At long last the rain has stopped,the temperature is unseasonably high and the great outdoors beckons. We put on wellies and coats and set off to look at signs of Spring in the garden.First stop is the blackberry bushes which have buds that seem to be opening before our eyes.The daffodils are blooming and some hyacinths and primula. However ,the children just want to run and play and delight in being outside again.Aimee finds a snail. All  gather around to watch it move along her  hand .Its great to see this invertebrate in its habitat. They are familiar with the parts of the snail from the school jigsaw and marvel at the real thing.Its wonderful to be able to  bring school lessons to life in the garden.

We are already well into Spring term and the children are being challenged daily by new work. Zav s Mum is visiting friends in Australia so we have been looking at the Australian animals and reading stories about life there. The big  favorite is the story about a nosy dingo who meets an echidna.!We are also looking at the rain forest . Each child will find out about an animal from each layer which we will stick on to the model we will make.It should be fun ! The  days have been so mild that I often open the door so we can hear the bird song and talk about the Spring courships that are happening in the bird world.We look forward to going down the field and watching for the swallows which should arrive soon!

The children arrived back to school full of their usual “joie de vivre”, after Christmas, happy to see their friends again.The weather has been unusually warm and we have managed to enjoy a few walks outdoors to see the first signs of spring. It was wonderful to see the snowdrops appearing and the crocuses are also in bloom. Our bird feeders are attracting the usual tits but we have fewer goldfinches at the moment. However, blackbirds and thrushes are singing non stop and our  wagtail is as bossy as ever!

Last week, we  commenced the work on the planets with help from  our model solar system. We made models of the planets and then individually chose a planet which we wanted to find more information about. The children learned a song about the planets and much fun was had as they sang the song while orbiting the sun with their chosen planet. This week, everyone has been bringing in wonderful information on their chosen planet and I can see that Mums and Dads have been busy.

 

 

 

 

On Friday last, Claire Aimee’s mum and violin teacher visited the classroom. Leah and Aimee both brought in their violins and preformed for us. Everyone sat spellbound and they played superbly.

Yesterday we had a dress rehersal and to day the children could hardly contain their excitement as they bounded in the school door!  Mummies were very busy making beautiful costumes for this very important stage debut for the wonderful cast of the Nativity Play.While Parents and some Grans and Grandads mingled over coffee and mince pies, we had a final rehersal. All piled into the school and the performance began.It was wonderful and each child played his part as if born to the stage and  the huge audiance didn t perturb them at all.Mary(Leah) ad libbed adding her own words every now and then which brought smiles to all. Joseph (Odhran) was the perfect carpenter,gentle and quiet.The angel Phoebe has acting in her blood and we will watch that space for great things to come.Angels Vivienne and Keelyn were happy to allow her to show them the way. They looked so lovely in beautiful angel costumes.Shepherds Zav and Conor looked perfect and got such a fright when the angels appeared.For the first time ever we had a queen with the kings in the east, Queen Mella joined King Lugh  and King Sean..They were very regal and lovely.The children sang and danced and parents joined in.Suddenly we heard a tinkling bell and couldn t believe our eyes when who should appear but Santa! What a wonderful surprise when he opened his sack and produced a bird feeder for each child. A very special morning and one I hope will imprint itself in their memory bank.

Early December and time to make decorations. We gathered greenery in the garden and school was a hive of activity making wreaths, angels, stars and santa’s.
On Monday we made some delicious Christmas biscuits…..Presents for Mums and Dads.