As part of our project on ‘Flight’ the children had a wonderful time making a jet. They used a long piece of thread, a straw, a balloon, sticky tape and a peg. The trapped air rushed out of the balloon when the peg was removed and the balloon rocketed along the string. The children then experimented with different gradients; a wonderful time was had by all!
After some science experiments in the classroom on how hot air rises, we all went outside to watch a hot air balloon inflate.
Does the shape of a parachute make a difference to how it falls through the air? Year 2 went outside to investigate.
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A Trip to Jane Austen's House
Year 2 travelled back in time as we wandered around the home of Jane Austen admiring all the Georgian artefacts on display. We all enjoyed dressing up in costume and penning a letter to a friend. It was easy to imagine Jane sitting at her small desk writing a wonderful novel.
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Making music
Every opportunity is given for our children to perform in front of an audience.
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Kapla building
Modelling with this wooden construction kit is always fun. Towers of bricks often reach high in the sky. Year 2 have been designing and making fantastic buildings.
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A Victorian Washing Day
Year 2 travelled back in time to experience a Victorian washing day. A washing tub, dolly and washing board were all the props we needed. In groups of four the children acted out the sequence of actions involved in washing clothes over a hundred years ago. The children carried a yoke to the water pump and then struggled back to their home, filling the washing tub and copper with water. Scrubbing dirty marks with soap up and down the washing board was time consuming. The children all enjoyed using the dolly to turn the clothes in the washing tub. Each group rinsed and then placed the clothes through a mangle. Later on the Dunhurst domestic staff, took the children into the laundry room. The children saw how the boarders’ clothes are separated according to their colour, placed into very large washing machines and then the soap powder added. The speed at which the clothes were washed and dried provided a sharp contrast to the time consuming task of washing during Victorian times.
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26th January 2006
Mr Wolf series of books
In English we have been looking at the Mr Wolf series of books written by Jan Fearnley. We all loved the way traditional characters are woven into each story and the suspense that is often created. Will Mr Wolf gobble up a character? The children were so keen to write their own Mr Wolf stories and beavered away for a couple of weeks. A very kind parent came into school and typed up the stories for us.
We looked closely at the illustrations and saw how important they are in holding the readers’ attention. Once the story books were completed the children wrote a letter to Jan Fearnley asking her lots of questions, such as, ‘Where do you get your ideas from?’ ‘Where do you sit to write your stories? We really hope that she is able to find the time to reply.
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26th Januar 2006
STAND AND DELIVER YOUR MONEY OR YOUR LIFE!
Year 2 became pirates for the Christmas production of Peter Pan. With an abundance of energy they leapt across the stage in a menacing way. They battled amongst themselves and threatened anyone who dared to approach them. “Highway men of the sea” was a fitting description for a role which they certainly relished.
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20th October 2005
Science in Year 2
Science is really buzzing in Year 2! We have looked at various types of switches. Push, micro, reed, tilt and knife switches were placed into a simple circuit to see how they make and break the flow of electricity.
The children were then given various materials; in groups of four they had to think carefully about how to make their own switch. It was fascinating watching the different strategies each group employed to solve the problem.
The children are now busy designing and making their own models that use buzzers, motors, propellers and light bulbs. One of the most popular inventions was a burglar alarm. It was placed under a door mat, when the Head walked in the classroom the buzzer went off!
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