Key Stage One and Reception make the most of their Outdoor Learning Lessons
Water Explorers has inspired us at The Park to think about how we use water and how precious it is. One of the activities that we have been doing outside is transporting water - we are so lucky that we just have to turn on the tap rather than walk to collect it.
Cooking on a Fire - we love fire and eating marshmallows! We had to use the striker to make a spark and light the fire before we whittled a stick to put our marshmallow on.... delicious!
Seed Heads and Innocent Seeds - we have been doing all sorts of fun things with seeds. We made grass heads to take home and planted up cress, carrots and peas to see which would grow the fastest.
The Park Summer Fair Sale - we sold the bug hotels, planted up pots and hedgehog trails at the local Kingswood Park Summer Fair. We had a great response for the children's work and made some money for the garden.
Pond Renovation - some of the children have been renovating the pond because there was a hole in the pond liner. There are newts in the pond so we want to give them the best home possible. Yes the water did go over their wellies!
Wild Flower Identification - we are very lucky that a short walk away there is a church yard which is full of wild flowers. We have been spending out lessons investigating the smell of the Ramsons and Wild Mint, blowing the dandelions and sticking the Goose Grass to ourselves. There are also Primrose, Blue Bell, Forget-Me-Not, Cow Parsley, Buttercups and Daisies. The weather has been glorious too so we have had wonderful lessons.
ZOG led the children around the school during Outdoor Learning. They had to 'fly high' with their paper air planes; climb through the web; make sounds to frighten prey and attract a friend; hug a tree and sort the wooden objects out.
Dinosaur Discovery - we have been investigating the time of the dinosaurs together a whole 68 million years ago. Identifying ammonites, trilobites and sea urchin fossils took some thought; making our own ammonite caste was tricky; but the mud kitchen was the favourite and by the far the most messy!
Percy the Park-Keeper inspired our children into action in park. They went over to see if their was any damage 'After the Storm' and practiced a maze having read 'The Secret Path' by Nick Butterworth. Everyone made inspirational homes for the animals that had been made homeless during the storm and they even found some last piles of snow. The string maze was fantastic fun and everyone was very brave as they walked around the trees whilst blindfolded!
Habitats and Adaptation - following in the footsteps of Steve Backshaw we have been investigating Explorers from all over the world. Like Charles Darwin and Mary Anning we went into the school grounds to investigate our local habitats and created our own animals with the right adaptations to live in the habitats available. Following our investigations we went on our own expedition to Grimsbury Farm to see the adaptations of the animals there (the highlight was the two week old piglets though).
Superworm by Julia Donaldson has inspired a trail around the school this January. The children have followed Superworm's example and tried lots of new activities around the school grounds like skipping, fishing and nature drawing. They also made mini-dens, looked for worm and bird poo and pretended to be the characters from the book!
The Santas in the Park has kept Key Stage One busy all through December. Everyone worked really hard to decorate the park for the Christmas holidays with Santas and reindeer. Firstly they whittled a stick to make a face and drew a face onto the stick. Next they fixed the sticks for antlers onto the head. They were tied all around the bandstand and looked terrific.
Orienteering - a new Christmas orienteering course has been set up on the school grounds. The children have to use their map reading, running, communication and team skills to find all of the hidden clues around the school grounds.
No Place Like Home by Jonathan Emmett - Year One have been making home in Outdoor Learning. They made homes in the sand pit, homes for cuddlies and gardens for the fairy home. They were so creative with their designs and their communication was brilliant as they agreed on how and what to do.
Sound - Key Stage Two have been investigating all things auditory. It is perfect outside because they didn't disturb anyone with their banging and crashing. They tried different pitches and volumes with a range of instruments and felt the vibrations which send the sound to our ears. The Manchester Children's University website showed them how their ears work.
Water Explorers are a charity that encourages children to think about water conservation. The children spent their lesson thinking about how to filter water.
Elder Bead Making - We have been practicing our use of tools and thinking about how to be safe and sensible. Everyone had a partner who was responsible for the safety of the person with the tool, whether it be a peeler knife or a drill. Having peeled a pattern onto the Elder stem the beads were hollowed using a drill or tent peg and threaded onto string.
On a trip to the park we have been looking at how seeds are spread around by the trees. We tried to identify some of the trees that the seeds came from too.
Years One and Two have been following in the footsteps of 'Billy's Beetle' by Mick Inkpen by finding small special things that fit in their matchboxes.
Key Stage Two started the year off making 'Dream Catchers'. They practiced their reef knots before weaving around the willow circle.