This term's DT unit has quite literally risen to the occasion.
The process of pneumatics has been insightful and exciting. We began by looking into where we encounter pneumatics in our everyday activities but maybe did not notice. The use of pneumatics in tyres, drills and buses were discussed and then we explored toys and how the motion in some toys are due to a force being applied to compressed air.
"Look! Blue is a pneumatic toy. I felt the part that has the air in his tail. When you squeeze it, it makes his wings move!" - Athena, Elm
There were questions about how could air be so forceful? And how can you trap air?
'Isn't air all around us?'
We went on to discover how for ourselves by making our own pneumatic circuits, using two syringes and a tube.
We used these circuits in partnership with a designed background and pop-up picture.
And thus, our engaging pop-up toys came to be.
"I can't wait to put my prototype in action now! I like how my butterfly flies." - Isatou, Willow
As part of the children's experiences at Broadford, we have had a busy afternoon in Year 3, designing and creating Christmas cards for the community. This year, we have chosen to send the Christmas cards to the lovely residents of a local care home, who will be receiving them early next week.
The children were very excited to make their cards and send them to the care home, they have used their resourcefulness skills to ensure that they have included colourful, cheerful designs and they worked exceptionally hard on their handwriting and spellings. They also spent time creating beautiful designs on the envelopes to add an extra sparkle for the recipients!
'I wrote a message to Alice because we have the same name!' - Alice
'I hope that it makes the people smile at Christmas.' - Mavis
I drew lots of colourful decorations on my card.' - Mohib
The children have been super busy in their Art lessons this half term, designing, creating and making their pictures come to life through the art of animation.
They began by drawing their robot designs into their sketch books, using their drawing skills to refine the original designs.
Once their designs were finalised, the children had to draw them onto cardboard ready to cut each part out. In order to ensure that their robots could move, the children used split pins to attach each of the different parts.
To complete the project, the children will decorate their robots in the final lesson.
'It was was layering but cutting the cardboard was tricky.' - Tommy
'I used split pins to make my robot move.' - Alice
‘ My robot can move its legs and arms. Watch it dance’ Miya-Rose
In Art, the children have been learning about the Art of Display.
Over the last few weeks we have been developing techniques in using materials with creativity, experimentation and an increasing awareness of different kinds of art, craft and design.
This week, the children manipulated pipe cleaners to create figures that could stand on a plinth.
"I used the pictures I drew to create my figure." - Sofia, Elm
“I had so much fun making my person.” Oscar, Maple
"I struggled at first, but now I love my goal scorer." Bruno, Willow
“I enjoyed dancing to Jerusalem because it was really fun and easy to learn. I love the fact we danced for Black History Month.’ Karimah, Lime
Black History Month's theme this year was, Saluting our Sisters.
Each year group chose a black woman of influence , to research and acknowledge from categories such as Women Who Lead, Innovators and Entrepreneurs, Women Breaking Barriers, Women Who Move Mountains, Sheroes Among Us and Pioneering Voices.
Below are some examples of the Black and Mixed Heritage women that were celebrated throughout the school.
Sheroes Among Us - Halle Bailey
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Women Who Lead : Floella Benjamin
“She was a good person, she helped lots of people." - Darcey
“She really believed in herself.” - Victoria
“Floella was the first TV presenter with beads in hair! ”- Ronnie
Innovators and Entrepreneurs : Karen Blackett
"It was interesting to learn about Karen Blackett and I enjoyed the art that we did !" - Qhaleed
Women Who Move Mountains : Dr Maggie Aderin-Pocock
“We learnt about the scientist Maggie Aderin-Pocock. I was impressed with how long she studied for and how much she knew about space.” Olivia
Acknowledging some of these aspirational Black women and coming together in unity to dance was truly enjoyable!
The children took great delight in creating their very own bonfires using paints, paper and their own hand prints. They decided on appropriate colours for their bonfires before choosing whether to print with their whole hands, the palm of their hand or just using their fingers. Some of the children got super creative and even mixed colours together to make a more realistic looking bonfire.
This linked to our Guided Reading this week, where the children were learning all about Guy Fawkes and his attempt to blow up the Houses of Parliament.
'I used my whole hand print to make the flames.' - Lily
'Guy Fawkes tried to kill the king.' - Ava
'I think orange and red paints were the best colours to use.' - Hope
Here at Broadford we have been celebrating Black History month through Art!
Each year group spent the afternoon exploring a piece of Black Art or work produced by a Black Artist.
Discussions took place about the contribution of the Black community to the arts and the stories behind the art pieces.
Year 1 , produced work inspired by Alma Thomas, who created paintings that focused on colour, rhythm and pattern that expressed her affinity with the natural world.
