Painting with our Pals

Our Pals came to visit us this time and it was very lovely. The sun was shining and that made everything even better. A table was set with watercolour paints and some flowers. We had had a bit of a play around with the paints beforehand so we had an idea of how the colour transferred. Some of the Pioneers were inspired by the detailed work of their pals and tried to replicate this using small brushes and careful strokes. Others were happy to experiment and paint hearts and rainbows. There may even have been the odd tractor.

It was a very beautiful morning and we look forward to our next visit.

A visit from the Islamic Diversity Centre

On Tuesday 9th April, we were really excited to be able to welcome Miriam and Amar from the Islamic Diversity Centre in Newcastle. During the day, the children enjoyed a workshop, in their classes, with Miriam and Amar to learn about the Five Pillars of Islam.

The children asked lots of really thoughtful questions and were incredibly interested and respectful of the Muslim faith. We were also pleased to be able to welcome family members to the workshops, who also shared lots of positive feedback.

Thank you to the Islamic Diversity Centre for helping our children understand and compare about faith different to our own.

Click here to see a copy of the family feedback about the workshop: Islamic Diversity Centre Workshop Evaluation (April 2019)

Making Butter

This week, we made butter with Mrs McGill. Everyone had a go at whipping the cream until it split into buttermilk and butter. The children shaped the butter into pats before we got a chance to spread it onto bread and have a tasty snack.

The discussion developed about the change in the cream from liquid to a solid and a liquid. The children discussed the other liquids they knew about. We will use the rest of the butter to make flapjack and the buttermilk to make bread.

 

Wow in the Forest

It was the most beautiful day to explore Spring changes in the forest. The Pioneers were tasked with finding things to make them say “WOW”. Once they had found something they were seen writing labels and “WOWs” all over the place. I heard one little voice say,”I’ve found 5 WOWs .” A reply was heard,”And I’ve found 7″. The WOWs ranged from flowers to worms. We also checked out the pond, where we are due to release our tadpoles into the wild.

Very beautiful learning.

Painting Flowers,Hearts and the Odd Tractor

I set a table with a selection of paint, pallets and brushes. In the centre, I placed a few jugs of flowers. They were not the usual jugs-usually I use a red rubber vase for our classroom flowers. The children painted. Some painted flowers. Some painted hearts. Some painted tractors. Some painted the flowers in the red vase that is usually there, but wasn’t there this week. Some enjoyed moving the paint to create patterns and mix the colours. 

The resulting works are now displayed in a classroom near you. 

Beautiful Learning

Tadpoles Cause Great Excitement

A lot of time this week has been given over to finding out about tadpoles and watching how they are changing. This has caused great excitement, squeals and whoops. We have had a go at using Pic Collage on the iPad, drawn story maps of the development and gazed in awe and wonder at the little wrigglers. The children added some new words to their vocabulary – yolk, gill and they may remember amphibian. We discussed who might be eating who and what might be eating what. This learning will continue for a little longer, hopefully allowing us to see the development of limbs over the course of the week. 

A Tree For Everyone

This week the Pioneers got the chance to handle a range of saplings provided by the Woodland Trust. We discussed the structure of the tree and use the related vocabulary. We wrote labels, having first discussed the links with our phonics. There were a few new teachers leading the learning during this session. The children all wrapped and packed individual trees to provide every family with a tree to take home and plant.

Pop into the classroom to see the wonderful writing that goes along with the photographs.