Category: critical thinking

Creating an Expression of Beauty

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A team of children have been conducting their research to learn more about ‘beauty’. They have been interviewing the school community to listen to different perspectives.

During Student-led Conferences, families were invited to share what they thought was beautiful on a white canvas. We wondered how we might create a piece of art including all the different circular canvases that have been painted with ‘expressions of beauty’.

We invited the children to think of creative ways to exhibit the piece. The children quickly decided that they wanted all five circles to be included in one piece of art.

The children used paper and markers to make their thinking visible.

They used shapes, symbols and words to explain their design to others. While considering the draft designs, it became evident that we needed help to create the structures the children were visualising.

Ideas presented required a strong material that could hold the weight of the different circular canvases.

We made a plan to speak to Mr. Lee (Eli’s dad) and Mr. Matt in the design centre to see if he could give us some suggestions that could help us with our build.

Understanding data

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The team sat with the data they had collected through their survey, to sort and understand what their friends and teachers in the Early Years thought about the concept of ‘beauty’.

Looking at the information before them helped the team decide on a rule for sorting. They began to notice that they each had similar ideas that could be grouped.

They created several different groups based on the criteria they had decided on.  

The team decided to include labels to help others understand the groupings they had created.

Next, the team will present their data collection to the class.

We wonder what they learned from their experience.

How can we change the way the balls travel on the ramps?

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The children have been wondering about the ‘speed’ and ‘direction’ the balls might travel if they made changes to the ramps. They have been recording their theories and making changes to their ramps using a range of materials around the classroom.

 

 

What did they observe and learn from their experiments?

The Shape Test

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A paper cube that Oliver made after the paper experiment led to a discussion about 3-dimensional shapes.

The team wondered about the strength of paper shapes and decided to test their theories.

The team wondered:

  • if some paper shapes were stronger than others.
  • which shapes they could make to test their theories.

The team recalled a previous learning experience of going on a shape hunt and decided to refer back to the activity to choose the 3-dimensional shapes they wanted to make and test. When choosing the shapes Oliver stated, “Sphere is impossible for me cause how can you fold the paper round. I want to make a cylinder!”

Eli pointed at the pentagonal prism, “I want to make that one.”

Having thought about their options for paper, they decided to choose card stock instead of paper for their test as they believed it would be stronger than the A4 paper.

Oliver made his first paper cylinder by rolling up the paper and fastening it with tape. However, he quickly noticed that the edges weren’t flat and realised that this would impact the test. He decided to make a second cylinder, taking care to keep the edges of the shape levelled. During testing, Oliver discovered that the top and bottom edges of his first cylinder were not stable enough, so he decided to make a new cylinder.

 

Having looked at the pentagonal shape, Eli realised that to fold a pentagon, he needed to divide the paper into five equal parts. Eli initially used a ruler to draw lines but found that the width of one ruler was too narrow, which resulted in a lot of extra space at one end.

Then, decided to use the width of two rulers, but each section was too wide and there wasn’t enough space on the card for 5 equal sections.

Eli shared this challenge with the teacher, explaining that he wanted to divide the long edge of the paper into five equal parts.

Having heard Eli’s challenge, the teacher decided to bring Eli’s attention to the concept of measurement to think about what he already knows about the function of hash marks and numbers on a measuring tool.

Ms. Eileen “How long is that edge? How did you measure it?”

  • Eli thought about this and then pointed to the ruler and said, “Use ruler.”

Eli used the ruler to solve his measurement challenge, learning that the length of the paper was about 30 centimetres.

Ms. Eileen “How can we divide 30 into 5 equal parts?”

Eli found the unit cubes and counted out 30 unit cubes to represent the 30cms. Then, he divided them into 5 equal parts, with each part being 6cm.

Finally, Eli drew out the lines and folded his paper pentagonal shape for the test. The researchers were now ready to test their shapes!

The team decided to choose books that were of a similar size for their test. As they placed one book at a time on the shapes, they began to see that although the shapes were made with paper, they were extremely strong.

The team had enough books to reach a total of 19 books for each shape. Then, they ran out of books!

As they didn’t have enough of the same books in the classroom to support the progression of the experiment, they decided to test their shapes in the library.

The team’s paper and shape experiments have allowed them to think about the function of shapes and materials in design and engineering and the impact of forces like compression and tension that act on structures. Through their experimentation, they continue to explore how the design can impact the strength and stability of structures.

 

 

 

Changing the Ramps

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We noticed that the children were using two different ramps to create their structures in the block play area. The children’s conversations revealed that they were exploring the concepts ‘speed’ and ‘direction’ as they shared ‘how’ the balls travel on the ramps.

We decided to gather the children to talk about what they noticed about the ramps.

Similarities

  • Jeongyoon “You can slide balls on both.”
  • Eli “They can both be used for building.”
  • Oxford “The brown one the ball can go zig zag the white it can’t because the brown is big (wider).”

Differences

  • Oxford “One is big and one is small. The colour is different one is brown and other is white.”
  • Oliver “One is made out of wood and one is made with plastic.”
  • Liz “One is long and one is short.”
  • Eli “The brown is not narrow and the white is narrow. Because when I tried to put a big ball on it is got stuck on it.”
  • Oxford “The brown is think and white is smaller (thinner).”
  • Lydia “The small ball can go on the white and the big balls on the brown.”

We noticed that the children used descriptive words to categorise the ramps. We decided to build on this knowledge to see how they stretch their thinking and vocabulary by exploring new textures and materials in their scientific inquiry. 

Teacher “What would we change if we want the balls to travel on the ramps differently?”

  • Lydia “Use the pencil to colour it.”
  • Oliver “The white glue, we can add glue on a zig zag line, the ball when you roll it, it will go bouncy.”
  • Eli “We can put tape here and if you roll the ball too fast it might roll and go away from the ramp.”
  • Oxford “We can put string on it and use tape and then make lines.”
  • Wyatt “We can put water on it and the ball will go really fast.”
  • Eli “You can put wood (chips) inside the ramp and then the ball might go up.”
  • Oliver “We dig some holes on the two sides and get the circles made out of plastic and stick them on the sides so when the balls go down, the circles will spin.”
  • Oxford “Maybe we can put another stick on the brown ramp.”
  • Eli “You can stick some paper on the brown ramp and make it higher and higher.”

As the children shared how the ramps could be modified, they began to hypothesise about what might happen with their experiment.  

  • We wonder what the children might notice about the ‘speed’ and ‘direction’ the balls travel because of the ‘changes’ they have made to the ramps (causation).
  • We wonder how the children might record the theories and observations of their experiments.  

Rocks, Crystals and Minerals

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Groups of children have finding, exploring and wondering about the different rocks and stones they found in the Early Years garden. They often share their ideas and questions to learn about them; what the rocks are used for how they are made and where they come from.

  • Oliver “We want to find lots of crystals and we want to be good at finding sapphires. I want to be a crystal hunter.”
  • Eli “I was telling Mr. Seth which ones can draw different colours.”

What we know and think…

  • Eunbyul “I think this crystal inside have a diamond.”
  • Lydia “MY mummy home have diamonds. I like the diamonds.”
  • Oliver “Diamonds is a crystal that can break through glass. Its like super strong nails, if you scratch it on the glass then it will break.”
  • Oxford “I think that (diamond) is not real.”
  • Oliver “In games I see there are crystals. The name of the crystals one is diamond and gold.”
  • Liz “I think school is not have crystals. I think inside the stone there is nothing.”
  • Oxford “I think we don’t know why Eli can draw with it.”
  • Wyatt “I think diamonds is not in the school because school outside there is diamonds are not there.”
  • Jeongyoon “I think diamond is not real and not in the whole world.”

We wonder…

  • Oxford “Where did you find them?”
  • Eli “In the sand and some of them I cracked them.”
  • Oliver “I found them in the ground make out of bricks.”
  • Oxford “What is in the rocks? Why can he use the rocks to write? What makes it gold inside the rocks?”
  • Jeongyoon “Are crystals real or not real? What is a crystal?”
  • Oliver “I only know 4 names of crystals. I want to know the names of other crystals?”
  • Eli “Which one is a rock and which one is a crystal?”
  • Lydia “Why are some crystals are blue or green? Why are crystals so beautiful?”
  • Morning “Where are the crystals from?”

Having noticed this ongoing interest in rocks, crystals and minerals, the teachers have organised a field trip to the Nanjing Geological Museum.

We wonder what the children might uncover from their investigations and observations at the museum.

The First Stories

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The moviemakers have been creating their stories using the Stop Motion app. Eunbyul was the first to finish his first movie.

We noticed that Eunbyul had taken over 400 photographs to create his 30-second movie. We wondered about the sequence of the story and the positioning of the objects in the photographs. We decided to invite him to present his written story plan and his first movie to the class, hoping that Eunbyul’s peers would be able to give him feedback that could improve his creation.

  • What did they notice in the images?
  • What elements would Eunbuyl need to work on to improve his movie?

The audience was captivated by Eunbyul’s movie. They loved his Pikachoo characters and were excited to see how he brought his characters to life.

Eunbyul explained that he was still unsure of how to show a snowfall. The audience gave him specific feedback to improve his story.

  • Follow the story plan.
  • Make sure pictures don’t include parts of the moviemaker’s body.
  • Take multiple photographs to show the slow movement of the objects

The teachers decided to use two objects to demonstrate what the audience meant by slow intentional movements.

Eunbyul thought about the feedback and went on to make his second movie. This time, he followed his story plan, mindful of the sequence of events that the photographs needed to show.

Excitement about the movies rippled across the class, with Oxford, Oliver and Eli deciding to create their own stories using the app. The team sat with paper and writing tools to create a story plan.

Oxford picked up an iPad and reached out to his friends to learn how to use the app Stop Motion.

  • Oxford “Eunbyul taught me a little bit how to use the Stop Motion app. He showed me where to touch and not touch and he explained how to do it. I go and make it. I first touched the Stop Motion movie app, then I took photos. I took 76 photos for the movie.”

PATTERN BLOCK DESIGN CHALLENGE

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The students were invited to use Pattern Blocks to create designs. Each pattern block shape had a value. The complete design needed to have a total value of 24, 40 and 60.

Next, the students completed a bar graph using the information in their Pattern Block design.

