Guest Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 Hi there, Just wondered if any of you wonderful people could give me some inspiration please. Next term we are very lucky to have been chosen to take part in the Trout in the Classroom project. We are going to nurture some Trout eggs (fry) and then release them into a local river. The project will last three months. This is to help replenish stocks which were lost due to an overkill last year. I am very excited about the whole project, but just wondered if anyone has used topics such as Under the Sea, In the River etc. in their settings and would be willing to share their ideas. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_1027 Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 fish and chips ..... sorry its late... umm we use fishing rods made of bambo and cardboard fish with magnets.... could do a lifecycle of a fish...... sorry will re think for tomorrow xxx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_2127 Posted December 4, 2007 Share Posted December 4, 2007 It would be great to take part in a project like you centurians. When we do My Home is the Sea, I buy mackerel from the fishmonger and the children look at it, feel it and smell it !! They use magnifying glasses to look into the mouth and gills etc. They really enjoy it. Lovely photos to show. Sue J Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_379 Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 A little obvious the rainbow fish stories. We had trout in school when we did the rainbow fish this term the children loveed touching them and looking at them. (dead from the shop of course) L Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_1469 Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 we recently brought a sardine in for the children to investigate..........and ended up with a whole morning's work from them............they were absolutely fascinated,we had some wonderful comments paintings and drawings, and they spontaneously set up a 'fish shop'using all kinds of things as props, absolutely lovely, and all from a 25p sardine.They were still talking about it two or three days later, and we had parents coming in, asking if we REALLY had a real fish for the children to 'play with'...... , so we explained and had lots of comments along the lines of.........'nice idea/fab they don't get to see rea fish much/he talked about it all afternoon/yuk, isn't that a bit barbaric??(we explained no, it wasn't...it was a sardine!! and then that parent came round to realising what a great learning opportunity it was.......25p very well spent I say! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_8466 Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 I don't know where I've seen it but someone somewhere has done painting with fish - it needs to be fresh everyday of course, but making prints with fish is apparently a really good activity. Lots of fish scales and ineresting shapes etc. Strange but true: just wish I could remember when or where or who! Maz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 Hi there everyone, Thanks for all your great ideas. However, update - prepare for a rant Had a meeting with my FS co-ordinator (Year 1 teacher) today. Told her we had been chosen to take part in the Trout in the Classroom project and asked her permission to change my topics for Sp1 and Sp2 (Food and Traditional Tales) to one more appropriate - i.e. Under the Sea. Her response was that she had the topic of Seaside (Su.2) and within that topic they had a visit to the Sealife Centre in Blackpool. She therefore did not wish me to use anything to do with fish!!!!! She did not want them to do anything in Reception that would be repeated in Year 1. It will be Spring (1/2) 2008 when we are having this topic and Summer (2) 2009 when the present Reception will be visiting the Sealife Centre - where's the logic in that? She said that I should just have the tank "there" and use it as an incidental experience. What can I do, I am so cross. I am such a wimp, I really should have stuck my ground. I was so very excited about the whole thing, and now I feel so deflated as I know that the children would have got such a tremendous amount of enjoyment and learning from the experience; and what an opportunity to be missed, it would have been so special. Does anyone have any suggestions? I have sent a copy of the minutes to the HT - but I don't know whether she will read them or not. End of rant - sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_8466 Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 Don't be too hard on yourself: its hard to stand up for what you believe in when you're faced with someone in authority who is being inflexible in their approach. When I was reading your post I just kept thinking how lovely it would be for your children to have such a fantastic multi-sensory experience which will underpin so much of their learning in year one! How lovely for them to be able to draw on the knowledge they have developed in reception and then extend that learning further. I can't really advise you because I'm in pre-school and life is so different for us: if one of my staff came to me with such a suggestion I'd be very very encouraging indeed. The incident you describe is the perfect rationale behind our decision not to have a long term plan - something we can manage easily in pre-school but would obviously be difficult in school. So all I can really offer