As part of their child initiated play this afternoon, the reception children were exploring water flow. They built a super system where they could pour water in at the top and watch it flow right to the bottom tray. They realised that if they poured a larger volume of water down the pipes then the water would flow much faster than if they only put a smaller amount of water in. They also found out that the more water that was in the tray at the bottom, the better the boats floated…

Hedgehog Class have been busy making some boats in preparation for their upcoming boat race in a couple of weeks time. Today, they put all of their new knowledge and skills that they have learnt into practise to create some fantastic looking boats! We can’t wait to test them in our water tray next week to make sure that they are watertight!

Hedgehog Class didn’t let Storm Gavin ruin their forest school fun this week! Due to the strong winds that were forecast, we couldn’t attend the Drumbles site this week so Kris organised some super indoor activities instead. The children were excited when Kris said that they were going to make some pancakes although they were amazed that they were going to cook them on tin cans over a candle!

They also learnt a vital survival skill through indoor den building. They started off making their own individual dens which then developed into one great big den! They had great fun creating their own games once they had finished building…

Hedgehog Class have been learning about what Christians believe about Palm Sunday. We looked at a palm cross and compared it with a palm leaf. We discussed how the leaf had changed shape. The palm cross reminds Christians that, although the crowds welcomed Jesus, some people were jealous of him – and, a week later, Jesus was arrested and killed on a cross. Jesus’ dying was sad and terrible but we know that Christians believe it is not the end of the story. We know that the palm crosses remind Christians of Palm Sunday and of Jesus dying.

We did some different activities to help us remember the story of Palm Sunday and to remember the palm cross as a special symbol…

Hedgehog Class enjoyed a trip along Llangollen Canal on a horse drawn boat today. The shire horse who pulled us was called Harley. We all thought that he must be really strong to pull us all along on the boat! The trip was to help us learn more about boats and how they have changed over time. As we waited for our trip to start, the children impressed the adults by naming the different parts of the boat such as the bow, stern and keel. We also looked at what materials the barge was made from. When we got back to school we started designing our boats that we are going to make ready for our class boat race down the river in a few weeks time.

At forest school this week, we continued looking for signs of spring. We noticed that the birds had started making nests high up in some of the trees. 🌳 Kris taught us what birds use to make their nests – twigs, moss and leaves. We didn’t know that birds make their nests high up to protect their eggs and chicks from predators! We then had a go at making our own versions of some bird nests…

On Tuesday afternoon the children in Hedgehog Class were learning all about Shrove Tuesday. We learnt about the period of Lent and how the four countries in the United Kingdon traditionally celebrated Pancake Day in different ways. We had great fun making some pancakes. We learnt to weigh and measure the ingredients as well as learning how to safely use a hob…

We also really enjoyed eating them!

The Reception children then enjoyed incorporating Shrove Tuesday into their child initiated play. They timed each other using sand timers to see how many times they could flip a pancake in a minute, had pancake races and even made their own “pancakes” in the mud kitchen.