Instructions:

  1. Use Pattern Blocks to create 3 shape designs that have a value of 24, 40 and 60.
  2. Take a picture of your designs.
  3. Upload your pictures to Seesaw.
  4. Complete the graph to show how many shapes you used in your design.

Creating the designs involved a lot of problem-solving, thinking, calculations and conversations.

What designs might YOU create?

What is the SUM of YOUR design?

The Garden Plots – Making Decisions 

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The gardening group (composed of student representatives from each class) gathered to discuss their project. Their task for the day was to document what was still growing in the garden and how they might organise the garden plots.

Thirteen gardeners joined the meeting with Ms. Hannah. They began by revisiting their agreements. The gardeners reflected on what it means to be a respectful listener “We talk one at a time and listen to others as they share their ideas.”

Then, they reflected on what they did during the previous session.

  • Emma “We don’t have many plants.”
  • Oliver “Some plants survive when it was snowing, it means when it’s snowing they are not very scared of the cold. The big plant is dead because it’s not cold protection.”

The team wondered about the ‘temperature’ and what plants ‘need’ to ‘survive’ and thrive.

Which plants might grow in the different seasons?

Which ones will survive?

  • Jacob “Because that big plants got too much water and it would die and too much worm pee pee it will die too.”
  • Logan “Earthworm poo, could it help?”
  • Jenny “Not too much water, not too dry (in Mandarin)”
  • Adelyn “Not too much sun”
  • Oliver “If you get a dragon fruit then dig a whole and then a plant will grow and the flower will grow and it is actually a dragon fruit. If you use the outside part of the strawberry seed and put it in the dirt it will grow strawberries. I know how to grow a watermelon to a shape that you want. If you get a square shape cube and dig a hole and then open it and then close it and then it will be the shape.”
  • Albert “If you grow watermelon then you will get a watermelon tree.
  • Keira: “In my home, there are orange trees.”
  • Jacob “Watermelon black and watermelon white seeds. People can eat the white seeds and plant the black seeds.”
  • Emma: “At my home, I have a paprika tree.
  • Albert: “At my home, I have a bamboo tree.”

Teacher “This is a shared space. We have 5 classes. Which means we need to find a way to share the plots. How might we do this?”

The gardeners gathered their clipboards with paper and writing tools. They looked at the plants in the plot and began to draw to share their observations and thinking.

Teacher” How do you know something is still alive?”

  • Emma “Because the seeds were still in the mud. And it didn’t fall out. Some was out but some not.”

We noticed that the team considered the size and shape of the plots when documenting their thinking. The gardeners were encouraged to think about and explain how they knew the plants were still alive. They used their senses to observe carefully, sharing their theories about the growth of plants and the weather. As they visualised the space, they began to share suggestions on how the plots may be allocated to the different classes in the Early Years.

The gardeners gathered to share what they had learned and to decide on what they would do next.

  • Oliver “One is a bigger plot and one is smaller.”
  • Sophia “Prek-K1 has more children so they use the bigger plot and K2 use the smaller plot.” (in Mandarin)
  • Emma “Also we need to plant so many new plants because only in some places there are plants.”

The gardeners agreed with Sophia’s suggestion.

  • Emma “PreK-K1 has 3 classes and K2 has 2 classes.”
  • Albert “The bigger one to PreK K1 and the smaller one to K2.”
  • George “One class has one space.”

The children took a vote and agreed with George’s idea.

The team’s suggestions were based on the number of classes in each grade level and the number of students in each of them. The teachers wondered how they might encourage the gardeners to show the division of a space.

The Octopus House: A Collaborative Design Project

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A group of children have been working together to create a house, which they named ‘The Octopus House‘. They used their imagination and experiences to inform their art-making.

While building the house, we observed the group sharing and listening to ideas presented, then using a range of materials to improve the different elements in their creation.

Working on one creation can be challenging, problems require solutions and disagreements need to be worked out.

We saw the team work through these different challenges, persevering and then celebrating their final design. Finally, they presented their creation to the class. The architects were invited to keep a record of their design using their visual arts skills.

We noticed how they thought about and used shapes, colours and mark-making to record their creation on paper. These creative experiences allow the children to collaborate, persevere, listen, learn and have fun together. 

Games

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The teachers noticed that a group of children had been interested in making their games during inquiry playtime. They often used recycled paper and cards to design and create their games.

Recently, the Grade 4 students visited K2, to ask the children about the arcade games. This was connected to their Unit of Inquiry ‘How We Organise Ourselves’.

First, the Grade 4 students conducted a survey, to learn more about the younger children’s interests in games. Then, they returned to create a list and gather feedback to learn “What might make the game fun?”.

  • Jeongyoon “Rules and tag.”
  • Motong “If we don’t have rules and we don’t know how to play.”
  • Oxford “”

We noticed that the children continued to refer to the ‘rules’ in a game. We wondered if the children were making connections with the games they play in their P.E. class, as conversations at the end of the lesson highlight important behaviours that make games fun and engaging. The teachers decided to dig deeper, to learn more about the children’s thinking. The teachers decided to ‘use the discussion to generate new ideas and investigations’.

Why do we need rules in the game?

  • Jeongyoon “If the game has no rules, it’s not a game, because it’s not fun.”
  • Motong “Because we don’t know how to play if we don’t have rules.”
  • Oxford “Rules let us know what we can do and what we can’t do.”

The children highlighted the ‘function’ of rules in the ‘organisation’ of a game. Then, the children drew the games they liked on large chart paper. We noticed that many of the games had mazes. Was this something that interested the team?

We discussed the kinds of games the team would like to make for the other children in the EY. We wondered…

  • How might we gather information to learn about the games that the EY children like to play?
  • What does a game need to have to make it exciting and fun?

The team gathered to discuss their next steps. Could we use a survey or draw some graphs to show our findings?

Oxford chose to create a survey that included three games. He planned to ask the children in the EY to choose their favourite game, to help him decide which game he was going to finally make. The three games to choose from were ‘Whack-a-Mole’, ‘Maze’ or ‘Treasure Hunt’.

Motong chose to create a survey with three choices of games for children in the Early Years. His games were ‘Car Race’, ‘Solider Game’, ‘Code Guessing.

Jeongyoon chose to use the maze game and decided to write some questions that would help him find out how he could make his game fun for the children in the EY.

  • Question 1: Do you like water in the maze game?
  • Question 2: Do you like easy games or hard games?

Lightning

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Lydia was excited to share a photograph her mum had taken during a thunderstorm.

  • Lydia “Me mummy took the picture, mummy said ‘WOW, this is so cool’. This everywhere purple colour. The lighting was white. Lightning have the water and small things. Lightning not so good, the people will die. There is a little blue. Lightning comes from the clouds. Daddy said when the weather is very hot there will be a lot of lightning.”

Lydia presented her photograph to her friends.

  • Lydia “On the window we can see lightning.”
  • Jeongyoon “I think the light bulb is using the thunderbolt.”
  • Oliver “The clouds are made out of gas and the gas gets hot. Because in the morning one day it was very hot day and many days later it was still very hot and then there was lightning.”
  • Oxford “I think this is real because there are too many lights.”
  • Eli “This one looks like its from the Thor’s hammer. He is a superhero. You see this at the nighttime, I see it, hear boom, boom!”
  • Motong “It’s in the night because of the lightning we can see in the night. There is no lightning in the day.”
  • Oliver “At home when I was eating supper, then I finished then mummy was waiting to go to sleep and then I looked at the window and I see 10 maybe 20 lightning.”
  • Oxford and Motong “This have like fireworks.”
  • Eli “We can get hurt, when you stand by a tree, you will be hit with lightning, my mummy said.”
  • Oliver “The lightning comes and it goes across and goes like this (like zig zag). The clouds have a gas, it’s a kind of smoke that is made out of water.”
  • Eli “I feel Scared.”
  • Oliver “I think it looks cool.” Wyatt and Motong agreed.
  • Eileen “I think it’s beautiful, the shapes and the colours. We can only see this in some kinds of weather.”

The children began to share how they felt about lightning. Lydia disagreed with some of the statements. The teachers suggested that she think of a way to find out how different people feel about lightning so she can learn why they feel that way. We were curious about the connection Jeongyoon made between the light bulb and lightning. We decided to dig deeper, to hear what the other children thought about the connection he made. Teacher “How does the lightning make the lightbulb work?”

  • Eli “This light has light. It is made out of power not of lightning. When thunder crashed into the tree and the pipe is in the tree and then it goes through the pipe into the electricity thing and then into the light.”
  • Motong “I think the sun will rip and then the lightning will come down.”
  • Eli “The sunlight can go in a pipe and then the sunlight goes into the power and then the many sunlight comes in and then the light works.”
  • Oliver “Some people get a big box and it also has a roof on top of it and the sun shines into it and then it turns it into electricity and then the lights work.”
  • Wyatt “The light go off when the rain will come.”
  • Oxford “I think in the pipe there is electricity. The electricity comes from the sun. A pipe is in the sun.”

Eli “This is lightning and it crashed to the tree and this is pipes, and the lightning goes inside the pipes and it goes inside the house. And this is light, and the light works. And then other lightning comes and other lightning comes and gets light to here. We don’t want to waste power so we want to use the light during lightning to do power. And these this picture of lightning, when the lightning goes in very slow and then when it’s a rainy day sometimes lightning comes out the black clouds because it’s a rainy day. When they are black they can make lightning really big.”

Oliver “This is inside the computer, and there was some cables connected to the lights. One lightning was blue colour and one was green and one was pink. And then I see in the floor there was fire. On top of my house there is something that makes it. If lightning comes here then the light becomes more bright.”

We noticed that the children were discussing the concepts of ‘power’ ‘safety‘ and ‘energy’ and how we use them in our daily lives. 

Our inquiry continues…

The Ocean Project

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We have noticed the children playing and telling stories using the miniature plastic animals. Through their storytelling, the children transport the animals to different places, exploring actions that help them survive in their natural habitats. 

What colour is the ocean?

One morning Wyatt said, “My favourite colour is blue because the ocean is blue only one blue.”

Wyatt is intrigued by the ocean. His drawings and storytelling often revolve around the creatures on the beach and at the shoreline. His books hold his memories and explorations with crabs, dolphins and other sea creatures.

