Careers Week Adventures!
In Careers Week, we met a Paralympian who shared her experiences of a career in sport before enjoying a fun Boccia tournament! We even made our own Olympic gold medals to celebrate our achievements! We also explored hairdressing and nail equipment, as well as continuing to develop those all-important communication skills so that we can … Read more
Growing Up Days
During our whole-school Growing Up Days, Chatsworth enjoyed different multisensory activities focused on personal hygiene and body awareness. We practised brushing teeth, washing hands and feet, explored facial features using mirrors, created body models with playdough, and dressed baby dolls.
Multicultural Week – Part 1
Chatsworth’s country this year is Tanzania and we’ve had so much fun learning all about Tanzanian culture. We’ve enjoyed a sensory story, explored landscapes like the Savannah and the beaches of Zanzibar, decorated our own tribal masks, chopped ingredients ready for our coconut curry, and learnt lots about animals – including meeting a zebra!
Down the Secret Garden Path…
We have been enjoying our ‘The Secret Garden Path’ Music and Touch Communication session here in Chatsworth! We used drums, wooden spoons, spiky balls, scented flowers and other objects alongside music to explore different textures, sounds and smells, and to express how each experience made us feel.
Growing and Glowing: Discovering How We Bloom!
We had lots of fun exploring how we grow in PSHE by using mirrors to look at our body parts and noticing the changes as we get bigger. We also became plant explorers, investigating flowers and leaves, and discovering how plants grow just like us!
Sun, Soil and Sensory Fun!
Our class has begun an exciting new topic all about plants. We enjoyed a sensory walk outside, exploring the world around us. We looked closely at trees, soft moss, and beautiful cherry blossom, and we had the chance to touch and feel the soil. The sun was shining, too!
Egg-citing Easter!
We have been busy celebrating another RE Day, this time with a focus on Easter. We enjoyed exploring the Easter Story through a sensory storytelling experience about the life of Jesus. We also made delicious Easter nest buns which were taste tested, of course! To finish off our celebrations, we had great fun taking part … Read more
Dear Parents and Carers,
We hope you all enjoyed the Easter break. We are back at school and eager to get stuck into our summer topic which is all about…plants!
This topic has a wide variety of engaging, multisensory texts to look at. Our core text is ‘Sunflower House’, but we will also look at ‘Luna Loves Gardening’ and ‘The Little Seed’, as well as revisiting ‘The Fairies of Windy Wood’ from Inclusive Stories – these stories are extra exciting, as they even give us the chance to practise our switch use! Texts are delivered in a sensory story format to maximise pupils’ opportunities to develop key skills such as anticipation, mark-making and understanding how objects work.
In geography, we will be learning about plants from around the world – including those in the Amazon rainforest, forests in Yellowstone National Park, and underwater plants such as seaweed. In science, we will investigate the parts of a plant and think about what plants need in order to grow. We love conducting experiments!
In PSHE/RSE, we will be covering the theme of growing up. We will link this to our plants topic by looking at how both plants and people grow and change over time. Our sessions will be multisensory and engaging, including activities such as looking at ourselves in mirrors, exploring body parts, and investigating the different parts of a plant. As always, we’ll be making the most of any opportunity to get outside – if the sun makes an appearance, we’ll be out there quicker than the plants can grow!
Maths sessions this term are split into the areas of number and using and applying. In our number sessions, we will develop early counting skills through engaging, hands-on experiences. This will include number songs, counting familiar objects, and handling concrete resources to help build an understanding of number and quantity. In our using and applying sessions, we will be exploring patterns linked to our plants topic. We will experience simple repeating patterns through sensory activities and will be supported to recognise, anticipate, and continue these patterns in fun and interactive ways.
For RE, we will be following the religious calendar to delve into key festivals and traditions that take place around this time of year. We will learn about Vesak in the Buddhist tradition, which celebrates the birth, enlightenment and death of the Buddha, and we will also explore Corpus Christi in Christianity, focusing on sharing, community and caring for others.
We also have some very exciting whole-school events to look forward to this term, such as Multicultural Week and our ‘Growing Up Days’. These are always lots of fun and provide wonderful opportunities to mix with peers from around the school. More information to follow!
You will receive your child’s new termly targets shortly, and we hope you will find these an encouraging clarification of their next steps. Of course, if you have any queries, please do not hesitate to get in touch with a member of the team and we will be happy to help.
Best wishes,
The Chatsworth Team