Wild webcams #30DaysWild

Check out these fantastic webcams.  These live cameras are great for having a close-up look at wildlife.

Wild Webcams

Which is your favourite?

I love the breeding birds on Brownsea Island.  They were squawking so loudly when I last looked.

#30DaysWild Update

Another wild week has passed and Year 2 are totally engrossed in our #30DaysWild challenge.  A big thank you to all the parents that have got involved too.  It is amazing what you notice everyday when you are REALLY looking!

I loved the collaborative petal rainbow they all made this week.

It has rained on and off this week so we have had to be creative with our wild activities.  We experimented with watercolour painting left in the rain.  We hoped the raindrops would leave a pattern.  What do you think?

We then made some homemade mud paint.  We think these were great at catching the patterns from the raindrops.

Year 2 have really enjoyed their wild home learning.  Everyday sees our #30DaysWild tray full to the brim with things to show and talk about.  Our scrapbook is full and it's only day 17 of 30 days!!!  Time to get a new book!!!

#30DaysWild

Such a wild week in Year 2.  We harvested our class garlic that we planted last Autumn.  It smells amazing and we can't wait to use it for cooking.

We learned about grid references and planted our new beds with flowers, carefully planning where things should go.

We have been for a walk collecting natural bits to add to our miniature masterpieces.  We have hung them from ribbons outside our classroom.

Today we found a ladybird in the peaceful patch.

We used some of the natural things we have collected this year to make a garden hanging today.  It was good practice at tying knots too.

We are really looking forward to someone from the local wildlife trust coming to school to see how well we have done with our #30DaysWild challenge.  We have started a whole class scrap book as so many people were bringing in fantastic work from home too.

After we had completed some Maths work today we took 5 minutes to feel the grass between our toes.

Keep up the random acts of wildness Year 2.  Try taking your family on a barefoot walk for your home learning this week!!! Don't forget to take pictures.

A great start to 30 Days Wild

We're really impressed with all the ideas and activities you have done over half term! Thank you for bringing things in to share and show about you wild adventures at home.
In school we've made a great start to 30 Days Wild too. We have created creatures you would find in our local environment using clay and natural objects. We then thought about how we would describe them.  
Today we spent time lying on the field imagining what it would be like to be the size of an ant. We then wrote imaginative descriptions of this in English. This afternoon we harvested the garlic we've been growing over the winter. Some very impressive bulbs pulled up. We then developed our grid referencing skills in drawing a garden design using a grid and then followed it to replant the garden plot. Very busy but great learning taking place! Keep an eye out on here for some photos. Also keep looking outside our classroom to see what we've been up to.

#30DaysWild

During the month of June, Year 2 will be taking part in the Wildlife Trust

#30DaysWild campaign.  We will be undertaking random acts of wildness

every day at school.

2015 Wildlife Trust results show that people who do something ‘wild’ every day

for a month change their attitude to nature and report improvements in their physical

and mental wellbeing, according to new research which places nature connection at the heart of a happy and healthy life.

For your half-term home learning you can choose from one or more of the following:

·         Visit a woodland and take photos.

·         Hunt for mini-beasts and sketch them.

·         Find and identify a selection of trees or plants.

·         Read a book somewhere wild!

·         Borrow some binoculars and go bird watching.

·         Go crabbing with lines and nets.

·         Grab an adult and go on a nature walk in the dark.

Remember to have fun, collect things, take photos and draw pictures!!!

Arts Week 2016

In Year 2 we have been studying the life and works of famous french artist Claude Monet.

We used oil pastels and worked together to recreate a giant masterpiece.

We learned how to paint in the style of the impressionist painters.  We used acrylic paints and worked on marine plywood canvases to create what will become an outdoor gallery for our peaceful patch. We were all very proud of the results especially our independant colour mixing.  See if you can spot Monet's famous paintings that we used as inspiration.

We used our observation and sketching skills to create some beautiful notebook style art.  We loved having a classroom full of real flowers all week too!

By far the most popular workshop this week was the clay workshop supported by students from The Blandford School.  We made clay water lillies and used lots of new tools and techniques. We learned how to crosshatch (hashtag! ###) and use slip to join pieces of clay together.  Everyone who wandered past during the workshops was amazed at how beautiful the results were.  What do you think?  (We think you will use the word WOW!)

We also decided to make an art installation for the last day of Arts week.  We spent any spare minutes during the week making papercraft poppies.  By Friday we had made more than 100 and put them out on the hill behind school to recreate Monet's famous painting.  Can you see the similarities?

On Friday we celebrated with the whole school by holding an art exhibition in the hall.  It was amazing and we were all so proud and happy to show our grown-ups round.  Here are some of the highlights for those that couldn't make it.

Here are some photos that we couldn't resist sharing of Year 2 in action!

A big thank you to Mrs Hargreaves, students from The Blandford School and all the parents that came in and helped too.  We couldn't have done it without you!