Ms Mitchell's Fourth Class

Well done to all the children in Third and Fourth class this week and congratulations to our Scientists of the Week!! We had a great Science Week and enjoyed lots of cool science experiments. Friday's science experiment tasted delicious.  Part of what makes popcorn pop is the water that is trapped inside the kernel. When the popcorn is heated to a certain temperature, the water turns to steam, and the shell of the kernel bursts. It was great fun waiting to hear the POP! 

This week we have been learning more about symmetry. A shape has to be exactly the same on both sides to have symmetry. We used mirrors to work out if shapes had symmetry and a shape can have more than 1 line of symmetry – an octagon has 8 lines of symmetry, a square has 4 lines of symmetry. We used the iPads to take pictures of things that were and were not symmetrical. They added the line of symmetry to the picture. They could add text and voice recordings to explain their pictures. 

We have been working really hard to perfect our skipping. We were delighted with our new skipping ropes and have enjoyed learning lots of new tricks and routines during our skipping sessions on Monday. Take a look at our procedure for ' Learning How to Skip ' below and join in with us! It's great fun and super exercise! Learning to Skip Children learn to jump before they can hop or skip.   Skipping is a difficult skill to learn.   It involves the legs and arms performing different tasks at the same time.   Rhythm and timing are extremely important.   Some children find it easier to learn to skip on the spot while others find it easier to learn to skip on the move (e.g. like they are walking).   Below are some activities you can try.   Try to do them in the order that they are presented in as this will make it easier, but if your child easily achieves one task, move onto the next one.   Activity Ideas Before you can learn to skip they need to be...

Winter Birch Tree Art  We had great fun using paint, making tape and glitter to create our masterpieces! We also learned some new facts about Birch Trees. Take a look!  Ten Facts about Birch Trees   Birch trees are found in the northern half of the world. They grow in areas with cool to cold weather. The trees called birches have long been known for their beautiful bark.  N ative Americans used birch bark to make canoes, tepees, and moccasins. Today people use birch wood to make furniture, flooring, and plywood. The bark of all birches is characteristically marked with long, horizontal lenticels, and often separates into thin, papery plates, especially upon the paper birch. Birch trees have simple leaves with toothed edges called margins. They often appear in pairs, but these pairs are really borne on spur-like, two-leaved, lateral branchlets. It is an elegant deci...