P1-7 enjoyed a school trip to North Berwick Seabird Centre for indoor and outdoor workshops. We first watched a PowerPoint on the type of marine creatures that we might find in the rock-pools at low tide. We learned their names, what they looked like and what each creature feeds on.
With support and guidance of the Seabird Centre staff, the children spent the morning enjoying exploring lots of rock-pools at the beach beside the Seabird Centre. It was great fun but some of us were over-enthusiastic wading into the rock-pools and managed to get soaking wet! We had to look hard as the creatures were very well hidden and camouflaged. We collected what we had found in trays so that we could see the creatures more clearly and then returned them to the rock-pools afterwards.
Today Leigh took us on a different walk down ‘The Howden’. We timed it well as we arrived at the same time as the farmer with his tractor and plough.
On one side we saw a field that had already been ploughed and on the other was a field that had been planted with seeds and was already green with new shoots.
Leigh showed us the hawthorn plants that we were going to plant. She explained how hedges are very important for wildlife like rabbits, foxes, badgers, moles and stoats.
In partners everybody worked together to plant hawthorns in all the gaps in the hedge. In a few years these plants will have grown together into a tall thick hedge.
P3/4 enjoyed a day’s visit to the Royal Botanical Gardens in Edinburgh for two educational workshops. These workshops support our topic on Living Things. We were met by Katy who ran both our morning and afternoon sessions on ‘Plants We Use’ and ‘The Secret of Trees’. ………..What did we learn?
Plants We Use
From the common to the exotic, to find out how plants are used every day for food, clothing, shelter.
To learn where plants come from.
To find out which parts of the plant we use.
To discover how plants benefit our society.
Secret of Trees
To follow the journey through the parts of the trees from roots to leaves to seeds to discover their secrets.
To explore using our senses and find out how important trees are to our lives.
The children enjoyed taking an amazing sensory trip through the natural world. They were encouraged to touch and smell the plants and Katy ‘treats’ to taste that came from plants they saw; papaya, pineapple, chocolate, ginger, banana, and jellybeans!
I was excited when I got to touch the plant and it felt smooth. Sara
My favourite thing was when I learned how a tree defends itself. Did you know that bark defends a tree? Jamie
The thing I remember about the trip was the big lily pads. Arran
I liked tasting things that was made by plants. I learned that roots suck water. Grace
I liked seeing the enormous cocoa beans and tasting it too. Kelvin
I learned that a kind of cactus gives us golden syrup. Matthew
I enjoyed the most was tasting the cocoa beans and feeling stuff and smelling as well. Jonathan
I liked touching the plants and running around the grounds. Max
My favourite thing was to see exotic plants. Some were funny. We were trying jelly beans, papaya and chocolate. Oli
I learned that bamboo makes lots of different things and that plants make medicine. Faith
My favourite thing was when squirrels came really close to us. I remember that some leaves were soft and furry. Abigail
I liked looking at all the plants and doing the activities. Mason
I was excited when I got to touch the plant and it felt smooth. Sara
What a glorious sunny day we chose for our woodland exploration day! It was perfect for all the planned activities with Leigh, our outdoor education Ranger. We found lots of minibeasts and Leigh showed us evidence of animal activity in the woods. We learned about Scottish wildlife and their habitats. In teams, the children solved food chain puzzles and noticed that all food chains begin with plants. The children enjoyed finding the animal models that Leigh had hidden in the undergrowth. They looked very realistic! We learned how plant seeds are spread by animals and weather and we even managed to hear the broom seeds popping in the heat of the sun!
The children split into teams to build a suitable hedgehog home out of twigs, leaves and feathers for Leigh’s hedgehog. Much fun and much laughter was had splashing and wading through the burn and under the bridge! We completed the day with campfire fun toasting marshmallows. Sticky! Jena and Leigh showed us how to make charcoal from willow bark which we will use in future art lessons. We packed a lot into one day and learned a great deal about the outdoor environment on our doorstep.
We worked in cooperative teams with our shoulder partners and then our face partners to decide where the labels should go on the diagram. Some of the plants ‘jobs’ were difficult to figure out, but by working as a team we managed to work out the answers.
The fields at the back of the school were harvested this week and so we went out to watch the combine harvester at work and to learn about the farmers’ work at this time of year. We talked about different crops and what the farmer’s wheat grain might be used for.
Back in school the children looked at Wheat and Barley plants. We took wheat grains and each had a turn trying to grind the seeds into flour between two stones. It was hard work!
We each found a special stick to call our ‘Journey Stick’. Wool was wound around it and, as we walked through the woods, we found lots of interesting items to attach underneath.
Our exploration generated a great deal of discussion on the different objects we saw and touched. We chose our favourite things to attach to our journey sticks. There was an assortment of feathers, flowers and seeds and lots of leaves with unusual shapes or plants with nice smells.
Some pupils from primaries 5, 6 and 7 become Forensic Scientists on a Thursday afternoon when we meet for Science club.
Week one – The scientists had to find out which pen was used to write the incriminating message using chromatography.
Week two – Who spilt the hot chocolate powder in the staff room? The scientists investigated the fingerprints of everyone still in the school building. It was…
We are all very excited to be learning about Space and Miss McGregor has made our Learning Wall look like the
“night sky filled with stars.”
We hope to announce plans for a trip soon, but meanwhile, Alistair’s Mum suggested a night visit to the Royal Observatory Edinburgh might be fun. Unfortunately, this wouldn’t be a school activity so you would have to make your own arrangements. Please see the link below.
http://www.roe.ac.uk/vc/public-events/astronomy-evenings
Winter Astronomy Evenings
October 2014 – April 2015
Weekly events on Friday evenings from 3rd October 2014. 6:30pm – 7:30pm and 8pm – 9pm. Last winter session on April 24th 2015.
Thanks to everyone who attended Science Club on Thursday. It was really exciting to see what happened to the colours in the different kinds of milk when we added a drop of washing up liquid. Amazing!!
Milk Colour Explosion on PhotoPeach
Well done for working really well together and special thanks to Jessica for helping wash up. I have added a brief reminder of the process below.
Milk Colour Explosion
Milk is mostly water but it also contains tiny droplets of fat suspended in solution (the milk). The secret of the bursting colours is the chemistry of the drop of washing up liquid, which weakens the chemical bonds that are holding the fats in the milk. Part of the soap attaches itself to a fat globule in the milk and the fun begins.The molecules of fat bend, roll, twist, and contort in all directions as the soap molecules race around to join up with the fat molecules. As the soap becomes evenly mixed with the milk, the action slows down and eventually stops.
