We used the internet to look at the Dinosaur exhibition that one of our children had visited and the Titanic experience that another had been to. We also used Google Maps to look at all the places other children had visited, such as; Cornwall, Italy, Dublin, Scotland, Crete and Anglesea - they are very well travelled! It was great finding out all about the special times they had spent with their families.

We started our topic of dinosaurs this week and the children loved discovering our Fossil Hunter role-play area. In here, there were lots of information books about dinosaurs, photographs of fossils, a tank with a HUGE dinosaur egg inside and some fossils in a tray covered in sand with brushes, ready to be discovered. We found out how fossils are made by looking at a PowerPoint on the CTouch board and the children have been sharing their extensive knowledge of the subject with each other. We have been labelling dinosaurs, matching fossils to pictures of dinosaurs and building paper skeletons of dinosaurs.

On Tuesday, the children discovered that something very unusual had happened in the night in Form 1... our dinosaurs had come to life! The dinosaurs had decided to be artists and get the paint and brushes out. The children thought it was very funny as some had accidentally painted each other! Luckily, they had left a book for us to read which explained a little more about what was going on. It was called, What the Dinosaurs did Last Night. A Very Messy Adventure. The story explained that the dinosaurs might get up to all sorts of mischief, which was very exciting but a little bit worrying! 

We decided it would be a good idea to write about what the dinosaurs had done to keep a record of their nightly adventures. The children thought of sentences that would describe what they had found and they listened carefully to the sounds they could hear in the words they wanted to write.

In maths this week, the children have been learning about number bonds to 10. Using our Numicon, the children used the number 10 tile as a base. By placing another number tile on top of the 10, they were able to see which number they would need to complete the 10. We recorded the number bonds we found in addition sentences on our whiteboard. We also used a tens frame to check the number bonds we had found, adding cubes and counting carefully.

On Wednesday morning, the children discovered the dinosaurs had been tucking into Form 1’s snack! They found the dinosaurs with crackers, biscuits and breadsticks in their mouths and crumbs all over the table! Luckily, there were still some left for the children at snack time. We tidied up and put the dinosaurs back in their basket. As it was November the 5th, we found out about Guy Fawkes and learnt the rhyme, Remember remember the 5th of November. The children made firework pictures using pastels on black paper and also made firework rockets using a toilet roll and tissue paper. 

On Thursday, the children discovered the cheeky dinosaurs had made a mess in the bathroom! They had been silly with the paper towel and even tried to brush their teeth in the sink. Toothpaste was everywhere! We decided this was a step too far and decided to take action! The children made a secure trap for them using cardboard boxes, packaging and A LOT of tape! They even taped their mouths shut and used wool to tie them up to stop them from escaping. The children then made signs to put around the box to ensure people knew not to open it and that there were dinosaurs inside. 

To learn more about fossils, the children had a go at making their own using salt dough! Using flour, water and salt, the children made their dough and rolled it into a ball. Using their palms, they flattened their ball and then pressed a dinosaur into the dough to create an impression. The children chose to make trace fossils (footprints and poo) or body fossils (created by the animal's body). We put them in the oven on a low heat to harden the dough to preserve our fossils.

It really has been an exciting week in Form 1!