This week, Pili Pala had an exciting “Jump In Day” to launch our brand-new inquiry all about Nature 🌿🌍✨

We began by transforming into nature explorers and heading out around the school grounds for a minibeast and wildlife hunt. The children carefully searched in different habitats such as the grass, soil, and under rocks, showing fantastic curiosity and care as they investigated what they could find.

They recorded their discoveries in a variety of creative ways. Some children used tally charts and habitat grids, while others went even further by designing their own minibeast fact files! It was wonderful to see them thinking about where minibeasts live and describing what those environments are like.

To deepen our exploration, the children then took part in a lovely outdoor activity creating their own journey sticks. As they walked around the school, they collected natural materials like leaves, grass, and small pieces of bark, attaching them to their sticks. Each journey stick became a unique story of their walk and what they noticed in nature. We finished by sharing and comparing our journey sticks, talking about what we found and recognising that nature can be discovered all around our school.

On Wednesday, we marked Earth Day 🌎 by creating our own worlds and writing thoughtful promises about how we can help to look after our planet. The children shared some fantastic ideas about caring for the environment, from reducing waste to protecting wildlife.

Thursday brought even more excitement as our caterpillars arrived! 🐛 They are very tiny at the moment, and the children are already fascinated by them. We are looking forward to observing how they grow and change over the coming weeks—what an amazing real-life learning experience!

In literacy, the children have been busy writing leaflets, using their knowledge to share information clearly and creatively. Meanwhile, in PE, we have been practising our running skills as we get ready for Sports Day in the next few weeks 🏃‍♂️

It has been a fantastic start to our new inquiry, full of curiosity, exploration and excitement. We can’t wait to see where our learning takes us next!

We would also like to say a big thank you for the wonderful donations we have already received to support our learning. Your support really makes a difference! If you are able to help further, we are still looking for donations of minibeasts, rock pool creatures, or fresh plants and flowers for the children to explore as part of our inquiry. Thank you, as always, for your continued support 🌿