Pre-Prep were very excited to welcome their first visitor this week, as Anna from ZooLab brought some unusual animals and minibeasts for the children to see, learn about and even stroke!

Every class met the animals and Anna led the session with a different focus according to the children’s ages and what they are learning in their topic work. She was bursting with information and enthusiasm, as always, and gave the children a great overview on the animals’ eating habits, behaviour and why they have evolved as they have in order to survive in their environment. 

Kindergarten were Going on an Animal Hunt and found many of the animals along the way, with hairy Sugarplum the tarantula being a favourite! 

The Reception classes found out interesting facts about the animals and then wrote down their new knowledge back in the classroom, linking it in with their focus on non-fiction texts. 

Year 1 looked at how to look after and respect different animals, and touched on the conservation of rainforests and endangered species. This theme was then developed with Year 2 as part of their Rainforest topic this term. 

The excitement across the whole of Kindergarten and Pre-Prep was evident as the children discussed what they had seen and found out, including fascinating and grizzly facts such as: 

Sugarplum the tarantula – she sticks her fangs in her victims to liquidise them, then sucks their insides out using her tongue as a straw. 

Henry the tortoise – will live until he’s 70; the children learned about the difference between fin-footed water-dwelling turtles and the more staid land-dwelling tortoise. Did you know tortoises have their own unique fingerprint, on their bellies? 

Philippe the cockroach – omnivore, can hold his breath under water for 45 mins, can survive without his head for a month (as he has two brains), and can walk through fire! 

Dolly Python – squeezes her victims to death, then opens her jaws wide and swallows them whole! She is cool and dry to touch. 

Jenny the tree frog – a lover of insects, with a back designed to look like the trees and a belly designed to look like the sky. She has sticky pads on her feet, enabling her to climb trees.

And finally, Cheese, the giant African Millipede – he is called Cheese because when giant millipedes are afraid they emit a disgusting smell to repel their predators! He was 15 cms long but will double in size when he is fully grown - a true giant! 

Sue Wilton