Aistear

September 2017/18

                    Room on the Broom

The excitement for Halloween has been building in the Junior Infant classroom. The children loved the story Room on the Broom and have been having great fun with it during Aistear. They have been busy painting plates to create pumpkins and cats. Everyone enjoyed acting out scenes from the story in the role play section. In the sand the girls created potions and cast spells using spiders, eyeballs, mice and witch’s fingers! They showed great colouring skills completing pictures from the book. They enjoyed watching an animated version of the book on the laptop and recreating the story with the pictures. The girls love working with play-dough and created lovely witches hats and bows during Aistear. Great fun was had by all and we all can’t wait until it is Trick or Treat time!

Vocabulary: witch, broomstick, roar, beast, wind, plait, hat, dog, wand, bow, room, cauldron, dragon, bat, cat, bird, frog, pumpkin, spell, ghost, goblin

      Owl Babies

The Junior Infants have spent the last two weeks learning all about Owls. They had great fun during Aistear which was based on the story Owl Babies by Martin Waddell. They became actors and acted out the story using headbands; the mother owl had a wonderful collecting food for her babies. They created beautiful owl and owlet collages and made spectacular nests from construction straws. In the small world area, they showed lots of imagination creating similar stories for different animal families.

Vocabulary: owl, babies, eggs, nest, woodlands, farmland, grasses, nocturnal, common, Ireland, long-eared owl, barn owl, hooting, night-time, claws, beak, wing, feathers, talons, owlets.

                                         Autumn with Percy

Aistear began in the Junior Infant classroom in September. This initiative supports the development and extension of oral language in children through the use of play. The Junior infants learned all about Autumn animals, weather and changes. They were busy like the squirrel collecting and hiding nuts for the winter. They examined Autumn leaves and created leaf prints. They enjoyed getting their fingers messy making beautiful Autumn trees and had great fun recreating stories from Percy the Park Keeper.

Under the Sea

Junior infants have been busy learning about sea life. They explored the sea in their yellow submarine. They played with water, went fishing and created their own starfish and seahorses. They also investigated some materials from the beach, including a crab. They each wrote their own book about sea creatures and these are hanging outside the classroom.

Transport

While Junior infants have made a good effort in walking to school, they have also been learning about different types of transport. Some girls are going on planes, ferries, buses and trains over the Summer and they are looking forward to travelling. They made their own vehicles and played with the new train track and motorway in the classroom.

At the Sweetshop

Junior infants read the story Hansel and Gretel before Easter. They created some lovely gingerbread houses in school. They also had a sweet shop with a great variety of sweets and ice cream to buy.

Camping

Junior infants are enjoying the good weather at the moment. Miss Fitzgerald prepared them for any camping trips that they may end up going on. They had great fun in the tent and toasting marshmallows around the campfire.

At the Zoo

Junior infants learned about all the different animals that can be found in the zoo. They created their own zoo in the classroom. They also made animals which are on the display board outside the classroom.

At the Dentist

Many children from St Joseph’s have had their annual visit to the dentist. To better prepare the children for their appointment Ms Fitzgerald worked on the theme “The Dentist”

At the Garden Centre

Spring has arrived and Junior Infants have been learning all about the garden centre during their Aistear lesson. 

The Doctor’s Surgery

Aistear in January

Life in the freezer!!!

Aistear in Term One

http://www.ncca.ie/en/file/early/information_leaflet_on_aistear_for_parents_.pdf

Aistear has been introduced in our Junior Infant Class. Please click on the link above to read the parents leaflet on Aistear.

On the Farm

Houses and Homes

Room on the Broom!!!!

The Gingerbread Man.

The Jolly Christmas Postman.

The Restaurant

Aistear began in Junior Infants last term. We have now covered the themes of The Ginger Bread Man, Home/Myself/My Family, Room with a Broom, The Library, The Three Little Pigs, The Jolly Christmas Postman, The Restaurant and On The Farm. 

This initiative supports the development and extension of oral language in children.