The Colour Monster, by Anna Llenas

“Today the colour monster is feeling very mixed up. He’s yellow, blue, red, black and green all at once. Can you help him?”

This lovely book has helped us to explore our feelings in a fun way, and has helped us to come up with strategies to move between the different zones. If we’re in the green zone and are feeling calm, we can do some stretches and plan our next steps to make sure we are ready to learn. If we are in the blue zone, we can move around to give us some energy. We know if we are in the yellow zone, we can do some calming breathing exercises, and in the red zone, we can use different objects to calm us down. The children have made spinners for their tables to show the adults how they are feeling at different times of the day.

This has been a fun and gentle way to explore our feelings and to understand what changes make us move from zone to zone. The children have thoroughly enjoyed learning about emotions and how we can help ourselves each day!

Year 4 have started reading Malamander by Thomas Taylor. This book is about an Eerie-on-sea mystery where nothing is as it seems. In the basement of the Grand Nautlius hotel a mysterious girl crashes into Herbie Lemon's room crying 'hide me'. And out beyond the pier, something stirs. Could the legendary malamander have returned? 

Year 4 say they are 'intrigued' and 'excited to find out what happens' in this mysterious book!

Right now in class we are reading Beetle Boy by M.G. Leonard, and I think it is awesome and a bit creepy (in a good way). The story is about a boy called Darkus whose dad disappears in a strange accident. Darkus goes to live with his uncle, but everything feels wrong and secretive. Then Darkus finds a giant black beetle in his room, and that is when the story gets really exciting.

The beetle is not like a normal beetle at all. Darkus can actually understand it, and they become friends. He also meets two kids called Virginia and Bertolt who love insects as much as he does. Together they start to investigate what really happened to Darkus’s dad. There is also a very scary villain called Lucretia Cutter, who loves beetles but in a mean and evil way. She really creeps me out.

My favourite part is how much the book teaches you about insects without it feeling like a lesson. I like how brave Darkus is, even though he is sad and confused. The book makes me feel tense because there are lots of secrets and close escapes.

I predict that Darkus will discover the truth about his dad and that the beetles will help save him. I also think there will be a big battle between the good beetles and the bad ones. I can’t wait to find out what happens next! 

In Nursery we are reading the story ' We're Going on a Bear Hunt'. The children have been enjoying the family's excitement as they wade through the grass, splash through the river and squelch through the mud in search of a bear!

"We're going on a bear hunt

We're going to catch a big one.

What a beautiful day!

We're not scared..."

Billy says: "I like splashing in the deep, cold river!"

Nour says: "We can't go under it and we can't go over it!"

Bonnie says: "I like running away from the bear!"

Alien in the Jam Factory by Chrissie Sains

An Alien in the Jam Factory, by Chrissie Sains, is a book about Scooter, a creative boy with cerebral palsy, who invents amazing recipes at his family's jam factory. Scooter really wants a friend and one day he gets one when a tiny alien, Fizzbee, crash-lands into the factory. They team up to stop their sneaky rival, Daffy Dodgy, from stealing the jam secrets!

Here are some of the comments from the Year 2 children:

Courtney says “I like this book because it was funny when Fizzbee tried the different jams and changed colour.”

Levi added on to this by saying how “crazy” Fizzbee became after she tried the blueberry jam because “she started bouncing like a tiny bouncy ball.”

Dennis liked how the alien “broke through the factory window and just appeared from nowhere!”

Prince said he liked how the alien had a “good plan to help Scooter make the edible bubbles.”

The children have really enjoyed our new book ‘Am I yours.’ By Alex Latimer.

We have read the story and talked about the author, character, setting and

sequenced the order of the story. The children have enjoyed learning about

dinosaurs and volcanos.

In our focus activities we have done volcano experiments, talked about volcanos

and what they are. Made clay dinosaurs, painted dinosaurs and much more.

