How many cupcakes do we need to make?

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A team were tasked with calculating how many cupcakes they needed to make for the NIS community that did not receive the birthday cupcakes.

The children went back to the list to see how they could solve the problem. Paper, pens and manipulatives were available as resources.

  • Jacob “We are going to the PTA where they make the cupcake so we will have a trip.”
  • Ciel “If you lose the PTA cupcake, you will tell the teachers and the teachers will help you find it.”
  • Isabella “We are putting the numbers together to figure out how many all together.”

  • Suzy “We are writing the people who didn’t have the PTA cupcakes. We will give them a cupcake.”

  • Evan “We used the counting blocks to see how to count the numbers because it’s too hard for us.”

  • Isabella “We need to have the same number. Maybe we need to agree with each other then we can say the same number.”
  • Suzy “We can talk to each other then we can have the same number.”

Further to the children’s suggestion, we decided to use the virtual Base 10 blocks to discuss and solve the problem together. The children helped colour and count the different addends to find the total.

The cupcake problem helped the children explore the different strategies we can use to solve number problems. Making their thinking visible through their drawings helped them communicate their ideas with each other.

Additionally, the children explored the relationship between their drawings and manipulatives and their function in solving mathematical problems.

Which one does not belong? Bicycles

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Which one does not belong? Why?

The children were encouraged to look carefully at the four different quadrants with bicycles. They had to decide if A, B, C or D did not belong and explain why. A group of children focused on the positioning of the different bicycles explaining that some were parked in the shape of an X and others in rectangles. Ciel noticed that some bicycles were smaller than others. Isabella and Suzy decided to count the number of bicycles to decide which section did not belong. We moved to count the number of wheels in each section. Then we counted how many purple or yellow bikes each section had.

The children use their knowledge of doubling to find the total, explaining that 4 + 4 was 8, 5 + 5 was 10, 8 + 8 was 16 and 10 + 10 was 20.

The ‘which one but doesn’t belong’ activities help the children look carefully at the clues provided to make decisions. It encourages them to think about what they know about numbers, patterns, shapes and data, and to explore connections to make decisions. These mathematical conversations help the children estimate, notice and analyse information to develop their mathematical identities. 

Celebrating Everyone in the Community

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The Birthday Cupcake team met with Ms. Hannah to plan their next steps. One of the first steps was to find out how many people at NIS don’t get the PTA cupcakes. 

Ms. Hannah showed the children the list of the outside contracted workers at NIS, which was shared by the Human Resources department at NIS> Collectively, there are 18 security guards, 17 cleaners,  9 gardeners,  8 Homecaught workers, and 14 Aden workers at NIS.

These members do not receive a Birthday cupcake from the NIS PTA, as they are outsourced contracted staff. However, they get different types of birthday celebrations. The children thought it would be great for them also to get the PTA cupcakes and wondered how they could make this happen.  

  • Isabella “Where did PTA order the birthday? Maybe We can go to the place where the PTA orders and make the birthday cupcakes?”
  • Suzy “Maybe we can learn how they make the PTA cupcakes?”
  • Adalyn “I like to learn how to make the PTA cupcakes.”
  • Isabella “We can make cupcakes for our families.”
  • Evan “We can give cupcakes to those at NIS who don’t get the PTA cupcakes.”
  • Jacob “We need the map.”
  • Isabella “We need to find out where this bakery is. We will need a car, and if everyone goes, we will need a school bus.”
  • Suzy “Can we do it during Atelier time? Maybe we can ask everyone if they want to go at the end of the Atelier time.”
  • Adalyn “We will need transportation because we are all going. We can’t just go there.”

The team wondered who they could ask.

  • Suzy “We can ask the school bus driver. Maybe he will know.

They wondered how much money they needed for a cupcake.

  • Isabella “Maybe we can ask Ms. Rebacca about the cupcake cost?”
  • Jacob “We can then use the calculator to figure out how much in total.”
  • Isabelle “School bag and student ID card.”

The children presented their proposals to the rest of the K2A. They had some questions to solve before the field trip to the Skyways Bakery:

  • Can we visit the Skyways Bakery? Who can we ask?
  • Where do you get the map to the Skyways Bakery, where they make the PTA cupcakes?
  • How many cupcakes do we need to order?
  • Can we also make cupcakes for our families as well?
  • How much is the cupcake?
  • How much money do we need to pay for all the cupcakes

The PTA Birthday cupcakes project invites the children to explore a range of different concepts through the process of research. Their inquiry has focused on the concepts of ‘inclusion’ and ‘community’, as the children have been learning about the people in their community to look for authentic ways to connect with them. As they dive deeper into this project, they will need to apply a range of skills to answer the questions and wonderings they have noted, plan their field trip and organise a special treat for those who do not receive one for their birthday. They will need to find more information about the location of the bakery, and explore maps signs and symbols to make decisions about the journey. They will need to contact relevant members of the community to organise the transportation and plan the field trip. They will need to contact the bakery to find out important information about the visit and plan for the necessary items and the money that would be required for the trip. We look forward to observing how the children apply their knowledge and skills to take responsibility for the preparation and organization of the field trip.

Presenting to the NIS Staff

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The Cupcake Team and Ms. Hannah shared their presentation and poster with the children in K2A to seek feedback before presenting to the NIS faculty team during the ‘Monday Briefing’ in the Staff Room. Overall, the children thought they presented well because:

  • the voice was loud and clear
  • they took turns to share
  • everyone knew what to say!

The team worked together to prepare for their presentation to the NIS staff. They gathered all the items they needed for the display in the staff room.

  • Where should we keep the poster in the staff room?
  • Where should we stand when we present to the teachers so they can see all of us and the poster?

They made the decisions together. They presented the poster and the information to the teachers.

We wonder what their next steps would be!

Designing the Bike Park Signs

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We revisited the bike park project to discuss our next steps. The children were invited to create new signage for the bike park.

A team of volunteers sketched their first ideas on paper. We noticed that some of the children wanted to include drawings, and some of them were keen to use words.

These ideas will be presented to the class to gather feedback.

The Trolley Project – Measuring Accurately

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The team reviewed the information they had gathered about the missing components to decide their next steps. Isabella volunteered to help with the process.  

They decided that an important first step was to measure the missing parts accurately, to order the correct items. The team used what they knew about measurements and measuring tools to begin their work.     

  • Jacob “You should measure it from the top.”

  • Adalyn “But I think it is better to only measure the stick part.” (She thought she should start with 1cm.)
  • Jacob “The length of the screw is a bit longer than 3 and a half.”

The team sought Ms. Sophia to discuss the function of the hash marks on the ruler, exploring the connection between millimetres and centimetres. They found that each small space was 0.1cm, and the measurement was 3.6 centimetres.

Evan placed marks on the picture and drew an arrow to the number, to show the purchasing officers which part of the screw they were measuring.

He wrote the unit cms beside it, which lets others know what the number means. Everyone decided to follow Evan’s method to avoid any confusion.

Jacob decided that he wanted to measure the diameter of the nut and placed the ruler on the head of the nut to find the measurement.

Evan and Jacob measured the length of the hook, it was 4.5 cms.

Adalyn thought it was necessary to also measure the width of the hook, “It is 0.9 cm wide!”

  • Jacob “We don’t have the black rings to use as a example because they are all missing. But I can draw a picture of them instead.”
  • Adalyn “But it is not the exact thing. It’s just your picture of the thing, and there must be some differences between your drawing and the thing we want. We can take a photo of the wheels to show people, because the rings are for the wheels.”
  • Isabella “And we should measure the wheels as well.”
  • Adalyn “It is 7 cm.”
  • Jacob “No, it is 8 cm.”
  • Adalyn “If you measure it from 0, it is 7 cm, and if you measure it from 1, it is 8 cm.”

After we took a break from the project, Adalyn and Isabella decided to work together to find out how many millimetres there are in 1 cm using a ruler to count all the small lines between the 2 numbers.

  • Isabella “It is too hard for me to count the small lines because they are too small.”
  • Adalyn “We need a magnify glass to help us look more clearly.”

They worked as a team to figure out that there are 9 lines between 2 numbers on the ruler, and if they add the two long lines right under the two numbers, there are 11 lines.

Isabella “So how many millimetres are there in 1 cm? 9 or 11?

Rules for Sorting

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We have noticed the children categorising everyday objects around the campfire as they play and construct with different objects and materials. We decided to present the Mathematicians with an opportunity to sort, categorise and organise a collection of objects to help them explore how objects can be organised in different ways.

To help them think about this further, we referred to prior documentation from the ‘waste’ project, when the children sorted the different foods into groups and discussed their rules for the sort.

The children noticed that:

  • Isabella “Pictures tell what it is.”
  • Adalyn “Words at the bottom tell everybody what is that picture.”
  • Riccardo “There are numbers because you can tell how high the people like more food.”
  • Evan “How many food there are.”

The children worked in teams to sort out the different collections. We discussed the skills they would need to use to complete the team challenge.

One team was given a collection of loose parts. As they observed the contents of the basket, they decided to sort it by shape. The team were invited to think about other ways to sort the objects. 

Next, they decided to sort the objects by colour. They noticed that the coloured objects also had different shapes and put them into new categories sorted by shape and colour.

The team were reminded about the graph they had made previously, to help them think about how they might organise the information they had gathered. They moved the objects to a new piece of paper, placing the objects in lines.

The team were given feedback on the placement of the objects, encouraging them to consider where the objects were placed in relation to the numbers they had written on the left side of the paper.

Finally, the teams included labels at the bottom of the chart paper to help others know the different categories. Together they decided that the title for the chart would be ‘Shape Tower Chart’.

A second team were given a bucket of loose parts. The team spent a lot of time discussing all the different objects in the bucket, talking about the shapes and colours, and deciding how they might want to sort the objects.

At first, they decided to sort them into two categories beads and buttons. After some negotiations, they decided to categorise them by colour instead.

Having sorted all the different colours out, they transferred this information onto a new piece of chart paper. They were encouraged to refer to the ‘favourite Foods’ graph they had made previously, to help them notice other information that should be included on a graph.

They began to include labels and numbers on the graph and helped each other out with the spelling of the labels. 

They finally repositioned all the different objects to create an organised representation of data and labelled their graph ‘Colour Shape Graph’.  

A third team was given a mixture of cutlery.  The team shared and explained their ideas to each other and then came up with three ways of categorising the collection of cutlery: by colour, size and function.

It took a long time for them to decide on the rule for the sort.  They voted to sort by colour but decided to try out all three ways to see which one works best.

Finally, they agreed on sorting the cutlery by their function as this was ‘the best’. They sorted them into 5 categories, spoons, forks, knives, chopsticks, special spoon (for getting things like ice-cream, salt, or sugar). They were encouraged to refer to the ‘favourite Foods’ graph they had made previously, to help them notice other information that should be included on a graph. They realised that organising the objects vertically rather than horizontally helped create a better graph. They included labels and numbers on the graph and helped each other out with the spelling of the labels. 

They used Google Translate to find the word ‘tableware’. They finally repositioned all the different objects to create an organised representation of data and labelled their graph ‘Tableware Graph’.

Learning Outcomes:

  • collect data
  • sort and label real objects into more than 2 sets by more than one common attribute
  • record data on simple tables
  • present information using pictographs where one picture equals 1
  • explain data using simple comparative language

Story Arc

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We have been reading and creating stories during ‘Reading and Writing Workshop’ times. We have been using loose parts and our play spaces to create and share stories. 

BUT…what makes a good story?

