We answered a child's question about what hot and cold was mixed together. We used cold water and then mixed hot water ( which was steaming). We discovered that the answer was ' warm'. The children observed that it was like the temperature of their bath water at home.

We have been using the texture from the vegetables to create patterns. We have picked an exotic animal to paint. Look out for them on a display board around school. I wonder if you can guess which vegetables made the snake print?

We were really excited about our surprise this morning as Exeter Exotics brought in some animals and reptiles to show the children. This linked with the immersion into our topic ' What is hot and what is cold?' We have learnt lots of facts and enjoyed touching the creatures.

With a sigh of relief, the weather held and the sun came out for Foundation and Keystage One sports day. The children had a brilliant morning performing in a range of different activities in front of family and friends. The children also loved seeing their own mums and dads take part in mum and dad races. Well done to all the children, you were fantastic!

Last Friday, children from years 1, 2 and 3 took part in a cricket event at Forches Cross. The children went around to different stations where they practised a range of cricket skills. They had a fantastic afternoon and a credit to the Exminster badge they had in their t-shirts. Well done everyone!

On Thursday morning, we made some Brazilian cheese bread. We worked in groups to weigh out the ingredients, grate the parmesan and whisk it all together. We used tapioca flour which reacted very differently to your normal flour! The kitchen then cooked our dough and we were able to eat them after lunch. When the children came back into class after lunch, Amber said that the room smelt like smelly feet! And I have to agree it did a little. But they turned out really well and we all, well most of us, really enjoyed them!

If you want to make them at home, the website is attached:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/brazilian-cheese-bread-pao-de-queijo

On Wednesday afternoon, Foundation Stage and Key Stage 1 put on their own Rio de Janeiro carnival. We were blessed South American weather as well!

Our Topic this term is linked to the Olympics and everything Brazilian. For the carnival the children made hats that they had designed based on images of the carnival and we made our own decorative shakers. Years 3, 4 and 5 came to watch the procession alongside family and friends of the children. Mrs Miller and Mrs Martin led the procession with the children dancing through the playground.

On Friday afternoon Foundation and Keystage 1 had some very special visitors. The Donkey Sanctuary, from Sidmouth, came to Exminster. We had an assembly to tell us all about their mission and the work that they do with the donkeys and then we had the opportunity to meet two of them.

If you want to find out more about the Donkey Sanctuary you can visit their website at  https://www.thedonkeysanctuary.org.uk.

Last weekend, Max in Class 1S went to the beach to play football with his dad. Max saw that whilst playing that there was lots of litter lying around. He took it upon himself to do a beach clean there and then. Max found a sock, insole, a shoe, wool, lots of plastic bags, bottle tops and a massive juice bottle. He raised some money in the process and donated it to Nayamba School. Well done Max.

Florence in 1S has had her hair chopped off over the weekend to raise money for Nayamba School in Zambia. She has raised over 100 pounds to give to the school to help them continue to support the 200 children they have attending. The school in Zambia has already been able to provide a 3 classroom building, textbooks for core subjects, 1 qualified teacher and 2 assistant teachers. Well done Florence. We are supper proud of you and the money you've raised will go a long way to support them.

Last week in Year 1 the butterflies hatched and we set them free! We have seen them grow from tiny little caterpillars through to them breaking free from their chrysalis and setting them free.

On Wednesday afternoon, Year 1 went back to the allotment to see how it has changed. Mrs Pike talked about the new plants that have been planted and how some of the vegetables are very close to being harvested. We also had the opportunity to measure different plants using our rulers and helped out with the watering.

We have hatched ducklings in Year 1! We incubated 6 eggs and had 2 catch. We called them Cheep and Donald. We have been looking after them with fresh bedding, food and water. They really enjoy diving in the bath!

On Thursday, we had a special visit from Mrs Martin's family dog, Mutley. In Year 1 we have been learning about writing instructions and imperative verbs. We have adapted the story of How to Wash a Woolly Mammoth and replaced the woolly mammoth with a scruffy dog.

We were able to put our instructions of how to wash a scruffy dog to the test!

On Wednesday, Class 1S and 1M had the opportunity to see the fantastic work Mrs Pike and her team of volunteers have done with the school's allotmemt. Both the classes identified all the fruit and veg that are currently in place, weeded the beds, turned in some fresh manure and watered the current crop.

We had a fantastic time and cannot wait to go back to see the fruits of ours, and others, labour.

We wrote instructions for how to make cucumber sandwiches! Then we made them and ate them!

Class 1M got sporty on Friday for Sports Relief. It was pretty cold on the field but we warmed up with a couple of boys v girls games! Even Mrs Martin ran a lap of the field!

Class 1M have written their own story after learning 'Naughty Bus' and this is a video of us performing it!

This week in science we have been talking about different properties of materials. We explored the school grounds with our clipboards and talked about why different materials were used for certain jobs. We also learnt that glass is transparent and that is why we use it in windows.

We went on a material hunt around the school!