We had fun today using our understanding of electricity and circuits to build buzzer games. We then decorated them and had fun testing each other’s games.

This week we started our new topic all about rocks. We learned about the stories of some rocks (millions of dead sea creatures, a 370 million year old desert, an explosive volcanic eruption) before examining samples closely with magnifying glasses. We made sketches to record the details before finally testing the permeability of various rocks – whether water will soak through them.

We were set a challenge in science today – stop Frosty from melting! We found that packing ice around the snow to keep it cold and wrapping blankets around the snow to keep the heat out made it last longer. 

We also looked at candy canes in beakers of water. They slowly disappeared turning the water pink. The cane in the warm water disappeared the quickest.

After the extended weekend of snow, 4LH came back to learn about the water cycle – or Where Those Pesky Snowflakes Come From as it’s also known. We set up simple models of the water cycle demonstrating the stages of evaporation, condensation, precipition and run off back to the sea. Then we made collage posters to show the cycle.

We had lots of fun exploring magnets in science. First we made predictions about which materials were magnetic but we were then surprised to find that not all metals are magnetic.

Next we looked at how two magnets stick together but that they push away from each other if they have the same end pointing towards each other.

Finally, we explored this using a magnetic swing which behaved in some very strange ways as it danced around between the other magnets.

In science we’ve been looking at materials and this week we’ve been testing the claims of a certain Juan Sheet – are some kitchen towels stronger and better at soaking up water than others?

It’s not really ice cream weather but Year 4 didn’t let that fact stop them from exploring freezing and melting by making their own ice cream. We learned how salt is used to melt ice and why ice cream is fluffy and not a solid lump. We even looked at how water condenses on the outside of the ice cream tub. Three changes of state in one lesson and we got to eat it too!

2MG have been testing materials as they start looking at the effect of forces on different materials. This week we tested lots of different types of paper to see which could hold the most weight before tearing. We were quite surprised by how strong paper can actually be!

Today we started our new science topic looking at forces by building our own force meters so that we can measure forces. We had to carefully mark the scale on them by using different amounts of weights. Over the next couple of weeks we will be trying some force experiments and will be measuring the forces involved.

Not content with building boats to save the gingerbread man last week, this week we set about creating bridges to help him cross the river. We looked at different ways of making the bridge stronger by simply bending the paper. It was amazing how strong a piece of paper could be.