Fáilte go Naíonáin Shóisearacha (1)
Junior Infants (1) Ms. Brannigan
Welcome to our class page!
- Our PE days are Monday and Friday. Please ensure the children are wearing appropriate footwear for running on these days.
- If you have any questions big or small please do not hesitate to contact me at: ms.m.brannigan@haroldscrossns.ie
April
Science Week
March
☘️ Seachtain na Gaeilge ☘️
World Book Day 🌎 📕
February
Science- Planting Cress seeds 🌱
In science we have been learning about the different parts of a plant as well as how plants grow. The children explored school garden, observed their surroundings and identified different plant parts. We then brainstormed what the plant needed to grow and planted our own cress seeds. Finally we completed a procedural writing task to sequence how to plant a cress seed.
Gaeilge
Glan nó salach?
For this activity the children decided whether the clothes would be glan (clean) or salach (dirty).
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January
Aistear topic: Houses & Homes 🏡
This month we have been learning about houses and homes. We looked at different types of homes for humans and animals.
Then we thought about how different houses are built. The children created a variety of homes including homes found in cities, hot countries, in the countryside etc. We even worked on fixing up houses using tools, adding solar panels and decorating kitchens! Take a look at some of our photos below.
Maths
In maths this month we are partitioning sets. This is an important skill we need to learn before we start combining. Using paper plates we made sets using teddies, camels and dinosaurs. We then used our straws to partition the sets the sets in different ways. We used lots of mathematical language to explain what we were doing as we progressed.
Dance
December
Exploring the snow and the season of Winter on our nature walk.
Santa’s Visit
November
Music 🎶
In music this month, we looked at a variety of instruments from the percussion family including cymbals, triangles, woodblocks, tambourines, maracas and castanets. The children then performed as a class orchestra. They sounded fantastic!
We worked on recognising loud and soft sounds as well as the difference between fast and slow tempos.
Aistear
This month’s Aistear theme was ‘School’. The children worked in their groups, trying out a different station each day. The children designed different school buildings in the construction station. Role-play involved working in the secretary’s office, phoning the principal & playing the teacher. Our sensory, messy play area consisted of sand and play dough. The children created different items that can be found in school. Teamwork is an important skill that we have been focusing on this month.
Art
Baa Baa Black Sheep inspired art
October
Oíche Shamhna Shona Daoibh go léir!
We were very busy celebrating Halloween in Junior Infants (1)
In Aistear we explored the theme of Halloween. In our role-play area, the children created a ‘trick-or-treat?’ station. The children tried on different costumes and used their imaginations to become different characters. We completed some hot-seating activities and engaged with some Halloween themed books including Mildred’s Muddle and Halloween Hustle. In Gaeilge, we invited 4th class (2) down to our classroom to play BINGO! We learned a lot of new Irish words including, ‘púca’ (ghost), ‘puimcín’ (pumpkin) and ‘cailleach’ (witch). At the sensory station, we used our fingers to sort through rice and quinea to find lots of creepy crawlies! In the art station, we designed some pumpkins and created bat puppets.
Science- Exploring the local environment
The School Garden
As part of our science topic this month, we took a trip to the school garden. We worked as a team to weed two beds and prepare them for planting next month. We learned about what the plants in the garden need to survive and the children came up with lots of important factors including; space to grow, the right temperature, light, water, air, nutrients from the soil and time.
Maths
Every morning we engage in ‘Ready, Set, Go!’ maths stations. The children’s teachers rotate daily and work on a variety of topics within the small group including; number recognition, 1:1 correspondence, counting forward and backwards 1-10, creating sets, creating & continuing patterns, shape and measure.
Halloween Games organised for us by the PTA. The children really enjoyed these fun activities in the school hall!
PE in Junior Infants (1)
In PE we have been working on the ‘Games’ strand. Within these lessons we work on developing our PE skills including: running, jumping, balancing, throwing, catching, aiming and rolling.
Working on our writing skills
Maths Week 2022
Completing the junior Infants Maths trail with our 4th class partners.
Our aim was to locate all the different coloured shapes located in the school garden. We counted each group of shapes & ticked them off our checklists. We then completed a 2D shape quiz in our classroom. All the children made a fantastic effort!
Aistear
September
Fine motor skills
Every day we complete fine-motor skills activities in our table groups. These activities include cotton bud painting, cutting, using tweezers, threading, pegs, marbles, play dough and many other activities. Take a look at some of our work below.
Creating dickie bows for Humpty Dumpty:
Aistear
Topic 1: The Doctor
Our Aistear time consists of 5 activity stations. These include: Role-play, Sensory, Construction, Creative and Small World. The groups rotate every day to ensure the children have the opportunity to play in each area. They plan and review what they have done within their station when the bell rings. The children also get the opportunity for free-play, allowing them to choose what area they would like to try at the end of the session. Aistear describes learning and development through the four inter-connected themes of well-being, identity and belonging, communicating and exploring and thinking. Throughout each Aistear session I observe how the children are progressing, with these specific themes in mind.
Role-Play
First 3 days of school
This week we have been settling into our new classroom and getting to know our new classmates.
We played with lego & pegs, created patterns, completed puzzles, explored the drama area, used playdough and worked on our colouring!
In the afternoon, we used our new whiteboards for the first time! We created shapes, line drawings and pictures. We remembered to always put the lid on our marker when not using it! We also learned how to clean our whiteboards and put them away carefully.
