Category: Outdoor Learning Week

Outdoor Learning Week 2018

From 25 – 29 June 2018 we held our Outdoor Learning Week. The weather this year was hot, hot, hot! We normally do everything outdoors but the sun and heat this year meant that we had to eat indoors. However, we did share a Teddy Bear’s Picnic in the shade, on the final day.

Before the week began we had to learn how to put up our new TiPi tents to use as classrooms during the week. Year 4 were experts at this and fantastic teachers!

 

Everyone made the most of the exceptional weather and filled the week with activities and learning opportunities. We also welcomed several visitors to school. Take a look!

Entertainment

We shared lots of entertaining events throughout the week. There were some fantastic moves by our TuTu Funky dancers, great sounds from our Rock ‘n’ Pops bands at Derafest 2018 and super skills on display at our World Cup finals. Well done to Peru who were our LDPS 2018 Champions!It was lovely to have so many families join us for our ‘Cook Out’ to celebrate the end of the gloriously sunny Outdoor Learning Week 2018.

Year 6

Year 6 Made the most of their final Outdoor Learning Week. They enjoyed sketching, chilling and ‘being at one’ with our forest. There were some ‘interesting’ finds from the scavenger hunt for things to decorate Mr Sharpe’s beard with! Lots of fun was had with the massive parachute. Year 6 had an outdoor ICT coding lesson – learning ‘iteration’. All the world’s a stage – even the school field – for a leavers assembly rehearsal!

Year 5

Year 5 had to search for ‘Heart of Ents’ and the week was set in Middle Earth from Lord of the Rings. They researched the different Ent (tree) species around the lands by looking at leaves. They also estimated and measured each Ent’s age and height. They had to look at how the plants and trees reproduced and dissect plants to find the different parts of the flower and explain what they do. At the end of the week, the Ents treated the class to pancakes and set them challenges to complete in the forest, including creating a baby Ent, building a den for a baby Ent and designing a pulley to transport water to the highest Ent’s mouths.

They also had a visit from Mrs O’Toole, of Fulford School, who helped them make and launch rockets. One rocket travelled 37 metres!

Year 4

Year 4 investigated bubbles. They attempted to make the smallest bubble possible, create a ‘foam sausage’, make bubbles inside bubbles and balance smaller bubbles on bigger bubbles, with wands made of willow. Maths skills were required for estimating the age, diameter and height of trees. Some of the common trees in the school grounds were identified by using leaf ID sheets to classify them. They identified minibeasts and their body parts, using a key, before creating their own from clay. In the forest they made habitats for woodlice and even found time to relax and read in the shade, enjoying pancakes they had made! Finally, a morning of water experiments kept them cool in the heat.

Year 3

Year 3 had a very busy week. In the forest they made stickmen ‘Friends for Fred’ and also designed Andy Goldsworthy style art, using natural materials. They blew giant bubbles, investigated how shadows change during the day and went on a bug hunt. As if that wasn’t enough, they had an outdoor violin rehearsal, were great team players at the inter-school beanbag rounders morning and had their first pedestrian training session! The fruit kebabs they made were a refreshing treat.