Saturday 30 April 2016

Changes and challenges!

WHAT'S GROWING?

There was amazement when we came back on Monday to find the pea plants so tall! There have been lots of conversations about what has changed, and also opportunities to name parts of plants - the children have been fascinated by the abundance of leaves!
There has also been questioning from the children whose plants have not yet sprouted - we look forward to squeals of delight the day we see shoots!











Staff, parents and children have been daily observing the changes to the pea plants on the left and the seed potato on the right.
GREAT EXCITEMENT ... WE HAVE TADPOLES!
A parent brought in lots of tadpoles from their pond at home. We have all loved watching them swimming and wriggling, and there have been some lovely moments of staff and children just standing and staring into the tank, captivated by these tiny creatures!
After gathering the children's ideas of what will happen to the tadpoles, we watched the video "Come Outside - Frogs".
We think we have seen little legs beginning to grow on some of the tadpoles, and we hope they will all have grown larger when we return after the Bank Holiday! 

CHALLENGES
Build a model with bricks. Who will get the highest number of bears to balance on their model? The winner had 19!
 How many pom poms can you get out using the tweezers 
before the sand timer runs out?
 Can you complete all of the construction vehicle jigsaws? 

MORE LEARNING...


We have shared this wonderful story this week, and the children have loved retelling the story in different ways .


The children were provided with coloured strips of paper, scissors and glue, and asked to create. Lots of scissor skills practice and some lovely ideas. 




Friday 22 April 2016

Great weather, great learning, great week!

BUILDERS AT WORK!
No time to waste, there's a house to be built! Lots of debate over where the cones should go. Smart thinking to transport lots of cones in one go!



These two boys told me they were workers. I told them it looked like hard work and they might need a break like real workmen. After that I noticed them sitting down quite a lot in between working - "We're having a cup of tea and a break!" I was informed!

WHAT'S COOKING?
These children were extremely busy adding "ingredients" to their soup and then pouring it from one pan to another.

 Always time for a picnic!

NEW CHALLENGES!
Five new children joined Little Conkers last week and they have already grown in confidence as they have explored our great outdoor learning environment.
They have at times been initially hesitant to try things out, but then have gone back again and again and it has been lovely to hear them proudly exclaim "I did it!"





It has been really pleasing also to see some of our older children developing their skills and pushing themselves to achieve things.

The weather has been beautiful this week and the children have thoroughly enjoyed sharing times outside together.

MEANWHILE, BACK INDOORS...
Lots of measuring and comparing has been taking place.


 "We need more! It's not tall enough yet! Maybe 3 more!"
 The children had noticed the picture showing the height of the ankylosaurus dinosaur way up high and they wanted to make a chain to reach him!
Even Mrs Courtney needed to stand on the step to reach him!

 AND WHAT ABOUT THOSE SEEDS?
Some of the pea seeds have shoots. There have been many conversations this week about why not all the seeds have sprouted yet, which has led to good discussions about rates of growth. A couple of pea seeds and a seed potato have been planted in a clear box, and the children have been fascinated and curious as roots have grown longer and longer during the week.


"Mine was the first to grow a shoot!"

I wonder what we will find after the weekend!



Friday 15 April 2016

Spring is here!

A TIME FOR PLANTING

We have spotted new buds and flowers outdoors, and this week we have been planting lots of seeds. 
We looked at and carefully handled the seed potatoes - there were lots of great comments - "it looks like a snowman"..."it looks like it's got a face and arms".


As we planted we talked about how long it might take the potatoes to grow - children suggested times from 3 minutes to 1000 years! 

 We also wondered what we would see growing first - one child said the roots, another child thought we would see a flower. 




Because the children were unsure of the answers to some of the questions posed, we said we would find out by watching them as they grew, and then we would know for sure.

During the week we also watched a video clip about farmers in Lincolnshire planting potatoes and how the potatoes grew and then went to the factory and from there to the shops.

We planted more seeds in our little garden.
 



Mangetout peas.












Sweet peas.









 We planted the nasturtium seeds in the same pots as the daffodils, which are still blooming!
Indoors we each planted a mangetout pea seed - we will be looking after these and some of us thought they would grow as tall as a giant! 




Next week we will be looking closely to see whether any of the seeds have started to grow.
We will also be finding out more about what plants are growing in our wonderful school grounds.