Giraffes@taddy

 As part of our Groundbreaking Greeks topic, Giraffes have been learning about the Minoan Civilisation. Amongst other things, we learnt that: the Minoans were peaceful farmers, fishermen and traders.  over time, they developed a written language, became skilled artists and craftsmen and built stone palaces.  it is believed that changes due to natural disasters weakened the Minoan civilisation and made it vulnerable to invasion. The children learnt about Minoan Frescoes and had a go at designing their own. Their design brief was to represent what they had learnt about the Minoans so that their Fresco could also serve as a memory-jogger.

Giraffes looked at Micro:bits in our Computing lesson this week. They learnt that they are tiny computers and we need to input instructions to make them work, revisiting the vocabulary 'algorithm'.    The children set the mico-bits up then had a go at recording their voices and playing them back. They then logged onto the laptops and explored 'Make Code' which is a code editor for the micro:bit. The children very quickly got the hang of it and were soon getting their micro:bits to play tunes and spell out their names. 

 In music, we improvised using the pentatonic scale, accompanying our song, La Bamba.

 During our Design & Technology unit, Eat the Seasons, Giraffes have looked at what 'seasonality' means and the impact of eating seasonally. They researched seasonal soup recipes and we used democracy to vote for which one we would make. Leek and potato soup was the most popular.  We learnt about food hygiene and safety and ensured we followed guidance throughout the making process. Giraffes learnt about a range of cooking skills including dicing and boiling. We embrace mistakes as excellent learning, and a slightly burnt pan taught us the importance of stirring thoroughly whilst frying.  Well done Giraffes for excellent teamwork and for designing and making a delicious soup!