Today, P1/P2 visited the forest to continue exploring our minibeasts topic, focusing on caterpillars and the butterfly life cycle. The children enjoyed listening to the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar. Afterwards, they explored the forest, collecting leaves and petals to craft their own hungry caterpillars. 

​Today, P1/P2 visited the forest to explore and observe minibeasts. We began by reading a minibeast poem and discussing the different habitats in which minibeasts live. The children explored the forest using magnifying glasses to look closely for minibeasts under logs, stones and leaves. They enjoyed searching together and recording their findings. They discovered a variety of minibeasts, including slugs, centipedes and woodlice. 

P1/2 headed to the forest today to explore their new topic — Birds! The children listened carefully to birdsong, searched for different bird species, and then created their own birds using natural materials. They used fantastic vocabulary to describe the different parts of their birds and confidently explained which type of bird they had built. On our walk back to school, we even spotted two magpies — a lovely good luck charm! 

Today we set out to explore the frost! ❄️ We learned the temperature water needs to reach to turn into ice and tested it out ourselves. We also discovered why roads are salted in cold weather and experimented with adding salt to water to see how it affects freezing. A chilly day full of science! 

As part of their World Around Us topic, The Forest, P1/2 enjoyed a fantastic lesson with Paul Cunningham — Fearne's dad and owner of local business Scopers. Children learned all about blackberries, where/ when they grow, and how to tell when they're ripe. Afterwards, the class headed outdoors to forage for their own. With some help from Jennifer, Paul finished the session with a brilliant cooking demonstration, and everyone got to try some delicious blackberry marshmallows. 

Today Miss Byrne and Mr McCartan teamed up to deliver a Forest School lesson with P1–P3! The children had so much fun exploring the forest, making observations, and recording their findings in creative ways. It was wonderful to see collaboration across the year groups and everyone showing fantastic creative thinking, and self-management skills as they worked. 

P1 had their first outing with their P7 buddies today down at the beach! The children had so much fun developing their gross motor skills and creativity by building sandcastles, practising writing their names in the sand with the help of their buddies, and exploring the shoreline where they discovered lots of crabs – and even a jellyfish! It was a fantastic day for both the P1/2 and P6/7 classes, not only building friendships but also developing their problem-solving and thinking skills as they explored and learned together. A huge well done to our older pupils, who were so responsible, caring, and supportive throughout the day – brilliant role models for their younger buddies!