The teachers decided to gather a group of children to talk about Wyatt’s theory about the colour of the ocean.

  • Wyatt began by repeating his theory about the colour of the ocean. He pointed to the shade of blue in the pack of markers.
  • To this Lydia responded, “No 2 blues.”. She chose a second shade of blue to add to Wyatt’s idea. She thought for a while and then added, “The second blue is in K1.”
  • Morning “This blue looks a little like green.”

The team went off to K1 to look for the shade of green Lydia was referring to. Although they found different shades of blue, they were not completely convinced that the ocean matched the shades they had found in the classroom.

We invited the team to the Atelier to explore with paints, to create the ocean. They gathered the materials they needed and sat with large pieces of paper to paint their pictures. At first, the team chose 2 shades of blue from the colour tablets and painted the ocean waves. As the children discussed their ideas, they decided to add a green colour tablet. They dipped their paintbrushes into the tablet, experimenting and creating a new colour. The children continued their conversation in Mandarin. They began to tell stories about the creatures that live in the ocean.

Wyatt “Crab is here because I go to the beach I looking at crabs in the beach. I really like crab. This ocean has many legs. Whale lives in the ocean. And it’s many beautiful colours.

Ocean and crab. Not the same blue. I used two blues. Crab is different blue because this crab is eating things. Octopus eat the crab. And whale eating octopus and the whale go away. That crab is so not feeling good because that cram is eating things and a long time water is put to the water. When the sea crashes on the shore, everybody can see the water is blue. I like to see in Hainan the best. The sea there is part of the Pacific Ocean. All the seas are the same blue.”

Lydia “This blue I see is in the ocean have something in the ocean. I am drawing the whale. He has the water here and he is jumping up and go to the water. This whale is quiet she is not feeling good. His mummy is not give she to play, she jump in the water and crying.”

After completing her painting,

Lydia reflected on what she had done. “We make the sea have so many animals in the sea. And the water have fish and whale. We use yellow, blue, red and green. Ocean is more than one blue.”

Morning “I have two blues. I have five blues. The dolphin is one red and one blue. I used five blues for the ocean” states Morning, pointing to different areas of her drawing.

“One is dark one is a little bit black. This one has other colours in there. Maybe green is in there. Dolphins live in the not dark blue because if they live in the dark blue, he can’t see to eat what.”

We noticed that the group were sharing their observations about the different shades of colour in the ocean. They also discussed their theories about the creatures in the ocean and how they find their food. We wondered what they knew about food chains and the different zones of the ocean. 

The teachers discussed possibilities for research and the next steps. We wondered how we could help the children explore the different shades, and colours of the ocean. We decided to share two photographs of the ocean that the teachers had taken on their trip, to stretch the children’s thinking.

We revisited the children’s initial theories about the different ‘blues’ in the ocean. Wyatt insisted that there were two blues. The crab was one blue and the ocean a second. The children were excited to see the photos and began to share their theories.

Morning pointed to the crashing waves and said, “The water is going up and the sunlight is coming and this will be white.”

Wyatt thought about what Morning was sharing and added, “The ocean is many colours because the water is many blue and white, the ocean has many colours.”

  • Morning “But the ocean does not have purple.”
  • Wyatt “The shark likes to live far in the ocean.”

We began to number the different colours we noticed in the photograph of the ocean. The children shared their theories on why the colours were different.

  • Morning “The shark needs water.”
  • Wyatt “The shark needs many water.”
  • Morning “If the shark goes out of the water then the shark will die.”
  • Wyatt “Because water has foods in the ocean. And the shark going up in the water then he won’t have foods in the beach. The crabs live on the beach because they go inside the sand. Crabs don’t go in the big water.”
  • Morning “The water near the beach is very small so they (sharks) need to live far.”

New theories about the ‘needs’ of living things in the ocean began to emerge. To help the children unpack the concept ‘causation’, we decided to explore this further by asking “What living things live in the ocean? Why do they choose to live there?”

A Closer Look at Soil and Compost

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Oliver “Oxford and I put the food waste in the compost bin and then we can make dirt with it. We can turn it to soil. It’s because the wormies are eating all of the fruit inside this and poop out the food and the poop and the pee is good for the plants.”

Oxford “I put dirt in the box. Because no people eat so much fruit.”

What can we learn from Authors and Illustrators?

We read a book about growing and plants. We noted that the illustrator showed close-ups of different pictures to help us notice more details.

What helps us take a closer look at things around us?

  • Oliver “We can look at it close by. We can use a telescope.”
  • Eli “We can use a magnify. We can also use our eyes.”
  • Oliver “I want to look at a worm closely and see what patterns it has. I mean stripes.”

What might be in the soil and dirt? If we look closely, what do you think we might see?

  • Wyatt “We can see a caterpillar.”
  • Motong “Ants. Ants eating food.”
  • Morning “We can see a mouse.”
  • Oxford “We can see a spider.”
  • Lydia “Worms.”
  • Oliver “When I was outside I actually see this big beetle and it also was inside the dirt. It was so big. He was always sleeping on the dirt and he wakes up.”
  • Eli “We can use glasses. The thing that has the list at the front.”

The children found a magnifying glass. They thought it could be used to look at the soil. Yui was very excited to use the new tool and used it to explore the classroom.

We wonder what she discovered!

One child volunteered to get some soil from the garden plots that we could put under the microscope.

He took a second sample of soil from under the wood bark. As he dug into the ground he said “This is so hard.”

He made labels to let the children know what the samples were.

Ms. Eileen used the microscopes and the iPads to help us look closely at the soil.

(Garden Plot Soil, Under Wood Soil)

The children were fascinated with the images. We wonder what they might see as they look closely at the soil.

 

The class leader and was in charge of taking all the fruit waste and peels to the compost bin.

Each day we will add to the compost bin to help us make new soil for the plants.

Approaches to Learning (ATL’s)

  • observe carefully
  • seek information
  • ask or express through play questions that can be researched
  • gather information from a variety of sources (people, places, materials, literature)
  • listen actively and respectfully to others’ ideas and listen to information
  • participate in conversations
  • use mark-marking to convey meaning
  • document information and observations in a variety of ways
  • share responsibility for decision-making

Documenting Food Waste

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During Assembly, the Grade 4 students shared what they had learned about waste at NIS. They shared the data they had gathered about food and power waste.

The teachers decided to ask the children what they thought about the Grade 4 presentation.

  • Eli “Don’t waste any food. Because if you waste food then the people who make the food work very hard to make the food so that is bad.”
  • Teacher “What is waste?”
  • Oliver “Wasting water, if I throw the water that is in my bottle that is wasting money.”
  • Children “No wasting food!”

We shared a photograph of the EY lunch.

  • Eli “We should eat all of the food in your plate.”
  • Oxford “Why we can’t eat vegetable pizza?”
  • Eli “Drink the milk after eating all of your food because if you drink milk first it will just make a soup in your tummy and your tummy will not be comfortable.”
  • Oxford “We can just eat the vegetables.”

We decided to gather our own data on food waste as the Grade 4 students said that food waste in the Primary was higher than in the Secondary!

Observations and reflections from the children:

  • Oliver “Liz eat all of the lunch.”
  • Motong “Eli ate every food.”
  • Eli “The food was yummy because the sausage was very yummy.”
  • Oliver “We wanted to see if we are not wasting food. I think 4 people eat a little bit of lunch but I was not right.”
  • Oxford “I think people eat 3 things, egg and sausage and rice.”
  • Lydia “One child eat the food.”
  • Eunbyul “Some people is not eating food and sausage. Some people are hungry eat the lunch. People no eat lunch people is more hungry and people is sad.”
  • Wyatt “I think 2 people eat all the food. It is a good thing because 2 people eat vegetables.”

  • Jeongyoon “I think some people drink milk first then they don’t eat vegetables.”
  • Eli “I see somebody eat the sausage and rice but not eat the egg and vegetables, this is not a good thing because vegetables are healthy. It is good for your body. You get a little bit sick because if you don’t eat vegetables every day it will not be healthy. The vegetables are waste. Then people take lunch away and they can pour it away.”
  • Oliver “It actually goes into the kitchen trash. The kitchen trash. I don’t know what they do.
  • Oxford “Will they recycle the food?”
  • Morning “Maybe some people just drink the soup and not eat the lunch. Because the soup is yummy. People need to eat of the lunch because lunch is helpful.”
  • Yui “I didn’t finish all the food because I don’t like vegetables. Bit it’s not good. We need to eat vegetables. Vegetables are good for your health, if we don’t eat vegetables we will get sick (in Mandarin).

 

What happens to the kitchen trash?  

  • Oliver “Lots of people waste so much food. This is the bin in the kitchen. I found out that the people put the trash in the bin and someone will come and then they will put it outside somewhere there are no houses and no people and also no plants. And also there are no internet and it’s also no river. The water have all dried away.”

  • Teacher “What is this place called? Have you seen a place like this before?”
  • Oliver “I saw it on a video. I don’t know.”
  • Lydia “It’s a place where there is no cars and no grass and flowers. Only for the trash. And the car will come and dump all the trash there.” (in Mandarin)
  • Oxford “Like Ms. Hannah has. There is a place behind a car park area to decompose the food.” (in Mandarin)
  • Wyatt “It’s in the bin, you can’t eat what is in the bin. Animals eat it. Many food is there and polar bears eat it.”
  • Oxford “Polar bears don’t eat it.”
  • Eli “I think not the polar bear eats because the polar bear is in a place where there is lots of snow and if the polar bear is there it will feel very, very hot. Maybe a bear eats it.”
  • Morning “I think a zebra.”

We wonder what happens to the food waste after the cafeteria puts it outside the building.

We wonder if animals eat it.

Our inquiry continues…

The Gift – Coming together to build and create. 

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Ms. Eileen had placed an order for new crayons and markers. We were surprised to learn that the supplier also sent us a gift! The gift was a new easel. However, the easel needed to be assembled. We placed the materials and tools in the classroom for the children to decide what they wanted to do.

  • Wyatt “What is this?”
  • Oliver “It is for us. We have to fix it.”

The next day, we left the materials on the floor and invited the children to problem-solve.

3 children offered their expertise. They gathered the materials and began to look at the instructions. The team of furniture assemblers began their work, taking turns, sharing ideas and tools and working to assemble the new easel.

