As part of our history topic, we have been looking at toys from the past and comparing them to the toys we have now.  We have considered and discussed the similarities and differences of the toys from the past and present during our investigations.  We have sequenced toys on a timeline too and have completed oberservational drawing of artefacts to help us notice the changes.  

We have had the most amazing time designing and making our very own hand puppets.  We began by designing our templates, thinking carefully about what features and decorations we would like to use.  We then investigated different joining techniques such as glueing and stapling. Next, we carefully used a hand puppet template to draw around and cut out the materials we needed for the puppet.  Then we used a whip stitch to stitch all around the puppet to join the front and the back together as we decided that would be the best joining technique.

Finally, we decorated our puppets using our creative flair and a wide variety of materials.  

The science topic this half-term is materials. We have been investigating different materials by classifying them and looking at their properties.  We have learnt new vocabulary to describe the properties of materials such as rigid, opaque, transparent and flexible.  Our favourite part of this topic has been learning all about Charles MacIntosh who invented waterproof material. 

We then conducted our own waterproof material's investigation by making three different types of waterproof samples.  We used PVA glue, glue stick and oil to make waterproof sandwiches (using a piece of material top and bottom and the substance in the middle).  We then made a prediction about which sample would be the most waterproof (would not let water through into the jar below) and then we tested each sample using coloured water so that it was easy to see.  

As part of the investigation, we discussed ways of ensuring that it is a fair test by using the same amount of water in the pipette and the same amount of testing material in the layer between.

We love our Muddy Monday sessions in Kingfishers and this half-term we have been building on our learning about materials in our sessions.  We investigated what happened when we tried to get the debris out of our water butts by using different materials.  We noticed that the water filtered through easily with some fabrics with the debris staying on the surface of the fabric and not going through.  Some of the fabrics we investigated did not allow water through either, and we talked about how one of the properties of the material is being waterproof. 

Through our learning about the weather we have noticed that it can be very cloudy during the spring.   We learnt about the water cycle and condensation and experimented with making a cloud in a jar.  We attempted to create a real, visible cloud using a glass jar, hot water, ice, and a quick spray of hairspray (done by an adult).  Some of our attempts were more successful than others, but that is why we love science so much, as we can experiment and achieve different outcomes.