In September 2020, Classes 1,2, 3 and 4 began their Learning Exploration. The guided question was ‘What do I spy with my little eye?'

The Learning targets were:

Understanding the World: The Natural World

I can talk about some of the things that I have observed such as plants, animals, natural and found objects (30-50)

I can look closely at similarities and differences (40-60+)

I can explore the natural world around me, make observations and draw pictures of animals and plants (ELG)

I can use observations and ideas to suggest answers to questions. (Y1)

Communication and Language: Listening, Attention and Understanding

I can listen to others one to one or in small groups when conversation interests them. (30-50)

I can maintain attention and sit quietly during an appropriate activity. (40-60+)

I can listen attentively and respond to what I hear with relevant questions, comments and actions during whole class discussions and small group interactions (ELG)

I can ask clear questions relating to the discussion being held (Y1)

Understanding the World: People, culture and Communities

I can remember and talk about special times or events for my family and friends (30-50)

I can join in with family customs and routines (40-60+)

I can describe my immediate environment using knowledge from observations, discussion, stories, non-fiction texts and maps (ELG)

I can maintain attention and participate actively in collaborative conversations, staying on topic and initiating and responding to comments (Y1)

Our Learning:

We began our journey by immersing ourselves into the natural world. In F2 we developed our outdoor area to promote more curiosity and observation of nature. We developed a ‘natural art’ area with outdoor painting easels and resources to create natural artwork. We also displayed some ‘real life’ photographs for the children. We included pictures of the ‘Nature’s Alphabet Hunt’ that the nursery Early Starters had contributed to and added the QR codes so that the children could still explore the learning they had previously done about nature. We also upcycled our mud kitchen area and created a ‘nature garden’ which included fairy houses made out of natural objects and a bug hotel to attract minibeasts to our garden. We significantly extended the water area adding lots of different levels, guttering and pipes and added a water wall and welly stand. We added a herb garden for children to use their senses and a weather station to observe the changes that happen outdoors.

We used our guiding question to observe nature closely observing similarities, differences, patterns and change. We used our senses to explore the natural world through our expedition and phonics lessons. We used our observational skills to create artwork to display in our indoor environment.

As Autumn emerged we were able to observe the changes happening before our eyes and use lots of natural Autumn ‘treasures’ as resources for discussion and observation. We also used nature to assist our maths work using sticks to make 2d shapes, compare the size of objects and order by length and height. We used leaves and conkers for counting, addition and subtraction and also comparing weight.

Next we explored Nocturnal and diurnal animals and looked closely at the features of owls and other nocturnal animals. We use our Case Study 2 skill’s to talk about what we have learned and to develop our curiosity by asking questions about the different animals such as where they live and what they eat.

During Case Study 3 we focussed on the things we observe in our local community and the things we see on our walk to school. We discussed natural and man made features and also used stories to discuss the different landscapes, religions and ways of life around the world.

Hooks / Learning Visits and Environments

We realised that our most valuable resource was the great outdoors and developed our outdoor spaces so that the children had a variety of outdoor learning spaces to explore. We spent lots of time outdoors in nature and encouraged the children to bring in natural objects they had found on their local walks or to take photographs of the things they had observed to add to our classroom display, essentially bringing lots of the outdoors indoors too! We encouraged the children to think about the weather and dress appropriately bringing wellies, umbrellas and raincoats to school on rainy days and suncream and sunhats on sunnier days. We spent time outdoors observing nature, cloud watching, minibeast hunting and making observations of the weather, closing our eyes and feeling the environmental features around us such as the wind and rain. We made observational painting and drawings to display in our classroom and made things using natural materials. We looked at ways to safely encourage more wildlife into our outdoor areas.

Due to COVID-19 we were unable to invite visitors or explore the wider world using local walks and visits but the children were provided with a ‘nature guide’ which signposted them to areas of the local community that they could use to explore further such as the local park, Thorne Community Wood, the Canal or their own neighbourhoods and gardens.

Assessment

Our significant assessment of this exploration was exhibiting our new skills through child-initiated learning.

Final Product

For our final product the children made a seasonal 2021 calendar to showcase their learning during this expedition. The children decided how they would dress during each of the seasons and we photographed them and displayed their 4 photographs on their own personal calendar. We also included QR codes so that the children and their families had a long-lasting reminder of the work the children completed during this expedition. The QR codes linked to each season and included song, photographs, artwork and facts the children had learned throughout the expedition.