The bell rang for break time play, but one child decided that he wanted to continue his work. He worked on the task throughout playtime.

The rest of the team came in after play and continued their work.

They persevered, looking through the instructions to learn about the different parts and tools to know how the easel was put together. In the end, they were excited to test it out.

The other children celebrated their accomplishments and thanked them for their hard work and dedication to the task.

We noticed the interest the children had in assembling and building. We noticed how they paid close attention to the instructions, and skilfully worked to assemble the piece of furniture.

We wonder how they might use these skills in new situations.

Approaches to Learning (ATL’s) 

  • observe carefully
  • analyse and interpret information
  • listen actively and respectfully to others’ ideas and listen to information
  • negotiate ideas and knowledge with peers and teachers
  • play cooperatively in a group: sharing, taking turns, helping
  • be aware of own and others’ impact as a member of a learning group
  • choose and complete tasks independently
  • follow the directions of others
  • share responsibility for decision-making
  • demonstrate persistence in tasks
  • use strategies to problem-solve

Causation & Change – Temperature

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Sharing observations and theories…

  • Oliver “This is ice. I found it in the water, and I throw it but it didn’t break. I turned it into little pieces by punching it. There was because it was a cold day, it’s because it’s going to be snowing I think, because there is ice. I feel it’s very cold without my gloves on. In my country Germany, it’s now very very cold. It’s snowing.”
  • Teacher “But in my country Sri Lanka, now its warm. What do you think about that?”
  • Oliver “I don’t know.”
  • Eli “I think it’s because the sun is there and the moon is there and the planet is turning slowly. Because the planet is turning so places, some are cold and some are how.”
  • Teacher “What about in Australia?”
  • Eli “In Australia it is hot too. Because when I was on the trip it was hot. I go outside and I see the sun is up and it’s very warm.”
  • Oliver “But Thailand was near Australia so it was hot. But the first day in Thailand I was sweating. I think it’s also closer to the sun. But if the moon is gone then there would be not so much waves. On a video, I saw that. The moon is just blowing the waves.”

What happens to the fish when the water freezes?

  • Eunbyul “If the outside is cold, the outside is ice and fish water is freezing. I can help him.”
  • Motong “The fish are very cold.”
  • Liz “I think fish died because its so cold. Fish in the water is so cold and fish in the water not moving.”
  • Morning “The fish are too cold and they are hiding in their home in the rock.”
  • Wyatt “It’s cold, fish not moving to the water.”
  • Yui “The fish are not moving (in Mandarin).”
  • Oxford “I think ice in the water. Fish can’t move in the ice.”
  • Jeongyoon “I think fish will die.”
  • Oliver “At home when its not snowing Oskar just catches some frogs and puts them in the water and then its cold and icy and the frogs freeze and I can see lines coming out of the frogs and then they are not moving. They freeze. I think the fish are also frozen.”
  • Eli “I think fish are not moving and then fish are died. One time I find water and it was all ice in it and I hit and it comes out a flower shape and one time I find ice and I tried to walk on it. It was frozen.”
  • Motong “The fish will frozen and cold. They fish are not moving.”
  • Lydia “Fish in there is not moving.”
  • Oxford “The fish is too small and ice is too big. He can’t break the ice because he is too small. He can move in the water. He can’t break the ice.”
  • Oliver “I melt the ice one layer and then I can see some water and I put one ice on top of it and wait for 20 seconds and it connected when I put it upside down. And then it freeze together.”
  • Motong “When the water cold and the water will be ice the fish was very cold.”
  • Eli “I think if we get a shovel and smash the water and the water will break.”
  • Oliver “If you take a shovel and break the ice you might break the fish. Just make the ice very hot and the ice will melt and the it will turn the ice to water and the fish will be happy again. I think the water is -4. Its because my mummy said its -4 cold so I think the ice is also -4 cold. Just take the gloves out and check it to see.”

Ms. Elieen showed the children the digital thermometer.

  • Oliver “That one but its for the ears.”

We decided to see if we could use it to check the temperature at the pond.

 

A group of researchers went to see what more they could learn about the pond.

At first, they were sad to see the motionless fish. But then, they noticed some fish swimming in the pond! They began to share their theories, tested the temperature of the ice and looked for ways to help the fish. They shared their ideas about the impact of the temperature on the water and the living things in the pond.

They listened to each other, sharing their prior knowledge and making new connections as a result of what they experienced.

On their return to class, the team documented their ideas on paper.

They shared their learning story with their friends, presenting the chart paper and the video story.

Computers – What are they for?

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Lydia and Liz have been creating and sharing ‘computers’.

  • Eli “Can we make one? Can I give my daddy one? Because it is a toy and he can play with the computer. I will draw on the screen and he can hit the letters and then play it.”
  • Oxford “I made it at home. I just draw circle and used a pen and drawing. Circles for drawing ABC.”
  • Oliver “I made a computer because it looks fun because you were playing on the computer its looks very fun. Ms. Shemo was using the words to play and make the computer work what you want it to do. The letters make it on the screen.”
  • Howie “Why computers can watch a movie on it?”
  • Eli “Because the computer screen, if you have some buttons it can turn and you can ask things and when you watch a movie you just write the word ‘movie’ and then they will give you to choose a movie and then you can choose and watch. It is better to first watch the add and then watch the movie!”
  • Lydia “I want to make a computer, I go home and give it to daddy. Daddy will play with it.”
  • Liz “I made the computer because I make the computer is fun. First, write the name. Then, draw and write ABC. And then colour the top.”
  • Wyatt “It’s so fun because it is so funny. Because friends like this. They play on the computer.”
  • Morning “Why can we use the computer to look at the movie?”
  • Eli “I watch Avenger.”
  • Oliver “On the computer I have to print out something. I just look what I want to draw and then it has no colours and then I can print it out. I push the button and it printed out. And then the robot is drawing the picture. The printer draws it and then the paper comes out.”
  • Oxford “Why computer inside can do so much things?”
  • Oliver “Inside the computer have lamps and electrics. Lamps make the screen work.”
  • Eunbyul “Have a batteries. No batteries no screen and no power.”

We wonder what stories they might create as a result of their design work.

Watch this space!

The Paper Airplanes

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Noticing the children’s interest in making paper airplanes, Ms. Eileen decided to introduce the children to a new design.

The children followed the instructions to make the paper airplane.

  • Eli “I want to throw it outside because outside will have wind so it will fly fast and high.”
  • Howie “I think the airplane the airplane can fly really high and really fast because the wind is really strong and it will go fast. We can feel it when the wind is cold you know what is the wind.”

We looked at a photograph of the playground to help us decide where we might fly the planes from. What would we need to consider?

  • Liz “I think airplanes go to water is broken. Airplane is paper, paper in water is wet and broken.”
  • Oliver “I think the airplane might go round and round all the time I think. Because the wind is going left then the airplane will go left and if the wind is going right then the airplane will go right.”
  • Wyatt “Outside is airplane is go out of school and people can’t go outside of school and then you make it again.”
  • Morning “The airplane will go to the tree and the people cannot play with it.”
  • Eli “It can go over the fence because if you throw on the mountain then it will go over the fence and no one will get it and it might go into the building and there might be sharp things and then it will get a hole in it.”
  • Motong “We can send it from the slide. We can stand on the yellow wall because the airplane will fly very far.”
  • Jeongyoon “If we fly it from the roof, then we can’t get it.”
  • Lydia “I think this flying to outside you can’t take it (the airplane).”
  • Eunbyul “If it goes to a very tall tree then I will not catch the airplane.”
  • Howie “Then, we can climb the tree.”
  • Oliver “The sticks are not very strong.”

How can we find out which airplane has gone the furthest?

  • Oliver “I think if the airplane looks the best then it goes the furthest. And my airplane looks the best.
  • Eunbyul “Throw it and it will go up and down.”

When you run a race, can you start from different places?

  • Eli “No, we have to stay together.
  • Howie “Some people together in the back, the first people will get number 1. The people in the back will be number 2.”

The children explained that they had to fly the paper airplanes from the same location for it to be fair. The children discussed the different options. The children were excited to see many planes flying high above the playground. Perhaps our planes would fly high too!

Many of the children suggested flying the plane from a height as it would help the plane go further. They agreed that the best spot would be the top of the short wall.

We decided to go out and try this out. The paper panes took off from the wall. We watched them scatter around the playground. 

How would we know which plane went the furthest?

Howie suggested that we use a tape to measure the distance. Ms. Shemo did not have such a long tape but had some string instead. We measured and cut out the string to mark the distance.

When we went back to class with the string, we had them in bundles on the floor. Many children believed Eli’s plane flew the furthest because his bundle of string was ‘higher’. We recorded everyone’s best guess using tally marks.

But how would we know for sure? How do we measure things in real life?

Eli suggested using the ruler. But the ruler was short, and it would take a long time to measure them.

Liz suggested measuring them using the white PVC pipes. We brought one over and kept it next to the ruler. It was longer. We noticed the numbers on the ruler and decided to add them to make our ruler with the pipe. But, there were too many numbers to write.

After some thought, we decided to count in 5’s and record them on the pipe. The children helped identify the numbers from 0-100.

Then, we began to measure the twine. We recorded the distance each paper airplane flew. Finally, we had the data we needed. Eli’s paper airplane flew the furthest!

Throughout this experience, the children shared their theories about paper airplanes, and considered the properties of paper. They considered the concepts of speed, height, distance and variables that may affect the flight of the paper airplane. They explored measurement, data handling and number, to find out who’s paper airplane flew the furthest.

The Pipes – How can we make the balls go faster?

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We have noticed the children playing and experimenting with the PVC pipes.

  • Liz “This (the slide) is so long it goes to Ms. Hannah’s class.”
  • Eli “I was balancing the crystals. Looking which one is more heavier.

  • Because the side will fall down if it is more heavier.”
  • Howie “I made a tunnel, the balls can go inside.”
  • Morning “Me and Wyatt building the blocks.”
  • Eunbyul “It’s no heavy, it’s no long. If it’s not too low the ball goes faster. The slide is faster and the ball is faster.”
  • Motong “When the slide is tall, the ball will go fast. Next, I want to make a hotel with the slide. I want to make it alone.”
  • Eli “Next, I want to make a slide that goes straight, like a mountain, then the ball will go down and up and fall down. Then, I will put a stop there.”

