Rocks activities and parks

We've had a busy week! I have been trying to stay out of the house as much as possible as the builders have been finishing our new bathroom. We have done lots of cello practise and some Conquer Maths multiplication lessons at home, as well as reading at bedtime. 

The bathroom does look lovely and has been completed in just over a week so the disruption hasn't been for too long. There are just a few finishing touches left. Here are the before and after photos!

We went to a friend's house on Tuesday to do some activities about rocks and volcanoes. We built a 'volcano' from play dough. We started with a small mound at the bottom then added vinegar and bicarbonate of soda to simulate an eruption of lava. We watched where the 'lava' flowed over the mound and added play dough to those areas to build up the mountain. 

We did this several times to end up with a taller mountain. We cut a slice of this to show the layers within rocks and mountains as they form over time.

The children all built their own small volcano from the play dough and left a crater in the top. We added vinegar and bicarbonate of soda to make them 'erupt'.

We also read this book explaining how rocks form and about the different types of rock.

We then made sedimentary rock cakes using different coloured crushed biscuits mixed with melted butter. The layers are pushed together with the back of a spoon to simulate the pressure needed to form sedimentary rocks. The children also added some marshmallows in their layers for fossils! 

We went on the bus to a local park with a few other families yesterday and stayed for nearly five hours! The children all played together in a big group really well. Harry and Peter were exhausted! 

We had art class this morning. Harry finished his Batman picture and started a fire engine. He was really proud of his finished picture.

Peter and I did some colouring together and played Spotty Dogs outside art class.

We also went to the park after art for a few hours with our friends before Harry's enjoy a ball class this afternoon.