EYFS

Today we read the story of Mr Archimedes’ bath, considering the question ‘Why does Mr Archimedes bath overflow?’ We looked at the science behind the story. and then carried out a class experiment to find out the answer. It involved blue food colouring, water and toy animals it was really fun! We got to design are own baths and we then made these out of different materials and got to see if they held water or not. 

YEAR 1

Today, Y1 created their own shadow puppets. They used black card to create a girl, a wolf, a penguin, a monkey, a lion and a cat! They then worked hard to make the classroom as dark as possible. The children stood behind a white sheet and projected a bright light from behind them whilst they retold the Moonlight Zoo story. The children learned, and saw first-hand, that when an object blocks light from a light source a shadow is created. 

YEAR 2

On Thursday morning, Year 2 learnt about the importance of drinking clean water. We made our own water purifiers and tested which material would filter and purify the water the best. Kitchen roll was the winner, followed closely by cotton wool, soil and then stones! We had great fun building these and observing the filtering process. 

In the afternoon, the children explored what happens when you mix water with an alka-seltzer tablet! We put them in a film canister and turned the canister upside down... Guess what happened? Maybe you would like to try it yourselves at home and see! We had a lot of fun changing variables such as the volume of water and number of tablets to observe the results!

The children used the VR headsets which they loved! We linked to our topic of habitats and visited different habitats in Africa including the Sahara desert.

YEAR 3

Today, Year 3 set up an observation over time enquiry to explore how water travels through plants. The children placed celery sticks in coloured water and observed how the colour moved up the stem! The children were amazed by how quickly the water travelled and how it seems to defy gravity! Year 3 also enjoyed exploring a variety of different food chains today, including the difference between producers and consumers.

YEAR 4

Year 4 enjoyed some cross-curricular learning today as they read a sci-fi alien narrative and then started to write their own! We can’t wait to read them all – we’re sure they’ll be out of this world!

The children also enjoyed a spot of pond dipping today! They loved using the nets to explore the pond life – they found and later identified a number of different creatures!

Additionally, Year 4 enjoyed setting up an observation over time enquiry, where they placed white carnations in different coloured water pots. The children loved observation the changes the petals underwent and exploring how this happens. It was also fascinating to see what happened when the stem  of one flower was split and placed in two separate colours – perhaps you could try this at home to find out!

YEAR 5

Bumblebee numbers have declined in recent years, due to changes in agriculture, which has led to fewer nesting opportunities for them to feed from.  Year 5 worked hard to day to create some homes to help save the bees.  They used terracotta plant pots, wire messing, straw bedding and hosepipes to create homes for the bees to nest safely.  These were then distributed around the school grounds.  These homes were created to be slightly buried as many species nest underground in old vole burrows, which our homes mimic.  Year 5 thoroughly enjoyed creating these and will be keeping watch to see if any bees nest in our new homes!

Year 5 also enjoyed some practical learning on electricity today! They constructed a number of simple circuits using electrical equipment and explored how a variety of components interact when changes to the circuit are made.

YEAR 6

Year 6 thoroughly enjoyed completing their giant ‘slow’ marble runs this afternoon! High levels of competition saw a range of inventive, large and intricate designs! Lots of fun was had at the final race-off – with an impressive winning time of 36.4 seconds! Well done, Year 6!