Our theme this term is "What's Inside"

We have been asking curious questions.
We have been thinking hard.
We have been using clues to figure things out.
Today, Carolyn had a netball in a box, but we didn't know that. We had to ask questions and figure it out.
Here is how the conversation went:
Can you keep it? Yes
Can you please shake the box? It sounds light and soft. It touches the sides of the box. It is as big as the box.
Maybe it’s a cube…
Is it blue? No but it could be. It comes in all kinds of colours!
Is it a hat? No
Is it shaggy? No
Is it a book / big book? No
Can you…
Does it…
Is it made of fabric? No, but it does have stitching like when you put things together.
Is it a teddy bear? No
Is it made of glass? No
What colour is it? It is pink but it could be any colour.
Can it do something? No, but you can do something with it.
Is it a learning toy? If you keep using this thing you will get better and better at using it.
Is it an i-pad? No
Is it duplo? No
Does it have arms, legs and a head and a tail? No
CLUE: It’s a learning toy that you can use outside.
Is it a ball? Yes

THEN we looked at the ball, once we had it out of the box:
I can see it.
It is soft.
It has stitching.
It is bouncy.
It’s got air in it.
It's got a hole in it where you can pump it up.
It has a word on it - Gilbert
It’s got stars on it.
It’s got the ‘buy it’ on it - (That was the bar code - but I like your name for it better, Shannon!)
It’s got little rubber bumps.
What’s inside in the ball?
Air
The stitching is where the lines are…
We are cutting the ball.
We can hear the air in it…
It doesn’t bounce any more because it doesn't have air in it.
Now Carolyn is reaching in and pulling something out:

There’s a balloon inside the ball!
It is attached to the hole.
When you put the pump into the little black hole the balloon blows up…
When Carolyn turned the ball inside out it looked  like the fabric our school bags are made of…
so Carolyn was wrong - it IS made of fabric!

If this is full of air and is all round, why don’t we just play with the ‘inside balloon’?
Because if you played netball with it and you stand on it, it might pop.
What did people invent to help look after the inside…
They used the same material as our school bag to protect the bit inside…
The material is strong…there are pieces that are stitched together…
It smells like a rubber band…
Sophia noticed the stitching on her tights looked like the stitching on the ball!

Great spotting, Sophia.
Now - what does THIS ball look like inside?

We will find out tomorrow! Watch this space!