Bears@taddy

 The Bears have been measuring capacity this week. We estimated how many non-standard units of sand and water would fit into different sized containers, then measured to see if our estimates were correct. We made sure we filled the containers to the top, to ensure the measurements were correct. 

 This week, during Forest Schools, the children  made bird feeders to hand up around out school grounds.  First, we added string to pine cones then spread peanut butter around them and dipped them in bird seeds.  We also melted lard and added bird seed it and spreaded it out on a tray then waited for it to set. The receptions then used cutters to cut out bird feed 'brownies' the next day.  The children were very excited to hang up the bird feeders for the birds to enjoy.

 We arrived in class to find that there were paintings on our classroom walls. The children discussed how it could have happened and why, which led onto talking about things the children had done in the past that were mischievous.  The children then did their own paintings on the wall and named their animals, remembering capital letters for the start of it's name. 

 The children have been getting stuck into our new book- The Extraordinary Gardener this week. Before reading the story, we used our inference and thought about why the character might be extraordinary. The children decided it must be because of all the unusual creatures and plants growing on the front cover. They didn't think that a child gardening was extraordinary as they all enjoy gardening themselves. In the story, Joe is very creative and creates all sorts of interesting creatures and plants to make the world more exciting. The children have created their own plants and creatures with extraordinary features using various different material. They then wrote about their features and what species they are.

 The receptions have been comparing numbers to 10 in lots of different ways this week. They've thrown beanbags and quoits into a hoop and compared who had landed the most. And compared who rolled the most balls into a hoop. They've competed to see who could thread the largest amount of bobbins in a minute. And sorted bobbins into colours and compared the amounts. 

On Monday, we arrived in class to find a note saying 'find your shadow' as well as a lamp, torches and animals to explore. We investigated shadows and discussed how they are made and everyone found their shadow. We then experimented to see what happened to shadows when objects moved closer or further away from the light. The children discovered the nearer something gets to the light, the larger the shadow.  On Tuesday, we discussed if our shadow was our real self, what would our shadow say about us. The children then made shadow puppets of their favourite things to do or play with. We then wrote sentences about our shadow puppets. 

The Bears were challenged to build a snow shelter big enough to house a cuddly teddy. I was so impressed with their innovative designs, teamwork and resilience- they created some fantastic shelters.  Rolling a snow cave  Making bricks for snow walls Snug fit Carving out the cave Snow ball walls Taking shape  Making different rooms Lounging