A group of K1 children wanted to borrow the ramps during indoor playtime. The teachers paused to observe and document (video) a group of children from different classes building and testing new designs.

They collaborated with each other, sharing the materials and using their imagination to extend their play.

The next day, we watched the video and discussed their structure.

What did we notice?

What theories do we have?

  • Eunbyul “The ball jumped out of the pipe.”
  • Eli “Because there was something blocking it and it went over the side. The ball fly out. They can put nothing on the track.”
  • Lydia “The ball is come down from the house. Keira and Jacob and me.”
  • Eli “The ball will go faster if it is more uphill.”
  • Eunbyul “Very long is very fast and it will go up, down and out.”
  • Motong “Very tall is very fast.”
  • Eli “Because it has more time to go fast.”

The children shared their theories about speed, height, distance and obstacles.

How might they use their insights as they build and create their new structures?

The Garden Project

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@O and @L were our classroom representatives, working with Ms. Hannah and Ms. Eileen on the ‘Garden Project’.

On their return to class, they presented their ideas to K2A.

They explained the ideas they had discussed, sharing their drawings where they had documented their suggestions for improvement.

The Gardening Team have decided to:

  • cut and prune the overgrown bushes
  • add the cut pieces to the compost bin
  • use the compost to help the new plants grow
  • replant the seeds to make new plants
  • use the lemongrass and mint to make tea
  • and make space to grow other new plants for the season.

The children were excited to be part of the Garden Project.

We look forward to their next steps!     

Homes for the Birds – The Nests

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Over the last few weeks, the children have been looking for ways to solve problems and take action to help the community.

We used the design thinking process introduced by Ms. Jo, to explore how we might use the process to solve the problems we see in the Early Years garden, specifically with the dying birds.

Empathise:

who are you trying to help?

  • The Birds

What do they need?

  • A safe home – nests

Define:

what is the problem you are trying to solve?

  • The nests in the garden are falling down.
  • The birds are falling from the nests.
  • The birds in the garden are dying.

Ideate:

How many ideas can you come up with?

  • The nest should have walls (Oliver)
  • a strong nest on a high tree (Eli)
  • make a nest with sticks (Wyatt)
  • Put cotton inside the nest to keep the birds warm in the nest when it is cold and snowing (Oliver)
  • use a basket because its tall (Motong)
  • Make the basket with sticks (Wyatt)
  • You stand in water to make nests (Morning)
  • use plastic to make the nest the bird won’t get hurt or fall down (Eunbyul)

Prototype:

which ideas will you try first what will you design to test your idea?

The children decided to use 4 different materials to create their prototypes.

  • clay or mud
  • sticks
  • materials for baskets
  • plastic

We noted all these ideas down on chart paper.

Then, the children went back to their first and second design ideas for the nest to see how they could improve on their initial ideas. They used drawings and labels to share their ideas with others. They made improvements to the structure, thinking about the materials they might use and how they could make the nests warm and safe for the birds.

The children created the prototypes of their nests, to help them decide on what works well and the improvements they could make in their final design.

  

 

Through this process, they had opportunities to:

  • Identify needs and opportunities for designing, through exploration. (Design: Ideating)
  • Select tools, materials and processes for specific purposes. (Visual Arts: Creating)
  • Use all senses to observe and notice details. (Research Skills: Data Gathering)
  • Use trial and error to make changes, solve problems, or incorporate new ideas from self or others. (Design: Making)  

 

Ramps: The Prototypes

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The children have been using a range of materials and manipulatives in the construction area to consider the concepts of height, speed, forces, and energy.

As part of this investigation, a team of young designers have been planning, designing and creating prototypes of ramps in their design class. The team began by discussing their ideas and creating a plan for their slides.

They know that designers need to source and test materials for different purposes and make choices about the materials they use for projects.

After careful consideration, the teachers decided to offer the children ‘clay’ as a material for the structure. Clay is malleable and easy to use when creating structures yet offers many opportunities for challenge and problem-solving. The children tested the different tools, making careful decisions about the size, height, width, and foundation of their structure.

While creating, the young designers followed the natural cycles of design as they planned, created, reflected and improved their structures. Through trial and error, the children have reached the first stage of their design work.

Design

Through this experience, the children had opportunities to:

  • identify needs and opportunities for designing, through exploration
  • generate ideas from their experiences and interests
  • add to others’ ideas
  • choose an idea to pursue

Design Learning Outcomes:

  • choose tools and materials
  • make a product using known procedures or through modelling of others
  • use trial and error to make changes, solve problems, or incorporate new ideas from self or others
  • develop their skills and add new ones through play and collaborative work
  • explore the use of simple, available tools and technologies to extend their capabilities

Balance

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Two children explored the concept of balance using manipulatives in the construction area. One explained that something was balanced ‘if both sides were the same and the beam remained straight’.

We explored this concept using our knowledge of numbers. The children tapped into what they knew about ‘addition’ to solve the equations to balance the scale.

 

We wonder how we might explore the concept of balance in other places and situations.

Designing Birds’ Nests

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One of the suggestions the children had made while they were looking for ways to help the birds in the Early Years playground was ‘to make different bird nests that would keep the birds’ eggs safe’. We began to think of different nests that we could build for the birds.

First, the children drew their initial ideas on one side of the paper.  

Then, we watched a video to learn more about the different types of bird nests.

The children were excited about the different designs and materials used to create these interesting and complex structures. Next, the children drew a second design.

This time, the children thought about the environments the birds may live in, and the materials the birds might have around them to create the nest.

Their second designs were more complex and included a lot more details.

We wonder how we might move this project further, to create and test some of the different designs the children have been thinking about.

Having revisited their designs, the children were invited to sign up if they wanted to make a nest for the birds. 

 

Nests: How can we help?

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We went out to the corridor to look at the documentation about the ‘dead birds’.

The children revisited some of their past observations and theories.

  • Lydia “Cats have eat the birds.”
  • Liz “Cats eat the birds. I think big birds eat small birds.”
  • Eli “I think birds flying and when they are sleeping the cat is down and the cat climbed the tree and then he the ate birds. Birds are in the nest.”
  • Jeongyoon “Nests on the tree.”
  • Liz “I think bird fell down from the nest. Its dead.”
  • Oliver “I think the baby bird fall down and then hits its dead.”
  • Morning “Maybe they rolled and fell down the tree.” 

What new ideas do we have? What can we do to help?

  • Howie “Put the soft things under the tree. If they fall down it will be soft.”
  • Oliver “Feathers, cotton.”
  • Eli “Maybe something bouncy. Maybe grass.”
  • Morning “Paper.”
  • Oliver “I see something white that is outside but it is not cotton.”
  • Oxford “Take the birds to the doctor. Take them home and look to see what is wrong.”
  • Oliver “I think the nest is a little bit not safe for the birds. I think it’s a little bit small. We can build one more.”
  • Morning “Use cotton to make the nest. Maybe grass.”
  • Oliver “Use sticks. Sometimes we can just put a bowl.”
  • Howie “And put inside some soft things.”
  • Oliver “I think they make them with water and mud. To make the sticks not fall off the nests. First, we need to find some stick. Then put some water in the sand. Cover the nests with the mud and then the baby birds can live on them. Not mud, we can use clay.”
  • Eli “I saw lots of sticks outside. I saw a special place that has lots of sticks.
  • Howie “Then we can put them on the tree. We can put them like on the fire trucks, to put the ladder and climb up and put the nests on the tree.”
  • Oliver “If we stick the clay to the tree then the nest will never fall off. Then we don’t have to worry about it anymore.”
  • Eunbyul “Children feed the birds and one more bird is fly and two more birds fly back. Feed the birds seeds.”
  • Motong “We can find some sticks and make a nest. Put paper on the nest because the snow flowing the nest. Put the paper on the top.”
  • Wyatt “Put the bird nest on the tree and the bird is going to the house. And the bird is go there and going to the house. If it’s cold, then there is snow. Snow is body is fall down. Help bird, help to put on a jacket to put on the bird.”

The children ran outside to collect the sticks they needed to build the nest. Oliver found some cotton-like material and put it in another tub.  

 

We wonder what we might need to think about when creating nests for the birds.

Observing Eggs

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A few days ago, one child presented his EGG Experiment to the class. The children wondered what was inside his egg as it felt soft and bouncy. The child wanted to take his egg home so we decided to place a second egg in vinegar, to see what we could learn about the egg.  

We decided to break another to observe what happens to it. We documented the children’s observations and theories at the time.

Over the last few days, our egg has been on the shelf. The children have been observing the changes. It was time to revisit the experiment to see what we could learn.  

We gathered to talk about what we see, think and wonder about the broken egg and the whole we placed in vinegar.

Oliver

First observations and theories: (whole egg) “This egg has smoke like it’s because it has white. It will become squishy because the vinegar inside has magic.” (broken egg) “Here is one bubble it is smoke bubble. The yellow part is a super small duck cause a white egg has a duck and a brown egg has a chicken like chickens are brown and ducks are white.”

Noticing change… “the small inside part has not so much of the yellow thing so it becomes smaller. The yellow and green patch has become darker.”

Jeongyoon

First observations and theories: (whole egg) “This one is white. There is bubbles. The egg will become squishy.”

Wonderings… “Why is this brown? (Patch on the eggshell)”

Oxford

First observations and theories: “This has so many bubbles. The other egg has green and yellow. The yellow is also a egg. The bubble is white because that and the white egg is white.”

Noticing change… “There is no white piece I think it is now the inside of the yellow looks orange.”

Morning

First observations and theories: “This one the water is yellow because the yellow part makes the water yellow. And the white egg makes the water white. I don’t like eggs because I don’t like to eat the yellow part.”

Noticing change… (whole egg) “This one is broken.”

Eli

First observations and theories: “Why did this one not have many bubbles before but now it has? I think why is an egg white? Why in the brown egg is the inside yellow and around is green? I think the white piece is a little water when it touches the floor it because sinks down it will bump on the floor and explode.”

Noticing change… (Egg yolk) “Before this is like a squishy circle an now it’s like inside it looks like it has a baby inside.”

Howie

First observations and theories: “Think inside there is another egg. It is a special egg. It has magic because it has green water.”

