F1 Enrichment Activities
Neville the hedgehog
Some of our children were very lucky to meet a rather unusual pet. We had a visit from Katie, who brought in her pet hedgehog called Neville. Katie talked to the group about how she takes care of Neville, about his routines and his likes and dislikes. She showed us how to safely hold and stroke Neville and the children had the opportunity to do this. Neville was a very friendly pet and we really enjoyed meeting him.
Blue Cross Visit
To help develop our knowledge and understanding of ‘Animals and Pets’, Celia from the Blue Cross Animal Charity came to visit our setting. She taught us about how to care for animals and stay safe around them. We then practised how to care for small animals in our role play area, which is set up as a veterinary practice.
RSPB Big Schools Bird Watch
In January, Rosilind from the RSPB visited our Foundation 1 class. She taught us about the types of birds we may find in and around our school grounds. We had a walk around the school and looked and listened for birds, recording which and how many birds we spotted. We had to be very quiet so as not to scare the birds off! We then used our counting skills to compile our results and send them to the RSPB for them to use as part of their data for the Big Schools Bird Watch.
Before Rosalind’s visit, we prepared our outdoor area by creating bird feeders using lard and bird seed. These bird feeders hopefully attracted more birds to our setting.
Chinese New Year
We talked about the cultural differences that happen in China compared to England through exploration of Chinese artefacts. We then listened to some Chinese music and carried out some Chinese dragon dancing! We used chopsticks to count and transfer cubes into pots, which was very tricky!
Chicks
We experienced looking after and handling some new-born chicks. This taught us how to care for young animals and ensure all their needs are met. Here are some photos of us holding them with care.
Black History Week
During October, F1 celebrated Black History by learning about Martin Luther King and his vision for friendship and kindness. We carried out an activity by colouring and cutting out hand shapes on paper and sticking them together to represent friendship.
We also explored Africa more generally. Michael kindly wore his African dress and explained that it is the dress worn by the Igbo tribe which he and his family are a part of. We watched a video clip of an Igbo tribe celebratory dance and then practiced those dances. We explored rhythm by listening to sounds and recreating them by using a djembe drum. As well as this, we learned that the clothes worn and dancing is different to the styles of clothes and dances we usually see in England.
Later, we enjoyed two stories that were set in Africa - Handa’s Surprise and Anansi the Spider. We tasted dumplings, which are a traditional African food; we then manipulated play-dough to make our own pretend dumplings.
We also explored Africa more generally. Michael kindly wore his African dress and explained that it is the dress worn by the Igbo tribe which he and his family are a part of. We watched a video clip of an Igbo tribe celebratory dance and then practiced those dances. We explored rhythm by listening to sounds and recreating them by using a djembe drum. As well as this, we learned that the clothes worn and dancing is different to the styles of clothes and dances we usually see in England.
Later, we enjoyed two stories that were set in Africa - Handa’s Surprise and Anansi the Spider. We tasted dumplings, which are a traditional African food; we then manipulated play-dough to make our own pretend dumplings.