Class 1 caterpillar update – the children enjoy checking up on our caterpillars each day. We have noticed that they are now “enormous” and “ginormous”. The children have also spotted that they now have” white bits on their bodies” and “hairs on them”. We are hoping that they will form their cocoons this week. The children are also able to talk about the life cycle of the caterpillar.
Latest News
Spring Walk
Class 1 have been for a walk to Wyndham Park. We re-traced the route of our Autumn walk back in September, but this time we were looking for signs of Spring. The children had clipboards and a checklist of things to look out for. They walked beautifully and were very observant, ticking off nearly everything on their lists.
Sound Investigation
Today in science Class 3 investigated sound using string telephones.
Clues Discovered
Ooh! The mystery of the egg continues. The children in Class 1 checked first thing this morning and found it was still there. We then took out some magnifying glasses and had a thorough search of the area around the egg to look for any clues that might help us work out what is going on. We decided that a clue is something that we wouldn’t normally see in that area.
The children found some straw, some feathers along with some small pieces of coloured paper and plastic. They also noticed some clumps of moss scattered around and what looked like parts of the grass that had been disturbed! There was even, what appears to be, a drag mark in the grass!! We collected all this evidence, took some photos and have created an evidence table in our classroom.
Mrs Johnson received this message last night:
‘Mrs Johnson. I wonder if this is the mummy bird who has lost her egg? She didn’t look too happy when we saw her, quite worried actually.’
We will have to keep an eye out for more clues or see if the mummy comes back.
Enormous Egg Discovered
OH ! WOW! How exciting. As we went out to play today, the children in Class 1 spotted something very strange in the bushes near our playground. It seems to be an enormous egg! We have no idea where it came from, what left it there or what could be inside. We very gently touched the egg shell and found that it was “smooth and a little bit bumpy”. The children were thrilled by their find!
When we came back inside we wrote down our ideas about where the egg might have come from. They were very egg-cited and couldn’t wait to tell Mrs Johnson all about it. We even took her outside to show her. She explained that we should leave it there and not touch it in-case the mummy that laid the egg comes back and doesn’t want our human smells on it. I wonder if it will still be there tomorrow?
This morning class 2 also found the enormous egg under a shrub in the school playground. They felt confused, excited and a bit worried about what the egg could contain! Back in the classroom they wrote about what they saw and what they think might be in the egg when it hatches!!!
Class 3 were also intrigued. The children had lots of questions – What could be inside such an enormous egg? Why did the mother choose our school grounds to lay its egg? What they could do to protect the egg? Would it get cold over night?
They have been keeping an eye out to see whether the mother returns.
Crime Scene Clues
The children in Class 3 have been investigating a crime scene, found in our wet cold playground. The scene is from a story they will be learning about in the next few weeks. They have written questions about what they want to find out and used modal verbs to ascertain what they know of what they might know. They also found out what apothecary means.
They also had a few guesses about what the story will be. The will know if they are right on Monday!
Jungle in a Box
This week, the children in Class 1 have made a ‘jungle in a box’ as part of our topic about Animals Big and Small. Here are some of the finished ones.
We learned that jungles are dark, overgrown places so chose appropriate colours to paint the boxes inside and out. Once the paint was dry, they added trees, vines, water and other features using collage materials.
Finally, we chose some jungle animals to cut out, colour and place in our jungle habitats. The children have found out about animal families, animals using camouflage and have particularly enjoyed watching webcams of different animals in various zoos.
Clay Creatures
Class 2 enjoyed an afternoon studying different animals before choosing one animal to draw a design, before making the animal in clay. They also used the puppet theatre to play ‘Who eats who’. Deciding which animals were carnivores, herbivores or omnivores and showing their fantastic knowledge.
Mapping Our Local Area
This afternoon, Class 3 walked the local area taking notes of road names, street furniture, buildings and amenities. They are in the process of creating some super maps of our surrounding area.