To explore this idea further, we read the story ‘A Cat and a Dog’, by Claire Masurel. In this story, a cat and a dog live in the same house, but they are not friends.They fight all the time, about everything. Then disaster strikes. Dog’s beloved ball bounces up into a tree and is stuck. Cat’s precious stuffed mouse falls into the pond. Dog can’t climb. Cat can’t swim.

 

The Story Arc

Next, we used a Story Arc to identify and retell the important elements of the story. We documented these ideas and created a class chart that we can refer to when creating our own stories. Together we identified the:

  • Characters(who is in the story)
  • Setting(where the story takes place)
  • Events
    • Beginning
    • Problem
    • Solution
    • End

The children were invited to create their own stories, to include a beginning, middle and end. They will continue to use what they know about letters and sounds to share their stories with others.

The Language of Paper

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Isabella was curious about the recycled paper in the classroom. She wanted to see if the paper could be reused. Isabella wondered if the marks, drawings, and lines would disappear if she soaked the paper in water. She decided to test her theories by finding a large glass bottle to place the paper in water and observing what happened over a few days. 

She made a sign to inform others about her paper experiment and documented her observations over time.

Isabella noticed that the water began to change colour and the texture of the paper changed from dry to wet to ‘mushy’. Finally, she placed the pieces of paper on a drying rack and presented her findings to the class.

The children were inspired by Isabella’s experiment and decided to make their own paper. We began by creating a plan, documenting all the steps that might be essential in the process.

As we drew and wrote what we heard the children say. We included images and labels to help us express our ideas clearly. The children volunteered to lead different parts of the process, beginning with informing others of their plan for paper-making and collecting recycled paper from the community.

Maps

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We have noticed the children creating different settings for storytelling with blocks and loose parts. Their designs included specific spaces that met the needs of the animals and characters in their stories.  

Having noticed this developing interest in layout, we decided to introduce the children to a picture book that introduces the children to the idea of ‘maps’. In this story, Hefty Hugh and Lanky Len cunningly plan to steal the farmer’s cow.

The colourful pictures by Lydia Monks and the story plot by Julia Donaldson take the children on a journey with the farm animals and two robbers armed with a map.  

Archie “This is a map because the ladybird catch the bad guys, they are going to come and they want to see if there is a treasure and they got trapped. And they got under and tried to climb up because it was so deep and dark. And then the bad guys got out and he go into the swimming pool and they got out and locked the door and they got trapped.”

 What can we learn from a map?

  • Isabella “Where to go.”
  • Suzy “If we remember and it’s fun we can go there again.”
  • Jacob “Then you can find the treasure. If you have a map, if you have a treasure then every day you can find the treasure.”
  • Isabella “If you are lost, you can use to walk the right way.”

  • Riccardo “You don’t know how to go to some hiding spot, then use the treasure map.”
  • Jacob “If you find treasure, if you still have the map and it didn’t break you keep it every day. You can every day find treasure. Just pirates can find treasure.”
  • Suzy “Pirates always have maps.”
  • Archie “I looked for treasure in India. I didn’t have a map. We made the map, Elmo and me.”
  • Isabella “If you have a map. You don’t step off the booby trap. It means a hole. If you step on something, then there will be holes.”
  • Junsu “You can find it on the map. You can find everything on the map” (in Korean)

  • Sea “My grandpa’s car have a map. On the phone because grandpa don’t have a map then he will go to the wrong place. Mummy has a map on the phone. Mum see the phone, and then come.”
  • Ethan “You can see where it is on the map. There is a house on the map. There is a map at home.”
  • Euno “You can also find the car you want on the map.”

  • Dahyun “You can find everything on the map and find what you want. My mummy has a map on the computer phone. She don’t know where going then, then she looks at the map.”

We invited the children to think about the different ways they can let others know about the different spaces and objects in their play spaces. They decided that they could draw and add labels to their creations. We look forward to observing how the children take these ideas into their play spaces.

We wonder how they will use what they know about messages, symbols and words to share information about their play.

The Foods We Like to Eat

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Our discussions about ‘food waste’ led to the children sharing all the foods they like to eat from their school lunch menu. They drew pictures of the different foods and included labels to share their ideas.

Then, we gathered to sort and organise the information we had collected.

We began to sort and group the different foods. The children discussed the data that emerged through this process. Rice, hot dogs and pizza were some of the children’s favourite foods.

How can we tell how many people like each type of food?

  • Suzy “We can write numbers!”

 

The children included numbers on one side of the graph.

How can we tell which foods are in one column?

  • Riccardo “We can write the words.”

We decided to add the names as Riccardo suggested.

The children discussed the idea of a title, to let people know what the graph was about. They agreed that it was ‘What K2A Like to Eat’.

 

  • How do the rest of the children in the Early Years feel about their options for school lunch?
  • Do they also like the same foods?

We wonder what choices the children might make because of their data collection.

How will they use the information to guide their next steps to reduce food waste? 

Story Workshop

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Play

The children have continued to work on their stories during ‘Story Workshop’ time. During this dedicated literacy session, the children are invited to play in their preferred spaces, independently or collaboratively, to create stories with the different materials and toys available around the campfire.

Some of the children’s favourite spaces for storytelling are the block play areas and the light table with small world toys or loose parts. We have also noticed the children’s interest in writing stories about the different paper crafts they have created. Some have even chosen to create stories around the classroom library reading space.

This dedicated time allows the children to build their stories, discuss their ideas with their friends and make choices about the stories they want to share. Time for discussion allows the children to think deeply about the characters, settings and plots in the story. 

Draw and Write

After having time to play with the materials, the children move to document their ideas using drawings, labels, words and sentences.

They are invited to use the Word Wall, alphabet charts and any other tools they need to help them with their writing. They are encouraged to say the words out loud, listen to the sounds in the word and then write all the sounds they hear as they say the word. They practice this strategy by imagining themselves holding the word in their hands, stretching the word out like a rubber band to say the word as they listen to the sounds.

 

Share

After dedicated time for writing, the children gather to share some of their work. The teachers highlight what they have noticed the children doing with their writing and drawing, using these as opportunities to present new ideas, techniques and strategies to the children.

Sharing and presenting to the class encourages the children to celebrate what they can already do.

As we work on our stories during ‘Story Workshop’ time, we will continue to explore the different ways we can tell and share our stories with others.  

Food Waste – Choices and Responsibility

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We have been discussing the concept of waste, thinking critically about the choices we can make to reduce food waste. A photograph of the food waste in K2 during lunchtime led to many discussions about choices and our responsibility to reduce waste.

The children wondered how much food waste we had at lunchtime. We decided to collect the leftovers from the lunch boxes to find out.

How do we know how much food there is in the box?

We decided to read a book about measurement to help the children think about the tools we use to measure ingredients and food.Having seen the images in the book, we decided to weigh the leftover food. Mr. Arek told us there were scales in the cafeteria for this purpose. A team went over to the cafeteria to see if they could weigh the box of leftovers.

They learned that the box was 1111 grams. When we returned to the classroom the children used a scale Mr. Seth had in his classroom to see if it recorded a similar weight. They also tried weighing the box of food using a bathroom scale.

Children were unsure about the number that was recorded on all the different scales. On day one we had 1110g of food waste. We decided to use manipulatives and virtual tools to talk about big numbers.

Reflecting on the waste we had collected, the children decided to make an effort to reduce the waste by:

  • eating more food from their lunch box
  • trying to eat different foods they don’t normally try
  • Remind their friends to eat more and talk less

On the second day, we weighed the leftovers to see if there was a difference. This time the scale recorded the weight of 534 grams.   

Was the food waste more or less than on day one?

We used the base 10 blocks to see what these two numbers looked like. We talked about regrouping the hundreds to make a 1000 when showing the number 1110 grams. We used the words more and less to describe the two lots of manipulatives.

Having seen that the second day’s waste was less than the first, we decided to explore some other ideas to reduce food waste. We discussed the different foods that were offered as options in the children’s school lunch box.

Which of these foods were their favourite which ones did they dislike eating and why?

The children drew and wrote to share all their favourite school lunch options.  

We wonder how we might organise the data that we collect about the school lunch.

  • What does the data tell us about the food the children prefer to eat?
  • How might we use this information to improve some of the choices we have for school lunch?

Where are the cupcakes?

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  • Isabella “We saw the table and on the table there was no cupcakes.”
  • Adalyn “We went to the teacher’s room to look at the cupcakes.”
  • Evan “We say we give it to Ms. Lei, she is so happy”.
  • Sea “Me go to Ms. Lei to give her the cupcake. She was so happy and said, ‘Thank You’ to Isabella.”
  • Jacob “Some teachers forgot their cupcake because we go to the teacher’s room so we looked and so we know some teachers don’t have the cupcakes.”
  • Suzy “We saw the teacher’s name, we gave the cupcake to Ms. Lei.”

Ms. Shemo “How did we know that the cupcakes were there?”

  • Evan “We know Ms. Lei forgot her cupcake because we did the tick on the paper.”
  • Suzy “On the way we met students and teachers and they told us it is in the teacher’s room. We know that Ms. Lei forgot the cupcakes because we saw the name and we give Ms. Lei the cupcake.”
  • Evan “Before we take the cupcake we needed to have a check on her name to let people know we took Ms. Lei’s cupcake.”
  • Isabella “We have the message to tell everybody to so they know if they forgot the cupcake, it will be in the teacher’s room.”

Ms. Shemo “How are you going to share that message?”

  • Isabella “We’re gonna put it out.”
  • Jacob “We do the poster to tell the teachers and children who forget to take the cupcake that the cupcakes are in the teacher’s room. We have a big board to make the poster.”

We wonder what information the children will include in their poster to share this important message with the school community, to help them find their birthday cupcakes if they have forgotten to pick them up after break time.

The Grade 5 Three-minute Challenge

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The Grade 5 students were excited to hear about our three-minute challenges and decided to plan challenges for their K2 buddies.

We joined Grade 5 outside the courtyard to play some of the games they had planned for us. The children in K2 rotated around the different stations, attempting to win points and some stickers as they completed the challenges. 

The children reflected on the day’s events, sharing their highlights.

  • Suzy “We played a lot of games.”
  • Archie “We played tag. I like the tag game the most. Octopus tag with grade 5 buddies in 3 minutes challenge.”
  • Junsoo “We played ball game, and I like it the most.”
  • Riccardo “I like the ball game, because it’s challenging but I did a great job and I didn’t be tagged by the ball.”
  • Isabella “For the hot potato game, when the person counted down to 1, and someone was holding the ball, then he will be out of the game.”
  • Euno “I like the octopus game. Octopus game me run to the end and buddy catch people. They didn’t catch us. Then, I don’t know who wins.”
  • Ethan “I like the hot potato game because it is so fun.”
  • Adalyn “I like the octopus tag and I also like the one that has patterns on the ground and you need to follow the patterns to pop the bubbles. And the beanbag game is also interesting.”

  • Isabella “I like the pattern game the most because you can race your buddies and it’s easy for me.”
  • Suzy “I also like the pattern game because I like the bubbles. The bubbles were on the ground. You stand on it and it pops.”
  • Ethan “I like the tiptoes walking part and it was so much fun.”
  • Evan “The hot potato game looks fun because I like the ball game.”
  • Suzy “I did the pattern game in 3 minutes.”
  • Isabella “I also did the pattern game, the hot potato and the red light green light and I also played octopus tag and throwing the sand bag in 3 minutes. It was easy for me. It was a long time.”

