Low tide and sunshine meant it was a perfect time to head out and do our bit for the Voar Redd Up.
It was great that there was not too much litter on the Taing Beach. Great fun finding shells and crabs while we were there too.
Category Archives: Science
Strom Beach
We are so lucky to have wonderful places to walk to from our school.
There is always plenty to chat about, investigate and be curious about on our walks.
Once we got to the beach it was time for snack! It is always quite exciting having food outdoors with friends.
the sun came out for us and there was plenty of interesting finds on the beach.
The longer we stayed the more curious and creative the children became. Some of the children began re-routing the water flowing across the beach and building dams and new channels.
Polycrub planting
We finally made it out to the polycrub to start planting. The soil was really dry so a lot of watering was needed and then the bairns planted carrots, onions and tatties as well as their own little pot with a sunflower seed.
Learning Out in the Snow
Opportunities for using loose part to create dens. Great for developing problem solving and teamwork skills.
Collecting the melting snow from icicles dripping from the roof. Great science and STEM opportunities outdoors.
Some of the melting ice was collected in a different way!
Deciding which containers are best for different purposes. Evie’s snowman needed three different sized containers.
Opportunities to develop creativity, confidence and take risks- so many skills being developed.
Collaboration, choice and commitment in play develops so many social skills and friendships. It can also be exhausting!
Testing to see which snowball goes fastest- big or small? Does lifting the guttering higher or lower? So many opportunities for conversation, developing vocabulary and communication skills outdoors.
Checking out footprints and the different patterns boots make in the snow.
Our Big Dino Build
The children started by selecting suitable boxes/junk to make their model dinosaur. They worked in pairs so there was a lot of discussion and collaboration to find the parts and join them together.
We spoke about how to make their model strong by creating different types of joins in using PVA and sellotape.
The next stage was seriously messy. They used papier mache to cover the dinosaur, focusing on the joins and making sure the newspaper strips went from one part of the model onto an adjoining part.
Once the models had two coats of papier mache it was time to choose colours for their dinosaur.
Once the paint was dry the children thought about the detail they wanted to add- eyes, teeth, claws etc.
The primary 2’s have been working on adjectives in their literacy work so this was a great opportunity to apply that learning to describing their dinosaur.
The writing was read out in class for the others to guess which model the description matched.
Their is now a little Dinosaur Exhibition set up in the school for the other classes and staff to visit to see the models and the writing.
Long long ago
As part of their topic this term the children have been learning about how we find out about the past. They made salt dough and created their own dinosaur fossils.
They have also been having a go at being archaeologists using tools to carefully search through the sand for important clues to the past.
Symmetry
The children have just begun a topic on symmetry and have really enjoyed the first few activities. They had fun looking at reflections and using mirrors to make pictures complete.
They worked with a partner to create a giant symmetrical design using classroom objects.
They made symmetrical body shapes with their partner.
They had great fun investigating symmetry with the little mirrors.
The children had a go at painting symmetry butterflies. They make a very colourful corner in the classroom.
They then had a go at creating their own symmetry paintings for their gallery.
More about Autumn
This little area of the classroom is all about Autumn. The children have been thinking about all the changes that happen with this season and about animals who hibernate – focusing on hedgehogs in particular. 
They have been making little hedgehog homes\nests using the loose parts.
We have been outside again spotting signs of Autumn and having discussions about the changes we see and things we find.
Halloween Fun
The bairns have had so much fun being back at school with a Halloween theme in the classroom. They have been enjoying dressing up, reading stories, making potions and spells, hocking out pumpkins and finding spooky creatures in some very disgusting blue goo amongst other things.
After reading the story Funnybones the children had a go at drawing skeletons. They loved learning about the different bones and feeling for them inside their own bodies. The drawing were excellent.
The children helped Grizelda the Witch with her spell. They put in lots of gruesome, unusual and scary things.
There was great excitement as the mixture began to bubble up and the children said their magic words.
The mixture bubbled over and the children thought of wonderful things their spell could do……..
The children completed some writing using their favourite ingredients for the cauldron. These are from Primary 1’s.
