Welcome to the Dexter Blog 2017/18

What a wonderfully exciting and engaging start to the year we have had! The children in our Dexter class are delightful and have settled well, and we are looking forward to the year ahead. They have already taken part in a wide range of activities and have participated in a great number of interesting discussions from a variety of topic areas, from hydrothermal vents (thanks to Tam, who spotted some in a book we were reading), dinosaurs, sharks, hawk moth caterpillars and metamorphosis, to trips to the doctors, camping, evergreen and deciduous trees, bird nests and chick care, with many more besides! The children have begun to learn how to assess risk, so that they can make decisions about what activities they choose and how they can make them safe (they have even helped to fill in a risk assessment form!) This is something that we do regularly, so that the children are able to learn how to make good decisions and consider consequences, for example, before they can walk on an obstacle course that they have built themselves, using planks, crates and blocks, they have to assess how safe it is and explain the potential hazards to others. Once it has been 'assessed’, they can make amendments and improvements before trying it out, following the rules they have created.

Alongside of all of this, we have also been developing social, personal, communication and interaction skills as well as improving our concept of number and learning the sounds s,a,t,p,i,n and beginning to blend and segment them in preparation for reading and writing.

We will update you on some of the themes and activities that we have taken part in during the week. The children’s learning is also recorded in their individual Learning Journey books, which we look forward to sharing with you on Fantastic Fridays and parents’ evenings.