Reception Children at Mansfield Green E-ACT Academy Learn About Dinosaurs

The children in the two Reception classes at Mansfield Green E-ACT Academy (Caterpillars and Bees), have had a very busy term learning about fossils and dinosaurs.  As part of a rich and diverse scheme of work devised by the hard-working teaching team, a staff member from Everything Dinosaur was invited into the Birmingham-based school to spend a morning delivering two workshops to the eager, young scientists.  The enthusiastic learners were keen to demonstrate their knowledge about dinosaurs and other prehistoric animals and our workshops were well received by the children and teachers alike.

Fossils and Dinosaurs

Prior to the start of the school day, our dinosaur expert was given the opportunity to view some of the wide range of activities that the classes had undertaken.  Part of one of the well-appointed and very tidy Reception classrooms had been turned into a special “dinosaur” exhibit.  The centrepiece of this display was a beautiful volcano that had been made from crumpled brown paper with bright red cellophane making excellent lava.

A Centrepiece of the Dinosaur Display in the Reception Classroom

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur/Mansfield Green E-ACT Academy

Lots of Amazing Arts and Crafts on Display

The children had been making their very own fossils out of clay and during our workshop we explored in simple terms how fossils are formed and helped the children to learn about some of their properties (hard/soft, heavy/light, hot/cold).  Our dinosaur expert spotted some dinosaur bones made out of straws that the children had used to create shapes and patterns.

Creating Shapes and Patterns Using Straw Dinosaur Bones

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur/Mansfield Green E-ACT Academy

At Mansfield Green E-ACT Academy, the dedicated staff encourage the children to think big and to push boundaries so as to build their confidence.  One of the teachers explained that the children had been making dinosaurs out of paper plates and she was amazed when our dinosaur expert explained that there actually was a dinosaur called Plateosaurus!  The young palaeontologists had not just been looking at dinosaurs, their cousins the pterosaurs (flying reptiles), had been studied too.

A beautifully crafted model of a pterosaur had been carefully placed above one of the dinosaur themed areas of the Reception classroom.

Flying High Over the Classroom Dinosaur Display

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur/Mansfield Green E-ACT Academy

Plant-eaters, Meat-eaters, Habitats and Homes

The Academy had been graded “Outstanding” in all areas following a recent Ofsted (The Office for Standards in Education, Children’s Services and Skills), inspection.  There was certainly much to admire in the Foundation Stage part of the school that our dinosaur expert visited.  The staff were highly motivated and our team member observed that the school was providing a very creative and exciting curriculum for the pupils.  We are confident that the additional resources that we supplied and the lesson plan suggestions would help to augment the challenging and inspirational scheme of work that had been devised for the Reception classes. The children seemed to be enjoying learning about fossils and dinosaurs.

The children in Bees and Caterpillars had been learning about meat-eating and plant-eating dinosaurs along with the sort of conditions a dinosaur needs to be happy and to feel safe.  The Reception classes had even built one or two little dinosaur worlds for their dinosaur figures to live in.

An Armoured Dinosaur Finds a Home in the Dinosaur Display

Picture credit: Everything Dinosaur/Mansfield Green E-ACT Academy

Visit the Everything Dinosaur website: Everything Dinosaur.