To conclude our day of play we enjoyed a toy afternoon.
I was so proud to see children sharing their toys, using manners and engaging in purposeful play.
Toy Afternoon
Hook Day- Year 4
Yesterday, pupils fully immersed themselves in our new expedition, “Lest We Forget: How Does War Change Lives?”, during an engaging Hook Day. Step back in time, the children dressed as World War II evacuees and tackled a series of hands-on challenges: deciphering secret messages in Morse code, crafting authentic diary entries, and taking on a 20-minute STEM challenge to engineer paper bridges strong enough to hold a toy tank. It was an inspiring start to a powerful unit of learning.
Toy Box Through Time
Crew Godley have been stepping back in time to explore “Toy Box Through Time.” We have been discovering how toys have changed over the years, exploring some fascinating old toys and learning about the history of much-loved favourites, including dolls and teddy bears.
We also discovered a special local connection as we learned about the history of Paddington Bear and the Paddington Bear factory in Adwick!
The children enjoyed comparing toys from the past with the toys we play with today and thinking about how and why toys have changed over time. It has been fantastic to see their curiosity, questions and excitement as they became toy historians!
Toy box Through Time Workshop
Today we were lucky to take part in a DGLAM workshop all about the history of toys.
We learnt about how toys have changed, the origin of Teddy Bears and how Doncaster’s most famous bear was made in Adwick.
We also got to play with lots and lots of different toys. We had a great time!
Mission to Mars: Research, Design and Build!
Today, our classroom became a Mars research and engineering centre as the children began their mission to design and build their own Mars rovers.
We started with a research carousel. The children explored NASA mission photographs, watched footage of a rover landing and investigated the challenges of reaching Mars safely. They measured a wooden chassis, examined rock samples, developed key vocabulary and used non-fiction books to discover more about space exploration.
Next, the children compared four famous rovers: Curiosity, Perseverance, Opportunity and Spirit. They identified features such as camera masts, robotic arms, solar panels, wheels and suspension. Importantly, they considered the purpose of each feature before selecting ideas for their own designs.
During the building activities, the children tackled three engineering challenges. They carefully measured and cut wood for their chassis, created prototypes of possible rover features and built electrical circuits to power a motor. They tested their ideas and made changes when something did not work as expected.
We were particularly impressed by the children’s curiosity, teamwork and perseverance. Like real engineers, they had to communicate, solve problems and learn from their first attempts.
Today’s research, designs and prototypes will guide the children as they continue developing and building their finished Mars rovers. We cannot wait to see where their ideas take them next!
Hook Day 🛰👨🏽🚀
This morning, we began our expedition hook day. We explored Mars Rovers through a range of activities including exploring new vocabulary, reading texts, analysing photos, types of rocks and videos and looking at a rover prototype.
Crew McGlone – Tough Runner!
Crew McGlone absolutely loved taking part in Tough Runner to bring our first week in Reception to an end. Thank you to Crew White for helping us through the tricky parts and supporting us with words of encouragement!
KS1 Toy Afternoon
As part of our Hook Week activities we will be holding a Toy Afternoon on Wednesday 2nd September.
Children are allowed to bring one toy into school to play with during the afternoon.
Please ensure it is named and can be kept in a carrier bag on their peg until the afternoon.
Thanks
KS1 Crew
Planting Bulbs In Crew Ramsay!
This morning we beat the weather to plant daffodil bulbs in our outdoor area. We learned about the life cycle of a daffodil before going outside and planting our very own bulbs. The children measured the distance between bulbs, dug holes, planted bulbs and placed their name sticks ready for our spring time dig. We cannot wait to see the green shoot in Spring after learning about the seasons and nature’s cycles. The children showed great stewardship of our shared space and tidied up after themselves. Well done Crew!
Tough Runners!
Today in Crew Ramsay, we worked our way fearlessly through the Tough Runner Course. We exercised our courage, compassion and Crew by overcoming obstacles, helping one another and cheering each other on! Here we are enjoying the last day of Crew week!
