Mad About Dinosaurs
Inspired by the colourful, rhyming picture book Mad About Dinosaurs, the Bears finished their first year in school discovering dinosaur fossils and identifying dinosaurs. We played in a dinosaur museum role play and ventured into a dinosaur habitat on our small world.
We practised our palaeontology skills to unearth chocolate chips from the cookies, and unearthed dinosaurs from the sand and the ice. Next, we made our own dinosaur fossils with pasta and playdough. Finally, we made a fossil by rolling clay into a ball, flattening it and pressing a dinosaur skeleton into the clay.
We used construction materials to build dinosaurs, and dinosaur habitats. Our dinosaur habitats were imaginative, collaborative efforts with volcanoes, bridges, rivers, fossils and dinosaurs. It was so lovely to watch the Bears talking excitedly about their plans, sharing their ideas and building together. They loved showing photos of their constructions and describing them to their friends.
The Bears enjoyed listening and joining in with the lively, rhymes of Silly Diplodocus, Fierce T-Rex and friends written by Giles Andreae. So in our colour groups, we worked together to compose our own short dinosaur poems. We tried to use some of the new information we had learnt and had a go at making our poem rhyme. When our poems were finished, we practised reading them before performing them to the class using instruments. We created quite a rumpus!
On the creative table, we printed handprints then turned them into dinosaurs adding dinosaur features like frills, horns and plates. We created a dinosaur using a paper plate, paint, pegs and ribbons and painted a watercolour sunset adding pastel details and a collage dinosaur.
During our last week, we worked together in our colour teams to complete a fun dinosaur quest - taking photos of dinosaurs in a dinosaur habitat, collecting dinosaur objects, hiding from the dinosaurs and lots more fun.
Time has flown so fast, and now here we are at the end of the Bears first year at Beckers Green. We are incredibly proud of everything they have achieved and will watch fondly as they continue their journey in year one. Time for an end of year treat, with lots of dancing, games, smiles, and ice cream.