you is my sympathy - I hope you get it sorted. And this is the best place I know for a quiet rant - does you good to get it off your chest. I hope someone more familiar with how schools work can offer you some sound advice to resolve your problem. Maz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tinkerbell Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 Food and traditional tales should do it ! Fish is a food you could do work on how they like to eat fish eg fish and chips,fish fingers,tuna sandwiches etc make some . The traditional tale could be the Three wishes, when the poor fisherman gets three wishes from the golden fish and they get bigger and bigger houses ending up with a sausage on the wifes nose ! I think it is a wonderful oppertunity for you and so long as you go down a different pathway to 'sealife centre' does it really matter? Tinkerbellx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tinkerbell Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 ps trout are fresh water fish nothing to do with the sea so she can back off Tinkerbell Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Wolfie Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 (edited) Congratulations, you've won this week's prize for the most intriguing thread title!!! Edited December 5, 2007 by Wolfie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_1027 Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 ha ha well done tinkerbell as Maz says stick with it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_8466 Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 Congratulations, you've won this week's prize for the most intrguing thread title!!! Yes - I wondered if it was a passing reference to someone she works with... Maz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_832 Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 Stick to your guns - just be inventive with your title for your topic - call it changes (the fish change from eggs etc or Growth so that it's not so obviously fish!) I am adding a photo (I hope?) of when we looked at fish in our classroom - the children were fascinated - they loved examining them and drawing them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_2732 Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 Tinkerbell - Well Done!! That should sort your FS Co, Centurian, not that you're competing, of course..... Just a teensy question - and please excuse this, as I'm Daycare, but why is Y1 teacher FS Co? I'm all for FS philosophy in Y1, but...? Sue Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_73 Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 When i saw the title of this thread I imagined a class full of children running around after an escaped trout! Sue it isnt unusual for year one teacher to manage FS and KS1, or sometimes year one is placed in a phase with N/R. Just depends on the set up of the school. My former head thought you could manage FS from anywhere in the school! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AnonyMouse_2732 Posted December 5, 2007 Share Posted December 5, 2007 Thanks for that, mundia! I love the Forum for getting me straight on things that are out of my 'ken'. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest tinkerbell Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 I'm in a small school with r/yr1 my class so I am Early years co-ordinator and as we have an NQT in the yr1/yr2 class I am also KS1 co-ordinator....so needs must in some settings Tinkerbellx Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 Thanks everyone, particularly Happymaz - you made me feel so much better. I still haven't resolved my dilemma yet, although when I handed the Minutes of the meeting to our HT, I took the opportunity of saying how frustrated I felt. She agreed with me that I should celebrate having this wonderful resource in the classroom by making it a focus of learning for the children. She suggested that as long as I stick to something like "Ponds and Streams" (i.e. freshwater) I should be safe enough not to tread on the toes of the Y1 teacher. Like myself, she suggested conservation and pollution as an integral part of the theme. However, I don't know whether she has said anything to the Y1 teacher yet - but she has not spoken to me all day. I really need to sort this out as it is all getting really silly. Thanks also for giving me a giggle at your responses to my thread title - get's things into prespective!!! The thought of children chasing trout around the classroom is a classic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 Thanks to everyone, particularly Happymaz - you have made me feel so much better. My dilemma is not yet sorted however, I showed the HT the minutes from the meeting and she agreed with me. She suggested that I focus on "Ponds and Streams" or similar (e.g freshwater), as I had thought, looking at caring for our environment etc. I do not know if she has mentioned anything to the Year 1 teacher so I need to pluck up the courage tomorrow to deal with this. Your comments re: the title of this thread really made me smile. The thought of a classroom full of Reception children chasing the escaped trout was a real classic. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Posted December 6, 2007 Share Posted December 6, 2007 Ooops - sorry! Thought first reply hadn't been posted. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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