We have had such a busy half term! The children thoroughly enjoyed our visit to Bristol Zoo, which immediately engaged them with our topic of 'Jaws, Paws and Claws'. They then went on to design and make their own zoo for our model animals...then it was time for some real animals for our classroom!
We invited Chris, who works at 'Petwise', to visit our classroom and the children asked him questions about suitable pets. A snake and a monkey were quickly dismissed and the class, along with Chris' decided that pet mice would be the perfect pets for Dosbarth Eliffant!
Thank you to all the Mums and Dads who discussed suitable names for our mice with your children. We had some superb suggestions! We always encourage the children to use their 'voice' within class so the children voted for their favourite name. The most popular names were 'Hickory and Dickory!'.
The children drew a shopping list and the names of every child were put into a hat and Mr Worth pulled out...Ryan, Mia and Martha. They were the lucky children who came to the pet shop to buy everything needed for our mice! You will be glad to hear that the children are fascinated with the mice, gentle when handling and generous when feeding!
From mice to Pandas! The children were aware that some animals are endangered from our visit to Bristol Zoo. They received a message from SuLee, a giant panda, who was distressed because her bamboo forest was being destroyed. She asked the children if they could build her a suitable habitat for her family to live in safely. The children researched books and searched the web about giant panda habitats. They drew pictures to design the perfect habitat. In groups they then made the habitat from natural materials found in the school grounds. We extended the research into tiger, rhino and boa constrictor habitats too!
This week the children are fund raising for the giant pandas. They decided to make badges, masks, key rings and panda biscuits to raise money (again listening to pupil voice!). We also made posters to tell everybody about endangered animals...the teachers were so impressed by the children's drawing skills and some evidence of word building was seen in their writing!
In Physical Development we have been warming up to the music 'Kung Fu Fighting' (theme from Kung Fu Panda) before moving like a panda in the bamboo forest! Sleeping, walking, scratching, rolling and climbing...what a busy day a panda has!
We have also been lucky enough to have an iPad in our class. I recently attended some training and was amazed how engaging it can be for the children's learning....in fact some are teaching me! We have made numerous books using 'My Story' app.
I apologise for the lack of photographs in this blog but I am using my new toy (iPad) and am still learning! When I have found out how to do it lots will follow!
A huge congratulations to Mrs O'Connell for completing the Cardiff Half Marathon...all her fellow elephants are massively proud of her!