They loved the opportunity to scrape the seeds out of the pumpkins and get them ready for carving. This created lots of discussion, fun and mess.
Trip to the Windfarm
We went to the Viking Energy windfarm for a visit. So many roads, so much information and so many trucks and vehicles. They loved wearing the PPE, being on a bus and having packed lunches as part of their day out.
In the afternoon the children were in the hills and got to see the huge scale of the base of one of the wind turbines. They also had a quiz and used the information boards to find the answers.
The children brought a time capsule with them. They had all written some information about themselves and predicted what might be happening in 25 years time when it gets dug up again. The children got to choose which one of the 103 windmills it would be buried under using the map as a guide.
They chose one near to Weisdale and there will be a competition to now give their windmill a name.
The primary 2’s wrote reports on their trips, These are by Chloe and Sophie. They did an amazing job remembering all the things they saw and being able to write so many sentences about their day out.
Coffee Morning
The children loved baking in preparation for the school coffee morning. The Primary 1’s made chocolate crispies and the Primary 2’s made Malteser Squares.
It was great to have parents into the school again. The children were so excited to see their families and enjoy the tea, coffee, juice and homebakes together.
It was a very busy classroom with excited children showing their parents and families all the things they like to do and have been learning about this term.
Signs of Autumn
We are very lucky at Whiteness School to have such an amazing outdoor space. The children went exploring in the wildlife garden for signs of Autumn. The noticed the fallen leaves and how the trees were changing. They looked at the different colours and found berries, seeds and seed pods.
We are looking forward to going out again and noticing more things as the seasons change.
Parents Jobs
It has been wonderful to have so many visitors in the school recently and the children have loved hearning about the different jobs people do.
Carina’s mam came in and told the children about being a dental nurse.
Alfie’s mum came in and told them about being a nurse and showed them lots of different things she uses in her job.
Mandy from the kitchen came and spoke to the children about what she has to do in her job as a cook. They had to guess what some of the items were that she brought with her. They especially loved the salad spinner and the protective specs!
Willum’s mam and dad came in to tell the children about their jobs. Louise is a pharmacist and the children found out about how important it is to only take medicine given by an adult and never eat a sweetie if you don’t know what it is or who it is from. They really enjoyed the peerie quiz ‘Is it a sweet or a medicine?’
Davie is an officer on a boat and they loved seeing the photos and finding out about the different jobs people do on the boats. He has travelled all around the world and spoke to the children about the different journeys and places he has been too.
Dying with Beetroot
The children pulled up the beetroot from the Polycrub. They washed it and chopped it and put it on to boil.
They cut a square of material and put it in a pan to boil with vinegar.
Once everything had boiled the beetroot was drained and the material put into the purply red juices.
This is Sophie’s instructions describing what we did.
P for Petals and Perfume
The children had great fun making perfume using petals from different flowers. There was honey suckle and fuschia as well as flowers from the school polycrub to make fantastic smells with.
They used small scissors and tiny spoons to create their perfumes in little glass jars and containers.
They were very proud of their final products. They named their perfumes and made labels for the little bottles.
Off to the Beach
We took advantage of the lovely morning and headed off for a walk to the beach. Dylan and Ross joined the class and everyone had such a super time.
The children were so curious about what they found at the beach, little whelks that ‘waved’ at them, lovely bits of pottery and seaglass(treasure), speedy crabs running side-ways, different kinds of shells and hopping creatures under stones.
They explored the rocks and the boats at the beach. They were really respectful of the environment and were aware of keeping themselves safe duiring our walk and at the beach.
Beginning Phonics in P1
The primary 1’s love hearing their new sounds. They listen to a story, sing along to a song, play games on the whiteboard and practise formations.
They practise the letter formations in various ways including, in the sand, shaving foam, with playdough and on the whiteboards.
They have been doing speedy skills everyday to practise the letter formations and lots of hiding and searching games. 
They also have had ‘s’ for spaghetti, ‘t’ for tea to play in and ‘i’ for ink experiments.
They enjoy using the Jolly Phonics books to retell the stories and find all the things in the pictures which begin with the sounds they are learning.
I love seeing how well they are doing practising their formations at home. Lots of great ideas and support.
