As part of our investigations we gave the children a selection of large blocks of ice. Each block had a small object frozen inside. First of all we wrapped the ice block in tinfoil and passed it around so that the children could describe how it felt without knowing what it actually was. We collected lots of adjectives used by the children such as cold, hard, freezing, crunchy, heavy. Then the children unwrapped it and explored how to get the objects out from the centre of it. This really fired up their imaginations, especially regarding DIY tools! We tried all kinds of things then one of the children had the bright idea of using some warm water to melt the ice. This activity provoked a lot of discussion and trying things out, testing whether their ideas worked.
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We began our week by reading Mister Seahorse by Eric Carle and explained that we would be making a habitat (home) for the characters of the book. We washed and dried a two-litre bottle and removed the labels. Next we filled the bottle halfway with tap water and added a few drops of blue food colouring and swirled it around to mix it up. We added glitter and sea creatures for effect. Lastly we filled the bottle almost to the top with vegetable oil using a funnel and sealed the cap.
We discussed how Mister Seahorse tumbles and turns in the water in the book. Then we turned the bottle on its side and gently rocked it to create a wave inside our ocean habitat. The children were so impressed with the effectiveness of this and we have kept the bottles in the classrooms for them to use and observe. You may have noticed that we have a 'minibeast hotel' on our FS playground. This was very kindly made by a parent at school a few years ago. We have to fill the space inside with different things to encourage the minibeasts to move in. We inspected what was already inside then added extra comforts and natural materials to tempt them. The children wanted to fill it with twigs, bark and dried leaves that would make it cosy for our guests. Another idea we had was to create a rockpile to see if that attracted any creatures.
One of our priorities was 'tender loving care' and respecting any minibeasts that we may find. Every child remembered it was non-uniform today to raise money for comic relief. Thank you everyone! We had some 'red nose' activities and did some 'fun' drawings. It was a lovely end to our week. Our friend John, who we think is a 'bird expert' came to visit us in school. We already knew the names of lots of birds so he went into more detail and told us so much information. the adults were also engrossed in the talk.
We looked at the width of the wings of an albatross. Just look at our photos! Also when a recent survey was carried out about how many birds use certain bird boxes it was found that 63 wrens were in one bird box together. John had a bird box with a representation of the wrens and we were able to firstly estimate, then count them. It was fascinating! Our children looked amazing! They could all tell us who they had come dressed as and many brought books to show us their character illustrated in stories. During the day we shared stories with each other and also had some very special visitors. The Year 4 children came to our classroom and read with us, we felt very important! Thank you to all the parents who were able come and read with us at story-time, the response was fabulous.
This has been one of our favourite days! The children helped to make the pancake mixture and can now list the ingredients needed and the method used. The exciting part was watching the adult flip the pancakes and of course eating them! Apparently they were delicious!
This week was so exciting! Our very first coach trip in FS2. The children came dressed for the cold weather and although it was cold, the sun shone and it was very pleasant. We didn't have any complaints from the children at all, they were just so engrossed in the activities that they didn't seem to feel the cold.
In the morning we focussed on birds, this included different types of birds, different coloured feathers and the sounds that they make. We went in two different hides so were able to observe garden birds and wetland birds. The children inspected some bird's nests and then made their own nests. They were so enthusiastic, they really listened to the instructions from the trip leader and made them with twigs on the outside and soft and fluffy on the inside. After lunch we took part in a minibeast hunt, we had an information card and identified the creatures we found. In total we found 11 different minibeasts, We were very proud of ourselves! The children's behaviour was amazing. They were well-mannered, polite and inquisitive. We can't to take them on another trip! This week we have been finding information about a special celebration. We have used non-fiction books and the internet to find out about Chinese New Year. We have looked at the preparations that are made for the celebration and then the experiences the children have and the different activities they take part in. To round off our week we all tried different kinds of noodles and prawn crackers. It was interesting trying to eat them with chopsticks.
The children were such enthusiastic photographers last week that we decided to repeat the activity. It was a very frosty morning and one of the children suggested that frosty photos would be interesting too! Here are some of the photos they took of our outdoor environment.
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FS2 BlogWe are always very busy in FS2! We want our children to have fun whilst also becoming independent learners. Archives
March 2020
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