Year 1 have enjoyed learning about the most important organ in their body this afternoon- the brain. This was to get them excited about their current IPC topic ‘Brainwave’. Today, they investigated what the brain looks like, where it is located in the body and how it is protected by the skull. The jelly brain helped them to discover just how fragile the brain really is and how the hard protection of the skull helps the brain to stay safe.

The children also learnt about how the brain makes connections and sends messages throughout the body. The children enjoyed watching a video of neurons connecting in the brain and could visibly see the connections growing longer. They then used the pieces of train track to physically build lots of new connections. They soon realised that the train could travel best when all the pieces were connected together successfully, just like how we learn best when all of the information in our brains connects together. Finally, the children re-enacted the brain sending messages throughout our bodies by sending messages to each other via string telephones.

Year 1 are very much looking forward to using their own clever brains to learn more about the brain and how it works in the coming weeks.