“A tyrannosaurus has sharp teeth.” – Says Raemarni

“The book is set in the mountains and there are volcanos.” – say D’esire

‘The pterosaur is scared he can’t find his parents.’ – Mark

In Year 5, during guided reading, we are currently reading a book called Black and British: A forgotten history. Black and British is a non-fiction book about the history of black people over time and the hardships they faced. This book was written by award winning historian and broadcaster David Olusoga which includes a range of maps, photos and portraits which the children have really enjoyed looking at. 

The children have had lots of interesting questions about how the world worked many years ago and lots of class discussions have been had based on some of the talking points throughout. 

Anisha Accidental Detective

"I've been working sooo hard with Milo and Govi to make our super-erupting volcano for the school science fair. I really thought we might win first prize - a trip to the National Space Centre. But now we're in BIG trouble.

One minute we were in the lab practising our science demo, and the next thing we knew, our volcano exploded and flooded the corridors. School had to be cancelled!

But did we really get our project so wrong - or is someone else trying to win first prize? Looks like a case for Anisha, Accidental Detective!"

Scarlet says it's an amazing adventure filled with lots of friends. 

Well, hello. Welcome to this Planet.

We call it Earth. Our world can be a bewildering place, especially if you’ve only just got here. Your head will be filled with questions, so let’s explore what makes our planet and how we live on it.

The children have thoroughly enjoyed this book and have loved looking at the different elements which make up Earth. We have explored our individuality and know that we are all unique – which is what makes us all wonderful!

We have looked at writing short sentences with capital letters, finger spaces and full stops, and are now looking at adding in adjectives! The children have written a character description about a Queen and are currently writing a description about their own character which they have made up!

Kayden states, “my character loves yellow. She has yellow hair, bright clothes, and stripey, yellow shoes!”

Abigail says, “I like the book. It’s nice to see the different parts of the World.”

Ayla says, “my character is a pink princess. She has a fluffy skirt and pink hair.”

This year we are starting our DEAR  by reading Planet Omar Accidental Trouble Magnet by Zainab Main. This is a wonderful story about a young boy from a family of scientists that moves to a new house and a new school. The boy faces challenges of meeting new children in his new school and not feeling too confident about being the new student. He has an older sister that seems to have all the confidence in the world and he feels a bit awkward. Omar has the most wonderful imagination which we can see from the amazing illustrations in the book. The way this story is written, makes the children relate to Omar's experience and captures their curiosity. 

Braxton : I love Omar's imagination. He's rather funny

Alice: I don't want to stop reading it.

Here we are by Oliver Jeffers

‘Here We Are’ is an utterly heartfelt read and an optimistic snapshot of contemporary life. Written as a manual to life on Earth from new dad Oliver Jeffers to his baby son, this simple, life-affirming picture book is both an overview of Earth and a guide to living well.

Trey – This is an amazing book as it educates us on how to not pollute and take care of our planet.

Freddie – This is a good book as it educates young people about the Earth.

Olivia – 5 stars – because it makes you see the world differently.

"My name is August.

I won't describe what I look like.

Whatever you're thinking.

It's probably worse."

What do year 5 think so far?

Mthobeli: "I like the character August because even though he struggles with how his face looks, he's still trying to go to school, so he's being resilient".

Charlotte: " I like that people are trying to help him fit in because he isn't confident at first" 

Charlie: "I think Wonder is great because there are lots of helpful characters in the book"

Abdul: " I wasn't sure if I'd like this book at first but it is much better than I thought. I like that Jack is really funny and a class clown"

Tommy and his sister Annika have a new neighbor, and her name is Pippi Longstocking. She has crazy red pigtails, no parents to tell her what to do, a horse that lives on her porch, and a flair for the outrageous that seems to lead to one adventure after another!

This what the children had to say…

"Pippi is kind and she has lots of friends"! Dahlia 3CL

" ts an adventurous story!" Riven 3CL

Year 2 Dive into the World of Fantastic Mr Fox!

Year 2 have been thoroughly enjoying their latest class read, Fantastic Mr Fox by the brilliant Roald Dahl! With its clever characters, exciting twists and just the right amount of mischief, this book has captured our children’s imagination.

