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Catchgate

Primary School

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Outdoor learning

As a school, we are working together to achieve The Outdoor Learning Award.

We want children to grow in confidence and gain skills through learning outside. There are so many benefits of learning outdoors such as improved self-esteem, enriched language and a more rounded positive attitude to learning. 

 

We will be working toward 8 benchmarks over the coming months including promoting positive attitudes, parent engagement, regular learning across the curriculum and using our outdoor area safely and confidently.  

Forest Rangers

A team of committed, driven children work with Mrs Steadman and Mrs Carlyon every Thursday after school to gather evidence and experiences linking directly to the benchmarks. They discussed, designed and made a whole school mission statement which is displayed in every classroom and around school. 

A note from our Rangers...

 

"This half term we are currently working on Benchmark 3."- Lilly

"We are making posters to promote safe outdoor learning, showing what kit is needed to keep warm." -Leo

"A wooly hat is good to keep your heat in your body because it is like a chimney."- Lola

"Mittens and gloves keep your hands warm." - Reuben 

" Wellies and warm boots to keep your feet warm and dry from the snow and wet weather."  - Warren 

"A scarf or snood to keep your neck warm." - Chayce

"A thick and waterproof coat to keep you warm." - Maddison

" Jumpers and long sleeved layers, you can take them off outside but not put them on if you don't have them." - Ava 

"Long trousers, joggers and thermals to retain your body heat"- Warren

"Old clothes are best." - Leo

 

Enjoy having a look at the variety of ways we learn outdoors throughout the whole school, across all areas of the curriculum. 

2 year enjoying art, physical and music outdoors.

Nursery visiting the post office, strengthening our fine motor and talking with the people in our community.

Reception bird spotting.

Year 1 Designing rangoli patterns, careful counting and visiting the Re-fuse cafe.

Out in our local environment

Year 2L Hunting for shapes in and around school, regardless of the weather.

Year 3 Enjoying some well-earned play in a local park and moving to music outdoors.

Year 3 Enjoying a game in music

Year 4

Build our World- Week 2

As a school we have started our whole school topic for this half term, Early Years have enjoyed doing role play around the tuff trays to the story The Three Little Pigs. Reception have enjoyed doing number bonds to five using beanbags and then other natural resources. They have also enjoyed looking for the giant from Jack and the Beanstalk. Year three have been working on nouns and adjectives as part of their English lesson. 

A Nursery bus journey to Stanley, looking at our local town.

Year 5 

In year five we have carried out science experiments, thinking about air resistance. We found this tricky because of the heavy wind, but we worked well as a group.  

Year 2 

This week year two did some work on Algorithms, we used the MUGA to direct each other. 

Moving on different surfaces

Spelling Relay

Waterproof testing.

Year 3

We have been working on our measuring skills outdoors this week. This involved using a meter ruler and a trundle wheel. 

Eco workshop- creating wind turbines

Year 6

Today Year 6 went on a walk as part of their History lesson, they were looking closely at different buildings and bus shelters around our local area. They were comparing how the buildings and the bus shelters have changed from past to present day. 

Year 3

They have really enjoyed taking their math's outside, they have been working on time. So it was fantastic challenge seeing who could run the fastest, while their partner timed them on the Ipad. 

Year 4- This week we enjoyed learning our spellings outside

We have enjoyed doing some measuring outside today.

Reception 

 

Reception have enjoyed being builders this week

In Reception this week as part of our topic exploring our wonderful world, we went for a walk to compare our local environment to Kenya.

This week we have been working on 1 more and 1 less, it was so much fun pretending to get on and off the bus and then working out how many children were left.

Year 6 have taken their Art lesson outside this week, they have enjoyed using the paint brush to work on different stroke techniques to create different effects.

Snow Fun- Nursery

Year 1 - Taking our Maths outdoors.

Exploring our outdoor environment

Year 3

Year 1 - Learning our Spellings outdoors

Year 4- Taking our Geography outdoors

Math's - Grid reference

Summer Term

Year 2 - Looking for flowers

Year 2 - Mini Beast hunt

Year 3- Being musical outdoors

Nursery- exploring our local allotments to look for signs of Spring.

2 Year were so excited to go on a Mini Beast in our woodland area. We were so brave and caring when looking and investigating each individual insect.  

Year 2M - Taking our maths outdoors

Reception 

Year 1

Adding and subtracting - using natural resources

We enjoyed working with a partner to draw around each others outline using chalk.

We did music outside today, this involved learning some traditional songs.

Year 1 - taking our Maths outside using natural resources.

Reception- We love to learn outdoors

Year 3- Mrs Glover took us outside again this week, to learn another traditional song Upside Downsie.

Art - Observational drawings of living plants.

Year 1

We took our English lesson outside this morning, we really enjoyed doing a human alphabet. We had to work carefully together to make sure each letter of the alphabet was in the correct order. 

Marvellous Maths

Year 5

It was great to be outside this week learning our spellings, we really enjoyed writing our spellings using chalk.

We went outside and focused on understanding place value when looking at decimals.

Year 1