Reception - Geography - Identifying Familiar Places in Darwen
Reception pupils embarked on an exciting geographical adventure today, discovering the town of Darwen through maps and Google Earth. Their exploration took in key landmarks like Darwen Tower and the library, as well as child-initiated points of interest including the church, Iceland, Asda, the leisure centre, and our own school. The highlight for many was locating their houses and sharing their journeys to school, some of which we followed virtually using Google Maps to discuss familiar stops. The children then used copies of the map and familiar landmarks to create their own representations of Darwen.This hands-on experience directly supports their understanding of the world and acts as a fantastic stepping stone towards Year 1 geography.
Reception - Handa's Surprise - Fruit Tasting
Our little explorers have been on a taste adventure inspired by "Handa's Surprise"! After reading the story, we explored the real fruits Handa carried in her basket: a creamy avocado, a sweet banana, a juicy mango, a tangy pineapple, and a bright orange. The children used fantastic describing words as they tasted each one. We heard about textures that were "smooth like silk," "bumpy like a road," and "soft like a cloud." Their taste buds had lots to say too – "sweet and yummy," "a little bit sour," and even a few "not so sure about that one!" faces when it came to the avocado! This hands-on activity not only brought the story to life and encouraged rich language development, but it also sparked our inner geographers! We had some great discussions about where these amazing fruits come from around the world, learning about the warm and sunny climates where mangoes and pineapples thrive.
Year 1 - Geography - Finding The Seven Continents
Wow! A great lesson learning about the seven continents of the world. The children played interactive games on the IWB and used a huge map of the world to place the name cards of the seven continents correctly. The children explored the Atlases and found the seven continents. They also learned that each continent is made up of several countries and that the U.K is located in Europe. Great work Year 1!
Reception - Handa's Surprise
Our Reception class has been on a delightful journey with Handa's Surprise this week! We've been busy exploring all the wonderful fruits from the story, engaging our senses by discussing how they smell and feel. From the soft skin of the mango to the bumpy texture of the pineapple, the children have been fantastic observers! Next week, the real treat begins – tasting these delicious fruits! We can't wait to see which ones are their favourites. This activity beautifully links to several areas of the EYFS curriculum: English: We've been focusing on story sequencing and developing our vocabulary as we retell Handa's exciting adventure. Geography: We've been learning about different fruits and where they might come from in the world, sparking curiosity about other cultures. Stay tuned for photos of our fruity tasting next week!
Nursery - Earth Day
Today is Earth Day! To commemorate this day our activity was based on how we look after our world! During this activity, the children demonstrated a clear understanding of where rubbish belongs. When rubbish was scattered in our clean classroom the children pointed and expressed that it needed to go in the bin! Their immediate reaction and verbalisation show strong expressive language skills. The children then worked together to collect and dispose of all the rubbish that had been planted in the classroom, using brilliant observation skills to find every piece of rubbish. At the craft table, the children selected pieces of blue and green tissue paper and attempted to stick them onto the paper using PVA glue. They initially struggled with spreading the glue but persevered, using their index finger to dab and spread it, showing developing fine motor skills. The children made links with the blue area being water and some children made links with animals that they might see living in the water. At the malleable table, the children manipulated the blue and green playdough, using a pinching action to pull off small pieces and moulding them together. When asked what they were making, they replied, "Earth!" Their manipulation of the playdough using pinching, rolling, and splatting showcases developing gross and fine motor skills.
Pre-School- Geography-Recognising Local Landmarks In Our Community
When talking about our community in the small world area, the children talked about Darwen Tower and that they had been to the top. We talked about how we can see the tower from Pre-School and went to look outside. The children then decided to create the tower using the different building blocks in the construction area. The children worked together starting with the big blocks and building on top with the smaller blocks to make the point at the top. Other children joined the task and added paths and bridges so that people could get to the tower.
Year 5 Geography: Writing About the Human Uses of the Desert
This week in Geography, Year 5 explored the diverse ways humans utilize desert environments, including mining, renewable energy, tourism, settlements, and farming. To deepen their understanding, they creatively wrote narratives from the perspective of a personified desert, sharing its experiences and observations of these human activities.
Year 5 Geography - Using Digital Maps to Locate the Deserts of the World
In Geography, Year 5 used digital maps including Google Earth and Google Maps, atlases and printed maps of the world to locate the largest desert on each continent.
Nursery - Geography - Egg Hunt
Following on from our story this week 'Oh dear!', Nursery class went on an egg hunt in our garden! At each location the children saw an image that they had to link with different areas in the garden to help them find the next clue. We followed each clue and went on a trail to find the eggs. The children showed some great observational skills, noticing details in the garden which helped them follow the trail. Showing brilliant perseverance the children checked each spot which eventually led them to the chicken and the eggs hiding in the bushes. Well done everybody!
Year 5 Geography - Sending a Postcard from the Desert!
Year 5 began their new Geography unit about desert biomes by looking at the Mojave Desert and its features. They then used the different features we discovered to describe the environment, landscape, weather and climate, vegetation and animal life in a postcard to someone they know - as if they were in the desert itself!
Nursery - Geography - Who's House Is This?
Linking with our story, the three little pigs, Nursery class have been investigating different houses. We used google maps to find the childrens houses and see if they recognised who's house it was. As a class we discussed if our houses were made out of straw, sticks or bricks and looked at the number of windows and other features of the houses we saw. The children were able to quickly identify their own houses and they proudly showed them off to the their friends, telling each other who lived with them at home.
.png)
Nursery - PSHE - Likes And Dislikes, Trying Chinese Food
To finish our week after celebrating Chinese new year, we tasted some chinese food. The children tasted 4 different foods typically found within chinese cuisine. Everybody was willing to give these new food items a little taste, on the menu today was, egg fried rice, noodles, prawn crackers and spring rolls. Some children expressed their opinions with thumbs up or thumbs down, others used sound effects such as 'mmm' or 'yukk' and some children vocalised 'yummy' and even asked for 'more please'. The children really enjoyed snack time today!
.png){kind=logo}
