Thornton Heath was rocked by volcanic eruptions this week as the children read from Osbourne Beginners, “Volcanoes”. We also used our Atlas’s to locate the Canary Islands, Iceland and Japan before watching new reports of eruptions in each location.
The children noticed that from our garden, one can see steam rising from a nearby building’s roof top chimney. This steam became our own volcano, threatening to cover us with red hot lava, not to mention toxic gases. Having watched some volcanic footage, the children knew the only way to survive was to don a face mask. Rescue crews had to be on hand to save any children or teachers overcome by the toxic, volcanic gases!
Inside, volcanoes were created from recycled materials in two big group projects. Both our volcanoes were dramatic, but in very different ways! An eruption was attempted with the classic combination of Mentos and a bottle of fizzy drink…. but we were lacking bubbles due to the fizzy drink being out of date. The children helped Jim cope with the disappointment… encouraging him to take deep breaths and try again on Monday with some new bottles of fizz!
The children mixed and stretched their sourdough on Tuesday. After a day and a night, the dough had plenty of bubbles “blown” into it by the yeast. The children built a “camp fire” in the fire bowl, having a close look and feel of the beautiful black charcoal. They shaped their flatbreads before watching the sticky dough transform into crisp, delicious bread on the scorching hot plate. Jam and cheese spreading was next on the agenda, before sharing the bread together! In small groups, the children always work and move around the fire with a wonderful sense of maturity and responsibility for the safety of both themselves and their friends.
Next week, we shall be learning about the work of Shozo Shimamoto, and creating our own works based on his energetic style of painting…
