Passion Projects... Dinosaurs

Passion Projects - What are they?

Each of us has something that we like that makes us feel excited or connected. Something that we are really interested in. These are referred to as passions. They are things we want to share and know more about. With the children and your help we have been trying to find what the children's individual passions are at the moment.
Throughout the year we will be spending a week focused on supporting and looking at their a child's individual interest.

These two weeks at the end of this half term we are looking at dinosaurs. Two of our children have shown a real interest in these creatures of a by gone age. Our room and resource now reflect their interest.

We are using these opportunities to teach the children how to learn more about what they are interested in. Looking at books, accessing the internet and listening to experts are some of the ways we can learn more.

The Dinosaur Song is one that we have been looking at and learning the chorus. Songs often help the children to learn more by repetitive language.

We have also looked at songs from the Storybots on Youtube. For example their song about triceratops. Storybots - Triceratops Song

We have watched certain segments of a video called Amazing Dinosaurs for Kids. Amazing Dinosaurs for Kids These amazing life like representations of Dinosaur life help the children to begin to understand what dinosaurs were really like.

Tyrannosaurus Rex

Triceratops

We have been focusing on the two dinosaurs that the students were interested in most. They are a good comparison as one is a meat eater and one in a plant eater.

We have many non fiction and fiction books related to dinosaurs in our reading corner and the children are finding them interesting and fun.

We have also been watching Andy - The dinosaur expert from the BBC program Andy's Dinosaur Adventures where he goes back in time to look at dinosaurs and how they lived.

Andy's Dinosaur Adventures - Tyrannosaurus Rex

We have been on hunts for Dinosaurs.
We have been looking for dinosaur bones in the sandpit like Paleontologists.
We have matched dinosaurs with eggs of the same pattern.
We have played with the dinosaurs in different mini ennvironments we made in the classroom.
We will be making dinosaur nests and eggs to put in them.

Dinosaurs are so interesting. More to come later.

                              A triceratops puppet.                                              A 3D puzzle.

Which egg goes with each dinosaur.

Eggs and puzzles.

 

Our dinosaur environment.

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Minibeast Come to An End...

Bees a buzzing...

At the end of our studies on Minibeasts we had a look at bees and how they look and live.
We looked at the patterns on the bees and replicated that on our floor together. Everyone helped so we saw that pattern clearly.

We acted out how a bee hive works. First we all used our cushions to build the hive. They were not hexagons but they fitted together well. The queen gave the nurses the baby bees, the nurses took care of the babies and fed them the honey the workers brought back, the guards stopped any bees or other creatures that did not belong to the hive out and the workers flew to the flowers and collected the pollen and the nectar and brought it back to the hive.

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Our hive was built and everyone got a job.

The nurses took care of the babies.

The guards stopped the other creatures from getting into the hive. (that's me)

The workers went to get the nectar from the flowers.

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We watched Jess tell us about how bees live and work.

Jess Minibeast Adventures - Bees  https://youtu.be/7Brwlv1x1Ik 

We sung the song - I'm Taking Home a Baby Bumble Bee. (but only the first verse because the rest is not so nice)

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Water Play...

Water play was fun last week as we brought out the spinkler hose for the first time and the children had such fun sitting on it, running up and down along it and jumping over it all the time with water spraying on them.

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Cooking

Recent cooking projects

Over the last two weeks the children chose to cook ladybug cakes and then banana and strawberry smoothies. Here are some photos from those experiences. We of course chose these recipes as we usually do by voting. We have two more cooking experiences before the holidays.

Ladybug cakes...

First we all worked together to put in an ingredient and mix the mixture. We helped each other by holding the bowl as the mixture got thicker. Then we used the electric mixer to mix them together. It was very loud.

 After the cakes were cooked we decorated them with eyes and spots before we either ate them or took them home.

Banana and Strawberry Smoothies

Each child was given a banana to cut up to put in their smoothie. They were able to choose whether or not they wanted banana or strawberries or both. They then took turns to put the fruit in the blender with the milk and ingredients and when it was ready the pressed the button to blend their smoothie. When it was finished they drank them. They were yummy but very filling.

Everyone enjoyed the cooking and soon we will choose a new recipe for this coming Friday.

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