Caterpillar & Butterfly Class
Class Teachers 2024-25 Catherine Jones & Charlotte Thomas
HLTA – Ashlea and Rachel
Teaching Assistants – Helen, Lisa, Becky, Sarah & Rani
Personal Support Workers -Andrea and Stacey
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26th February-Parents evening
7th March-Class photographs
3rd March-Literacy week
6th March-World book day
7th April-Spring activities
The children in Caterpillar Class have been exploring daffodils as part of their growing theme. They have been painting using spring colours and printing using daffodils.
The children in Caterpillar class have been learning about shape this half term. They have explored and handled different shapes during play based activities, printing with shapes and have been sorting shapes using symbols on the white board.
In Butterfly class this term we are focusing on games, we have started the term by enjoying a carousel of mini games enabling us to practice our ball skills, including rolling, throwing and kicking at various different goals and targets. This has been great fun and has created some natural opportunities to also practise our turn taking and awareness of peers playing. Well done butterfly class!
Article 31 (leisure, play and culture) Every child has the right to relax, play and take part in a wide range of cultural and artistic activities.
Article 29 (goals of education) Education must develop every child’s personality, talents and abilities to the full.
Butterfly class really enjoyed art this week. We used shapes and glue to copy a picture of a digger. we also used sponges and brushes to make marks and paint pictures. The children were all really engaged with this activity.
Caterpillar Class were definitely feeling the love today in our food exploration session! The pancake station was very popular with the children, they loved cutting them into heart shapes and choosing their toppings. The children also made a Valentine’s biscuit for a loved one – safe to say that Caterpillar Class have a sweet tooth! Caterpillar Class were definitely feeling the love today in our food exploration session! The pancake station was very popular with the children, they loved cutting them into heart shapes and choosing their toppings. The children also made a Valentine’s biscuit for a loved one – safe to say that Caterpillar Class have a sweet tooth!
During children’s mental health week Butterfly class enjoyed a visit from our school tortoise Michelangelo. We all sat calmly and stroked him. we talked about what foods we thought he would like to eat then took it in turns to feed him. During children’s mental health week Butterfly class enjoyed a visit from our school tortoise Michelangelo. We all sat calmly and stroked him. we talked about what foods we thought he would like to eat then took it in turns to feed him.
The children in Caterpillar Class have been exploring provision linked to Valentines Day this week. They made love potions using coloured water, sprinkles, sequins and glitter. They also made heart shaped sandwiches and very confidently tasted a range of fillings.
The children in Caterpillar Class experienced a spa day as part of Children’s mental health awareness week. Some of the children wore their dressing gown and slippers from home, experienced a foot spa and soundbath, had a massage and did some simple breathing exercises. The children were very relaxed by the end of the session!
As part of Children’s mental health awareness week the children in Caterpillar class participated in a yoga session. They were able to copy some of the movements and lie down for relaxation at the end.
Caterpillar class have been exploring emotions as part of mental health week, today we made faces to represent different feelings using a range of ingredients. This activity generated some lovey communication with children requesting, for example, the ‘red pepper’ and describing their face as ‘happy’.
We also continued yesterday’s spa day activities by giving the babies a spa in the tuff tray! Adriarna even chopped some cucumbers for the doll’s eyes ☺️
The children in Caterpillar Class have been learning about Chinese New Year this week. They listened to the story ‘Peppa’s Chinese New Year’ and explored coloured rice and play dough using chopsticks. We then used printing materials to make Lunar blossom trees!
In Caterpillar class, we read ‘That’s not my truck’. As well as the textures laid out in the book, the children were using other sensory materials to relate to the adjectives used. We felt shiny, squashy, rough, bumpy, lumpy and ridgy materials and chose our preferred textures. Caterpillar class love to read, and adore a sensory story.
The children in Butterfly class have been really enjoying our what’s in the bag sessions and we have begun to extend the session to stage 2. We have been looking at squish paintings, watching the paint being squirted on the paper, folding it over and then waiting to see the big reveal. The children showed great interest in this and wanted to make their own so we followed their lead and got creative. This gave the children lots of opportunities for communication, some children talked about the colours they were using, others exclaimed “wow!” when they opened up their pictures. Belle looked at her creation and said “elephant”.
Well done Butterfly class.
Each day, after dinner, Caterpillar Class do a ‘what’s in the bag?’ session (also known as bucket time or attention autism) – we have been blown away with the progress that the children have made in this session, they sit beautifully, and their responses are fabulous! Look at Teddy’s face as he anticipates that I will let the balloon go and it will fly across the room. This is definitely one of our favourite sessions – Teddy’s face says it all!
The children in EYFS have been exploring black, white and reflective materials as part of our light and dark theme. The children made marks in white and black paint and explored different reflective materials and black and white images.
The children in EYFS have been listening to different number songs, including 5 little penguins, 5 little snowmen and penguins skating on the ice. We have used different props on the lycra to role play moving the animals on the ‘ice’.
What a lovely morning making bird feeders as part of our owl babies/light and dark work! The children worked with unfamiliar ingredients and techniques to make some fabulous feeders and they also enjoyed linked continuous provision including a woodland tuff tray, sensory tree pictures and linked texts and props. Great work everyone 🦉🌳
See your child’s class page at the top for updates and Newsletters
Why not have a go at home listening to the songs. There are PODD mats on the page to support communication.
These are the songs we listen to during our good morning session, it’s a good chance for us to develop communication and language skills by answering questions and commenting on what day it is and what the weather is like. We also talk about how we are feeling using the Feelings PODD mat.
After our good morning song we talk about our feelings.
(These can also be printed in the documents section at the bottom of the page for use at home, or we can print these for you and send them home)
The stories we will be focussing this half term for our transport topic are “The Train Ride and The Naughty Bus Take a look at the links below for the stories.
Watch Ashlea doing one of our favourite activities of “what’s in the bag…” enjoy!
Here are some links for some activities you may like to try at home.
Click below to download and print the PODD mats