Noticing change… “It becomes small (broken egg) and the other one become big?” (whole egg)

Eunbyul

First observations and theories: “This one is yellow. Yellow bubble and green bubble. There is white bubble in.

Noticing change… “The middle is small and the white bubble is not here. Together they’re moving.” (broken egg)

 

Observations:

Liz (whole egg) “This one is brown what is inside the egg?”

Wyatt (Whole egg) “This is broken and the yellow is not broken no more bubbles.”

Motong “This is a little bit brown.” Pointing to the patch on the eggshell.

Lydia (broken egg) “This is green there is orange inside the yellow.”

The children continued to wonder what was inside the whole egg. It felt soft and rubbery on the outside. But what was it like inside?

The children continued to guess what might be inside the egg. Most of them predicted that there would be a chicken or a duck inside the egg. Some children disagreed. They believed that there would be water or liquid inside the egg. We decided to cut it open to see what was inside! Gently we pressed the knife to the soft and bouncy shell. As we pressed harder the egg popped, and the soft shell broke. The egg spilled over into the tray but the egg yolk was still attached to the shell. The shell was soft and torn.

Using pictures and words, the children documented their observations showing ‘what happened’ to the egg.

They used describing words (soft, squishy, hard, watery, bouncy, hard) to talk about the eggs.

Through exploring, observing and communicating we learn to make sense of the world.

The Pipes

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A teacher in the PYP came over to the Early Years to ask the teachers if they would like to have some materials that they had finished using. As the children were at a specialist lesson, we took a photograph of the teacher and the pipe and asked the children what they thought about it.

  • Eunbyul “That is plastic. And this one is a teacher.”
  • Oxford “He gave this to Ms. Hannah.”
  • Liz “Is it paper for Ms. Hannah to write?”
  • Oxford “And for children to write?”
  • Eunbyul “It’s not paper, it’s plastic for making a slide. Make all and it will slide.”
  • Oxford “I have it at home. I draw a picture with it.”
  • Oliver “I think it is metal or wood.”

The children disagree. “We think it is plastic!”

  • Motong “It is hard.”
  • Oliver “It is a pipe, used for making racing slides.”
  • Eli “I think it is used for the slide that the ball can go down.”
  • Oxford “I think water can go down. This is like plastic.”
  • Liz “This is a boat slide.”

  • Morning “I can put a paper inside. You can put water and balls.”
  • Oxford “This is like the bamboo outside.”
  • Wyatt “Is paper, water go down, like a slide, water goes there.”
  • Oliver “We can put marbles that it can go deep underwater.”
  • Morning “You can put a pencil on it.”
  • Oxford “I think you can put cars inside it. Can put one or two cars.”
  • Eli “Little, little ones. Big ones will be too big and this will break because it is too heavy.”
  • Liz “This slide I think putting the blocks. Blocks like balls.”
  • Wyatt “This use water, going the paper. Putting on the blocks and the water going down.”
  • Oxford “I think we can use this for play. To take blocks and we can put in and put cars in.
  • Eli “The paper boat will get in the water and it will melt.”
  • Oliver “You mean it will get wet.”
  • Eli “And then it will be really easy to break.” 

The children suggested that we use the PVC pipes in the indoor water play area. The children were excited and wanted to speak to the teacher and gather the materials for play. They signed up to help.

One group would visit the teacher while the other groups collect the different materials.

We went off to look for the teacher. The team checked the nametags on the door to see if they could find his classroom.  

On their return, the team informed the others of what Mr. Jamie said. He had given them more pipes, some sandpaper, a block and a collection of balls. The team showed us how to prepare the pipes for play by using sandpaper to smoothen the edges of the pipes.

We wonder how the children will use the materials to explore through their senses. We wonder about the different investigations that might lead to testing, identifying, classifying and researching.

The Egg Experiment – A Story of Research

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A Story of Research

@O had a book full of experiments. He described one to the teacher explaining “The egg becomes soft when it is in the water for 3 days!”

  • Teacher “Hmmm, is that so, well can you prove that?”
  • Child “Yes! I can show you!”

He began to make a plan, thinking about how he might share his theories and document the process and findings over time. He drew out his plan, made a list of needed materials, and shared the steps to be taken to complete the task.

At first, the child insisted that the egg needed to be submerged in water. He planned and experimented, even though he subsequently learned that the liquid should be vinegar for the experiment to work.

The teachers encouraged him to complete his first experiment, to observe and document his learning and the outcome of his experiment, to encourage the child to develop the ability to carry out tasks, and to learn through experience.

The child agreed, and documented his observations in his journal, learning new words, and referring to the sight words flash cards to help him spell unknown words.

He labelled his pictures and included details to share the process with others.

He learned how to revisit his journal post on Seesaw, editing and including his daily observations to document his experiment.

The child was excited to begin his second experiment, feeling confident that he knew the outcome.

Through this experience, he practised patience, resilience and learning through ‘trial and error‘.

He questioned to learn more, used observation to gather information and explored patterns and connections. The child used mark-making to share his observations and presented his findings to the community, all important skills, and processes that scientists need in their work. 

Designing Ramps

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The team of researchers investigating ‘slides’ collated their drawings to make their own books about slides. On the cover, they decided to draw the most exciting slide! The designs were creative and complex.

Mr. Lewis, a teacher working in Hong Kong, visited us a few weeks ago and shared his excitement about the slide project. He told us that his class were also very interested in slides. He offered to share photographs of the slides they had made. On his return to Hong Kong, he shared them with us. 

The children discussed the ideas presented in the images.

  • The slides are very big.
  • The blocks are big and so the slides are high.
  • They used water on their slides!
  • The slides were connected to other things like car parks and buildings. 
  • They used bamboo slides at the water troughs! 

The children recalled having many of the same materials in their own space. They were excited about the different designs and were inspired to create more ‘slides’.

What more can we learn about slides?

Next, we read a book about slides to help the children expand their ideas further. The book had many examples of ‘slides’ which were referred to as ‘ramps’. Over the next few days, the slides in the block space evolved. The children explored new ideas, creating cities and maps with a range of materials. More children entered the play spaces with conversations around the structures becoming more animated and complex. 

We decided to offer the team a new opportunity to create ramps. For this, we revisited the team’s drawings created for the book covers.

What do designers and engineers need to consider when creating?

We reached out to Ms. Jo to plan this experience. The team went off with Ms. Eileen and Ms. Jo to begin their work on the structures. They have created a plan and discussed the materials they would need to make their ramps. In the next few weeks, we will learn more about their process.

Our research into ramps has resulted in a collection of chart papers that include brainstorms, Venn diagrams and drawings. We decided to move some of the documentation into a central location, a bulletin board in the corridor. As we sat back to reflect on the documentation, we asked the children why learning about slides was important to them.

  • Morning “I like slides because we can slide down and it makes us happy!”
  • Liz “I like big slides because it is fast.”
  • Eli “It is higher, it has more time to roll down. So on the floor it goes really, really fast.”
  • Oliver “I make slides for balls to go down and the slides are up hill and down hill. More higher makes the ball go faster.”
  • Howie “Because its fun. It is fast. The ball goes fast, the box goes slowly, because it has 4 corners, its not fast. I tried once.”
  • Oxford “Big slides, cars go fast. I like to put people and cars on the slides, they go fast.”

We heard the children talk about the attributes and properties of shapes. We noticed that they were exploring concepts about ‘speed’, ‘height’, ‘distance’, ‘forces’ and ‘energy’.

The discussion about the display led us to wonder if other people also like slides. How could we find out?

– Eli “We can ask people!”

We decided to post a paper to ‘ask’ the community if they like slides. The children suggested two options for the chart.

  • I like slides.
  • I don’t like slides.

– Oliver “I like slides should be in green and I don’t like slides in red.”

We decided to accept Oliver’s suggestion. Next, we documented the responses from the class, then we posted the table on the wall.

At the end of the day, the children invited their caregivers to add to the table. The children were excited to find out how many people would respond to their survey.

We are learning that we can:

– use all senses to observe and notice details

– gather information from a variety of sources

– sort and categorise information

Geometry: Odd Shape Out

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Which One Doesn’t Belong?

We invited the children to look at a set of four pictures. They had to decide which one didn’t belong with the other three and use math words to describe their thinking. There are many ways to think about each one!

We noted their reasons why each of the pictures might not belong with the other three.

A does not belong!

  • Jeongyoon “This one has no corners and the other ones have corners.”
  • Howie “This does not have straight lines.”
  • Eunbyul “Circle is line is 1 and two yellow has 4 lines, and C has 5 square and D has 3 lines.”
  • Eileen “The circle does not have any angles, the square, cube and triangle have angles.”

B does not belong!

  • Liz “B the sides are longer.

C does not belong!

  • Wyatt “This one has a lot of sides and the other ones didn’t have lots of sides.” (in Mandarin)

D does not belong!

  • Lydia “D, this is blue and the other is yellow.”
  • Morning “This is blue and the other one D has 3 corners and the other has 8 corners and 4 corners or round. The only one that has 3 corners. s are yellow.”
  • Eli “The triangle but it has 3 corners and all the others have round or 4 or 8.”
  • Oxford “This has 3 lines and C has 4 lines and A has 1 line and B has 4 lines.
  • Oliver “Does not belong its because the one that has 3 corners is blue and blue is not wood.”
  • Motong “This one is blue and the other ones are yellow.”

We noticed that the children used describing words to classify the shapes. They used the words corners and sides to express their ideas.

Oliver explained that the shape in ‘C’ does not belong because it’s a cube, a 3D shape.

Teacher: But what makes it a 3D shape? What does that mean?  We look forward to exploring this further.

Investigating Slides in our Environment

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A small group of children have been exploring slides in K2. They have been designing and building slides in the classroom and worked in PE to create different slides using a range of resources in the gym.

As more children showed interest in the research into slides, we decided to invite a few more children to join the initial group on a ‘slide hunt’ around the school. As the children walked around, they identified different slides, talking about the similarities and differences between them.

We noticed the children using a range of describing words and new vocabulary to help them talk about the slides. They observed, tested, discussed and documented their observations on paper.

 

They used their developing writing skills to add labels. We noticed the children sharing their drawings with each other, and giving feedback for improvement.

