At Rachel Keeling we know young children need lots of opportunities to revisit concepts and new knowledge, to explore and cement learning.
We have enjoyed marking Science Week by celebrating it for two weeks. This meant children could access a range of experiences on offer more than once and learn new vocabulary linked to them. Children were supported to explore a range of scientific concepts using things you would find in your kitchen cupboard. They explored: Displacement: floating and sinking using a range of fruit and objects in a see thru jug. Chemical Reactions: making a volcano erupt using baking soda, vinegar and food dye. Freezing and Melting: freezing water and melting it, using our hands, the sun and even some salt to speed up the process. Observing the effects and talking about it. Separating Liquids: observing water and adding a little oil to it. Observing the effect. Bouncing Bubbles: Using a range of liquids to create large, strong bubbles. Children used vocabulary such as experiment, pipette, predict, displacement, float, sink, effect, chemicals, react, eruption, freeze, melt, separation, liquid, observe. Please check out the following websites for more ideas: https://www.thoughtco.com/kitchen-science-experiments-for-kids-604169 https://www.kiwico.com/diy/lists/kitchen-science-experiments-for-kids-ages-3-to-8 Remember to never leave children alone with any kitchen cupboard contents. Always supervise your child. What an exciting week!
We welcomed lots of very special four-legged visitors to Rachel Keeling. We support children to appreciate the awe and wonder of nature: caring for the flora and fauna in our garden. We encourage wildlife by planting flowers and composting, allowing areas to be shady and damp and also not disturbing creatures that choose to live in our garden. This week we invited the wonderful police horses (and officers) from Bow Stables to visit. We learned some interesting facts: Their three horses were called Quest, Zeus and Urbane. Zeus (the grey horse) is the baby at 5 years old and has only been working for the police for two weeks! Some children demonstrated knowledge of what horses eat: carrots, apples and hay. Someone asked if they ate pancakes. The officers said they probably would if someone made them! The police horses were huge and very strong but calm and gentle too. Children had the opportunity to observe them closely and stroke them one at a time and most children did! The officers said that police horses are good at keep crowds safe and if you get lost in the park, police horses can move quickly and their riders can see long distances. On the same day we had another four legged visitor: a curious, ginger cat! Thank you to our friends in the Metropolitan Police for giving up time to come and visit us. So if we had three horses and one cat, how many legs is that altogether? We have asked the visitors to come back one afternoon in the summer term so that the afternoon children can meet them too! Wee have promised carrots (for the horses) and a pot of tea (for the officers)! Maybe you'll see Quest, Zeus or Urbane out and about - if you do, give them a Rachel Keeling wave! Over the past few weeks, children have been supported to create their own musical instruments. Having already explored music and movement, children were introduced to a range of instruments from around the world. They experimented how sounds were made: looking, listening and touching carefully.
Children were then encouraged to think about and talk about their ideas. They planned and designed what they wanted to do, researching and mark making. Finally they made their own instruments using a range recyclable materials. Children revisited many methods and tools they had used previously. Some children showed they had mastered joining skills: using the hot glue gun ,PVA glue, string, tape and bands. Let’s make some music together! Are you going to make an instrument you can shake, strum, blow or tap? |