HALLOWEEN 

For our last week before the Hallowe’en Midterm break we focused on the theme of Hallowe’en. We worked at very spooky Hallowe’en stations. Look at our activities, if you dare!

Week 1:

• Costume shop: This week the children worked in a costume shop. They sold wigs, capes, masks, broomsticks, and other spooky items. The all had the opportunity to dress up. 
• Haunted House: The children used small world puppets at a spooky haunted house! They played with witches, vampires, bats and got lots of ideas for their own Hallowe’en costume.
• Mask making: Using a mask template the children decorated a Hallowe’en mask using spooky sequences, paper and feathers. 
• Potions: Using a witches cauldron, we made potions! We used paper to make ingredients, leaves, conkers and spiders. Then we drew a picture of what our potion can do. 

Check out the photos of us all hard at work at our stations if you are feeling brave!

 AUTUMN 

We explored the theme of Autumn as part of Aistear. The children really enjoyed admiring the signs of Autumn all around us. We learned about the animals and how they are preparing for hibernation for the winter. 

Week 1: 

• Sand: We read the story of the Gruffalo and the animals in the Deep Dark Woods. We made our own Gruffalo in the sand. 
• Construction: The children built hibernation homes from shoebox for a hedgehog using leaves and conkers. 
• Printing: Using cottonwool balls we printed autumn leaves on a tree. We used the autumn colours red, yellow, orange, brown and green. 
• Magnets: Using magnets we made hibernation homes for different types of animals, owls, badgers, squirrels and moles. 

Week 2:

• Small world: We build hibernation homes on our nature table from leaves, sand, conkers and acorns. 
• Role play: We really enjoyed our autumn shop/ café where we role played waitors served seasonal fruit to customers. 
• Rubbing: Using lots of different types of autumn leaves we created leaf rubbing using crayons.
• Contruction: We made hibernation homes for animals out of lego. We really want the animals to be safe and warm for the winter. 

Check out the photos of us all hard at work at our stations.

 Our Birthdays

I bet if you asked a Senior Infant in River Valley CNS when is their birthday, they would be able to tell you. We had great fun over the last two weeks organising birthday parties, wrapping presents and we even decorated cupcakes as part of a Fun on Friday activity!

Week 1: 

• Role play: The children hosted a birthday party for our fruit and vegetable teddy bears. They sang happy birthday and they really enjoyed the celebrations.
• Small world: The children had a dilemma to solve in small world. They were making their way to a party and they got a flat tyre. They had to work together to come up with a solution to the problem. 
• Construction: The children constructed a giant birthday present using wooden blocks and lego. They made some very thoughtful gifts.
• Junk Art: The children made a birthday card of Junk art materials. Now, when we celebrate a birthday in Senior Infants, everyone will receive a card made for them by someone in their class. 

Week 2:

• Small world: This week, the children worked together to plan a surprise party for a character in their small world. 
• Role play: We really enjoyed hosting a party for the teddies in our role play area last week. This week, we continued to host a party and we made party hats, and decorations for the teddies too. 
• PlayDoh: The children made a cake from Playdoh. They planned who their cake was for and what flavour that person would like.
• Construction: Finally, using wrapping paper, the children wrapped boxes of all different shapes and sizes. They imagined the present that they were wrapping and who the present was for. 

We hope you enjoy the photos of us hard at work!

 SCHOOL

School was our very first Aistear theme of the year. The theme of school gave everyone the opportunity to remember some of our school vocabulary that we may have forgotten over the summer. We had great fun back together with all our friends!

Week 1:

• Role play: The children learned about the different roles of some of the adults in our school. Then they took turns working as the principal, a teacher, an SNA and the caretaker.
• Small world: Using the small world figures, the children set up classrooms where characters were meeting our school expectations.
• Construction: Using Lego, the children build schools. They identified all the important places in our school building e.g. classroom, staff room, yard etc.
• Junk Art: Using sequences, feathers, paper and different fabrics and fibres, the children designed their very own school uniform.

Week 2:

• Small world: This week, the children continued to use the figures to focus on our school expectations in Small World.
• Role play: The children continued to play as different members of staff in our school community.
• Map Making: Using a big sheet of paper, the children created a map of all the places and things that they see on their way to school.
• Construction: Using marshmallows and match sticks the children built constructions of schools from 3-D shapes. It made our fingers very sticky!

Have a look at our photos of us working hard at our stations!