  • Suzy “It was a short time, I did it in 3 minutes.”
  • Sea “I like the octopus game because they don’t tag me. I ran fast.”
  • Dahyun “I like the tag game because it was fun. I won 3 times. We got a sticker.”

We wonder how this experience will help them plan for the challenges they want to set for their Grade 5 buddies.

The Used Pens…Continued

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The Grade 4 students returned with the used pens and tools to show their K2 friends how to reuse the coloured markers. They set up their station and shared the process.

Archie “They said they’re gonna put the ink in and then they’re gonna cut it and then put that in and they can give it back to us. If the pen is not working then put it in the box. Then, they can fix it. It will take so long. And then they are gonna put the pencils in the water and then when they’re done that they they can give it back to us. If a pencil can not work or crayon then we don’t want to waste it. We don’t know what to do if the pencil or crayon is not OK. We don’t know what to do and then can we call them and ask them what to do with the crayons as well.”

 

Suzy “They take the pen and then fill it up with water, because then they will work again.”

Riccardo “We want to use the pen to do something, Grade 4 buddies want to do something with the pen and they talk with us and then they go and bring a if they are not good we put in the basket. Then, they have water and then put it in. Some is easy to take off and some is not easy.”

Archie talked about recycling pieces of used crayons and leftover coloured pencils. We wonder if the children might explore this further.

Solving the Waste Problem

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We have been talking about waste and recycling.

Jacob shared what he had learned about sorting and recycling and Archie shared photographs of food waste at home.

Isabella and Ethan had decided to repurpose the boxes they had at home. Isabella used the boxes to make a home for the cats in her compound to keep them warm during the winter. Ethan used his boxes to store objects.

The children recalled seeing similar waste bins around the school. A small group walked around the campus looking for and documenting the different locations the bins were at.

These conversations helped us think more about what ‘WE’ might want to do about the things we waste at school. 

Paper and Card Waste:

  • Suzy “You can write small letters on the small paper.”
  • Shemo “If we don’t want to use this paper again and don’t want to throw it into the bin, then what can we do?”
  • Archie “Maybe we can make a recycle box for putting this kind of paper in.”
  • Riccardo “We can make new paper with it.”
  • Archie “We can erase it and cut it then you can draw on it. We can make paper from the leaves. People cut the tree and workers make the paper, they can use a machine to put the tree in.”
  • Isabella “Is the tree inside soft or hard?”
  • Archie “It’s hard so you put water to make it soft.”
  • Isabella “You can put the paper in the water so the mark will go, then we can reuse it.”

Snack Fruit and Vegetable Waste:

  • Riccardo “We can give the waste fruit to the worms outside, there are many more worms outside.”

Lunch Food Waste:

  • Jacob “You don’t put the leftover lunch food into the trash, give it to Rosy, Ms. Hannah’s dog!”

(We asked the children to consider other possible solutions to the problem.)

Wastewater:

  • Isabella “After the water go down the sink and drain, maybe some people can collect the water so we can reuse the water again.”

Next Steps:

Our brainstorm highlighted many different ways we can take action to solve some of the issues we found with waste.

  • Riccardo “I have a shop and they can come and buy my toys and I get money.”
  • Archie “When I was in India my mum said I have too many toys and I gave some away.”
  • Euno “I eat all of my rice. When there is too much my mum throw in the bin.”
  • Riccardo “Or you can keep it and then eat it later.”
  • Shemo “What can we do with the fruits and vegetables we remain at school?”

Ms. Shemo “What can we do with the fruits and vegetables we remain at school?

The children decided to take the fruit and vegetable snacks to Ms. Hannah to ask her for some advice.

Over the next few days, the children will work in small groups to explore some of their theories about paper and seek more information about wastewater and composting at school.

Waste? Recycle?

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Story #1 – Why should we use Recycled Paper?

While planning our paper airplane challenge, Evan suggested that we use drawing paper to make the planes. Isabella said recycled paper would be a better choice. However, we noticed we did not have much recycled paper in the classroom. We decided to go towards the Grade 5 classes to see if they had a stack of recycled paper. On the way, Jacob and Evan met Ms. Jacqui and told her about their problem. They asked her if she knew where to find recycled paper. Ms. Jacqui was excited to tell them that she had some in her office. Jacob and Evan followed her to collect the paper.

  • Jacob “Recycled paper is better because we can fold. Cardboard is too hard we can’t fold it, it will break.”
  • Isabella “Clean paper, if you draw on it you can say that’s not my drawing, don’t put it away you can use the other side it is clean.”
  • Evan “Recycled means everybody don’t want the paper. White paper is for drawing.” 

 

Story #2 – Used Pens

Three students from Grade 4 visited us with an important message. As part of their inquiry into systems and organisation, they are looking for ways to reuse colouring markers at NIS. They presented their idea to the children and asked for their support.

  • Riccardo “Do you have pens that cannot draw with, the ink is gone?”
  • Isabella “When they make a new ink, they will pour it in the old pens and it can be used again.”
  • Jacob “Not just throw in the trash because that will just be trash. Then, there will be not many pens. There will be only 1 pen!”
  • Archie “If you throw it in the garbage then it will get dirty and disgusting. That means it’s stinky. One time I put something in the garbage and I smelled it and it’s disgusting.”
  • Isabella “If you throw it in the rubbish bin, they were a lot of time in there then it will be disgusting.”
  • Jusnu “This box is no pens.”

Euno and Dahyun translated to share the plan for the used pen box.

  • Adalyn “They will collect the dry markers saved in the box so they can get the markers filled with ink again.”
  • Evan “Grade 4 will come every Thursday to collect the pens.”  
  • Sea “Not dry pens not going into the box. Only dry pens in the box.”
  • Finn “This box is for putting pens, green, purple, pens after they cannot be used anymore.” (in Mandarin)

The children were curious about the plan for the used pens and asked the students to return to share the process of refilling the pens.

 

Recycle? Waste?

Considering this developing interest in the concept of ‘recycling’ we decided to revisit two occasions where the children talked about ‘waste’.

  • Isabella “People had drawn on the paper and they don’t want the paper anymore but someone else can use it, then the paper can be recycle paper.”
  • Jacob “If no water in the pen, you can put it in the box and people will help cut it and put water in it so we can use the pen again.”
  • Archie “We can flip the paper and use the other side of it.”
  • Jacob “Broken stuff we can use them again. Some toys that broken.”
  • Ethan “My mum throw away a pen at home.”
  • Dahyun “My jacket is too small and then my mum give it away.”

We made a list of the things we throw away. We identified a few we wanted to discuss in depth.

Wasting water

  • Archie “Wasting water means pouring it out on the ground outside.”
  • Jacob “When you have water in the bathroom or kitchen, you keep the water open. If you don’t close it, that’s wasting water. Sometimes when people were not using the water and the water still open, that’s waste water.”

Wasting paper

  • Archie “My brother wasted paper by pulling it out of the book. My brother made the paper airplane and he doesn’t want it, and I used it.”
  • Jacob “Breaking drawing paper.”
  • Evan “Throwing the paper away.”
  • Riccardo “I always waste paper by cutting it.”
  • Euno “My brother throw away a paper. I talk to my brother ‘why you throw the paper?’ He said ‘paper is wet’. Then he take another paper and another paper and so many used paper.”
  • Sea “My brother’s friend used so many of my paper to draw. That is wasting paper.”

Wasting food

  • Isabella “You don’t eat the food you have and waste it. It is in the rubbish bin.”
  • Adalyn “Something you don’t want to eat is wasting. You can give another person to eat it.”
  • Evan “My brother don’t want the food and my grandpa throws it to the sink.”
  • Jacob “Something you don’t want to eat and you put it in the trash or sink, the wasps can eat it. Wasps like stinky food.”

Although the children shared many examples of waste, they believed they did not waste anything at school. We decided to gather evidence of waste throughout the day to present back to the children. 

We wonder what they notice and think about the evidence that has been collected.

How can we learn more about ‘time’?

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We have been exploring the concept of ‘time’ through our projects and inquiry. We decided to revisit the documentation we have collected to see what more we could add to our learning space to help us learn about ‘time’.

The children suggested adding the sand timers and clocks. We encouraged them to think more about the different sources that give us information. Then, we discussed the idea of including books about time.

A group of children went to the library to see if they could find any books about ‘time’. Ms. Tina introduced the children to the software installed on the library computers that help us look for books and other resource materials. Together they found the books they wanted to bring back to the class to add to our learning space.

We wonder what new information children may uncover through the books and manipulatives available in this learning space.

Nurturing Connections

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The PreK-K1 put together a display board that shared information about their identity. We were invited to add to the information that has already been shared. As the children looked at the photographs and drawings of their friends, they thought about the special moments they shared with them. We discussed why these moments were special, considering the opportunities we had to build relationships and friendships through play and interaction. We decided to share some of these experiences with the community using drawings and words.

  • Isabella “PreK-K1A and PreKK1B were drawing themselves.”
  • Suzy “We were drawing the PreK-K1A and PreKK1B, and we are saying what is the friend about.”
  • Isabella “We are saying about our friends helping us.”
  • Jacob “We are drawing something about who is our friend and what are we playing. And something other people don’t know about the friend.”
  • Evan “About the friends we play with.”
  • Isabella “About the friends helping us.”
  • Jacob “We want to draw our friends playing with us so they were happy with us. Happy because we are playing fun games.”

  • Archie “I draw a volcano splashing us because we play the floor is lava in the playground. And when we are done playing we say 1,2,3 and Jacob, Logan and me pretend to fall in the lava.”
  • Evan “I am writing about me and Jayden, we are on the car.”
  • Riccardo “I go to Logan and Archie and we sometimes play the floor is lava.”
  • Ethan “Geunsu and me water play.”
  • Junsu “I play with Ahrin. I play with water.”
  • Finn “I play with Edward and Victor. We ride the bike together” (in Mandarin)

The children’s conversations highlight the depth of their play and engagement, and how their friendship is nurtured through their common interests and care for each other.

The Bike Park Signs

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The children had decided to make changes to the Bike Park in the Early Years playground to maintain a safe and organised space. We went back to the documentation we had collected, to think about on next steps.

  • Jacob “We want the bike park to look beautiful.”
  • Shemo “What would a beautiful bike park look like?”

The children began to share their ideas. They believed the Bike Park would look beautiful if:

  • the bikes were parked next to each other in an organised way, each trike in its own bubble space with distinctive lines to demarcate each space
  • there were guardrails at the back to protect the fence
  • there were signs to show where the children were allowed to park the bikes and signs that communicated no parking zones
  • plants that were scattered across the space were cleared away
  • shovels and other toys that did not belong in the space were stored in designated spaces around the playground.

We went back to look at some of the Bike Park signs created by previous K2 students. The children noticed that the signs were no longer useful as they were wet and drawings on the signs were unclear and invisible.

The children decided that they would like to create new signs and discussed important considerations when creating new signs. They talked about the choice of materials. This seemed important as the weather outdoors had affected the previous signs.

A group of children volunteered to take on the challenge of creating new signs for the space.   

  • We wonder how the project may evolve as the children make important decisions about the materials and their properties to create messages.
  • We wonder how they will use signs, symbols, illustrations or words to communicate important information.
  • We wonder how the children will present these new ideas and messages to the Early Years community.

 Approaches to Learning:

  • Use discussion and play to generate new ideas and investigations.​
  • Understand the ways in which images and language interact to convey ideas.​
  • Make inferences and draw conclusions.​
  • Negotiate ideas and knowledge with peers and teachers.​

Planning a Challenge – Ice creams

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The children have been discussing the concept of ‘time’ while engaging in play and exploration. Often, they refer to time as being ‘long’ or ‘short’.