On their return, the group watched the video with the rest of the class. We wonder how the children’s inquiry into slides will help them talk about other design choices people make when creating objects, buildings and spaces in the environment.

Oliver “Some slides are very scary to slide on. It’s because some can move and if you are that way and you can go the other and its wobbly and you will fall down the slide. Someone hoped they are fun.”

Howie “People can walk on the slide. People can go on the bumpy slide. It is scary. There is also a climbing slide. We have triangle here at the top.” 

We paused to think about Jeongyoon’s observation of two slides. He said they looked the same but were different. We decided to create a chart, documenting similarities and differences between the slides.

We discussed the idea of ‘the same’ and ‘different’. The children quickly noticed the differences between the two structures.

Differences:

  • have different designs (white lines) and colours
  • one had supports for climbing (ropes and stepping stones).
  • different heights and sizes so this also meant that the elevation was different
  • were made of different materials

Looking for similarities was harder. A group went outdoors to take a closer look. 

Similarities:

  • go downhill and uphill
  • slide down
  • you can walk, climb and run up and down
  • are outside in the playground
  • used for play

When discussing the Venn diagram, we talked about the ‘purpose’ of the two structures. The children explained that the structures were for ‘PLAY’.

This brought us to the remaining slides. What purpose did they have?  We revisited the photographs we had of the different slides around the school and began to sort them out.

Two categories emerged through the discussion:

  • For people and wheelchairs to travel and
  • For play

They decided that the category ‘for play’ had subcategories:

  • For stones
  • For sliding

We wonder:

  • how these structures are designed.
  • how we might use different materials to create structures with different characteristics.

What materials might have been used to create or build the objects or structures?

The children began to share their thinking. Some were made of:

  • wood
  • metal
  • plastic
  • concrete powder
  • stones and rocks
  • paint to make it beautiful
  • fabric/material
  • feathers, cotton or wool

We wonder how these structures are designed. We wonder how we might use different materials to create structures with different characteristics.

When thinking and talking about the way things move on slides, the

children began to use the words ‘power‘ and ‘energy‘.

They used the words ‘push‘ and ‘pull‘ to explain their thinking of ‘forces‘. Eli wondered if your heart and blood help you move. We look forward to exploring these ideas further.

Our learning continues…

Approaches to Learning (ATL’s) 

  • observe carefully
  • gather information from a variety of sources (people, places, materials, literature)
  • record observations—drawing, using emergent writing skills
  • notice relationships and patterns
  • express oneself using words and sentences
  • participate in conversations

Revisiting a Project: The Bike Park Signs

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Revisiting a Project

We looked at the bikes outside our playground.

  • Liz “It’s messy people will get fall down.”
  • Morning “If we run around and we didn’t know the bike is on the way we will trip over the bike.”
  • Wyatt “If you put them like this people won’t see them clearly, we won’t know if we lost one.”

Ms. Eileen “Is there another way to park the bikes?”

The children started to organise the bikes. We noticed a picture on the wall showing how the children parked the bikes the previous year.

Ms Eileen “Did they park the bikes the same way? Why did they park like this?”

  • Lydia “The bike is opposite from ours, it is easier for children to ride it away.”
  • Liz “If we put them properly when the fire comes, we can go through the door quickly and we are safe.”
  • Wyatt “If we park the bike in a wrong place when the fire comes the bike will burn.”

We went back to reorganise the bikes.

Ms Eileen “Do you think this is the best way to park the bikes?”

  • Morning “We can ride the bike out easily.”
  • Jeongyoon “Everyone played with the bike we can tell them.”
  • Lydia “We need to tell everyone.”

We looked at the parking signs the K2 made together last year.

The children decided to put the signs up to let the other children in the Early Years know how to park the bikes.

The group presented their learning to the rest of the class.

  • Jeongyoon “Outside.”
  • Liz “Bikes clean up.”
  • Lydia “Cars. Me see the bikes are in a mess. (in Mandarin) If a fire comes then we can’t get to the escape door.”
  • Morning agreed with Liz’s statement adding “Clean the bikes.”
  • Wyatt “When people park the bikes in front of each other then its easy for the children to bump into the bikes. (in Mandarin)”
  • Morning explained that the team had an important task so they needed to “park the bikes together”
  • Eli “Park the bikes nicely on the road and the other side. People will step on the wheel and fall down.”
  • Oliver “If you don’t park the bikes nicely, someone will be running where you park the bikes then someone will hurt yourself.”
  • Oxford “I will tidy up and put them back.”
  • Howie “Put them nicely because when someone comes, the people can quickly run outside.”
  • Motong “Clean up the car because the car cannot come in.”
  • Eunbyul “Everybody bikes play and everybody children play and finish then tidy up. Bikes and children and me friend together tidy up.”

The class thanked the team for their work and presentation. Next, the team will need to think about sharing this important message with the rest of the Early Years Community.

An Inquiry into Forces and Energy

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Different groups of children have been creating slides and ramps in the block play area. We began to collect pictures and videos for the children to review after playtime.

What did they notice about the different pictures (1,2 and 3)?

We documented their observations and thoughts on chart paper. 

How is picture 4 connected to the other 3 pictures? Were there any similarities and differences?

4

The children began to share their theories about the way objects moved on the pieces of wood. They discussed their theories about the concepts of form, materials, speed, height, force and energy.

Based on the children’s initial theories about energy and the movement of objects when creating slides with blocks, we decided to give them an opportunity to test their ideas in different situations.

We wondered how the children might experience the use of force and energy in P.E.

What would they need to consider when creating games and activities that have slides?

 

An Inquiry into Slides

Mr. Lee began the P.E. session by helping the children recall their ideas about slides.

  • Lee “What do you know about slides?”
  • Oliver “A bouncy slide.”
  • Lee “What makes it bounce?”

He drew a picture to share the image of a ‘bumpy’(uneven slide).

  • Lee “What can we put down a slide?
  • Eli “Blocks, to build the slide, put some wood under and make it bouncy. A mat under. Use a ball, use yourself, run down the slide.”

“Some people will roll down the slide!” said the children.

Mr. Lee invited the children to build slides using a range of soft play equipment.

When the children came back to class, they documented their thinking, strategies and observations on paper. We noticed that the children used a range of ‘Craft Moves’, shared during a writing activity to show ‘action’ and ‘movement’ to make their thinking visible.

The children:

  • shared ‘how’ the slides were made.
  • observed how objects (balls and their body) move on different pieces of equipment.
  • made choices about the shape and size of equipment they would need to make their slides work well.
  • used feedback to make their slides safer.
  • thought about the speed, safety, and characteristics of different materials and shapes as they designed their slides.
  • worked collaboratively in a small space, sharing resources and being mindful of the needs of others.

The group shared their process with the rest of the class. They began to talk about possibilities with slides.

  • Oliver “We can change the slides into water slides.”
  • Jeongyoon “Ice slide.”
  • Liz “Mud slide.”
  • Eli “I have been on a water slide like going up and down.”
  • Oxford “It has a tunnel.”
  • Morning “In the PE room!”
  • Teacher “Could we have water in the Gym?”
  • Children “NO!”
  • Jeongyoon “The swimming pool. Water mud slide.”
  • Wyatt “A monster slide? The monster can be inside and everybody is running around and playing and not coming to the slide.”
  • Oliver “We can make a super tall rollercoaster.”
  • Teacher “Why?”
  • Oliver “Because it’s FUN!”

“It sounds like we need a PLAN!”

Moths and Butterflies

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@O wanted to learn more about moths and butterflies after observing a moth on Oskar’s shoe. He had many questions about moths and butterflies after looking through a variety of nonfiction books. He wondered how you could tell the difference between them.

We decided to find an expert in the Early Years. @O recalled Ms. Karen having many different specimens of insects. Oliver went over to Ms. Karen to talk about his research. The video story shares @O‘s journey as a researcher. 

Research Skills:

Formulating and planning

  • Ask or express through play questions that can be researched.

Data gathering and documenting (audio recording, drawing, photographing)

  • Gather information from a variety of sources (people, places, materials, literature).
  • Use all senses to observe and notice details.
  • Record observations—drawing and using emergent writing skills to make thinking visible.

Evaluating and communicating

  • Notice relationships and patterns.

An Inquiry into Ramps

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A group of kindergarteners explore a range of concepts while building ramps. They collaborate with each other, thinking, planning and testing their theories (Forces and energy).

They explore how speed, distance, and height may change the result of the experiment. Curious investigators are drawn to the testing ground as laughter and celebration ripple across the learning space. 

Through experimentation, the children begin to explore how a variety of factors including size and shape, can impact the way objects move (Physics).

  • We wonder what variables impact the design of ramps. 
  • How are ramps used in the world around us? 

An exploration begins… 

Creating Essential Agreements

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Over the last few weeks, we have been taking photographs and videos of the children engaging in different spaces around the Early Years. These images have helped us highlight and make observations visible.

At times, the images focused on celebrating learning, community and engagement. On other occasions, the images helped us hone in on challenges and problems that require attention.

Over the last few days, we have discussed these ideas in small and whole group situations, talking about what we see, think and wonder.

See, Think, Wonder is a ‘thinking routine’ that places emphasis on the importance of observation as the basis for thinking and interpretation, through looking closely at an image, object or video.

After many discussions, we gathered to create our ‘Essential Agreements’. We noticed that the conversations often focused on the idea of feeling ‘safe’ in a ‘caring’ and ‘respectful’ environment.

Some of the key points were:

  • Expressing and communicating emotions in respectful ways and asking for an adult’s help when needed.
  • Being aware of how we touch others when speaking or playing with them.
  • Using manipulatives and resources in a safe and respectful way.
  • Moving our bodies safely in and around the different spaces.
  • Cleaning up after playtime to ensure we respect people, materials and spaces.
  • Using kind and thoughtful words to express ourselves.
  • Being inclusive by collaborating sharing and inviting others to play.

The key ideas by the children highlight the concepts of well-being, interaction, participation, belonging and inclusion.

As a learning community, we will continue to revisit our essential agreements to help us make appropriate choices that help us work and learn together as a community.

We are learning that by following agreements and sharing space we can participate safely in our community. ​

A Math Story – The Sleepover!

