Using natural and manmade materials to make birds nests

This morning in Year 2 we have been working very hard at Nest HQ to ensure the birds have fantastic nests. First we had a little recap of our learning from yesterday which was looking at why birds migrate over the winter and even looked at the way they fly in large flocks.

Mrs Radcliffe and Mrs Daley set up two boxes per table for us, one with different manmade materials in and the other with natural materials in.

We had to work in our house teams to plan how we were going to make our nests and then use a range of materials depending on their properties to make suitable nests for the birds.

We talked about two main questions;

1. What would make a good birds nest?

2. What properties do the materials need to have to make good nests?

We thought about making the nests warm and cosy, as well as strong, sturdy and camouflaged from predators. Roosting takes place in the nests too so it needs to be high up so that the eggs and chicks are safe.

We decided that using natural materials was the best as clay provides a strong base for the nest, twigs make good sides to hide the eggs and chicks as well as making them sheltered, the leaves we used made the bed area cosy, warm and comf6 for the birds. Some children thought that using some manmade materials such as sponges would provide good support as it could soak up the rain.

Thank you to Mrs Provis and Mrs Horton for coming in to support us, we had a great time and learnt lots!

Forest school morning

This morning we had an introduction assembly to Science week, we found out that if you add bicarbonate of soda to lemon it causes a chemical reaction and fizzes, to make it more exciting we added food colouring. After this we worked collaboratively in our house teams and had a Forest School morning. We were given four different activities to complete in our groups. The yellow team started at the pond area, we were given a scavenger hunt to do and the resources to do tree rubbings. We were very successful and found all of the things Miss Carter had put on the list even a wild card item, we think we will get the extra points for ours.

The second activity we completed was the den building, we had lots of fun and even used rope and tarpolein to make our den draft free. The third activity we completed after break time was the collaborative art, we had a big yellow sheet and found lots of natural materials to put together to show our team animal which is a snow leopard. Finally we were in the quad planting nasturtiums, we took it in turns filling our pots with compost, popping the seeds in, covering them and watering them.

It was such a wonderful start to the week, even the sunshine came out. A big thank you to Mrs Daley and Miss Carter for arranging a fabulous morning!

Absorbent or waterproof?

This afternoon in year 2 we have been experimenting in Science as part of our topic ‘materials’. We were given a range of materials and worked together to see if they absorbed the water we put on them or they were waterproof.

We had lots of fun and learnt lots too. We know that the scientific word absorbent means ‘a material that can soak up liquid’.

Telling the time

In class 2 we have been working really hard telling the time. Mrs Radcliffe had a big clock and we had a small one each. We looked at o’clock, half past, quarter past and quarter to. Mrs Radcliffe tried to trick us but we were too clever. We are going to keep practising telling the time.

Year 2 Maths

This afternoon in year 2 we have been working hard with shape activities. We have learnt lots about symmetry and recapped the names of 2D and 3D shapes. Mrs Radcliffe and Mrs Daley set up a range of activities for us to do. We had lots of fun and learnt lots too!

Making our own switches.

In Science club this week to link with ‘Switch off fortnight’ the children were given a challenge. The challenge was to make a circuit and then create a switch using household materials. The children used tinfoil, paper clips, split pins and card to do this. They all did a fantastic job and had fun too!

Amazing Class 2!

Today Class 2 performed their assembly and they were truly amazing! Mrs Radcliffe and Mrs Abraham were so proud of what they have accomplished this year and the children were able to celebrate all they have achieved. Well done Class 2, you rock!!!

   

 

3D fun!

Yesterday we became engineers, creating World Cup badges for the England football team. We used special pens to  make our badges 3D. Which one do you think England would prefer?