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Tuesday 27 May 2014

Dinosaurs and fossils... life and death

This morning we started the day off with images projected onto the wall of dinosaurs, skeletons, fossils of dinosaurs and their footprints. The children talked about what they saw and discussed with each other about whether or not theu agreed with each other, and why they did or did not... suggestions were made that they were dragons and lizards, that they could be found on the other side of the wall they were projected on and be eating children there (no it can't a skeleton can't move or eat - and a discussion about whether or not a skeleton could move or not, and what ideas they had about this... lots of interesting ideas... but I would like to try and experiment with a different wall to project on so that the children can go to the other side and see if there is a dinosaur there if one is projected on the wall). There was talk about dinosaurs being alive, and being dead, being long ago and living now - having long necks so that they could reach airplanes...
We have plenty of fuel to move forwards with...

In the afternoon we used some white air-drying clay to make some home-made fossils... either a head, or fottprints, or a tail... four children tried this out today in the short time between waking up from rest and naps and snack being served... three sets of footprints (3 different dinosaurs) and a head (the same as one of the footprints). My son has been kind enough to lend me his dinosaurs for the project... and they are being much appreciated by the children.

We also had time for some small-world dinosaur play - where the dinosaurs kept dying and turning into skeletons and then coming back to life again... some got buried in the sand, others received elaborate graves...
applying great pressure and concentration to create footprints in the clay.

Triceratops footprints

Triceratops head

small world play - real fossils being a part of the play...


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