We gathered a few of our favourite toys and books and we set off on our adventure. Once on the Paddock, the children were intrigued to hear the story Greta and the Giants, sharing their fantastic ideas about why it is important to protect our planet. The children knew that the smoke coming out of the factories and cars was dirty and that we needed clean, fresh air to breathe. They also told me that chopping down the trees was destroying the animals' habitats and that the animals could even go extinct! This made us very sad, so we worked hard to come up with some ideas of ways to save the planet like turning off the taps and putting rubbish in the bin. When we returned to the classroom, the children continued to explore the environment. The children were each given a scenario and we took it in turns to pin our picture onto the happy Earth or sad Earth. The children had a fantastic discussion about rubbish in the ocean and we learned that if we put food waste in the compost bin, it makes soil which makes the Earth very happy!

During their play, the children continued to explore the environment. Some of the children enjoyed getting messy learning all about the melting ice caps. We explored different ways of melting the ice using pipettes and salt to help us rescue the animals trapped inside! It was a bit tricky at first, but the children discovered if they used a spoon they could help to break the ice into smaller pieces and they persevered to rescue all of the animals. We also loved getting stuck in exploring the small world area where the arctic animals were living in ice made of shaving foam! Some of the children then had a go at using the pipettes to create beautiful Earth-inspired pictures onto cotton pads, developing their strong grip.

We continued our environmental theme in Literacy this week as we made our own posters. During carpet time, the children helped me to design a poster on the C-Touch board, explaining that we need to put our rubbish in the bin. Some of the children then had a go at creating their own fantastic posters by cutting and sticking different pictures or drawing their own to teach others how to look after the Earth. They thought really hard about the different pictures they wanted to include and we were really impressed with their explanations about why each picture was important. Some children even had a go at writing their own phrases on to their posters using their super phonics skills. I was so impressed by how passionate they were that we made a special visit to Mr McCarthy to show him our fantastic work!

In maths this week, we have been learning all about weight. The children took it in turns to find different objects around the classroom to put on our balance scale and we made predictions about which object would go up and which would go down. The children made some excellent guesses using their hands to represent the scales and they were fantastic at telling me which was heavier and which was lighter.

We have also begun sewing this week. The children were very curious about my new needle and they watched very carefully as I showed them how to sew. Some of the children then chose to have a go themselves and they made a super effort at tying knots, threading needles and weaving in and out of the holes in their material. It took real determination and patience, but Transition certainly surprised me with their natural sewing skills. 

This week we have also loved planting our own seeds, making maps, building dens and we all made a fantastic effort to practise writing our own name. What a busy first week back we’ve had. I look forward to seeing you all for another next week as we dive deeper into polar habitats.