Weekly class updates and homework activities can now be found on the Class Dojo page.
Optional snow day activities for Friday the 10th March 2023 (Snow day)
If it’s warm enough outside, wrap up warm with lots of layers and gloves and explore outside. If you lived in the Artic circle how could you play in your garden? What games would you play? Can you make a snow angel? Can you make an igloo? Can you make a snowman? Can you make snow balls? How can you get around if wheels wont work? How will you get warm after being in the snow? what works best? Hot chocolate? Hot water bottles? Blankets?
Take as many pictures as you can and email them to Mr Martin so we can talk through them next week!
darren.martin@barwickprimary.co.uk
If it’s warm outside, wrap up warm with lots of layers and gloves and take a walk outside. The Challenge is to look for tracks in the fresh snow and discuss how to identify different animals. Start by asking kids how big they think the animal is, and then see how specific they can get. For example, dogs and cats have four toes. Mice will often leave a narrow line in the snow as they drag their tail behind them, and squirrels will leave claw marks. You can use a phone app, like iTrack Wildlife, to identify more unusual species and to learn about each animal.
Snow is one of the simplest ways to learn about crystal structures. Give your children a piece of black paper if you have some (or anything) and send them outside to collect a few snowflakes. Once they’ve caught a couple, give them a magnifying glass/ take a photo on your phone and zoom in or just look very closely! To compare snowflakes and count the crystal points.
This simple balloon experiment is a fun way to show kids how elements react to different temperatures — and the colder the weather, the better. Start by inflating a balloon inside and tieing up the end. Then place the balloon outside and observe as it deflates. (If it’s really cold, put the balloon by a window so kids can watch from inside.) Then bring the balloon back inside and watch as it re-inflates. If the temperature is getting warmer or colder throughout the day, have kids time how long it takes for the balloon to deflate at different temperatures. This experiment gives you a chance to talk with kids about how gases expand and contract.
If it’s too cold to play outside, you can challenge kids to create a snowman inside. Start by cutting out shapes to make several snowmen as well as accessories such as hats, pipes, and scarves. Place the shapes in a bowl or basket, and gives kids a piece of coloured paper and glue. Kids then randomly draw out snowman pieces to create goofy-looking snowman.
Start by teaching kids how to create symmetrical snowflakes by folding a white piece of paper diagonally and then twice more to form a triangle. By cutting shapes in the triangle, they can create a crystalline design that’s revealed when they unfold the snowflake. Cut each snowflake in half along the folded line, and mix the pieces. Challenge kids to practice identifying spatial relationships by finding the missing halves of their snowflake.
A snow day is a great time to discuss geography. Pull out a globe (or use google maps) and ask the kids to name all of the places on the map where it snows. Then you could spend some time talking about how the climate affects major landmarks, culture, and animals found in that region. You can also pull up a climate map from the Weather Channel to look at how weather varies across the globe. Looking at weather patterns gives you a chance to discuss how weather is affected by latitude, the earth’s rotation and even distance from major water bodies.
For centuries, poets have been inspired to create poems from nature and the seasons. A snow day is a perfect opportunity to challenge your kids to use their creativity to try poetry. Start by asking kids to write down all of the words they can think of that describe snow. Then have them use the words to write a poem inspired by winter. Let kids create a simple rhyme scheme poem or go to Poetry4Kids to learn how to write poems ranging from Haiku to limericks.
Even though schools are closed today, there are still many opportunities for kids to keep learning. By giving kids fun activities that can help them to learn more about the world around them, you can encourage their curiosity and reinforce that learning is fun - inside and outside the classroom.
Welcome to Yew Class!
Communication, both to celebrate the good things and tackle any problems or concerns, plays a crucial role in ensuring the very best education for your child. Parents/guardians, please do not hesitate to contact me on the school number 0113 2812132, or via email:
darren.martin@barwickprimary.co.uk
As part of our whole school commitment to wellbeing there is no expectation on our staff to read or answer emails sent between 6pm and 8am in the week, or any at weekends or holidays. Should your email not receive a reply, this is not a case of being impolite but one of choosing wellbeing ahead of workload.