Flamingos’ Class Blog

Autumn Term 1 2026

 

A little look at all the learning, exploring and creating we have been up to!

It has been a busy and exciting few weeks in Dosbarth Flamingos! We have been learning all about our local community, discovering who and what lives in Penclawdd, developing our creative skills and exploring numbers, movement, music and so much more. Through our topic, My Penclawdd, My Story, we have been making connections with the world around us, learning more about ourselves and others, and developing our independence, confidence and curiosity.

Our learning continues to reflect the four purposes of the Curriculum for Wales as we work towards becoming ambitious, capable learners; enterprising, creative contributors; ethical, informed citizens; and healthy, confident individuals. Here is a little look at what we have been getting up to!

 

Little Explorers, Big Adventures: Our Trip to Cariad Café

As part of our My Penclawdd, My Story topic, we headed out on a very exciting adventure to Cariad Café! We put on our walking shoes and set off on foot, exploring our local community along the way. This was a wonderful opportunity to look more closely at the familiar places around us, notice what makes Penclawdd special and begin to understand our place within our community.

Once we arrived at Cariad Café, the fun continued as we became little chefs for the day! The children had the opportunity to make their own pizzas, exploring ingredients, making choices and developing practical skills. There was plenty of excitement as everyone got involved in preparing their creations, and we enjoyed seeing the children's confidence grow as they tried something new.

Our visit supported the children to become ethical, informed citizens by developing their understanding of the local community and the people and places within it. It also encouraged them to become ambitious, capable learners, as they listened carefully, followed instructions, asked questions and applied their learning in a real-life setting. Most importantly, we had a lovely time learning beyond the classroom and discovering just how much our local community has to offer!

 

There's Only One Me! Celebrating Our Uniqueness

What makes you, YOU? Inspired by the wonderful story There's Only One Me, we have been thinking about what makes each of us special and unique. We explored our own features and began creating half self-portraits, carefully observing ourselves and thinking about the details that make us who we are.

The children have been developing their observational skills, experimenting with colours and shapes, and making thoughtful choices as they brought their portraits to life. We encouraged everyone to look closely at their own features, notice similarities and differences, and celebrate the fact that we are all wonderfully individual.

This activity was about much more than creating a piece of artwork. It provided opportunities for the children to build self-awareness, confidence and a positive sense of identity. By sharing ideas and appreciating one another's work, we are helping our Flamingos become healthy, confident individuals who understand and value themselves and others. We also saw our enterprising, creative contributors shine as the children made their own artistic decisions and expressed their personalities through their creations.

 

Who Else Calls Penclawdd Home? Outdoor Adventures and Discoveries!

Our outdoor learning has taken us on a mission to discover who else lives in Penclawdd! We have been thinking about the animals and minibeasts that share our local environment and exploring how we can care for the little creatures around us.

Armed with curious eyes and a sense of adventure, we headed to the upstairs woodlands on a minibeast hunt. The children explored their surroundings, looked carefully and began noticing the different creatures that can be found in our outdoor spaces. There was plenty to investigate as we thought about where minibeasts might live and how their habitats help to keep them safe.

Our minibeast hunt inspired some lovely child-led creativity! Using recyclable materials, the children had the opportunity to design and create their own minibeast hotels. They explored the different materials, shared their ideas and used their imaginations to bring their creations to life. It was wonderful to see the children take the lead in their learning, experimenting with the resources available and developing their creativity through hands-on exploration.

Through these experiences, the children have been developing as ethical, informed citizens, beginning to understand their responsibilities towards the natural world and the importance of caring for living things. They have also been enterprising, creative contributors, using their imaginations and available resources to design something purposeful. Our outdoor learning continues to encourage curiosity, teamwork and a love of exploring the world around us!

 

Little Hands, Big Ideas: Exploring Froebelian Occupations

Our Froebelian learning has continued to provide lots of opportunities for the children to explore, experiment and develop new skills through meaningful, hands-on experiences. We have been enjoying a range of occupations, allowing the children to learn through doing, discover what different materials can do and build confidence as they try something new.