  • Suzy “It only took me two minutes to draw the love heart, that is a short time.”

The children were interested in creating challenges to explore the concept of ‘time’. They were excited about the three-minute challenges they had brainstormed and voted on. We gathered to discuss the different ideas collected, noting them all down on chart paper to help us create a plan for our next steps. As the children discussed these ideas, we used drawings and words to document their thinking. We had 13 challenges altogether!

How would we decide which one to explore first?

We decided to vote on the different challenges to find the most popular. Making ice creams received the highest votes (6). The children had many different ideas about the ice cream challenge. They suggested purchasing ice creams from the café, and buying ice creams at the supermarket or McDonald’s. Having heard all the ideas, the teachers decided to encourage the children to consider the practical challenges connected with some of these ideas.

  • Where would we get the money for the ice creams?
  • What about the children who have different allergies?
  • What options for flavours are there at McDonald’s

The teachers decided to stretch the children further, to encourage them to consider alternate opportunities for learning.

Does anyone know how to make ice creams?

After some thought the children tapped into their prior knowledge and experiences from previous years. Isabella and Evan recalled making ice pops at school. They explained the process of making watermelon ice pops, preparing the fruit and using moulds and popsicle sticks to make the ice creams.

The children were excited about making their own popsicles. They discussed several ideas, including the flavours they could choose. Considering the many opportunities this project may have for the children to apply their understanding of concepts through their experiences and play, the teachers agreed to support the children in preparing for the challenge if they could come up with a plan for their next steps. They would need to solve some practical obstacles to make their ice creams and carry out the challenge. They would need to decide and plan how to purchase the items, the process they needed to follow to make the ice creams and how they were going to organise the challenge.

We wonder how the children would:

  • plan and follow through to make the ice creams (process)
  • document their thinking and ideas so others can understand and follow their process (representation)
  • consider and plan for the safe use of materials, resources and tools (safety, responsibility)
  • consider how to include their friends and the community in their challenges (inclusion)
  • collaborates with students, parents and other teachers on learning (collaboration)

Patterns and Tessellations

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The children have been exploring, creating and playing with a range of coloured manipulatives in different spaces around the campfire.

We have noticed them using the colour tiles to create patterns and pictures. They have also been using triangular shapes to create growing patterns and tessellations. A tessellation is a pattern of geometric shapes that fit together perfectly on a plane without any gaps or overlaps and can repeat in all directions infinitely.

These incredible designs and patterns reflect the children’s ability to notice and follow sequences to create complex designs. We have noticed how they work together, discussing their ideas and making choices to create. We have noticed the children’s focus and attention as they spend extended periods around the invitation, creating and then documenting their final work using technology. Their choices are intentional and thought out.

The children explained that they had decided to take out the suggested templates as they wanted to create their own designs using the triangular shapes which showed their interest to make and extend using their creativity.  

We wondered how the children would represent and transfer these designs and creations in different ways. We decided to offer the children an opportunity to think about and transfer these patterns and designs into a new medium.

Fiction and Nonfiction

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The children have been talking about their favourite books and looking for these texts in the library. While browsing through the books we noticed that the children showed an interest in many different types of books. We decided to ask the children to gather several of their favourite books to bring back to class. The books were displayed in the classroom and the children often gathered around the table and flipped through the pages, talking about the pictures, stories and information that lived within the pages.

What clues from the book that tell us what types of texts they are?

We began by choosing two books, reading a few pages from each of them and inviting the children to talk about how they might be the same or different. As the children shared what they noticed we documented these ideas on chart paper. We continued to look through and sort all the books that the children had chosen at the library. 

They decided that the books about dinosaurs, mushrooms and sports:

  • Were about ‘true’ things
  • told us ‘about’ things
  • included photographs and pictures
  • shared information

The books about princesses, superheroes and animal characters:

  • were ‘imaginary’, ‘fake’, ‘not true’ or ‘didn’t really happen’.
  • They have characters and animals that can talk
  • included a story
  • had the beginning middle and end
  • had illustrations (drawings)

Two books about fairies caused a debate.

Were these stories about something real or imaginary?

Some children believed that fairies were not real, people used their imagination to tell stories about them. Several children disagreed explaining that they were real because ‘the tooth fairy visited them in the night and gave them money for their teeth when they had fallen out’. For these reasons, the class decided to place the two books in the middle, in a pile that was ‘undecided’.

Often, the children are invited to choose and borrow books from the classroom library.

We wonder how the children would use their new understandings of different types of texts to choose reading materials for different classroom spaces, provocations and projects.

Creating Safe Spaces for Play and Learning

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The children love to build with blocks and loose parts in several spaces in the classroom. These structures can often spread across spaces and can cause practical problems.

While on a check-in walk in the Early Years, the security department staff highlighted the issue of congested walking spaces. They advised us to maintain a walkway in the block play area.

As these spaces belong to all of us, we shared the problem with the children to generate solutions.

The children shared many different views and solutions to solve the problem. They finally reached an agreement to create a pathway near the block play area that was 80 centimetres wide. They used hazard tape and a measuring tape to mark out the walkway, applying what they knew about tools to measure accurately.

Learners:

  • are actively engaged in various stages of learning, including: thinking about, planning, modifying and creating
  • apply their understanding of concepts through the construction of their projects/play
  • have an active voice and stake in the classroom/community

The Table

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A few years ago, a senior student at NIS made a rather unusual table for the children in the Early Years. Since then, the table has travelled and lived in many different classrooms. The unusual design allows children to work and play in interesting ways while sitting comfortably on the floor. Although the table has been used with care, parts of the wood on the surface began to peel and break away. We decided to reach out to Mr. Matt in the Design Woodwork studio to help us solve the problem. Mr. Matt worked on the table while the older students were away discovering China.

We were excited to hear that the table was ready for collection. A group of volunteers went to the Woodwork Studio to collect the table. They were excited to see the table, gently touching the smooth surface while smiling and nodding to show their approval of the change. Then, they had to figure out how to bring the table back to the early years safely.

Together, they lifted parts of the table so it could be moved along the corridors. Everyone was happy to see the table.

The children decided to make Mr. Matt a card to show their appreciation for fixing their favourite table.  Mr. Matt was surprised to see the children return with a card, which he placed carefully next to his daughter’s drawings. 

The design studio for the older children was a fascinating place with many interesting spaces and lots of different tools, equipment and materials. We noticed the children’s curiosity as they walked through the different spaces.

Curious fingers touched Lego cars and recycled plastic creations that lined the walls. They began to ask questions about what the older students were creating and designing.

We wonder what opportunities may lie in this space for young children.

Can you find the book you need?

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Jacob “Do you know why the new library is called The HUB? Is it because the new library is so much bigger?”

The children wondered why it is called The HUB, and who gave it that name.

At the beginning of the ‘HUB Inquiry Project’, the children shared the things they liked to do in the new space. Many of them shared the different types of books they liked to find and read in the new library, referred to as The HUB.

During the Atelier time, the children were invited to find the books they liked to read in The Hub.

As the children looked around, they were unable to see some of the books they had in mind. Ms. Hannah decided to provoke the children’s thinking by sharing a collection of mushrooms one of the Grades 3 teachers had given her to use as an invitation for observational drawing or painting. Some children decided to find some books about mushrooms.

Isabella “The old library had mushroom books. The new library (The Hub) doesn’t.”

Why?

Isabella “The old library was much smaller and the new one is much bigger. Maybe the books are on the second floor or the third floor.”  

Some of the children said it was easy to find books to read because they read whatever interests them.

Evan explained that finding a book was easy because he could see the cover.

Isabella noticed some shelves have so many books standing up and you see the side of the books and she said that makes it difficult for her to find a book from these shelves.

The side of a book is called the spine. The spine is the edge that usually faces outward on a shelf and often displays the title, author, and publisher’s logo.

After some discussions, she suggested, “Maybe we can put the same kind of books together, and maybe we can put some pictures or words on the shelves so the children know what kind of books are on these shelves when they cannot see the front covers.”

As soon as Riccardo got to the library, he found the place where the dinosaur books were, so he shared this with Ethan who wanted the dinosaur books the most.

We wondered how he found these books so easily and so fast. Was it because he noticed it during our library time before?

In a very short time, Suzy found a princess book. She felt it was easy to find the book because she just walked by this shelf and she happened to see this book.

  • Sea walked around and found a book about a cat. We wondered how she found it so fast.
  • Isabella “Jacob, I found something strange. In the old library, there were some mushroom books, but now why none of them shows up here?”  
  • Isabella “It’s getting harder to find the mushroom book now than before. There was a tray and the books that we need were all in that tray. Now, there are so many shelves and floors which makes it hard for us to know if the books we need are upstairs or not.”
  • Adalyn found a book which had mushrooms on the cover page but she she seemed to decide that it was not the book they were looking for.
  • Isabella “Ms. Winnie, where can we find some books about how to plant mushrooms? How can we find it on the book shelf?”
  • Ms. Winnie “It is a bit far away, so let’s go together and I will show you.”

Ms. Winnie found that some of the mushroom books had been borrowed by children from other grades. However, she finally helped us find one from a tall shelf. The children gathered to talk about locating the books.

We wondered if they thought it was easy or hard to find a book that they wanted.

  • Suzy and Dahyun both found it’s easy to find the books they wanted because they saw the front cover of the book. Evan felt it was hard to find a book when he only saw the spine or the back cover of the book.
  • Ethan believed it was easy to find the dinosaur books because he knew where they were.
  • Isabella explained that it was hard to find her book because it was the only mushroom book left in the library. And some other children felt it was easy to find the books they wanted because when they walked by the bookshelf, they were attracted by some books, so they just checked them out.

Having explored this new space, we wonder how the children may take action to solve some of the problems they noticed during their visit to The Hub.

Math in Our World – Shape Hunt

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Our Math Talk focused on two-dimensional and three-dimensional shapes in the environment.

What do you notice?

The children began identifying the different shapes and discussing how they are classified and named according to their properties. We noticed that some shapes were not in the picture and decided to document these shapes on both sides of the image (in green).

Next, the children were introduced to an activity on Seesaw. We learned how to scan the code to log into the app on the iPad and follow the steps to complete the task.

As the children explored their environment to look for the shapes, they used the different features on the app to document their learning.

Through these experiences, they will explore the relationship between 2D shapes and 3D objects and how shapes are classified and named according to their properties.

Voting for 3 Minute Challenges!

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We have noticed the children are showing interest in the concept of ‘time’. Isabella and Adalyn have been thinking about what they can do in 3 minutes.

But how long was 3 minutes? We used an online timer to ‘feel’ the time pass by. The children sat patiently, thinking about the length of time that passed by.

