The children have returned from their holidays refreshed and raring to go! Our first topic this term is Scotland. The children have decided that they would like to learn more about bagpipes, food, castles and animals. On Thursday, Mrs Martin began our investigation into Scottish animals by supporting the children to make bird feeders. We hope that the bird feeders will encourage birds to come to our garden so that the children can learn about the types of birds in the local area.
This week, we were also given a great opportunity (the snow) to look closely at Scottish weather and the science behind it. We started off by going out into the playground and observing how the snow had changed how the playground looked. The children handled the snow and talked about how it felt and what it could be made of. Then some of the children discovered that our outside water tray had frozen over. We talked about how a swishy liquid such as water can change into a tough solid (ice) when the temperature outside decreases. Then, Miss McGinlay brought some snow from outside and placed it in the water tray. The children investigated what happened to the snow when they held it. They then wanted to find out what happened when they poured hot water on the snow. Cody suggested that the hot water should be dyed red. This really helped everyone to see it being poured over the snow! When the children discovered that the hot water caused the ice to melt, we decided to find out the temperature of the snow and then the temperature of the water once it had melted. We found out that the snow had a lower temperature than the water it changed into. During all of this, we still found time to go sledging down the hill in the school playground! However, Miss McGinlay had her lab coat on again and this activity called for a discussion on the types of forces we were using to make the sledges go down the hill (pushing and pulling). Every day is a school day!
