We started today with a spring scavenger hunt, the children got into groups to work together to find what they could off the sheet. There were many different things to look for from something red to something long. Some of these proved to be a little trickier than others but there was some great imagination to find items that fitted the descriptions they had been given. One group found a long Slug for their something long
rather that a long stick.
In small groups the class went to the pond to have a go at some pond dipping. Sitting next to the pond we talked about all the different thing that we may find hiding beneath the water “a frog”, “tadpoles”. Then lying on their tummies they dipped their nets into the water filling their nets with blanket weed, however when they looked a little closer the noticed little things moving around “I have something wriggling in my net”. Everything that was caught in the nets was carefully put into a tray of water, the children then used an ID sheet to work out what they had caught. They had caught some Damselfly Nymphs, Ramshorn Snails, Water Boatman and lots of Water Louse. There was a little excitement
when one child pulled out their net and found that they had managed to catch something a little larger. The something larger that they had caught was a Smooth Newt, the children pointed out that it had an orange tummy with little spots on. While in the pond area some of the children used secateurs to cut back some of the brambles and a hand saw to cut back any over hanging tree branches.
Some of the class started the task of clearing the vegetable patch. They did this by removing the weeds and digging over the soil so that is was ready for planting.
With paint some beautiful leaf printed pictures were created. This was done by adding paint to the back if the leaf, then placing it down onto paper. When the leaf is removed it leaves a print of the leaf showing all the veins of the leaf.
Before & After:
