Kusama see the sea!

On Wednesday 30th, Kusama had a very exciting trip to Frinton. We had to travel by coach - it felt like a very long journey but we were really excited! We spent the journey playing I-spy to pass the time. The best I-spy was for the letter S......Sea!

When we arrived we rushed to get to the beach. We went on a scavenger hunt to find lots of interesting things like holey rocks and pretty shells and then we made amazing sandcastles. We impressed our teachers by remembering all the facts we'd learnt in our castle topic. Some of us included moats and ramparts in our sandcastles!

We then had our lunch on the steps which was delicious except for the sand in our sandwiches (we finally know why they're called this!!)!

After lunch we had a brilliant time splashing in the sea. We jumped waves and some of us even fell over - we got so wet! We just couldn't stop giggling the whole time, it was great!

We then had some more fun in the sand, adding to our fab sandcastles. Some of us even found some little crabs in some pools of water.

All too soon the trip was over and we were heading home on the coach. What a brilliant day!

Year 2 Newsletter

As part of our Year 2 literacy lessons, we have been looking at a book called The Koala Who Could and writing in response to it. The book focuses on Kevin, a koala who likes things to stay the same. But one day a worrying noise turns into an opportunity for Kevin to step outside his comfort zone and to discover that his friends were right after all - the world is a wonderful place to explore!

So far we have written a lovely description of Kevin's home in the Australian outback, and a letter from Wombat to Kevin trying to persuade him to come down. 

Today we read up until Kevin hears a worrying sound and we discussed all the possibilities of what it could be. Was it a roaring bushfire or maybe an animal trapped in a net? Perhaps it was two kangaroos about to box or a chain-saw cutting the tree down? Maybe it was a stampede of animals or even a lost baby animal?

We were given different scenarios of what could happen next and we used drama to bring them to life. Each group had a narrator to read the possible story ending and the children added speech and actions to make it more interesting.  

When the children had rehearsed, they performed them to the class and the teachers were so impressed! Everyone did a brilliant job, and the narrators read loudly and clearly.

Over the next couple of weeks we're going to be planning and writing our own ending to Kevin's story. What do you think the worrying sound might be?

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!