"I loved using all the bright colours!" - Chloe
Year 2 recreated a striking piece of art by Lois Mailou Jones.
Year 3 discussed the diversity and emphasis on hair within the Black Community and how it used for as a medium for creativity and identity.
"There are so many different styles!" - Eden
In Year 4, they delved into the world of African Abstract art patterns!
Jean Michael Basquiat, a unique neo-impressionist artist, was explored across Year 5. They recreated a piece called 'Taschen'.
Creativity is overflowing across the whole school and the celebrations continue!
Year 3 are getting creative this term in our unit on 'Painting'. We have already kicked off the year with an exploration of primary and tertiary colours.
We are calling for any (clean) old shirts or overalls that can be used to serve as an apron for the children to prevent any accidents on the uniforms.
If you have any suitable items, please send them in with your child by Wednesday 15th September 2021.
In Art, we have been exploring geometric shapes. We have been comparing and classifying geometric shapes, including quadrilaterals and triangles, based on their properties and sizes.
Along with this, we have explored tessellation. A tessellation is a repeating pattern that fills a space without overlapping. Tessellated patterns are used in many ways. Often, Roman homes and buildings were decorated and built using tessellated patterns. Tessellating patterns and floral designs are also commonly found in Islamic art.
Please see some of the amazing tessellations that Birch class have created below.
"Wow, tessellation is so cool. Look at all those amazing patterns." David, Birch.
"It is really important to concentrate when drawing straight lines with a ruler. You need to be careful so that the ruler doesn't move and you have the same pattern all the time." Medeea, Birch.
"I love art. It is my favorite subject and I love creating colourful patterns." Happiness, Birch.
Well done Birch class. All of these patterns look amazing. You are all brilliant artists of Year 4!
This academic year so far has been quite 'chop and change' and our children have done a fantastic job and adapting and learning in these difficult times.
In our current Art unit, 'Portraits', the Year 3's have demonstrated how that which seems unusual and abstract can be a beautiful art piece.
The images below show a few examples of what can be interpreted as us now filling in the gaps of our lives that seemed absent.
Ranging from the academic, social or even emotional facets of ourselves, we are closing those gaps and making a beautiful picture!
Well done Year 3!
"I feel like a robot!" Mihai shares as he removes part of his picture away revealing a sketch beneath.
As you may know, in Year 3 we have been using the book Stone Age Boy to frame our Literacy work this half term.
We are also learning about different historic buildings, including those buildings from the Stone Age.
This afternoon we decided to round off our learning on the Stone Age Boy with a celebratory Stone Age Afternoon.
The Year 3 children went outside and had a real campfire to enjoy whilst we read them stories of a similar nature to the Stone Age Boy. We had learnt about what the Stone Age people used fires for during our time reading Stone Age Boy.
We then came inside and our classroom had been transformed into a cave art painting extravaganza! Children either drew on brown paper on their tables or their tables were turned over for them to draw as if it was a real life cave!
The children thoroughly enjoyed themselves and so did we!
This week, year 4 have painted 'Erupting Volcanoes' in Art and developed their paint skills. We have been studying all about the Roman Army and we discussed the tragedy of Pompeii. Pompeii was hit by an extreme volcano eruption and stayed frozen in time for thousands of years. Once an amazing city in Italy, Pompeii was destroyed when the volcano Mount Vesuvius erupted.
While painting, many used a mixture of thick and thin brushes to get different painting effects. Some children used 'dry painting' which is when you use minimal amount of water (more paint) to paint and build up texture. Truly, these volcanoes were amazing year 4!
"Its really important to blend colours so that the painting looks realistic" -Aimee, Ash
"I used different colours to get an obre effect. it looks really cool."- Chelsea, Birch.
"I used all the bright colours on my painting because I wanted it to stand out and explode on the page"-Tavia, Larch
Well done. What fantastic artists we have in year 4!
In celebration of Diwali on November 14th 2020 in Year 3 we have been learning and creating some artwork.
The children learnt all about the story of Diwali and why Sikh and Hindu people celebrate the festival. They had lots of fun putting their creative skills into practice when creating their own Rangoli sun catcher patterns.
"Diwali is the festival of light" - Viviana
Here are some of the wonderful Rangoli patterns created by the children using card and tissue paper.
Cherry and Elm class produced some beautiful designs and came up with really creative patterns.
In Cedar class the children created lots of different patterns and thoroughly enjoyed creating their Rangoli sun catchers.
It was lovely to see all of the children fully engaged and excited to learn about a different religion!
Diwali is celebrated this Saturday 14th November! Happy Diwali.
