The children had so much fun making glasses today. They enjoyed hearing about the Dinosaur who Lost his Specs and decided what their glasses would enable them to see. Some glasses made everything invisible, or a particular colour, and some even made everything fly or even gave the children super powers!
We are very lucky at Whiteness Primary to have such excellent outdoor spaces that provide rich environments for learning. Today we focused on using the loose parts in the shed to build, experiment and play. It is amazing seeing how the children use the various resources to create, solve problems and develop more flexible thinking.
Firstly the children thought about what they needed and took the materials they needed to an area they wanted to play/develop.
There was lots of discussion, collaboration and physical work to gather materials.
The children worked together to solve problems, develop ideas and negotiate. The spaces they created were fantastic and they had so much fun.
We also had snack in the new polycrub, which was lovely but quite hot.
Lots of the children were involved in using a series of pipes and guttering to get water to flow down a slope. There were so many peerie engineers helping and coming up with ideas and solutions to problems. They were so excited when each new section worked and they just wanted to make it even longer.
The children had a STEM activity this afternoon after discussing how birds fly.
First they had some simple instructions to follow . It was lovely to see the children helping each other with the tricky bits.
once they had made them they went outside to try them out.
Today the children enjoyed listening to the story of ‘The Elves and The Shoe Maker’. Last week in library time we read ‘Don’t Chew the Royal Shoe’, which was really funny.
So after some discussion about different kinds of footwear the children had a go at making their own using various materials.
The children worked in pairs and had to help each other complete the task of having a pair of shoes each. They did really well and we spoke about co-operation and helping each other.
They were so chuffed to wear them when they were finished and we now have a bit of a shoe shop developing in the classroom.
The children listened to the story of Rumplestiltskin and then they all had a go at Drawing Club in little groups.
The children learned a little bit about forces and we focused on the spinning motion of objects which they have loved investigating.
They then made their own penny spinners and designed them so they would look really cool when they were spun around.
Through role play the children have learned a lot about how to look after their bodies and what it would be like to be a patient or a nurse/doctor in a hospital.
The children learned about their bones and loved having Bob the Skeleton in the classroom for a visit.
They created wonderful skeleton pictures using art straws and had to think carefully about where there were joints.
They also had a torso in which had removable organs. It was like a puzzle to get everything to fit in and a great way to learn about some of the different parts inside their bodies.
They learned a little bit about their heart and lungs and completed some exercise challenges to see how this effected the different parts of their bodies.
The children worked in groups to create these amazing posters spending time learning about the different things they need to do to look after their bodies.
There are so many aspects of their school day which lend themselves to the Busy Body topic this term. working in the Polycrub, growing their own food, snacktime and lunchtime are also perfect opportunities to discuss healthy food and a balanced diet and outdoor play really provides lots of exercise and fresh air.
The children have been measuring length using different body parts, uniform objects and moving on to metres and half metres. They have really enjoyed these practical fun activities and challenges. I just haven’t managed to get many photos.
Following on from length and capacity the children have been learning about weighing objects.
The children worked really well in pairs to weigh small items using uniform objects like cubes and pegs.
They were very good at estimating and recording their answers.
They went on to use kgs and half kgs and enjoyed estimating each others weights and the adults too.
The Primary 2’s have also been learning about Area and how to cover a surface with different uniform objects and then moving onto squares.
The children have been learning about capacity in maths. For part of this topic they have been learning outdoors so we have been glad of the dry weather.
The Primary 1’s had a variety of containers to choose from and then had to decide on a suitable ‘measuring’ container. They got the hang of making good estimations before working together to find out the correct answer.
The primary 2’s have been learning about litres and half litres. Their containers were quite big so we were glad to be able to work outside with all that water.
They worked really well with a partner and their estimations were getting pretty close to the actual measurements once they checked.
The children have been learning about about flowers. They have been finding out about the different parts of a flower and how they grow and change.
They have been investigating and naming the different parts of flowers and learning about how dandelions use the wind for seed dispersal and bees take the pollen to different flowers.
This all ties in with discussions about Spring in the classroom and when we are outdoors.
The Primary Two’s used lots of verbs to write poems about Spring. They did a great job of making a good copy to display on the wall using ICT skills they have been practicing recently.
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.
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.
The children have been doing a lot of data handling recently in maths. These lessons are always really active and busy so its difficult to capture on camera how much learning has taken place.
The primary 1’s have been learning about different ways to sort items and explaining the criteria they used to put items in different groups.
The primary 2’s have been doing a lot of surveys in the class and in the other classrooms too. They have been using this data to create graphs and diagrams.
The primary 1’s have also been creating graphs using practical materials.
by sorting the information they have they are getting good at answering the types of questions necessary to explain their data.
The children all looked amazing today and had great fun listening to and reading stories.
Several of the staff joined in as characters from the book The Day the Crayons Quit.
The children loved sharing their books and explaining who their characters were.
Ellis dressed as Greg from Diary of A Wimpy Kid and Mrs Moncrieff was the white crayon to colour him in.
In the afternoon the children became authors and publishers and wrote their own books! They were so enthusiastic and the independent writing was amazing.
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.
Every week the Primary 1’s meet up with their buddies in Primary 7. This is always exciting and the bairns really look forward to it. They do lots of fun things together inside and outside during this time. Below are just some of the things they have been enjoying doing together.
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.
We only managed a few rehearsals in school before the snow came and we had to close. The children were so good at listening and following instructions. They made their own props and practised songs as often as possible.
The children did so well remembering their lines and singing their songs on the big stage. It was a great experience for them performing in front of such a big audience.
We had a really fun day on Friday and the children( and staff) loved coming to school in their pyjamas.
This wasn’t a fundraiser this year but the children watched short video clips and we spoke about Children In Need in class.
I only managed to get one photo during the day and it was of little Pudsey coming into his newly built house by Carina and Carrie.
The children worked together to make two Remembrance Day poppy wreaths.
The Primary 2’s wrote instructions for how to make them.
The children made these lovely poppy pictures with their fingerprints. Adding stems and leaves with black pen.
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.
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