June in school is always an interesting month in school.
True we are always busy finishing the curriculum, but there are lots of diversions too:
- Nature Walks
- History Walks
- School Tours
- Sports Day
- and Seaside Scavenger Hunts.
The DES has reminded us that we are required to keep up with Maths and Literacy, but as it is June, the focus of many of the activities on the website will be less academic. Check back as activities will be added as the month goes on.
OUT AND ABOUT
NEW: CHALK OBSTACLE COURSES were the surprise hit of SPORTS’ DAY. Here are some ideas from ‘The Inspired Treehouse’
Helpful hint: ‘It’s a good idea to squeeze in some ”break” activities such as make a wish, give high five to the sky, say your name, empty your pockets, etc. It makes the obstacle course more fun.’
Scroll down this link to get more ideas.
SCAVENGER HUNTS in Nature
Another big hit was scavenger hunts and being outside.
Here is a range from Coppell Nature Park
What you can find under a rock or a log
A hunt for living and non-living things
A spending time outside observation sheet
Just give your child a blank sheet of paper and see what they can observe and record.
And here is an information sheet about finding: Evidence of Animals
Combining a love of reading with a scavenger hunt, click on this link to download a Reading Scavenger Hunt from the Modern Parents Messy Kids blog. Again no need to print off, as you can read it on your phone.
From South Dublin Library Services:
With no school these days and lots of time on our hands, there is a great opportunity for everyone to catch up on stuff … Even if your day is still full, we in South Dublin Libraries need your help to document our world now, and the world in days gone by.
In the 1930s, the Irish Folklore Commission asked schoolchildren to collect stories from their parents and grandparents about their lives when they were young; games they played, local stories about the places they lived, famous people they knew, anything at all.
This is where you come in. We would like to bring that project right up to date. Today’s world, even in normal times, is very different to the world our parents and grandparents lived in. With the Covid19 pandemic, the world looks and feels very strange to all of us. When things return to normal we could easily forget how things were in these times.
What can I do?
We’d love to hear about your world today, and the world of your parents, grandparents (even your great-grandparents!). This can involve sitting down with someone of an older generation – parent or grandparent – and ask questions. Take down their memories by taking notes. Build their memories into a story.
You also have a story. How are you spending your days now? Do you miss school? What’s the first thing you want to do when you’re allowed out again? We’d really like to see photos too. Funny signs in shops, closed-up shops, your closed-up school. You probably have a mobile phone or even a camera you can use to document this time in photographs. Maybe you’ll be talking to your kids about this time!
What will I send?
Parents/Grandparents recollections: Either handwritten or typed up. Drawings, paintings, anything! Find out how things were different when they were young. What was school like? What games did they play? What kind of phones did they have, television etc? Try to get them to talk about everything they can remember.
A diary of your day: How are you passing the time, what are you allowed to do, what are you not allowed to do? Describe your hobbies. What books are you reading? Do you use Social Media – is it helping you stay connected, or is it a bad thing? Do you walk in a local park? Photograph the nature there?
Photographs of your area: Maybe photos of how different your locality looks now as opposed to how it looked before Christmas when times were normal. If you are sending photos, include a short description. Where it was taken (important!), and why you took it. What it represents.
Where do I send it?
Please send your stories and photos to localstudies@sdublincoco.i
In the same way as the Irish Folklore Commission did in the 1930s, we would like to save your memories and those of your family’s older generation for the people of the future to enjoy and give them a real picture of past lives described by those who lived them.
We plan to scan and upload all the material we receive to our online digital archive HERE We will create a special collection that will remain as a digital ‘Time Capsule’ for future generations.
50 THINGS TO DO
BEFORE YOU ARE 11 & THREE QUARTERS
The poster is from the National Trust UK. It can be hard to read so click on this LINK to see these 50 suggestions more clearly. Children are bound to see many things they have already done and perhaps try again. They may also get ideas for many more.
JUNE IS A MONTH FOR HISTORY WALKS
In June Ms. Ahern brings classes for History Walks. On account of Covid – 19, she cannot do this, this year, but look what we have instead.