From Squishy to Sculpted

We have been exploring clay through its five stages, giving the children time to investigate how this natural material feels and changes as we work with it. Through handling, shaping and manipulating the clay, the children have been developing their fine motor skills, coordination and understanding of how materials can be transformed. They have enjoyed experimenting with different techniques and discovering that there is no single way to create something with clay!

Stitch by Stitch: Our First Steps in Sewing and Weaving

We have also begun developing our first sewing and weaving skills. These activities have encouraged the children to slow down, concentrate and carefully coordinate their hands as they work with different materials. The children have been exploring how threads and materials can be moved, threaded and woven together to create something new. These early experiences are helping to develop the control, patience and perseverance that will support their future writing and creative work.

Building Imagination One Block at a Time

Our block play has been full of imagination! The children have been using construction materials to create animal and minibeast habitats, thinking about the spaces living things might need and how different structures can provide shelter. Their ideas have also taken us on some more magical adventures, including the creation of a witches' den!

As part of our My Penclawdd, My Story topic, the children have also been busy building special places from our local community. Using their knowledge and experiences of Penclawdd, they recreated familiar places such as the butchers, GG's and the doctors. They added annotations to their creations, helping to identify the different places and giving meaning to their models. This was a fantastic way to connect our construction play with our understanding of the local community, while developing early writing skills and recognising that words can be used to communicate ideas.

Through these experiences, the children have been planning, building, adapting and solving problems as their ideas develop. They have been learning to share resources, negotiate with friends and explain their thinking. These occupations support all four purposes of the Curriculum for Wales, helping our Flamingos become curious learners, creative contributors, thoughtful citizens and confident individuals who are willing to have a go, learn from mistakes and try again.

Stick and Pea Construction

Our Flamingos have been busy little engineers, exploring stick and pea construction using spaghetti sticks and marshmallows! The children enjoyed experimenting with how the materials could be joined together to create their own unique structures. This was a lovely child-led activity, allowing everyone to explore their own ideas, try different approaches and see what they could create. Along the way, the children developed their fine motor skills, creativity and problem-solving abilities, learning through hands-on exploration and discovering that sometimes the best ideas come from simply having a go!

 

Little Chefs

We all became chefs in the kitchen as we prepared and cooked our own apple spice muffins! The children enjoyed being involved in the process, from exploring the ingredients to mixing everything together and watching our mixture transform during cooking. We talked about the changes that take place as ingredients are combined and cooked, while developing our understanding of following instructions, measuring and working safely.

This was a lovely opportunity to bring learning to life through a familiar, practical experience. The children were able to make choices, take responsibility for small tasks and experience the satisfaction of creating something together.

 

A Gruffalo Adventure

Our literacy learning has taken us deep into the world of The Gruffalo! We have been exploring the story, thinking about its characters and setting, and using our imaginations to bring our favourite parts to life.

To make our learning extra special, we brought the outdoors into our creative activities. The children explored natural materials such as leaves, twigs and other woodland treasures, using them alongside paint and a variety of creative resources to make their favourite characters. This allowed us to connect our literacy learning with art, outdoor exploration and imaginative play.

As we explored the story, the children were encouraged to talk about what they could see, share their ideas, describe characters and think about the events taking place. We have been developing our vocabulary and communication skills, building confidence when expressing ideas and beginning to make connections between stories and our own experiences.

Our Gruffalo adventures have encouraged the children to become ambitious, capable learners as they develop their early literacy skills, ask questions and make sense of a familiar story. They have also had opportunities to become enterprising, creative contributors, using different materials and techniques to represent their favourite characters in their own individual ways. Most importantly, we have been showing that reading and writing can be exciting, imaginative and full of adventure!

 

Discovering the Wonderful World of Maths

Our mathematicians have been busy exploring numbers in lots of different ways! Through practical activities, games and hands-on resources, we have been developing our understanding of numbers and discovering how we can represent them in different forms.

We have been identifying numbers and finding ways to represent them using objects, pictures and other practical resources. Sorting activities have encouraged the children to look carefully at objects, notice similarities and differences, and explain how they have grouped their items. These experiences help to develop early mathematical language and encourage children to think carefully about the choices they make.

We have also been exploring number sentences, beginning to understand how numbers can be combined and represented using mathematical symbols. Through practical approaches, the children have been able to investigate what number sentences mean, rather than simply learning them by heart. We are encouraging everyone to explain their thinking, try different approaches and build confidence in solving problems.

