Let’s start with a bit about me! I’m Miss Dorrans, Year One teacher in a small preparatory school in Devon. I have a BEd in Primary Education, specialising in Early Years after I completed my Level 3 in Childcare and Education. I have a passion for PSHE, maths and outdoor learning - these are my favourite things to teach! The last thing to know about me - I love a picture book!
Enough about me! I am here to share some fabulous products that I have used in my classroom from KCS!
Bucket Balance
Exploring weight, mass and volume is important and made even easier (and with less mess!) using the bucket balance! The clear buckets mean the children can see what is inside them with ease and they are shatterproof - a bonus for young children! I’ve not explored capacity using balance scales before and I am looking forward to what the children investigate! The buckets also have an easy pour spout, making them more accessible for independent use. There are many different things to use in the weighing scales, counters, cubes, numicon, liquids and so much more! Perfect for comparing a range of things!
Drywipe Tens Frames
Fun, practical and easy to clean! Representing numbers in different ways is a key skill to have. Tens frames are by far one of the most visual maths resources to have in the classroom. You can use double-sided counters with them or give the children some coloured dry-wipe pens to investigate and create their own! These will also be used in our addition and subtraction unit and of course investigating number bonds to 10!
Moon Landing Resource Pack
This was by far my most exciting purchase! Our history lead encourages us to use sources in history, to help deepen the knowledge and understanding of key historical events. I love teaching space, it is my favourite topic and I know these resources are going to engage the children in history. The poster has some key facts about the first moon landing that can be added to any topic working wall. The resource pack also includes an American flag and teachers’ notes.
The replica newspaper is full of photos of the moon landing! It’s fair to say, that as technology changes, newspapers are used more as table covers in art than something to report the news! Children can look at this source firsthand and use it to investigate the moon landing, thinking about why it may be in the news and how they know the moon landing was something that happened a long time ago. They provide a glimpse into the past.
The timeline of photos is also wonderful for children to understand the sequence of events. Timelines are an important aspect of history and something I teach from the very beginning. Each photo card has a wealth of information on the back with dates and times to help order them accurately. Lots of opportunities for discussion as well!
