Year 1 Newsletter

 We had such an exciting day when the ducklings came to visit us in Year 1!  Year 2 were kind enough to let us have them for the day so we can share in their experiences.  We loved watching what the cheeky ducklings got up to when we took them out of the cage and we even got to hold them!  Eddie said, " I feel so lucky because I have never held a duckling before."  We remembered to be calm and quiet so we didn't scare them.  They made quite a lot of noise and tried to peck the tea towel and the mat!  We drew the ducklings and labelled our work with adjectives to describe them. 

  

Miss Kilby shared a video of one the eggs hatching with us, which was incredible!  We realised that we had so many questions that we didn't know the answers to, so we wrote them all down, and after lunch, some Year 2 duckling experts came to see us so we could ask them!  We also watched a very cute video of the ducklings having a swim in Miss Kilby's bath!  

   

It really was such a special day, so we decided that we should write about it in our special diaries.   The children worked extremely hard on their diary writing and used lots of recount writing features, as well as trying to remember all the usual capital letters, finger spaces and full stops!  

In science we have finished learning about animals, including humans, by investigating birds and their main features.  We zoomed in on feathers,  making comparisons between different feathers and what parts of the bird they come from and what they are used for.   We measured some feathers in cm and in cubes, as well as making scientific drawings and describing them. 

 

To complete our science learning journey, we wrote riddles about an animal and the rest of the class had to guess which animal our clues were describing!  The children had to try to use scientific vocabulary in their clues. They were brilliant and yet again, the children worked diligently with their writing.   

Year 2 Ducklings: What an egg-traordinary time!

As part of our science learning, Year 2 had duckling eggs to help us understand animal life-cycles. When the eggs first arrived, they had to be put in an incubator to keep them warm. We were surprised to hear cheeping inside the eggs. After a day of being in school, we observed some wobbling and cracking. The ducklings were hatching! They used their egg tooth to carefully chip away at the egg. When they hatched, they were all slimy and wet. They were so tired that they fell straight asleep.

When they had dried off, they moved into the brooder and then had some fun exploring. They were so small to begin with, but quickly grew over the week that we had them. By Wednesday they were huge, and had started to grow some white feathers!

We were able to carefully hold them and cuddle them. They were so soft but so squirmy! We had to stay calm and quiet so that the ducklings didn’t get scared.

After the ducklings had grown a bit, we were able to take them swimming! They used their webbed feet to push themselves along. Some of them loved it, and even dived under the water. They whizzed along so quickly, making lots of splashes! 

We have had the best time with the ducklings and we were sad to see them go. We will certainly miss their company and their cheeping but we know that they're going to have a great time at their new pond!

         

Year 2 ducklings have arrived! How egg-citing!

Year 2 really is filled with egg-citement at the moment! Our duckling eggs have finally hatched! 

The children watched eagerly as the ducklings popped out of their eggs, looking rather tired and wet! We had a few gasps of 'ewww, they're so slimy!' but generally on the whole the children can't believe how cute they are. We also can't believe how big they are! How did they fit inside those tiny eggs?!

The ducklings needed a good, old rest after all that hard work and so we have been letting them sleep for the last day or two. 

Now the ducklings have all fluffed up and are looking much more duckling like! We can't wait for some duckling cuddles. They're getting more and more confident and they love having their voices heard (they just don't stop cheeping, even when they're sleeping!). 

Egg-cellent news: Year 2 ducklings have arrived!

 The year 2 duck eggs have arrived and are all set up in their incubator. 

We're hoping they'll hatch anytime from tomorrow to Thursday. A few of the eggs have started wobbling and we can already see a little crack in one of them. 

We have their brooding cage all ready set up for them to move to when they have dried off. 

The children (and teachers) are egg-stremely excited about meeting our new classmates!