Reception
Mallard STEM Week W/B 11.03.2024
Woah! What a week in Reception!
There was drama, excitement, anticipation, amazement and humungous bubbles!!!
Have you ever been inside a bubble? Well, we have!
We made Cheerio Bird Feeders - Children used pipe cleaners to thread their Cheerios onto. The children decided where they would like to put their bird feeders.
"Mine long" - Frankie
"My Cheerio Bird Feeder is round, it is easier to hang" - Sameeha
"For birds" - Caleb
Children explored what traditional bird feeders looked like. They talked about why we have bird feeders and why they were important to have.
Lava Lamps!
Lava Lamps
"Lots of bubbles going up!" - Alayna
"We used water, yellow oil, red colour for food and white tablets."
- Bai Fatou
"Oil and water does not mix because the they don't like each other!" - Psalms
Spoon Lollypop Stick Catapults!
Catapults
Children were amazed at how a spoon, lollypop sticks and elastic bands can turn into a catapult!
"Let's try it now, my one will go far!" - Bilal
"I made it, it works!" - Awais
The children are using their catapults to launch their pom poms into the containers.
From mini catapults to Large Lego Block Launchers!
Lego Marble Runs!
Lego Marble Run
Planting carrot & Marigold seeds!
Planting
MAGPIE STEM WEEK
STEM Week is a celebration of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and we had engaging activities to keep us entertained for the week. There was a lot of laughter, predictions, food colouring and smiles. Check out the pictures from the lovely Magpie scientists exploring and investigating!
The children enjoyed investigating how to keep ice from melting in this science experiment. We used aluminium foil, cling film, napkins and tissues to try and prevent the ice from melting. We also created our own lava lamps using vegetable oil, food colouring, vitamin C tablets and water. After we added water and oil are added to the jar, the oil floated above the water because it is lighter than water.
We did the grape dancing experiment which involves mixing baking soda in water with some vinegar to create carbon dioxide gas. We then added grapes added to this mixture will sit at the bottom at first, and then, as the bubbles collect on the sides of the grapes, they will begin to float. When they reach the top, the bubbles will pop and the grapes will sink again. In the 2nd picture, the STEM challenge was to build a car that is powered only by the force (push or pull) of a pair of magnets.
We made a giant bubble and once the soapy water is mixed and placed the hoop into the tuff tray, then a child stood in the middle of the hoop. All we heard was giggles and all we saw was the biggest smiles. What a joy it was to see children giggling inside of a giant bubble! I decided to join in which was so much fun!😀
In this activity, children built their own Catapult using a plank and big Lego block. We used our foot and pressed it down to make the Lego block fly in the air and then see how far it goes. Once again, I got involved and had a fantastic time 😃
Merlin's STEM experiences
This week has been filled to the brim with a wide range of STEM-related activities. STEM learning teaches children the importane of keeping an open-minded and curious approach. Children are encouraged to ask questions to gain a better understanding of something and develop a growth mindset.
We welcomed in ou parents into our classroom to showcase some of the exciting STEM activities we have been experiencing this week. The children were very excited to showcase their new learning to their parents. We had a massive turnout which was wonderful to see. Come along on our journey to see what we have been up to!
Building Bridges:
Challenge: Build a bridge over the River Thames using the materials provided.
The children were provided with a range of different construction resources such as wooden blocks, legos, kinnex, lolly sticks etc. They had to use their engineering skills to create a stable bridge over the river. Some bridges were tall, some were short, some used a mixture of resources, and some definitely collapsed straight away! Regardless, children and parents found it an exciting challenge!
Catapults:
Challenge: Build a catapult that can flick a pompom up into the air.
This was a challenge that required parents to help their child build their mini catapult. This task was in preparation for our giant catapult which we made later on in the week. Parents help their child wrap around elastic bands and test out different methods to help catapult the pompom. The children tested out their catapults by trying to flick and target their parents! So much fun was had here!
3D shape creations:
Challenge: Using the toothpick and marshmallows to create a 3D shape.
The parents were very surprised to know that their children knew the names of various 3D shapes such as cube, cuboids, pyramids, cones and spheres! The children loved showing off their knowledge and testing their parents on some of the 3D shapes. They worked in collaboration with their parents and worked carefully to create a 3D shape.
Balloon Sculptures:
Challenge: Create a sculpture with some balloons, masking tape and a piece of cardboard.
The excitement on the children's faces was unmatched when they saw a sackful of balloons emptied in front of them! No doubt they thought they were in for a party...but they were even more excited to discover the challenge! The parents had to play a helpful hand here, holding up the balloons whilst the children taped them together. The most challenging part was to stop the children playing and popping all of the balloons!
Can you work out what these guys made with the balloons?
Lego Marble Maze:
Challenge: Complete the marble maze and help the marble escape!
Lego is a very popular toy in our class so I decided to create some tricky marble mazes for the children to explore. The maze had an entrance and exit and a labyrinth of courses to travel along. The children were really engrossed in this task, more so, I spotted lots of parents having a go!
Fizzy Rainbows:
Challenge: Can you make a new colour by mixing a range of rainbow colours?
Not only was this just a simple colour-mixing activity, but it was also a science experiment which included vinegar and baking soda! The children were very excited to see that the vinegar made the baking soda fizz and bubble up, causing a magical colour burst!
Observational Science:
Over the week, the children engaged in some Scientific activities which required observation over some time. We did 2 tasks which required observation over time:
Rainbow Flowers: We placed white flowers inside cups of coloured water to see what happens. We were amazed to see that the white flowers had taken some of the colours from the water and had changed the colour of their petals! The children understood that the stem carried the coloured water up to the flower petals which caused the petals to change colours.
Bouncy Egg: We placed 4 eggs inside 4 different components; vinegar, water, milk and fizzy drink. We observed over time to see what happened to the shell. To our surprise, the shell in the fizzy drink started to peel and bubble away. The eggshell in the vinegar expanded and started softening, eventually becoming shelless and bouncy!