Monkey Puzzle

As the children have been getting to know each other, we have been finding out about some of the similarities and differences between them.

Monkey Puzzle is a lovely story all about Butterfly helping Monkey to find his mum . . .

Leyla - "The monkey lost his mum"

"Hush, little monkey, don't you cry, I'll help you find her" said Butterfly.

"She's big!" said the monkey. "Bigger than me."

Lexie - "I liked the monkeys mum cause she's bigger than him"

"Bigger than you? Then I've seen your mum.

Come, little monkey, come, come, come."

But somehow Butterfly keeps getting it wrong!

"No, no, no! That's an elephant. 

My mum isn't a great grey hunk. 

She hasn't got tusks or a curly trunk.

She doesn't have great thick baggy knees.

And anyway, her tail coils round trees."

Iris - "I like the elephant cause he's got a trunk"

Butterfly takes monkey to several other animals as the story continues, but none of them are the right one. Eventually they think they have found her hiding place, could they have found mum? 

"No, no, no! That's my dad!"

But dad comes to the rescue and takes him home to . . . MUM!

Isabelle - "I liked the end cause the little monkey found his mummy"

Which part of the story did you enjoy? Did you have a favourite animal? Post us a comment and let us know!

Superworm!

Meet the wriggliest, squiggliest superhero in the world!

This term our focus Author is going to be Julia Donaldson, and when we read in the Induction notes from parents that this was Ella's favourite book, we thought it would be a great one to start with!

As anticipated, Ella was very excited when she saw the book and told us - "Superworm is super-long. He's wide and kind. Superworm is super-strong!"

Some of the other children also recognised the book and several tried hard to join in with the chant:

'Superworm is super-long.

Superworm is super-strong.

Watch him wiggle! See him squirm!

Hip, hip, hooray for SUPERWORM!'

There was lots of discussion as we started to read and meet the different characters. . .

Sienna - "Birds have beaks because they need beaks (why?) to eat!"

Oliver BH - "They like worms" (to eat)

Alesha - "He (the crow) might eat him!" (Superworm)

Sienna - "The spiders, they hang down and make spider webs. And there's a caterpillar. Bees - honey comes from bees - how do they make honey?"

When we had finished the book, we shared the children's thoughts about the story . . . 

Caleb - "I like Superworm because he's so strong!"

Willow - "I liked the bees ones 'cause that's my favourite part. I didn't like the lizard part (why not?) it was too scary!"

We would love to hear what you thought about the story - post us a comment or two and let us know! 

Whoosh around the Mulberry Bush . . .

Holding hands, linking toes, paw in paw, or tail to nose . . . 

We really enjoyed sharing this lovely book - here are just a few of the children's favourite parts:

Louie - "I like the polar bears because they were sliding"

Amelia - "I liked it when the frog did a handstand"

Evie - "I liked the bats, they flap and do 

whatever they want to!"

Casper - "I liked the end when they're all spinning round!"

We would love to hear about your favourite 

part too - let us know!

The Wheels on the Bus

'The Wheels on the Bus' is one of our favourite action 

rhymes - so we thought this would be a good 

choice for our next book . . .

The fun really starts when the bus drives into a wildlife park!

Ava S - "I liked the birdies. I liked them 

because they were colourful"

Billy - "I liked the baboons cause they jumped"

Meadow - "I like the animals because they 

were all different colours"

Emily - "I like the bus because they're singing!" (the people)

Have you been to a wildlife park? 

Which animals did you enjoy seeing?

Let us know!

Over in the Clover

We had enjoyed looking at a variety of different areas within our school grounds, and thought this would be a lovely book to share!

Over in the forest, in a cave so snug, 

one cubby bear gives his mummy a hug.

Tillie - "I like the kangaroos cause they were so bouncy!"

Seren - "I liked the kittens running round"

Leyla - "I like the doggies cause they are so soft"

Thomas W - "I like the tadpoles - they're tiny frogs 
and big frogs!"

As well as enjoying all the animals, you can follow the count-along rhyme from one to ten!

We hope you enjoy this book too - let us know which was your favourite type of animal!

If you're happy and you know it!

This term we are going to be sharing books by Jan Ormerod and Lindsey Gardiner . . . 

If you're happy and you know it, clap your hands . . . 

. . . or wag your tail, snap your beak and jump about!

This was a lovely book to start with - here are just a few of the children's favourite animals that were in it . . .

"I liked the elephant because I liked doing that!" - Eva demonstrated using her hands to 'flap her ears'!

"I liked it when the crocodile snapped his teeth" - Kaitlin

"I liked it when the toucan came because he 

was so funny!" - Nate

"I liked it when the gorilla came up cause I liked 

beating my chest!" - Louis P

Which animal did you like the best?

What do you like to do when you are happy? 

Let us know!

In Wibbly's Garden

In Wibbly Pig's garden

there is a BIG surprise waiting 

for Wibbly, and for you!

This is another great story written by Mick Inkpen - and the children loved looking behind the flaps!

When Wibbly Pig put all his things under a flowerpot, Noah correctly predicted what would happen next . . .

"I think a giant beanstalk grows up" 

Kaitlin liked the part when "Wibbly Pig found a castle" and she remembered what Wibbly Pig had climbed up to find it - 

"A beanstalk!"

Thomas W told us "There's a giant!" and he remembered that he was looking for his "Hen".

Ava M told us "I liked the chicken egg, by the hen" and she told us that the hen was "On the beanstalk"

We won't tell you what happens next - we don't want to spoil the story for you, but read it and let us know what you think!