We challenged them to think about the things they could do in 3 minutes. They drew to share their thinking:

  • Euno: Draw a heart, Take a photo, Talk and share 3 ideas
  • Isabella: Run 3 circles in the playground, Read 2 small books in the library, Put my socks on
  • Ethan: Go to sleep, Cooking a cookie, Eat snack
  • Archie: Go on a train to Africa, Come to school in 1 minute, Go to Japan in 5 minutes, Put my shoes on
  • Jacob: Make a paper airplane, Build a puzzle, Make a Lego car
  • Evan: Make a block tower, Eat lunch, Draw a house
  • Adalyn: Run 2 circles in the playground, Pack my backpack, Talk about a tower
  • Suzy: Eat an ice-cream, Build a tower with coloured blocks, Run 3 circles in the outside playground
  • Dahyun: Put shoes on, Draw a heart, Read 2 little bit small books
  • Sea: Read a book in the library, Wash your hands for lunch, Swim across the pool
  • Finn: Wash hands, Put on my jacket, Write my name, Put on my shoes
  • Riccardo: Write my name, Draw a clock, Eat a sausage
  • Junsu: Go a friend’s house with daddy, Read a big book in the library, Robots break the blocks

We gathered many different, interesting ideas and wondered which ones to try out. We decided to vote on each child’s ideas, using tally marks to track our data.

While discussing our next steps, we wondered if other children in the Early Years would also enjoy some of our challenges. The children believed that K2B and PreK-K1 could also do some of the challenges as they run fast and like ice cream because everyone likes ice cream!

We look forward to seeing how the children develop a plan to present these ideas to others.

PTA Birthday Cupcakes – Next Steps…

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Nest steps…

The team gathered to analyse the data they had collected through the survey. They noticed that many people received cupcakes from the NIS PTA, but a few didn’t. We made a list of all the people (or groups) who didn’t receive cupcakes. Then, the class took the information they had gathered to Ms. Hannah to plan their next steps.

 

Considering the children’s ongoing questions about the cupcakes, we suggested that the team speak to the PTA President to learn more about NIS Birthday cupcakes. The children brainstormed the specific wonderings they wanted to take to her.
  • Isabella “Why do somebody have cupcakes, but somebody doesn’t have cupcakes? How to decide on who has birthday cupcakes?” 
  • Jacob “Why does the PTA want to give cupcakes?”
  • Suzy “How did you make cupcakes?”
  • Evan “How many ingredients do you need to make cupcakes?”
  • Adalyn “Who made the birthday cupcakes? Did you make it by yourself?”
  • Sea “How many cupcakes did you need to make?” 

The PTA President came in to speak to the children about the cupcakes. The children gathered their notes to ask her the questions they had brainstormed. 

  • Isabella “Why do somebody have cupcakes, but somebody doesn’t have cupcakes?

We learned that the PTA had to think hard to plan and organise the cupcake distribution. At first, they wondered if they could deliver cupcakes every week or every month. They decided that it was better to share the cupcakes once a month with children, teachers and staff who had a birthday in that particular month.

  • Rebeca “When it is your birthday then you get a cupcake. Next week we will go to November so you need to check when it’s your month and then you remember and go to pick the cupcake.

  • How to decide on who has birthday cupcakes?” 

Rebeca “Every teacher and student receives a birthday cupcake. Not parents. All the children get the cupcake. We give to all NIS employees on the list, some of them belong to the facilities department like the bus drivers, so they receive their birthday cupcakes. The guards are not NlS employees so they don’t get a cupcake.”

Noticing that Ms. Hannah was on the list of people who didn’t get a birthday cupcake, Ms. Rebecca explained that perhaps Ms. Hannah was sick on that day or was not in school for some reason.

Rebeca “Some people don’t pick their cupcakes, and then we keep the leftovers in case they ask for them.”

  • Jacob “Why does the PTA want to give cupcakes?”

Rebeca “Do you like to get a treat when it’s your birthday? We thought that every child in the school liked to have a treat so we decided to give the children a cupcake.”

  • Suzy “How did you make cupcakes?”
  • Evan “How many ingredients do you need to make cupcakes?”

Rebeca “There are many ways to make cupcakes. You can use a recipe book. If you never made it before you can use this list of ingredients to make it. Egg, oil, milk, flour, baking powder, a tiny bit of salt. All together.

Then, you beat your eggs for 3 minutes, add oil and keep beating. If you don’t eat egg then tell us so we can make you a special cupcake. Then put the flour and baking powder and salt. And then you keep the dough for 3 hours and you put it in the oven, you make the tiny cakes and you wait for 20 minutes and that’s it. You can decorate the cupcakes as you wish. With cream, chocolate and candy.”

The children wondered if they could put gummy bears on their cake.

  • Adalyn “Who made the birthday cupcakes? Did you make it by yourself?”

Rebeca “Skyways are the ones that bake the cupcakes. They have a special place where they have a very big kitchen for professional cooks, chefs and bakers.”

Ms. Rebeca shared photographs of the kitchen. “Can you see how many things they have there? This is the place they prepare the dough. At the end of the year, we make 700-800 cupcakes. And then there are special tables where they make the dough and when they finish they need to put the cupcakes in a place where they can cool. There is an oven. There are 4 units as tall as the room. When they open the oven and take out all the cupcakes they put it in the tray. Then they decorate them.”

  • Sea “How many cupcakes did you need to make?” 

I think we make 800 or 900 cupcakes.

  • Hannah shared her wondering “If they forget to pick up their cupcake what do they do?

Rebeca “At the end of the day we send it to the teacher’s room so you can go to the teacher’s room you can pick it up.”

We learned that some people on the list did not receive a cupcake for their birthday.

We wonder how the children will use what they have learned to strengthen their relationships with the community

We look forward to hearing about their next steps…

The Bike Park – Safety and Functionality

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Over the last few years, different groups of children have worked on projects connected to bikes and trikes in the Early Years playground. We decided to share some photographs of the Bike Park to see what the children might notice about the bikes and signs in the play area.

The children quickly noticed that toys and gardening tools were not cleared away after playtime.

They noted that the bikes were blocking the walking path, and emergency exits, and that overgrown plants and bushes were making it challenging to park the bikes in the allocated spaces. Some suggestions for improvement:

  • toys need to be stored away in the correct places
  • bikes could be parked facing forward making it easier to write them away
  • store the sand toys on the sand table
  • clear the overgrown plants
  • Park the bikes along the fence
  • make new signs for the bike park

As they took a closer look at the signs that were made for the bike park, they realised that the wet and hot-dry weather had caused the signs to fade and get mouldy.

The children’s keen observations sparked conversations about the changes they could make to the bike park and play areas safer and more functional.

We decided to share documentation about the bike park from the previous years with the children, to help them understand and appreciate student-led projects that positively impacted the EY.

The children were excited to see some of the work past students had undertaken to make the play areas safer and more exciting for others.  

The children decided that they wanted to create new signs for the bike park. They wondered what materials would be most suitable for the purpose, considering the challenges with the weather and temperature outdoors.

They discussed the properties of different materials such as plastic and wood, providing interesting improvements to ensure the signs would last longer.  

We wonder what elements the children would consider as they move forward in planning, designing and creating new signs for the bike park.

Trees in the Playground!

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The children in the Early Years have been curious about the trees we have in the playground.

Fiona’s mum Elise came in to talk to us about some of the trees, sharing images and interesting information about these wonderful living things around us.

She began by talking about trees in the 4 seasons. The children noticed that some “Some trees have no leaves” during some of the seasons.

The Osmanthus tree has blossomed in fall. It is a tree that stays green all year long.

She shared a photograph of a camphor tree. It has a beautiful minty smell, like peppermint. She reminded the children not to eat the berries from them as they can be poisonous.We were excited to learn that wasps like to build their cocoons on the bark of the tree and that they protect the trees from pests.

 

Camphor trees are some of the oldest trees some can be as old as 750 years. In some countries, this tree is considered a ‘holy’ tree.

We learned that camphor when it is distilled and cooked, can be used in cooking. You can also make jewelry with it.

The next tree she talked about was the ‘ginkgo tree’.  It has beautiful golden-coloured leaves.

The children smelled the fruit. It did not smell good, but she explained that the inside of the fruit tasted good. We found out that only the female trees bear fruit.

Next, we saw the cicada. They come around in the summertime. They sleep in the ground for 17 years and they drink the sap from the roots of the tree. They are protected in the earth.

– Suzy “They still need to grow up.”

We were surprised to learn that cicadas have five eyes! It can see very well when you sneak up on them.

We wonder how the children might explore the playground with their new understandings of trees and plants.

Guided Reading​ and Word Work

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The children are working in small groups to explore reading, working on developing their understanding of phonics and decoding (understanding of the alphabetic principle — the idea that letters and letter patterns represent the sounds of spoken language).
A small group were reading a pattern book with predictable text, making connections with what they already knew about the topic and learning new information from a text.
While reading we practiced reading behaviours that develop their reading identity. 
– caring for books
– turning the pages
– taking a picture walk
– connecting words with images
– following the reader by tracking words
– identifying the title, cover, pictures, pages, blurb at the back
– identifying letters, words, sentences
– practising word attack strategies 
– discussing information, making connections and developing comprehension
– listening to others read and practising reading
– waiting for our turn
– celebrating reading 
Zooming in to look for digraphs (sh), and vowel teams (oo) that make a long vowel sound in pattern books. 
We will continue to dive into fiction and non-fiction texts, to learn about and through books, to read, explore and celebrate the wonderful world of ‘books’.

Sight Words and Pattern Books

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Writers in K2 have been using what they know about letters and sounds to write words. They have been using inventive spelling to write labels and messages. We decided to pay attention to high-frequency (sight) words to explore how they can be used to write messages. High-frequency words are words that occur frequently in written material.

We know that writers who are learning to read benefit from books with predictable text. To explore this idea further, we created a sentence ‘I can see a … .’ using sight word cards and objects. 

 

 

As we read the sentence we took note of its features. The sentence:

  • had 5 words.
  • the first letter in the first word was a capital letter
  • ended with punctuation (full stop)
  • had spaces between words
  • letters were sitting on the line, some letters hung low and some were taller.
  • shared an idea or message.

Then, we presented the writers with a new option: a book with spaces for drawing and spaces for writing. They used the sentence starter to create their predictable pattern book, using inventive spelling to write new words to complete the sentence.  

The writers were learning how to:

  • identify the front cover, back cover, and title page of a book
  • follow words from left to right, top to bottom, and page by page
  • recognise that spoken words are represented in written language by specific sequences of letters
  • speak audibly and express thoughts, feelings, and ideas clearly

What is the significance of height?

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Adalyn and Finn were deep in conversation about their height. Adalyn believed she had grown taller over the long break. Finn believed this was also true for him.

Am I taller or shorter?

As Finn considered her observation, he wondered if he had grown taller than Adalyn over the holidays. Previously, the class had decided that Adalyn was the tallest child in the classroom. Adeline and Finn decided to compare their heights by standing against each other.

  • Finn “I am comparing my height because I think I am getting taller.” (in Mandarin)

They concluded that Adalyn was still taller. 

Ricardo watched and listened to the conversation between Finn and Adalyn. He noticed that Finn was not as tall as Adalyn so he wondered if he was taller than Finn. He decided to check if Finn was taller than him and invited Finn to stand with him.

After some checking, he realised that Finn was taller!

Riccardo thought for a while and then invited Susie to the discussion. He asked Suzy to stand next to him to compare their heights. This time, he was taller.

  • Suzy “How tall are we? Who is smaller and who is bigger?”

The children explained that they are taller or shorter depending on the person they are making a comparison with.

Over the last few weeks, the children have worked collectively to build towers that were taller than them. They have shown an interest in measuring their height using a ruler in the classroom. Through a collection of documentation, we have noticed that the children often emphasise ‘height’. We wondered about the theories they had about the concept of height.

What do you think about ‘height’?

  • Jacob “He is measuring who is taller and who is smaller? We need a ruler to measure how tall everybody is.”

(Standard: We use tools to measure the attributes of objects.)