We are currently just about to begin Chapter 11 and the excitement is building as Mr Fox continues to outsmart the nasty farmers Boggis, Bunce and Bean.

The children have loved the story so far, especially the way Mr Fox is being very clever to trick the horrible, mean farmers.

Here is what some of our children have said about the story so far:

“Mr Fox is really clever and the farmers are so silly!” – Reggie

“I like how funny the story is!” – Hadiya

“I can’t wait to find out what Mr Fox is going to do next!” – Daniel

We have had many great discussions about the story, including predicting what is going to happen next after each chapter.

Stay tuned to find out what happens next as we burrow deeper into this fantastic adventure!

'Well hello and welcome to this planet, we call it Earth'

We are currently reading 'Here We Are' along with the whole school and really enjoying it! We have learnt lots about land and sea, different animals, our bodies, day and night and different families. 

Mark says: 'We live on planet earth!'

Freya said: 'We need to look after our bodies, we have to eat, drink and stay warm.'

Joshua said: 'The author writes the words in a story, the author is Oliver Jeffers.'

In Nursery, we are currently reading ‘The Three Little Pigs’.

‘A perfect introduction to timeless and treasured stories.’

Nursery are really enjoying reading ‘The Three Little Pigs’. During our discussion of the story:

Joshua said, ‘My house is made of bricks, so it is super strong.’

Freya said, ‘The big bad wolf is scary.’

Pola said, ‘I have seen pigs at the farm.’

In Year 4, we are reading 'Alex vs Axel' by Sam Copeland.This is a book about two boys who magically swap places, needy nerd Alex is thrust into an epic quest to save the world of Aerth.

Alice says 'This is a magical, mysterious book which shocked me.'

Shahzaib says 'I find this book has some scary and surprising parts.' 

In Year 5 we are currently reading 'A Kind of Spark' by Ellie McNicoll. 

The story follows Addie, an 11-year-old autistic girl, who learns about the history of witch trials in her Scottish hometown.

Inspired by the mistreatment of the women accused of witchcraft, Addie becomes determined to raise a memorial for them, fighting for justice and understanding while experiencing her own struggles with prejudice and bullying.

Our predictions for the book: 

I think that Addie will eventually save enough money to buy the memorial for the witches. Lois 5TH 

I think Addie will be rejected and not raise the money and instead will learn how to be a witch! Temisan 5TH 

Anisha Accidental Detective- school's cancelled!

I've been working SOOOO hard with Milo and Govi to make our SUPER-ERUPTING volcano for the school science fair. I really thought we might win first prize- a trip to the National Space Centre! But now we're in BIG trouble.

One minute we were in the lab practising our science demo, and the next thing we knew, our volcano EXPLODED and FLOODED the corridors. School had to be CANCELLED!

But did we really get our project so wrong- or is someone else trying to win first prize? Looks like a case for ANISHA, ACCIDENTAL DETECTIVE!

Quotes:

Nabeiha- "I love this book because it's about science and it makes me want to be a scientist just like them!"

Havana-  "I think this book is interesting because it's trying ot solve a mystery and I love mystery books"

Sulwe by Lupita Nyongo

     Sulwe has skin the colour of midnight.

    She is darker than everyone in her family. She is darker than   anyone in her school. Sulwe just wants to be beautiful and bright, like her mother and sister. Then a magical journey in the night sky opens her eyes and changes everything!

Year 1 really showed their maturity and empathy whilst reading this beautiful tale. Some of the children have found it very moving and they have listened and expressed their emotions with each other. We have spoken about friendships and the importance of self love.

Declan said " I like day and night being friends. Day didn't want night to leave on her own."

Muhammad- Yousaf said "It makes me heartbroken that she was paining her skin because she was sad".

Ezana  said- " The star showed her a story about day being good and night being bad, but we need day and night.

Aiza said - " I liked this book because the star showed Sulwe her brightness!"