Well it seems that the summer is finally beginning to appear so our thoughts have turned to the garden and the growing season. The children have already planted their sunflower seeds which we hope you are managing to nurture at home. We would love to see photographs of them fully grown if you are successful. We have been busy continuing the growing theme in the garden and have been working hard on our vegetable patch. The children have planted tomatoes, flowers, and herbs and we are going to be very busy in the coming weeks keeping them watered and cared for. Understanding the scientific process of the beginnings of life, growth, nurturing and ultimate decay provides a rich learning experience for the children. This lesson is developed with our butterfly experiment where we have watched the eggs become firstly caterpillars which have now developed into the chrysalis stage. We will have to watch very carefully over the coming week to observe any changes.
The garden has provided all kinds of fun this week as we have had a wide range of activities outside. The water tray and sand pit are always popular as I am sure many of you have realised by the condition of your childs wet and sandy clothing! The guttering provides not only an opportunity to create a water feature, but last week was adapted to running the cars down at great speed. Looking at the way cars can speed up, slow down, vary by weight is a great way to introduce early physics.
A range of cardboard boxes have been turned into aeroplanes and the children have been flying off on their holidays. We always welcome donations of large boxes to paint or make into vehicles, space ships, animal homes etc.
Some of the children have been working on their own stories this week. We encourage them to think about how stories are structured eg Who is in the story? What are they doing? What happens next? An adult then writes the story out and these are displayed on the wall. The children become quite excited that they have created their own story and it is wonderful for their confidence and self belief when they are read back to them. We aim to continue with this theme for the rest of the term.
Next week we will begin a theme of mini beasts where the children will be encouraged to take part in all kinds of small insect and animal related activities.
Words we have learned this week:
· Chrysalis
· Planting
Ideas to continue this weeks fun at home:
· Try some planting at home. If you have space, allocate a small area or pot for your child to have their own garden. Alternatively a pot or small tray on a windowsill will do just as well.
The garden has provided all kinds of fun this week as we have had a wide range of activities outside. The water tray and sand pit are always popular as I am sure many of you have realised by the condition of your childs wet and sandy clothing! The guttering provides not only an opportunity to create a water feature, but last week was adapted to running the cars down at great speed. Looking at the way cars can speed up, slow down, vary by weight is a great way to introduce early physics.
A range of cardboard boxes have been turned into aeroplanes and the children have been flying off on their holidays. We always welcome donations of large boxes to paint or make into vehicles, space ships, animal homes etc.
Some of the children have been working on their own stories this week. We encourage them to think about how stories are structured eg Who is in the story? What are they doing? What happens next? An adult then writes the story out and these are displayed on the wall. The children become quite excited that they have created their own story and it is wonderful for their confidence and self belief when they are read back to them. We aim to continue with this theme for the rest of the term.
Next week we will begin a theme of mini beasts where the children will be encouraged to take part in all kinds of small insect and animal related activities.
Words we have learned this week:
· Chrysalis
· Planting
Ideas to continue this weeks fun at home:
· Try some planting at home. If you have space, allocate a small area or pot for your child to have their own garden. Alternatively a pot or small tray on a windowsill will do just as well.
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