Our final theme for the year was ‘The Campsite’. We began our learning in S.E.S.E., where we explored the base of a tree. We made predictions about what we may find before exploring our school grounds. We weren’t very successful in the first tree we explored, mainly finding plant life, but on our second attempt we found a caterpillar, centipede and a spider. We also went on a minibeast hunt around our school, and we were amazed as the number of butterflies we found. We learned about the lifecycle of a butterfly and the Juniors had a lot of prior knowledge about the lifecycle. We created a lovely craft linked to our learning of the lifecycle by using watercolour paints to paint the wings of butterflies.
In playtime the children explored the theme of the campsite in Construction. There task was to use the materials to build their own campsites. Some built tents, picnic areas, toileting facilities and campfires. In Small World, the children used the mini magnifying glasses to explore the minibeasts in the campsite and set up a campfire at the campsite. For Role Play the classroom was turned into a campsite, with a large tent, a campfire for roasting marshmallows and making s’mores, a woodland area for exploring minibeasts and birds of the air. The children also looked for animals to match footprints they found.
As an additional treat to finish our learning about camping, Lauren kindly offered to have Rob bring their van, which they converted into a camper during lockdown, into school for the children to explore. Lauren showed us photographs in a scrap book of the process of converting the van. The children then got a tour of the van, from where they cook food, where they store their items, where they sleep and even where they have a wash. The children even got to experience what the shower is like! The Juniors had loads of fun beeping the horn in the van too. Lauren showed them how they boil a kettle on their stove top. It was great to explore a real-life camper and hear about what it is like to camp in a van! Thank you, Lauren and Rob!
In Art, the children created camping themed Father’s Day cards that held a secret message for their dads. The children also created a campsite scene under a starry night using chalk pastels, oil pastels, paint and glitter.
