Have you seen any Dinosaurs or Minibeasts lately?

Last week children could be seen running around excitedly, and the odd exclamation of glee could be heard. What was happening in the Foundation's Early Years to cause such commotion?

"We are looking for dinosaurs!", "What's this? it looks like an egg." were exclamations heard in Nursery last week. The children had been looking for dinosaurs and found some dinosaur eggs. This was one of the exciting activities on offer last week as part of the Dinosaur theme. The children were shown how to open the eggs using small tools and were surprised to find a toy dinosaur inside. This activity prompted a lot of talks, discussions and questioning about dinosaurs, life cycles, bones, habitats, size, fossils, variety, environments, and characteristics. Further activities included digging for fossils, examining bones, listening to stories, looking for dinosaur food, drawing, painting, counting, and small world play. Dinosaurs are always a favourite and exciting topic for young children and it is always amazing to hear them pronounce and use the long names correctly when talking about them.

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Meanwhile in  Reception children could be seen turning over logs, branches and stones. They were busy prodding and poking sticks into nooks and crannies, and peering closely at the ground and in the trees. Wondering what was happening, this soon became apparent when I walked into the classrooms to see the small world play area full of insects. The children were looking for minibeasts and soon discovered that the school forest area was an ideal place to find some. The theme in Reception is minibeasts, and it always sparks the children's imaginations and curiosity. It has inspired them to question, research, write, draw, paint, count, compare, make homes, and listen to stories.

Both themes are being developed over this week, so who knows what excitement is in store for us!

Liz Wood
Deputy Primary Principal
Foundation Assistant Principal