Year 4 had glorious weather for their trip to Kew. The question was, on a day like Thursday, was the weather more tropical in Kew or the rainforest habitat in The Palm House? I was pleased to see the children remembered the geographical knowledge from the last two years, telling Katie – the Kew education leader – about the equator, why countries there were hotter, naming the Amazon Forest and the countries it covers. The children used specialist equipment to measure humidity, soil temperature, soil moisture and air temperature. We then explored The Palm House to find out how animals and plants co-exist in rainforest eco-systems. Can your child tell you some of the examples? The children also enjoyed sketching in the Temperate House – which was cooler than it was outside – and had lovely picnics sitting in the shade on the botannical garden’s beautiful lawns.
The lily pond house was stunning and the children enjoyed seeing, and some sketched, the enormous lilies. Wel also visited the hive which is an amazing structure – a type of pavilion – which “hums” the hotter it is.
A huge thank you to the very kind parents who gave up a day to help out on the trip. These events would not go nearly as well without your support. And apologies for the mix-up about collecting at the end of the day. I didn’t realise adults would wait at the front of the school and then thought we could dismiss children from the car park, but the children went through to the classroom first. Thank you for coming round to the playground where we could see everyone safely to their adults.
After the father’s day assembly, the children will be painting based on what they saw and experienced on Thursday.
