It was great to see most of Crew at the Y9 STEAM hangout on Tuesday where Mr Smith and Mr Said set them off with the immersion task, which was to go outdoors, do a bit of bird watching and take pictures of nature.
I’m lucky to live in quite a rural spot and do spend a lot of time outdoors either walking the dogs, running, or just pottering around my back garden. But, as much as I enjoy being outside, I can’t say that I ever really stop, look or listen to my surroundings; I kinda take it all for granted. So the immersion task to record how many birds we see has really made me take notice and appreciate what’s in my own back yard. I’ve spotted sparrows, robins, blue tits, pigeons and goldfinches. And those birds in the picture above flying over the fields behind my house aren’t actually called “them flipping noisy screechy things” like I thought, they’re actually black headed gulls!
But what I like the most about this immersion activity is that it’s something you can all together at home whilst out on your daily walks or just from your kitchen window (I never knew there were so many different birds visiting my garden!) Crew have access to the birding sheet via the STEAM google classroom, or contact me and I’ll send you one. I’d love to see pictures of what you find on your walks or of the birds you’re spotting, so please share!
Note of caution: although this sounds like a lovely family bonding session I feel like I should give you a bit of a warning: Mr P and I have daily arguments over what some of the birds we spot are; we can’t agree if we’ve got thrushes or blackbirds nesting in our roof!!
There are also a couple of optional challenges you could all work on together: build a bird house or build a bug box. Send in pictures if you make anything!
You can find out more about the STEAM expedition – including what the guiding question is – on the ‘Here Comes the Sun’ expedition website.
Praise
I couldn’t keep up with the amount of praise postcards that have been sent out to Crew this week! Super proud of those who are continuing to work hard and produce high quality work, but special mentions go to Thomas, Tom, Aden, Ali and Noah.
I’ll share some of their beautiful work in a future blog post, but for now I’ll share what could quite possibly be my favourite praise card ever sent (from Miss Wilmot to Ali)
A huge well done to Thomas from me, too for sending in these pictures of him practicing his DofE first aid skills on his brother. Great work, Thomas (and Lewis!)
Have a lovely weekend, all. Stay safe.
Mrs Parker