We have all been palaeontologists, carefully using sieves, brushes and magnifying glasses to discover dinosaur bones and skeletons in the sand. We also had great fun playing with ‘dinosaur poo’- which was playdough made using cocoa powder and spinach!
We painted our hands to make a handprint, then used collage materials to make our own unique dinosaur named after us! We practised our cutting skills as we made dinosaur masks and thoroughly enjoyed getting creative making a paper plate dinosaur. Using the scissors, we cut out the parts of dinosaur bones and then used the split pins to join the skeleton together.
The highlight off the week was a visit from Jonathan the palaeontologist, who told us lots of information about how dinosaurs lived, what they ate and how scientists believe that an asteroid hit planet Earth, which is how they became extinct. He also showed us how big the Allosaurus was at 12m compared to the Camarasaurus at 23m. In the classroom, we have been measuring our dinosaurs using Unifix cubes. In the playground, we measured and drew the actual size of a Tyrannosaurus Rex jaw and footprint, a Triceratops skull and sauropod footprint it was huge! We then counted how many children could fit inside these measurements.
We then practised being real palaeologists. Using soft brushes, we carefully brushed the dust off the fossils and then used the posters and information books to identify what the fossil was. We found an Allosaurus skull, Baryonyx claw, dinosaur egg, ammonite and a fish fossil, amongst many more. We also looked at the claw from an Iguanodon- it was huge! Finally, we met Sophie, a 6-month-old Triceratops who was very endearing. She opened her mouth for us to see that she had no teeth, which meant that she was a herbivore, and if we gently tapped her horns three times, she fell asleep.
Our topic next week is Space. Please may you provide your child with a small clear plastic bottle – 500ml, if possible please?