Our maths learning is helping the children become ambitious, capable learners who are curious, resilient and willing to tackle new challenges. By working together, sharing strategies and using resources creatively, they are also developing the confidence to communicate their ideas and learn from one another. We are so proud of the progress our little number detectives are making!

 

Building Healthy Bodies and Confident Minds

We have been keeping our bodies moving and our energy levels high through a range of exciting physical activities! As part of our PE learning, we took part in a workshop with a local PT, where the children had the opportunity to try different exercises, including dumbbell workouts, star jumps and other movements designed to get our hearts pumping.

The children were encouraged to listen carefully, follow demonstrations and have a go at each activity. They explored how their bodies move in different ways, practised coordinating their movements and began to recognise how exercise can make their bodies feel. There was lots of enthusiasm as everyone challenged themselves, celebrated their efforts and discovered what they could achieve.

Alongside our workshop, we have continued to explore movement through our PE sessions, developing a range of fundamental movement skills. These experiences encourage the children to balance, jump, travel, change direction and move in different ways, while learning to use space safely and work alongside their friends.

Physical activity plays an important role in supporting both our physical and emotional wellbeing. Through these experiences, the children are developing as healthy, confident individuals, learning to take care of their bodies, persevere when something feels challenging and feel proud of their achievements. We are encouraging every child to participate at their own level, recognise their own progress and understand that being active can be fun!

 

Celebrating Black History Month: Marvellous Musicians

As part of our Black History Month learning, we have been exploring music, culture and the connections between Nigeria and Wales. This has provided a wonderful opportunity to celebrate diversity, discover new experiences and help the children develop a greater understanding of the world beyond their own immediate surroundings.

Feel the Beat: Discovering King Sunny Adé

We explored the music of Nigerian musician King Sunny Adé, listening carefully to the sounds, rhythms and instruments within his music. The children had opportunities to respond to what they heard, discuss which musical styles they enjoyed most, think about how different pieces of music made their bodies feel and recreate the music.

We also explored mark making in response to music, allowing the children to express what they heard through lines, shapes, patterns and movements. Some sounds inspired energetic marks, while others encouraged different types of movement and expression. This helped us make connections between music, our emotions and our creativity.

These experiences encouraged the children to listen attentively, share their preferences and understand that people can respond to the same piece of music in different ways. They also gave our enterprising, creative contributors opportunities to express themselves through movement and art.

Nigeria and Wales: Similarities, Differences and Celebrations

We then turned our attention to Nigeria and Wales, exploring aspects of each country's culture and identity. We looked at flags, symbols, traditional clothing, landscapes and food, discussing what we noticed and identifying similarities and differences between the two countries.

The children were encouraged to ask questions, share observations and think about how people may celebrate, dress, eat and express their identities in different ways. By exploring these similarities and differences, we are helping our Flamingos develop an appreciation of the diverse world we live in and understand that every culture has its own important traditions and stories.

This learning links closely to the purpose of developing ethical, informed citizens, as the children begin to show curiosity about other people, respect different cultures and recognise the importance of treating everyone fairly. It also supports the development of healthy, confident individuals, encouraging children to value their own identities while appreciating the identities of others.

Black History Month has been a valuable opportunity to celebrate contributions, explore new perspectives and begin conversations about the rich diversity within our world.

 

Growing, Learning and Shining Together

What a wonderful range of experiences we have shared in Dosbarth Flamingos! From walking through our local community and making pizzas to creating minibeast hotels, experimenting with clay, exploring the world of the Gruffalo, investigating numbers and celebrating music and culture, our learning has been full of opportunities to discover something new.

Throughout all these experiences, we have continued to nurture the four purposes of the Curriculum for Wales. We are encouraging our children to be ambitious, capable learners who ask questions and persevere; enterprising, creative contributors who use their imaginations and work with others; ethical, informed citizens who care for their community, environment and one another; and healthy, confident individuals who develop their independence, wellbeing and sense of belonging.

We are incredibly proud of the curiosity, creativity and enthusiasm our Flamingos bring to their learning every day. We look forward to sharing many more adventures, discoveries and special moments as our learning journey continues!