  • Isabella “When we ride a rollercoaster, we have to measure ourselves. If our height is not enough, we cannot get on the roller coaster. If we can’t get the seatbelt on the roller coaster then they fall off.” (safety)
  • Suzy “If they are smaller, they are scared on the top.”
  • Isabella “When I go to play, I saw everyone they are screaming. They are scared.”
  • Archie “Me and my brother goes in the roller coaster I won’t be scared. I like the rollercoaster, I have to go with my brother because I am too tiny.”
  • Evan “I finished the rollercoaster I am very dizzy.”
  • Riccardo “I do roller coaster it is so fast. I didn’t scared. All the children are scared but not me.”
  • Isabella “I am not tall enough so I need to have my daddy.”
  • Jacob “When you are tall you are grown up. Be a daddy or mummy. Or you are still a baby. All tall people became daddy or mummy. And then grandpa and grandma.”
  • Suzy “If they will go older they will die.” (change)
  • Archie “My mum is scared of heights because she has a baby inside her tummy.”

What can you do when you get taller?

  • Jacob “You are a grownup, you can do something you want.” (choices)
  • Even “You can look at a phone.”
  • Isabella “It has phone numbers so we don’t know how to open it.” (pin numbers)
  • Jacob “You can drive a car.” (skills)
  • Evan “The mummy gets older when the baby gets taller.”
  • Shemo “So when will I stop growing taller?”
  • Isabella “You stop growing now because you are a grown-up.”
  • Sophia “So, when someone is a parent they will stop growing?”
  • Evan “Ms. Sophia will stop growing when she has a child. When you grow older you go to the sky. 100 or 200 years old you will fly to the sky.”
  • Isabella “It is heaven not sky.”
  • Evan “Heaven is a house in the sky.”
  • Isabella “When someone is 100 and they die then they maybe they will be a star. Because my friend said that.”
  • Dahyun “I think tall is many things. You get money.”
  • Sea “I have 2 money.”
  • Dahyun “I think cooking when taller.”
  • Sea “I can get bigger then I am better at drawing. My daddy is good at drawing. Mummy only a little bit.”
  • Dahyun “Maybe taller then be a teacher?” (jobs)
  • Junsu “I can be taller then be a police officer.” (In Korean)
  • Euno “I want to be just me. Like quiet time.”
  • Riccardo “If you drink cola you can get shorter because its not good for your tummy.”

We wonder how we may dig deeper into some of the emerging theories the children have shared:

  • people stop growing when they have children
  • as you get taller, you have more choices and opportunities
  • we change as we grow older

The Trolley Project – Parts and Instructions

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Over the last few days, the team of assemblers have continued to work on the trolley. They felt it was very challenging to put the parts together. They gathered to discuss the problem before they began their task.

They began by looking carefully at all the different parts of the trolley.

  • Isabella “We have the small parts such as screws and wheels.”
  • Adalyn “We have the nuts.”

  • Jacob “We have the holders for holding the sticks.”
  • Isabella “We have the tools for assembling the trolley.”
  • Evan “We have the words.”
  • Adalyn “那个叫说明书。”（that’s called the instruction) A picture of the trolley.”
  • Jacob “The big parts of the trolley, like the baskets and sticks to connect them.”

Now that we have all the different parts of the trolley and the tools to assemble it, where do we start?Adalyn suggested that they read the instructions carefully. Isabella emphasised the importance of the pictures in the instructions. However, as they tried to assemble it, Evan could see that it was very wobbly. Isabella suggested taking the wheels off. Jacob agreed, explaining that this could come right at the end.

  • Isabella “There are some numbers that show us the steps.”
  • Jacob “Some parts such as the long sticks are too hard for us to insert”
  • Evan “We don’t have enough muscle.”
  • Jacob “We need an adult to help.”
  • Isabella disagreed and said, “We children can work together”.

The team continued their work together, assembling and dismantling parts of the trolley as they tried to complete the task. During the week, a clean-up in the Early Years centre posed a new problem!  

One morning, when the team went back to continue with their project, they found some of the parts were missing. How can we assemble the trolly without the parts?

Yet again, the team sat down together to work out which parts were missing. And how they might solve the problem. Isabella suggested that they look at the paper instructions to figure it out.

The instructions provided information on all the different parts that were required to assemble the trolley. They needed screws, nuts, black rings on the wheels, hooks and the holders. Together the team tried to calculate how many of each they needed in total. The problem invited the children to use their understanding of calculations to find the number of missing parts.

  • The nuts: Adalyn “We need 12 in total and we used 4, so 8 of them are missing.”
  • Hooks: Jacob “We had two before and now we only have one.”
  • The holders for the screws: Evan “There are 6 in total on the instructions, but there are three levels in the instructions, and we only need 2 levels for our trolley so we need two more.”

They continued to work on creating a list of items they needed. Then, the team plan their next steps to solve the problem. 

Jacob suggested asking the facilities department for the missing parts because they have the staff who come and fix items that are broken in the classroom. Isabella suggested reaching out to Mr. Matt as he helped fix the table. Jacob recalled Mr. Arek helping to fix ‘The Nest’ in the playground. Adalyn thought Ms. Jo might be able to help as well as she has lots of different materials for making things.

  • Adalyn “If none of the people that we mentioned above has the parts we need, we can buy another set of the small losing parts we need.”
  • Jacob disagreed, “if we buy only a set of the small parts, the other trolley is going to miss some parts.”
  • Evan disagreed with Jacob, “I think the shop must have some extra small parts.”

Everyone agreed with Evan’s suggestion, and they decided to ask the school purchasing office to help them source the missing parts. To do this they decided they had to:

  • take a photo of the parts they need
  • make a list of the parts that need to be purchased
  • measure the size of the different parts to give accurate information.

They worked together to gather all this information to take to the school’s purchasing officer. We look forward to their next steps as they solve the problem of ordering and purchasing the missing pieces in the trolley.

 

Exploring Aerodynamics with Paper Airplanes

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The children were invited to take part in a paper airplane challenge. We decided to ask the children what they already knew about paper airplanes. They began to explain how a paper airplane is made.

As the children shared the different steps, we wrote these down as instructions. However, when we read the instructions to fold the paper, the children began to see that the instructions weren’t clear.

Evan volunteered to show us how to make two different types of planes. We invited him to share the instructions through visuals and words. As he presented the steps, we made the paper airplanes.

WHY?

  • Isabella “On Friday we can fly the paper airplanes so we had to fold paper airplanes and then we tried to throw it.”

WHAT?

  • Adalyn “We made paper airplanes. We folded the paper. It was a bit hard.”
  • Riccardo “I am folding the paper airplanes. Someone helped me fold because I don’t know how to do the paper airplanes.”

How?

  • Isabella “We folded the paper in half and then we folded into a triangle.”
  • Suzy “Fold 2 triangles over the top. Fold it again.”
  • Ethan “2 triangles 2 times.”
  • Evan “And then you fold the paper again into 2 more triangles. The triangles are inside another triangle on the top.
  • Isabella “Flip it over. And then, fold it in half.”

NEXT

  • Evan “We did a paper airplane race outside with everybody.”
  • Isabella “We were throwing the paper airplanes into the hula-hoop.”
  • Evan “We throw the paper airplanes to knock the Ping-Pong down.
  • Suzy “Taiping knocked it down one time.”

While inquiring about paper airplanes, the children used their thinking skills to tap into their prior knowledge. They observed carefully, making connections as they followed the steps to create the paper airplane. They listened attentively when information was shared. They used their communication skills to clearly express their ideas and next steps so that others could understand and follow the directions to complete the task. We noticed how the speaker or presenter slowed down, giving others time to process ideas and information. The children developed their self-management skills by paying attention, listening and then following instructions. When they noticed that their friends needed help, they paused to support and guide each other, which created a trusting and safe learning experience.

When testing the paper airplanes, the children explored aerodynamics and concepts of design, lift and drag, gravity and forces through play and inquiry. 

How tall is the Tower?

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The tower in the block play area cannot be missed!!

It has been standing tall for a few weeks, with only its steeple toppling over on a few occasions when children pass by or try to adjust the blocks that support its design. We noticed the children adjusting the columns, replacing and testing out different shapes to see which ones offer better support. Through trial and error, the engineers developed and tested theories about balance, shapes and design.  

They were now more intentional when choosing the shapes for different sections of the tower. For instance, they realised that using broader, flatter shapes horizontally provided more foundational support and that they could make the steeple taller by using cylinders with a greater diameter at the bottom. Throughout the process of experimentation, the engineers discussed and negotiated ideas, looking for ways to work collectively to reach their goal, of building the tallest tower.  

Through inquiry, we explored different ways to measure the height of the building. At first, the children used non-standard units to measure the tower.

Then, a team uncovered the use of standard units and decided to measure the tower using a ‘flexible, long ruler’, a measuring tape.

The children shared estimations of the height of the tower.

Then, we used the measuring tape to measure the tower accurately. The children were excited to learn that the tower was 190 centimetres tall!

During outdoor playtime, a group of children met Mr. Lee and explained that they had built a tower that was taller than him. Mr. Lee decided to check if this was true. As he stood next to the tower he asked, “How tall am I?”  

 

Survey Data

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A team of researchers have been visiting different spaces in the school to gather data using a survey, to find out who gets a PTA birthday cupcake on their birthday month.

  • Isabella “We asked people ‘Do you get a PTA cupcake?’ because we want to know did they get one.”
  • Jacob “Because we want to ask people because we want to know a ‘YES’, a ‘NO’ or a ‘MAYBE’.”
  • Isabella “We asked people and then and we wrote it down.”
  • Adalyn “And we want to know if all the school people and teachers have a PTA cupcake.”
  • Evan “Some people said yes, no and some said maybe.”
  • Suzy “We want to ask mummy or daddy do you get a PTA cupcake?”
  • Evan “We asked the office, the teachers and the bus drivers and now we know that some people get a PTA cupcake.”

Next steps…

What do we do with the information we have?

  • Isabella “Maybe we need to count on our paper.”
  • Adalyn “To see how many people said yes, no and maybe.”

The team of researchers have been documenting their learning, and sharing the information with the rest of the class. The process has helped the children better understand their research questions as they learn more about the community at NIS.

The team then used what they had learned about data and graphs, to transfer their data into concrete graphs.

We wonder what new theories the children have as a result of their research, and what decisions and plans the class might have as they move forward with their project.

The Water Bottle Trolley (Part 1)

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At the beginning of the year, a trolley for the water bottles was ordered for the class. We were excited to see the box with all the components needed for the trolley. But who will assemble the trolley?

The teachers decided to Present the idea to the children as a provocation. 

The next morning, some of the children noticed the provocation and discussed the idea.

They wondered what the different parts were and how they might be used.

  • Isabella “I know, they are parts of a trolley. We used to assemble a trolley when I was in Ms. Pat’s class last year.”
  • Suzy “Maybe we can help assemble this one.”

They began to take a closer look at the pieces. Noticing this interest, other children gathered to see what was happening.

  • Jacob “我来负责看说明书。” I can be in charge of reading the instructions.”
  • Evan “早知道我带个电钻来了。” I should have brought an electric screwdriver if I knew it before.”
  • Finn “看，这是这个！”(he pointed at the something on the instruction, ‘look, it is this’)
  • Evan “乔治，你装反拉，这个需要把它转过来。”(“George, you did it the opposite way. You should turn it around to the other side.”)

Isabella “Evan and George, do you still remember we assembled one trolley like this last year?”

