We love nature

We love learning about nature in our class! We went to the woods and discovered lots of exciting things that happen in autumn. We even found a squirrel searching for food, preparing for hibernation! 

Frogs!

We have seen huge changes in the frogs in our classroom! First they were eggs, before they changed into tadpoles. Then, they changed into froglets with tails and they grew legs! Finally, they transformed into frogs! We feed them everyday and watch them as they grow and change! Soon we will release them back into the wild, where they belong!

Our chicks have grown

We said goodbye to our chicks today and Farmer Gerard came to our classroom to show us a hen from his farm that is almost ready to lay her own eggs. We were sad to say goodbye to the chicks bit we are happy that the chicks are returning to see their families again and will have lots more space to run around and grow in.

Visiting chicks

We had some very important guests in our classroom... the eggs have hatched and the baby chicks have grown so much over the weekend! Today they came to our classroom and we were very excited to welcome them!

Exploration Dome - Galway Science Week

Last week, some of the classes in our school were very lucky to participate in the Exploration Dome, as part of Galway Science Week. First we had a little introduction, where we learned about all of the planets and constellations (groups of stars) in the solar system. We learned about what the stars are used for and how to find the North Star. We asked lots of questions and answered some questions that Mike, the presenter, asked us. We then watched a show based on the solar system and weather patterns and it gave us a great idea of what life might be like on other planets in a very real 3D way!

Cee Cee the rabbit

There was a big surprise today in our classroom! We had a surprise visitor! Cee Cee the rabbit is coming to stay in our classroom this week and we will be learning about how to care for her! We will feed her and give her water and make sure to keep her hutch clean and dry!

Releasing the butterflies

We have been busy learning all about the life cycle of the butterfly and the boys and girls have waited patiently for the caterpillars to form their chrysalis and then waited patiently for them to emerge from their cocoons as butterflies! 

We were so excited when they came out of their cocoons and once all five butterflies had come out, we released them!

We sang goodbye to them and we will be looking carefully in the sky to see if we can see them again soon!

Growing Things

Our class have been having lots of fun carrying out Science experiments! We learned that plants need 3 things to grow - water, heat and soil 

We carried out an experiment using green food colouring, water and a stick of celery. We noticed that when the celery was put into the food colouring, the little tubes inside the celery started to change colour and they turned darker green! We learned that the water travels up the plant to feed all parts of it!

We carried out this experiment again, this time using red food colouring and it was much more clear to see! The celery plant and leaves at the top of the plant started to turn red - the water had travelled all the way to the top to help it to grow!

Science Week 2015

For Science Week 2015, we had a very important visitor to our school - Dr. Naomi, a real-life scientist! 

We did lots of experiments with sound - putting different objects into balloons, to see how sounds of different volumes could be made. 

We learned that by making things shake, big, loud sounds could be made. 

We then did another experiment, pinching and pulling a wet string that was attached to different cups. We not only made big sounds, but proved that we could feel sounds too!

We then used other objects made of different materials and sizes like tin and plastic, to see what kind of sound it makes, doing the same experiment. 

We learned that by using a metal spring and a plastic and cardboard bucket, we could make a big sound like a cannon! 

We learned loads of scientific facts for Science Week - we learned that we can feel sound sometimes and to hear sound, something needs to shake. We tested lots of sounds too. 

Green fingers!

We are so lucky in our class to have an expert gardener working with us everyday! Múinteoir Karmel is an amazing gardening and has been showing us her skills in gardening and passing on some of her fantastic skills to us! This week we planted some herbs and plants in our school garden. We sowed some pea plants in a deep semi-circle around a tree branch in one of our planting boxes. As the pea plants start to grow, we hope that they will wind their way upwards and around the branch, producing some delicious peas!

We also planted some herbs - parsley, chives, basil and coriander, in shallow ridges beside the peas. As they grow, we plan to thin out the plants and transport them to other areas in our garden. We placed some ribbon across the ridges in order to deter the birds from eating our seeds. 

We will post more pictures in the coming weeks as they grow! Watch this space!

Experimenting with Light

Some things are see-through, or transparent - that means that light shines through them. 

We gathered some materials - paper, tissue, tinfoil and greaseproof paper to experiment to see what materials are transparent. 

We first made predictions about the materials and then carried out our experiments. 

Here we are trying to trace the picture of the sun through each material to test their transparency...

We discovered that the greaseproof paper and tissue were the best materials for light to shine through...