Click on THIS link to see a History of Greystones from the school’s History Blog: ‘The Grey Stones’. It is good to know the history of the place where you live. It gives one a ‘sense of place’.
When you have read the piece, see how many questions you can answer?
Over 50 more questions about the History of Greystones HERE
Click on the following link to see a number of History Trails from the local area put together by Greystones Tidy Towns, Greystones Archaeological & Historical Society, the La Touche Legacy Committee and Delgany Village website. We are so lucky to live in a place with such a rich history.
VIRTUAL SCHOOL TOUR
There is no need for a permission slip
and no end to the places a class can go on a virtual tour.
Here are three I thought were interesting:
Scroll down THIS link to see the Great Wall of China.
This one is Anne Frank’s House.
Click on a path for a walk in the forest
There are a LOT of other virtual tours HERE from Irish teacher, Ms. Forde’s Classroom Blog and HERE from Scottish teacher, Ms. Armstrong on Teachpal.
NEW for this week: A Virtual Tour of the National History Museum HERE on the Clíste website.
SEASIDE SCAVENGER HUNT
Seaside Scavenger Hunt
Written especially for Greystones South Beach
We will choose only the things that we can collect
and return safely and without damage.
- A small black pebble
- A feather
- A pebble with a hole in it
- A mermaid’s purse
(dog fish egg case or whelk egg case)
- A limpet (or part of)
- A mussel (or part of)
- A whelk (or part of)
- Something beautiful
- Some sea lettuce
- A sea belt
- Some bladder wrack
- Something that makes a noise
- A small white pebble
- A pink flower
- Something soft
- A yellow flower
- Something important in nature
(Everything in nature is important!)
- A small grey pebble
- Any part of a crab
- Something that reminds you of yourself
- A white flower
- A sun trap (This is anything that captures the sun’s heat)
- More than 100 of something!
- Something that the sea has changed
- A creature’s home (make sure it is empty).
- Something round
- A big smile
At the end we will leave what we have found on the beach.
We will:
‘Leave only footprints.
Take only memories’.
Ms. Murray is working hard on a VIRTUAL SPORTS DAY for the 12th June. More details on the website closer to the time.
WATER SAFETY
Water Safety is an important part of the school’s curriculum for the Summer Term. The Irish Water Safety Association has been in touch with THIS resource which you might find of interest.
RTE2’s HOMESCHOOL HUB & CULA4 AS GAEILGE
Finally no webmix would be complete without The Big Hit for homeschooling during this time was RTE2’s ‘Home School’ for primary students (1st -6th class) Monday to Friday 11am to 12. Further activities can be downloaded from the RTÉ website: rte.ie/learn And students can upload their pictures and videos on this link also.
Friday 19th June’s ‘Class of 2020 Home School Hub GRADUATION SPECIAL’ was the last ‘live’ Home School Hub but you can watch the lessons and all the ‘fun and games’ all over again on RTE Player.
Still on this final week of June 10-11 am each morning there are lessons through Irish on Cula4 This is the schedule for this week:
UPDATED 2nd June 2020 FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION of IRELAND
Ms. Murray asked me to bring the following to your attention.
FAI HOMESKILLS
‘Every weekday at 11am on the FAI Grassroots Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages, a new skill is introduced by our Ambassadors, current and former Republic of Ireland internationals, with a demonstration of the skill by our FAI Development Officers, and current Domestic and International players. Each day, we invite viewers to submit their own video of performing the skill for a chance to win a FAI Goodie Bag. The library of all 35 skills is available on YouTube: FAI Homeskills. All children need is a ball and a small area of space.’
UPDATED 2nd June 2020
A video message for 6th class students from the President of Ireland, Michael D Higgins. Thanks to Mr. Dodd for letting us know about this.
UPDATED: Note from Wicklow Library Services
A serialization of JK Rowling’s new novel ‘The Ickabog’ is HERE It is free online for children during this time. The story is unrelated to any of her other books.