Isabella “以前Ms.Pat 是不是像这样把推车给推走的？” (Did Ms. Pat hold it like this to push the trolley before, Evan?) Ms. Karen 以前带你们做过这个吗？(Did Ms. Karen do this with you in K1A, Adalyn?)

Evan tapped into his prior knowledge and tried to assemble the trolley.

George realised the significance of the picture of the assembled trolley and pushed it closer to the group. The assemblers began their work.

They continued to work on the trolley for a while, and then Evan realised that they needed to revisit the instructions. “这是说明书，你能看懂字吗Jacob？” （this is the instruction, can you read the Chinese characters, Jacob?)

Through trial and error, they continued to explore the complicated instructions, trying to figure out which parts went together. Some children slipped away to explore other spaces, but Jacob, Evan, Isabella and Adalyn continued to stay interested in assembling the trolley. They continued to persevere, finally deciding that it was important to develop a plan of action.

Jacob “Since the trolley has two parts, we can have two groups working on assembling it. Isabella and I will be in a group, and we are going to be in charge of the bottom layer. Evan and Adalyn, you two can be a team and work on the top layer.”

The group assembling the lower shelf began their work. They decided that when they were finished, the top group would take over. As they were working, they referred to the picture and the instructions when needed.

As we observed the children at work, we noticed how they used their communication skills to express their thoughts and ideas with each other to solve a common problem. They understood the significance of the instructions and their connection to the different components of the trolley. They used what they knew about pictures, Chinese characters, numbers and words to read the instructions and explain their understanding to each other.

Their idea of ‘making a plan’ to help with the process of assembling the trolley, and their decision-making demonstrates their understanding of the process, and teamwork and show their developing understanding that people work together for different purposes.    

Making Sense of Data

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We have been conducting surveys, and documenting data to answer questions that help us understand how objects and events can be organised differently. A group of children have also taken this further by creating a survey and interviewing the community to help them find answers to their ongoing questions related to their projects.

Our next step was to sort and organise the information in a way that made sense to others.

During Morning Meeting, we introduced the children to some tools and resources they could use to sort data.We decided to use Unifix cubes, an easy resource for children to create simple concrete graphs as they work with data.

Through this experience the children:

  • gathered information by asking questions
  • sorted and recorded data on a concrete graph
  • explained data using simple comparative language; more, less, all together, and difference

How might we use what we have learned in new situations to make sense of the world around us?

Measurement – Brady Bakes a Cake

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The children have been exploring measuring tools in the classroom, and discussing how these tools are used in our daily lives. We decided to read a story that talks about ‘measuring tools’ that the children had not yet mentioned during their conversations. In this story, ‘Brady Bakes a Cake’, The character shares the experience of baking a cake for his mum’s birthday. As we read the story, we paused to talk about the details in the pictures, to help the children explore the different ways authors communicate ideas with others. 

Jacob and Isabella noticed the recipe in the book and explained:

  • Jacob “I see the list for making the cake.”
  • Isabella “This is for making chocolate “
  • Jacob “How many he need, butter, flour, milk.”
  • Isabella “With a list you count it.”
  • Jacob “On the list, it tells how many you use the spoon.”

As we read on, they began to predict what might happen next in the story.

The author included pictures, numbers, symbols and fractions (half and quarter cups) to explain and show the quantities of ingredients used to make the cake.

  • Jacob “So he need two little cup to get it bigger. I made cupcake so I know. Two little spoons can make a big spoon.”
  • Archie “Vanilla is for putting in the ice cream.”
  • Jacob “If you have little spoon, you can add three times, big spoon you need one time.”

The children wondered if Brady was going to make cupcakes or one big cake. They began to debate and provide reasons for why they thought Brady was making a cake or a cupcake.

  • Archie “They are making cupcakes because there are some sprinkles.”
  • Isabella “It’s because the spoon and chocolate.”

Adalyn and Jacob thought he was one big cake. Suzy and Euno disagreed and said he was making cupcakes “because there are sprinkles.”

  • Archie “My mom made cupcakes, she use eggs and all these ingredients and makes the table yucky.” He said with a laugh, adding that they all helped clean up afterwards.
  • Suzy “Ms. Karen made cupcakes at school with us and she has this (mixer). I didn’t know my mom’s birthday so I didn’t make a cake for her.”
  • Archie “When I have a birthday, I will have a birthday cake too, and I will be in another country.
  • Riccardo “I made cake with my dad. He writes the recipe down before he makes it.”
  • Adalyn “I made cupcakes with my sister. That cupcake is chocolate.”
  • Riccardo “I and my brother help mummy in the kitchen. Daddy says what we need to take and do. And then we do it. Like something yummy and something sweet like cake.”
  • Evan “I can make just pizza. Some flour and red sauce and some sugar. Put some sprinkles on top, like cheese. And then cook it.”
  • Dahyun “Mummy going to the home and then cook. Mummy makes Korean rice. No chicken, no fish, no potato. I drink water. Water is yummy.”
  • Sea “We make pizza. She makes fish and soup. Pizza making I help. First pizza put the tomato. Then, jam and put the ham. Put in oven for little time. It is yummy. I like pizza.”
  • Euno “My mum makes soup and yummy food. Carrots and tomato sauce and soup. Little bit rice. Soup has chicken. My mummy makes cupcake, strawberry cake.”
  • Finn “My daddy and I go outside to the restaurant to eat. We eat rice.” (in Mandarin)

The children’s conversations revealed many interesting theories and ideas about measuring tools, ingredients and the process of food preparation. It also highlights the importance of real-life experiences as they explore and share important events with family and the community.

 

We wonder, what measuring tools you use in the kitchen, and how they help you prepare a yummy meal.

Tools for Measurement

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Over the last few days, we have noticed the children showing an interest in exploring the concept of ‘measurement’ through their play and engagement. 

How might we measure accurately?

During choice time, Jacob went over to the tower with a building log and began to measure its height. He said it was 9 or 12 logs high. As we watched him measure, we noticed that the block overlapped as he placed it from point to point making his measurement change.

He was invited to place the logs horizontally across the floor to see the length of 9 logs. While placing the blocks, he was encouraged to think about the reason for choosing logs of similar size.

Isabella, Adalyn and George were curious about a piece of documentation on the wall from the previous year that recorded the children’s height.

  • Isabella “We are measuring Adalyn’s and my height and George’s height. That day I was the same height as George but now I think I am higher than that.”
  • Adalyn “Good sleeping and good eating makes you tall. At home I am 1,2,2 (1 米23 ) tall. Because you wear shoes you are taller so you shoes off. I have this at home and my sister is. 1 米5几 。
  • Isabella “I am 112 tall.”

Isabella and Adalyn were also curious about the sand timers and wondered what they could do in a short time.

We decided to provoke the children’s thinking about ‘measurement’ by presenting the photographs and videos back to them. The children were excited to share their ideas about the measuring tools.

The first reference they made was to the ruler in the classroom. They explained the significance of the ‘numbers’ when measuring. We documented the children’s ideas on chart paper which we will use as a collection of reference points.

Over the next few weeks, we will look for opportunities to test some of the theories the children have about ‘measurement’ and measuring tools. We wonder how they might use different tools to share their observations which in turn helps them understand how tools could be used to measure the attributes of objects and events. 

Big Ideas-

– standard units allow us to have a common language to identify, compare, order and sequence

– we use tools to measure the attributes of objects and events

– estimation allows us to measure with different levels of accuracy.

Discussing Appearance: What does it mean to ‘be handsome’ or ‘pretty’?

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The children were deep in conversation about appearance while making a house for the panda.

  • Jacob “你觉得小panda是男生还是女生?” (Do you think the little panda is a boy or a girl?)
  • Adalyn “女生。” (a girl)
  • Jacob “是的，她是女生。”（yes, she is a girl.) “因为它看着像女生。” (because she looks like a girl)

Ms. Sophia “What should a girl look like? and what should a boy look like?”

  • Isabella “Boys look handsome.”
  • Jacob “Yes, boys look handsome and girls look pretty.”

Ms. Sophia “What is handsome and what is pretty?”

  • Jacob “I can’t quite tell you what is handsome and what is pretty.”

We decided to share the conversation with the class to see what they thought about appearance.

  • Jacob “She is pretty, she will use everything she makes to be pretty. Something beautiful on her face and her hands.”
  • Suzy “My mum, she puts drawing on her face.”
  • Isabella “I saw my mum, she draws on the nails. It is shining, it makes it pretty. People do it to make it prettier. I have it on two nails.”
  • Jacob “Handsome is cool. Use something on your face. Maybe something that is new. New shoes is cool.”
  • Evan “Like a new jacket. That is cool.”
  • Jacob “You will use fast things then you will be cool. You will run fast then you will be cool. And everybody looks at your shoes then she will be cool. He will have a long, long green things you will see on the shoes.”
  • Adalyn “When girls put makeup then they are pretty.”
  • Jacob “Put some decorations.”
  • Evan “Girls is pretty because her hair is long.”
  • Riccardo “People short hair is also cool.”
  • Sea “I think mummy and cat is pretty because I love mummy and so cute cat.”
  • Dahyun “Princess is beautiful because the dress is beautiful.”
  • Euno “I think cat is cute. Cat is small (kitten). I like baby cats.
  • Sea “Daddy is handsome because his eyes and ears. He has pretty eyes.”
  • Euno “My daddy is little bit big.”
  • Dahyun “My daddy is cute.”
  • George “Beautiful hair. My mummy has beautiful hair because it is long. My mummy is pretty.”
  • Ethan “Friends Dahyun and Euno is pretty because they play together.”
  • Suzy “I think Jacob, Riccardo, Finn, Evan are cool. I am pretty.”
  • Finn “My airplane is cool” (in Mandarin)

We know the ‘power of words’ and that the children’s words matter. The children’s conversations revealed many interesting ideas and theories about gender and appearance. They talked about products, styles and clothing that are used to enhance or change appearances. The words ‘cute’, ‘beautiful’, ‘handsome’ and ‘pretty’ were used to share these observations.

We wonder how we might challenge some of these theories about appearance and image to help us be more aware, open-minded, inclusive, accepting and appreciative of the people around us.

What can you do in 3 minutes?

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Isabella and Adalyn were wondering about the sand timers and the idea of moving sand:

  • Isabella “We are thinking can we can have a race with the timer to see who is the fastest.”
  • Adalyn “10 minutes race and 5 minutes race.”

  • Isabella “And then I saw the 5-minute sand is the fastest.”
  • Adalyn “Because the 10 minutes were more than 5 minutes. But the 3 minutes is faster.”
  • Isabella “I think the 10 minutes is faster because we can count to 10 more shorter. I think because it’s fast, we can count to 10 and it’s fast.”
  • Adalyn “The 5 minutes and 3 minutes, it’s 2 minutes short.”

Isabella agreed.

 

  • Isabella “3 minutes is faster than 5 minutes and then 10 minutes.”

 What can you do in 3 minutes? How fast is 3 minutes?

  • Adalyn “I can draw in 3 minutes.”
  • Isabella “I can run in 3 minutes, a circle outside.”
  • Adalyn “I can do it too.”
  • Isabella “I think 3 minutes is not long its so short!”
  • Jacob “I think 3 minutes is 100 seconds plus 200 seconds. Seconds mean you have to count.”
  • Isabella “You have to count 1 and then wait a little while and count another number.”
  • Adalyn “I think 3 minutes is three one-minutes.”

This has led to planning a race against time, to see what they could achieve in 3 minutes. We wonder what their research will reveal about time.

