Germs and hand washing were the topics of the day on Monday, when Mrs Johnson, from Sam's Simple Science, came in to do workshops with children from Pre-School right up to Year 6.
The children's hands were coated in a special solution, which glowed white under ultraviolet light. They washed their hands with soap and water, and then viewed their hands once again under UV light. Some children were surprised to see that their hands still glowed white in places, showing that their hand washing was not as thorough as it could be! They were taught that they need to wash their hands for the length of time it takes to sing two verses of "Happy Birthday" in order to get their hands properly clean.
Hedgehogs Class enjoyed an advernture on Tuesday. This week, they went on the minibus to Ivinghoe, where they played in the park, then visited nearby Pitstone Windmill. They were very excited to see a real life windmill, as they have been reading the book "Rosie's Walk" which of course features a windmill!
Later in the week, they had another trip, when they walked down the road into Eaton Bray to post a very special letter to Buckingham Palace, to wish the Queen a happy 90th birthday... I wonder if they will get a reply?
Back in the classroom, children have been working hard in Literacy, with Deer Class working on English grammar, and Foxes studying the poem Beowulf. They have enjoyed acting out the story, particularly the bit where Beowulf defeats the monster Grendel.
Otters and Squirrels have been continuing their work on the theme of journeys, with Squirrels learning about Neil Armstrong, and comparing his journey with the journeys made by Christopher Columbus. They thought about life on board ship, and mimed the activities that Columbus and his crew would have carried out. Otters have found out about different forms of transport, looking at poems and songs with a transport theme, and designing their own vehicles. For Science this week, they went on a journey around the school grounds, hunting for signs of winter, and thinking about how many hours of daylight there are in the winter months.
Rabbits have been enjoying their Art lessons this week - they were given the task of creating an alternative setting for the book "Where the Wild Things Are" and painting their vision in watercolours.
In Choices this week, the Lego We Go group made models to their own design, all with moving parts powered by a motor. The Jobs People Do groups enjoyed a visit from an actor, who got all the children involved in various fun drama activities - they thoroughly enjoyed themselves! Meanwhile, two of our older boys asked if they could run a Choices group this week, and volunteered to be in charge of the Construction group. They did such a good job of organising the activity and helping the younger children, that we are keen to repeat this, and to find other such tasks for our responsible Deer children!
Next week is International Week, so lots to look forward to before we break up for half term!