A few weeks ago, I was lucky enough to be able to attend the recording of one of this year’s Royal Institution Christmas Lectures. These lectures have been inspiring children and adults alike since 1825. They were initiated by Michael Faraday at a time when organised education for young people was scarce.

As the Royal Institution site explains… “In this year’s Christmas Lectures, Prof Sue Hartley will show you plants as you’ve never seen them before. They are complicated, cunning, beautiful and with plenty of tricks up their sleeve. And what’s more, we humans are dependent on them in ways you’d never imagine. As well as much of our food, our drugs, medicines and materials are all by-products of this epic 300 million year war.”

I thoroughly enjoyed watching the recording of one of the lectures. It was full of practical demonstrations, amazing facts and Sue presented it with a huge amount of enthusiasm for the subject. It was one of the most enjoyable Science lessons I’ve ever had and I can’t wait to watch it all over again on TV!

If you would like to see the lectures yourself, they are on More4 from 21st to 25th December at 7pm. Find out more here.

Moss Green Children’s Books are offering free colouring pages showing fruit and vegetables. They provide information about each particular fruit / vegetable, showing when they are in season, any pests who might attack them, and how they can be used in the kitchen.

www.mossgreenchildrensbooks.co.uk

The pages are available for a wide range of abilities and might be a useful addition to work on plants and / or healthy eating.

The Potato Story site is a great place to learn about life cycles, healthy eating, growing food and much more. The site has videos, games and quizzes for children to use, as well as resources for teachers and parents.

The site allows for cross-curricular links through ICT (Exploring simulations), literacy (with VAK opportunities including drama) and numeracy (measuring, collecting and presenting data).

There is also a ‘Potato Story’ bus which is available to visit schools to help them learn even more. If you would like to invite the bus to visit your school, enter your details on this form.