‘Fairness’ in Games

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The ‘Tug of War’ house event was exciting. The children enjoyed the spirit of the games, joining in to cheer the teams and their friends as they participated in the challenges.

They were eager to tug the rope with K2B on the opposite side. However, they were unsuccessful in winning the event. Adalyn and Isabella were deep in conversation after the event, exploring the reasons for the loss.

(Conversation in Mandarin)

  • Isabella “What a pity that we only had the Tug of War event once a year! Our class lost this game today and we cannot win back.”
  • Adalyn “I think K2B must have eaten their snack before the event started so that they got that much strength. And we had less children than K2B today.”
  • Isabella “Yes, we need Jacob and George who are not here today.”
  • Adalyn “We have 12 children in K2A today and K2B has 14. That’s why they won the game and it is not fair.”

Adalyn and Isabella decided to speak to Ms. Jacqui, Ms. Zhang and Mr. Lee to explain their thinking and to suggest a rematch between the two classes. They shared their idea with the class.

Teacher: But what does it mean to ‘be fair’?

  • Evan “Why do you have 2 cookies and I have 1 cookie?”
  • Adalyn “Some people need 12 then the other need 12 too.”
  • Jacob “Why do have a lot of candy and I have a little bit? You need the same and that is what fair means.”
  • Isabella “We need the same people or the other team would win because they have more people.”

We look forward to exploring the concepts of ‘fairness‘, and ‘inclusivity‘ when looking for ways to create contexts for participation.

3 Ways to Read a Book!

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Picture books play an integral role in the literacy programme in K2. A few times a day, we sit down to explore texts, to give the children opportunities to read to themselves or listen to adults read to them.

Often the children pick out their favourite books to retell the stories to each other. The teachers often observe the experiences children have with books to help them develop good reading behaviours.

We watched a video of Archie and Riccardo sharing this experience, using the pictures and what they recall of the story to read a book again and again.

Sharing this example, we reminded the children of 3 ways to read a book because we know that children learn to read by engaging in the act of reading by “Reading the pictures”, “Reading the Words” and “Retelling a Familiar Story”.

We used the picture book ‘Papa, Please Get the Moon for Me’ designed, illustrated, and written by Eric Carle in a mini-lesson, to practice the 3 ways to read. As we turned the pages, the children helped retell the story, sharing the character’s feelings and actions. We discussed the concept of ‘real’ and ‘imaginary’ ideas in the story and invited the children to explore this further in their stories-making.

We know that reading and exploring books helps children:

  • develop an awareness of print (understanding that print carries meaning, that books contain letters and words, and how a book “works” — such as identifying the front and back covers and that pages are turned)

  • develop phonological awareness (the ability to recognise and manipulate the spoken parts of words — including rhymes, syllables, and phonemes)
  • explore phonics and decoding (understanding of the alphabetic principle — the idea that letters and letter patterns represent the sounds of spoken language)
  • develop new vocabulary (using the words they hear orally to make sense of the words they see in print)

Observational Drawing

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The children have been curious about the flowering plants in the EY garden. Noticing this special interest, Ms. Hannah decided to present them with a provocation of a potted plant from the garden. She chose a plant that spread out across two tables in the Atelier. Its long, low-hanging stems had bunches of leaves and a few delicate flowers. Large thick paper was placed under the plant along with several containers of markers, as an invitation to think about how colours and shades help us experience and express the world around us. A magnifying glass was placed near the plant to see what details the children might observe.

Dahyun and Euno sat next to each other at the table, engaging in conversation as they began to draw. Euno picked up the magnifying glass to take a closer look at the flowering plant. At first, they drew objects from their imaginary stories.

Ms. Hannah invited them to look carefully at what was before them and then draw their observations. As they looked closer look at the plant, they became more aware of interesting details that they could draw. Dahyun decided to draw the stems, carefully adding leaves along the edge of the branch. Euno was drawn to the shape of the leaves carefully placing them next to each other on the stem she had drawn. They walked around the table looking for the shades of colour that matched the plant before them.

Isabella “When I saw the plant I thought ‘it is so colourful because there are so many different colours on it’. I first draw the stem because if we don’t draw the stem the leaves will fall down. I drew a straight line for the stem. Then I draw one leaf.

I draw the same colour of the stem because they are both green and green. Then, I draw a little spiky thing on the leaf. Then I draw a purple flower. There are many flowers on the branch. I like drawing flowers because they are beautiful.” Sea first paused to look at the plant from a distance. Then, she chose the colours she needed and began to draw. She was deeply engaged in her task, pausing often to check if her drawing matched what she observed. She explained that she drew the branch that was furthest from her view, offering her picture as an example of a different perspective.

Sea “I am making the drawing flowers. I like purple flowers. The flowers is lots. Flowers on the table at home. Munny put flowers because go to the flower shop. The flower shop so beautiful flowers. Mummy buy purple flowers.”

As Jacob looked at the plant, he was drawn to the pot and chose to draw that first. He noticed the shape of the pot, outlining it and then colouring it in. Then, Jacob looked for the different shades of green to draw the stem. His flower appeared bigger than the flowers on the branches. He explained that his flowers looked bigger as seen through a magnifying glass. He borrowed the magnifying glass from Euno to explain what he had imagined he would see through the tool.

Jacob “I want to draw the bigger flower because I like bigger flowers because they are beautiful. Flowers have a lot of colours. My flower is like a rainbow because it is beautiful.”

George followed Jacob to draw a pot and then moved on to drawing the branches, flowers and leaves. His branches were narrow and curved in different directions.

He carefully drew the flowers at the end of his branch, using different shades to share that he observed. Next, George drew a second pot next to his first drawing. He explained, “Two flowers on the table. I see two big flowers. It had water, I think Ms. Hannah put the water. My has flowers, she is looking and put water. I put water.”

The children’s drawings show the exploration of multiple ideas and concepts. While some of them focused on perspective, distance, colour and size, others shared interpretations of imagination and wonder.

Careful use of tools for a purpose was evident in the way the children explored and talked about the way they see the flowering plant through a magnifying glass.

The children’s explanations and illustrations show their capacity to view and share their theories about situations and objects in their environment through multiple representations. 

Taller than a Teacher!

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Over several days, Evan and a team of engineers have been building a structure in the block play area. The team worked hard to find solutions for the steeple as it kept falling over. Through trial and error, they explored different ways to make the structure taller. One afternoon, Evan was excited to learn that the block tower was taller than him. He wondered if it was taller than Adalyn (as she was taller than him). As Adalyn stood next to the tower, Evan could see that it was taller than her. 

Adeline and Evan wondered if the tower was taller than the teachers. First, Ms. Sophia stood next to the tower. She was taller than the tower. Ms. Shemo and Ms. Sophia were both taller than the tower!

 

The engineers went back to work. The tower was now taller than them making it harder for them to place the blocks. George looked around the classroom. He was excited to share his solution, “I know, we can get a chair to stand on then we will be able to reach that high.” (in Mandarin) The team carefully positioned the chairs, so they reach beyond the highest block on the structure allowing them to reposition and test their new ideas.

As they stacked the new blocks, the steeple on the tower collapsed. They persevered, trying many different positions and shapes, but parts of the tower continued to fall. Evan looked around for new shapes that could be used in the structure and noticed a block they had not used before. He had a new idea that he wanted the team to test, “We can add more flat pieces on the joint part and the building can be more stable and will not be that easy to fall.” (in Mandarin)

Isabella “I found more of this kind of green wooden pieces and I’m going to add them at the joint part of the block sticks.” (in Mandarin) 

Evan “We need to top the stick on the middle part of the two underneath. Because it will help the one on the top to stay more stable.” (in Mandarin)

They used all the green blocks that were available on the shelf. But there weren’t enough. As Isabella observed the structure, she realised the significance of the flatter, wider shapes that made the building more stable. The flat shapes held more blocks which in turn allowed them to go higher. She looked around for blocks that had similar characteristics and paused at the wooden cookies. She decided to test her theory.

Even though the building collapsed many times, Evan didn’t give up. He continued stacking the blocks, learning through trial and error that being more intentional about the placement of the blocks resulted in greater success. After many attempts, his tower was done.

He was ready to invite Ms. Shemo to stand next to the building. The team were excited to see that the building was as tall as Ms. Shemo!

As Ms. Shemo looked at the building she invited the children to think about the concept of measurement, “How can we measure the height of the building?”

Ms. Shemo was worried about the building collapsing before the children could have an opportunity to explore tools that help us measure. Therefore, she suggested recording the height of the building on the wall next to the structure. Isabella helped Ms. Shemo find a solution to gauge the approximate height. They used a coloured sticker to mark the position. 

The team continued to work on their tower, testing theories and ideas to make the tower even taller. After several days, they were ready to test the height to see if it was taller than Ms. Shemo.

They called Ms. Shemo to stand next to the building. The children cheered with excitement as it was much taller than her!

Evan quickly remembered what they had done the previous day, and brought a flat, long beam to help Ms. Shemo find the correct level for the new sticker. 

Ms. Shemo invited the children to reflect on the question she had about the measurement of the structure. “How can we measure the height of the building?”

We decided to share a photograph from the previous year which focused on the concept of ‘measurement’ to guide the children’s thinking.

The children quickly tapped into their memories from the previous year, recalling how they had explored height by creating a ruler.

  • Adalyn “He was seeing who is taller.”
  • Isabella “He is using his hand.”
  • Ethan “Edward is stretching his hand to his head.”
  • Suzy “I see some numbers.”
  • Evan “I see some colouring.”
  • Isabella “I see some drawing.”
  • Suzy “The numbers is for knowing who is bigger.”
  • Jacob “Finn is 33 tall.”
  • Evan “I think Edward is 20.”

As Suzy demonstrated how to read the measurement, Isabella reminded her that she needed to place her hand ‘straight’ (not at an angle) and read the number across.

  • Suzy “How can we know that because we can see a number over here.”

As we looked at the photograph of the tower, we invited the children to think about their wondering, “How tall is the tower?”

  • Suzy “I think the building is 56.”
  • Isabella “I think it is 57.”
  • “That ruler on the wall is 66” explained Jacob, recalling the highest number on the ruler they had created the previous year.  
  • Isabella “100 is too many!”

As the children shouted out their estimates, we recorded them on a table.

We look forward to seeing how the children will use their prior knowledge about measurement to find out the height of the new tower.

Base 10 Blocks

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A team of mathematicians worked together to solve a math problem.

We used Base 10 Blocks and place value mats to help us calculate. 

  • Ethan “Put 2 cubes for red.”

  • Suzy “10 blocks in the squares because there are 10 spaces.”
  • Archie “Counting the blocks to see how many blocks Sea has.”
  • Ethan “Ms. Shemo got the blocks every time there is 10.”
  • Isabella “Then, she gave one long one.”
  • Evan “10 in the long one.”

We played an addition game with regrouping 1’s for 10’s using one dice, Base 10 Blocks and a place mat. The children were excited to add the blocks each time and practiced grouping.

Big Ideas: the base 10 values system is used to represent numbers and number relationships.

 

The Game!

Isabella and Adalyn decided to create their own game using bricks, glass stones and sticks. The goal of the game was to earn lots of glass stones. You had to pass the ball to each other using a stick. Each time you shoot the ball into the goal, you get a brick. When you have 7 bricks you can trade it for a glass stone.

We noticed that the game designers revisited the rules of the game many times to make changes that made the game more exciting. They listened to each other and made changes through negotiation. The person with the most stones is the winner!

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