Curriculum overview
As the seasons change and the weather begins to feel colder, our children began the new calendar year exploring Winter.
We explored the structure of ice, discovering ways to make the ice melt. We tried sprinkling salt onto the ice, which had very little effect on the blocks of ice, the children suggested holding the ice, as our warm hands might make the ice melt, this made our hands feel really cold, so we then had the idea to drip warm water onto the ice using pipettes, this method worked very well and we soon had a tray full of water.
To continue this theme, we looked at what life would be like in cold countries. We began by finding Antarctica on the globe in The South Pole and discovered that no people live there as it is too cold, however penguins do live in Antarctica, and they swim in the icy water to catch fish to eat. Next, we looked the top of the globe at The North Pole and discovered that people do live in the Arctic. These people are called ‘Inuit’s’. the children learnt how Inuit people use the snow and ice to create homes called Igloos, and that the igloos are a semi-circle shape. Polar bears also live in the Arctic and the children decided that polar bears have thick fluffy fur to help keep them warm in the icy cold weather.
Due to the children’s interest in Polar life, we thought it would be nice to adopt a polar animal. The children voted between adopting a penguin or a polar bear. The votes were counted, and Foundation for learning are now proud supporters of the emperor penguins in Antarctica.
Continuing the maps and globe’s theme, we then looked at how maps can help us find destinations closer to home. The children planned a route using google maps and used a compass to help them follow the route to the post office. We then used Google maps to find the street where we live using our postcodes.
Please speak to your children about the themes we are learning as we are extremely proud of what the children know and can remember.
For the remainder of the half term, children will vote weekly to decide which country on the globe they would like to explore next.
Next steps in learning-
Our next theme in March will look at planting and growing along with developing our STEM skills (Science, technology, engineering, and maths).
How does your garden grow...
Foundation have done so well planting our new bulbs ready for some sunshine … next they will plant some yummy potatoes
Well done Foundation!
Children learn best through play..... Take a look at our Foundation Room
As part of our maps and globes theme, we discovered what life would be like in the Arctic and Antarctic. The children expressed an interest in what animals live in these snowy cold countries, so we decided to adopt a polar animal. The children took a vote between a polar bear in the Arctic or a penguin in Antarctic. Penguins won the vote, so our Foundation class of 2023 are the proud supporter of a penguin in Antarctic. More news on our penguin will follow soon. Mandy
A HUGE well done to our Foundation for Learning Children and staff for donating food to their local church and food bank.
This was a great team effort.
