames, to show different 2-digit numbers.
Date: 10th Sep 2021 @ 3:40pm
As an introduction to our new Design Technology topic in which we will be creating healthy fruit snacks we spent the afternoon tasting different fruits such as pineapple, mango, strawberries, kiwi and Honey Dew melon alongside some other common fruits. After tasting the different fruits we came up with some words to describe the look, smell and taste of each fruit such as: sour, sweet, crunchy, delicious, succulent, yummy, round and disgusting. Despite not liking them all, everybody tried a little of everything.
Date: 9th Sep 2021 @ 8:29pm
Year Two have had a great first week! We had fun combining our Science topic on Living things and our Art topic on Sculpture, to create some interesting animal sculptures. We cut, folded and shaped paper to create some fantastic, colourful creatures. Then we got super sticky when we were challenged to create an animal sculpture from marshmallows and cocktail sticks. We all showed a great Growth Mindset, trying our best and helping each other.
Date: 16th Jul 2021 @ 1:27pm
Year Two had a fantastic final session with Forest School this week. We had fun mixing potions and making food in the mud kitchen area. We refreshed our knotting skills from earlier in the year by using rope and tarpaulin to create a teepee. We picked and ate our own wild fruits including raspberries, blackberries and goosebeeries. Then we consolidated our Science knowledge of food chains, prey and predators with an exciting game of 'Hungry Squirrel'.
As a special end of year treat, we sang songs around the campfire as we all took turns to melt marshmellows to make delicious s'mores.
