Patterns with light and shadows.

With the recent introduction of an overhead projector to our classroom, many of the girls have been exploring concepts such as light and shadow. The girls have really enjoyed creating intricate patterns with tiny beads and buttons and seeing these projected onto the wall has really added to the experience. Here are some images of the girls at work:

Flower pressing.

We recently drew and then pressed some of our beautiful Pansies. We can't wait to see what they look like once they've been in the press for a little while!

"Flowers whisper 'Beauty' to the world, even as they fade, wilt, fall.  - Dr. SunWolf"

A love of nature.

"The future will belong to the ‘nature-smart’

 - those individuals, families, businesses, and political leaders who develop 

a deeper understanding of the trans-formative power of the natural world 

and who balance the virtual  with the real. 

The more high-tech we become, the more nature we need."

 -Richard Louv

Nature is providing the girls with opportunities to build theories about their world, wonder about the beauty they are surrounded by and to think about their responsibility for safeguarding our precious natural resources.

The girls interest in Mt St John, and the flowers and trees around us, is proving to be a powerful catalyst for our learning in the Foundation Class. At a recent conference we attended, the keynote speakers from Reggio Emilia, talked about the importance of children having an emotional relationship with the topic of the project in order for them to engage deeply with it. This notion has intrigued us and we have been considering this idea as we have been noticing how the girls have wholeheartedly embraced our work centred around ‘all things of nature’.

The girls have been writing, reading, measuring, comparing, designing and having to think hard about the work they are doing. The pride they take in their work is commendable. We believe that learning in the early years is most effective when it is connected with things the children are able to be actively involved in. Things that capture their imagination - as the fairy letters do - gives valid reason for learning how to write letters and numbers correctly, form words and sentences. Giving meaning to learning brings so much joy!

“Children develop an understanding that symbols can be “read” by others and that thoughts, experiences, and ideas can be represented through words, pictures, print, numbers, sounds, shapes, models and photographs” -  Te Whaariki; Early Childhood Curriculum. Goal 3 Communication

Young entrepenuers.

A few days ago as Chris was beginning to prepare the washing liquid ingredients with the girls, she posed a question:

 “Why do you think we are making Rainbow washing liquid?”

The girls responses were as follows:

 “So we can make lots of money for ice blocks."

 “Cause we have the recipe.”

“Our mums want to buy it."

 A little taken aback, she then asked “But do you remember what we discussed when we were talking about what the world would be like without Buttercups?”

 “I know” responded Ishani, “cause it’s got chemicals in it that are good chemicals”. 

“No that’s not right, some chemicals are good and some are bad,
but some are bad if they go into the sea." - Siena

“It’s about the environment... what’s good for the environment, isn’t it Mrs Bayes?” - Chicky

Since this discussion, the girls have busily worked to make washing liquid, design packaging and market their product to their parents. We sold heaps! Which meant, to the girls absolute delight, that we were able to purchase ice blocks with the profit. This went down a treat!

Here are some images of the girls busily producing the washing liquid.

It is definitely made with love.

A gift for our mountain.

Last week we were very lucky to have Siena's mum, Melissa, join us on our walk up Mt St John. Siena had a wonderful idea to construct a fairy swing, and Melissa worked with the girls to create a very beautiful swing indeed.

Thank you so much for joining us for our walk Melissa, we absolutely love our families joining in on our adventures.

Measuring our trees.

Conversations have continued around the idea of there being 'boy' trees and 'girl' trees, and many times the girls have discussed what 'makes' a tree either a girl or a boy. The height of the trees seems to be a popular theory, however one girl has suggested it might be to do with whether the trunk is 'fat or not'.

In response to these discussions we invited the girls to take a closer look at the trees and to engage in a measuring experience relating to the circumferences of the trees. The girls have also been working to compare the sizes of the different leaves from the trees. Here are some images from their measuring experience:

“Participation in active enquiry develops children’s confidence in offering ideas and in understanding.”

- Te Whaariki: Links with Essential Learning Areas (Science)

 

Musical appreciation.

Mrs Brewin often pops in to visit us. On Friday she was lucky enough to catch our music group. The girls showed their musical skills off beautifully. Waiting for their turn, resting their instruments at the end of the song and stopping and starting right on cue!

The girls are particularly proud of their ability to time joining in with 'Aie Chipanekas, aie, aie!' (sp). Ask your daughter if she can show you how it's done.