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We read the story ‘The Sleepover’ by Catherine Twomey Fosnot. In this Maths story, a little girl invites her friends to stay over. Aunt Kate babysits the children and prepares snacks and juice for them. However, the children keep moving between the beds and trick Aunt Kate.

 

 

As we read the story, the children noticed the different combinations to make 8 and used their mathematical knowledge to express their thinking.

They recorded their thinking on paper. We used counters to help us problem solve.

We are learning that:

  • Math is in our world!
  • Number operations can be modelled in a variety of ways.
  • We can use pictures, numbers and symbols to share our thinking and problem-solving.
  • We can tell stories using numbers.

Math Talks

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Maths Talk is a collaborative process where children’s thinking, ideas and strategies are discussed, shared and or exchanged. The routine reveals children’s understanding and misunderstandings and encourages dialogue about mathematical concepts.

Which One Doesn’t Belong?

Dots in Two Colours

The children were invited to look at the set of four pictures and decide which one doesn’t belong with the other three.

They were encouraged to share their thinking using math words. There are many ways to think about each one!

We noticed that the children tapped into their prior knowledge about quantity and colour to explain their reasoning.

 

 

The Number 5!

What do you notice?

What do you wonder?

How many different ways can you show this number?

The children were invited to use manipulatives, numbers and words to share their thinking. We wonder how we might apply what we know about the number 5 to explore bigger numbers!

We wonder how number operations can be modelled in a variety of ways.

 

Approaches to Learning (ATL’s) 

  • observe carefully
  • analyse and interpret information
  • notice relationships and patterns
  • listen actively and respectfully to others’ ideas and listen to information
  • express oneself using words and sentences
  • understand symbols

The Rainbow Nest

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What experiences might we have in our new space?

What are some exciting things that might happen?

The children began to share their ideas about the different types of play, and the materials they may use in the new nest.

  • Eli suggested that we put some bird seeds on the table at the center of the table to invite the birds in the EY playground to visit the space.
  • Morning suggested that we include some bird homes.
  • Oliver was excited about the possibility of birds visiting the space and imagined the birds would then bring sticks to make their nests. Would there be any eggs?
  • Liz thought hard about the new space and wondered if we could grow some grass around the nest.
  • Oliver built upon her idea, suggesting that we ask Ms. Hannah for some seeds and grow some beautiful flowers around the edge of the nest.
  • Lydia She suggested adding some flowers on the table too.
  • Jeongyoon decided that playing hide and seek in the space would be fun.
  • Motong and Wyatt asked if we could add materials in the space so we could draw and paint in the nest.
  • Oxford, Wyatt and Oliver thought it would be a great space to have a picnic snack.

Developing agreements for the space.

Next, we discussed the idea of food in the space.

  • What would we need to remember if we brought food into the nest?
  • How might we keep this space clean?

After some thought, the children discussed the need for agreements. They didn’t want food on the floor as the nest would get messy and people would not want to sit in a dirty space.

  • Oliver suggested that we only draw on paper and not on the benches. This will help us look after the nest. Oliver “We need a door window and a roof so no cat can come over.”

The children went outdoors with Ms. Eileen and Ms. Jo.

Ms. Jo “How many people do you think can fit in the nest?”

in the nest at one time. The children used their mathematical knowledge to estimate.

They wondered how many children might be able to play

  • Oliver “I think 2, because I counted.”
  • Eli “I think 22. I think this is a big, big space.”
  • Oxford “14 children.”
  • Lydia “6 children. They can sit around (in Mandarin).”
  • Jeongyoon “22”
  • Morning “10 children. Or 6 or 7.”

Over the next few weeks, we will continue to observe the space to document the play and learning experiences that take place in the Rainbow Nest.

Approaches to Learning (ATL’s)

  • use discussion and play to generate new ideas and investigations
  • seek information
  • ask or express through play questions that can be researched
  • listen actively and respectfully to others’ ideas and listen to information
  • participate in conversations

The NEW NEST!

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The Early Years community were excited to be back at school. The children ran outdoors to explore the garden, to see what was new and what has remained the same. They noticed a piece of equipment covered with a large black cloth, with a red ribbon at the side. What was under the fabric?

The children were excited. They ran around the structure, sharing their ideas and guessing what might have happened to the piece of equipment that was in this area of the garden.

  • Oliver G “I see inside there is some wood, and some of it is green, orange and yellow. Different colours of water! Blue water!
  • Emma “A new nest!”
  • Oliver G “I see rainbow water!”
  • Matt peeks under the black cloth “Here, see one more!”
  • Motong “Is it a rabbit?” (In Mandarin)
  • Oliver G “Inside I think there is 2 hamsters for K1 and K2. The hamsters are cute!”
  • Eli “A rainbow nest! Because inside it looks like a table. I jumped up and I looked inside.”

We gathered closer to listen to what Ms. Jacqui was saying.

Ms. Jacqui “Last semester, the Early Years students said they would like a nest. They worked on a design and they said we want to sit inside. They wanted rainbow colours. I wonder what the nest looks like now?”

We were ready to unveil the playground equipment.

The children walked in. They gathered around the table and stood on the circular bench, laughing and talking to each other about the new design.

They were excited to see how the suggestions they had made had become a reality. As they walked inside the new nest, they noticed that there was water on the floor.

Oskar G recalled his design and suggestions and quickly reflected on the changes that had taken place and the ones that didn’t.

Oskar G “I don’t see Rosemary.”

The teachers acknowledged his observations, making a quick note of the importance of ‘voice’ and ‘process’ in learning.

Oliver G “There is water on the bench we also need some windows we can also use lots of umbrellas.”

We look forward to observing how this redesigned space meets the needs of our young learners and how it evolves over time. We wonder what stories the children tell around this space, and how it contributes towards their learning experiences in the Early Years.

100 Hungry Ants

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We have been using Place Value Blocks to model numbers and show our thinking.

We read the story ‘One Hundred Ants‘ by Elinor J. Pinczes, illustrated by Bonnie Mackain. 

The story begins with a group of hungry ants that decide to march off single file to a picnic. However, along the way, they realise they are moving too slow and begin to divide themselves in different ways to help them get to the picnic site quickly.

As we read the story, the children worked in pairs to document their thinking using Base 10 Blocks, pictures, words and numbers.

They first went in one line of 100.

2 lines of 50.

4 lines of 25.

5 lines of 20.

And 10 lines of 10.

Next, the students retold the story in their own words, using the images they created to document their thinking.  

Through this activity we:

  • explored how the base 10 values system is used to represent numbers and number relationships
  • used the operations of addition to solve problems

Same and Different: Frogs on a Log

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  1. What is mathematically the same about pictures A and B, and what is different?
    • A and B are the same because …
    • A and B are different because …
  2. Make a third picture of some frogs. Explain how your picture is the same as pictures A and B, and how it is different.

Responses

The Bike Park Signs

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Over the last few weeks, a team of young designers worked together with Ms. Eileen and Ms. Jo, to create signs for the bike park. After conducting their research, they decided to create the signs using wood, as this was a material that could be used outdoors in all types of weather. After considering many options for the message, the team decided to use the wood-burning tool to burn the message onto the wood instead of using paint, markers or other writing tools. 

They began by planning their message out using pictures and words, to inform the early years community how to park the bikes safely in the bike park area. Their pictures served to remind the children where to park and in which direction the bikes needed to be stored at the end of playtime.

The team considered the type of wood and the size of the sign. Then, they used sandpaper to make sure the edges of the wood were smooth. 

They learned how to use the wood-burning tool to burn the messages on the pieces of wood. They had to think about staying safe and focused throughout the task.

Finally, their signs were ready to be mounted in the bike park area. They talked to each other about the best place to put up the signs and what materials they would use to attach the signs in the different spaces. Noah decided that his sign should be placed standing upright in the bike park. Mason, Sean and Eunice decided that their signs should be attached to the wooden fence dividing the play area. The team were proud of their hard work, and were excited to see that the Early Years community were now well informed about safe parking in the playground.

K2 students are aware of the impact they can have on the community. They understand how they can actively engage in various stages of learning: including thinking about, planning, modifying and creating for a purpose. Through active discussion and questioning, they were able to direct their own learning. The ‘Bike Park’ project helped them make connections to the real world. Through a range of experiences, they could consider perspectives, possibilities and outcomes that would benefit the community. They considered their own responsibility in shared spaces, and were able to use their voice and actions to bring a sense of purpose and belonging to these community spaces.

The New Nest Design

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Following on from our last meeting about the nest where we gave Ms. Jacqui suggestions for the design, Mr. Arek and his team presented a first draft design of the nest to the children in the Early Years. We gathered to discuss the design and give Mr. Arek some feedback and suggestions for consideration.

What we like…

  • Doho “We can see the flowers. The colours are good and have flowers and the nest has a chair. And grass because the flowers can grow up.”
  • Tracey “The nest is beautiful because it’s clean.”
  • Kenan “The nest is good. We can have a picnic.”
  • Joon “The nest is like a rainbow.”
  • Sanghyeok “Have a desk and the flowers, this is good.”
  • Sean “The flowers are good and we can sit down and eat the snack because there are chairs. And we can draw.”

Everyone likes the flowers on the table.

Everyone likes the flowers around the bench.

Everyone likes to have the table.

Suggestions

  • Mason “I think we need to make the nest bigger. And we can have a picnic in it and have some water to drink in it.
  • Allen “I like the inside because the floor is flat. We don’t like the wood chips because its bumpy and it makes us fall down.

Wonderings

  • Eunice “Can we have a bird house?”
  • Sanghyeok “Can we have small animals in there, like birds and butterflies?
  • Mason Can we have a bed in the nest then somebody can sleep in it? Can we make a bigger nest?” Can we have a door? Can we put grass on the floor?
  • Allen Can we put the picnic mat? Can we make it bigger?”
  • Noah “How does the bench part stand up when there are no legs?”
  • Tracey “Why is it a rainbow inside?”
  • Sanghyeok “Why are there flowers on the table?”
  • Eunice “Can we have cushions on the bench?”

Student Led Conferences

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‘The learning belongs to the students, not the teacher. We are supporting our students to take ownership of their learning and to be able to think and talk about their learning with knowledge and confidence. When students know how they learn best and are able to reflect on their learning, they are able to advocate for themselves.’ (Parent Survival Guide to Student-Led Conferences, NIS)

The Student-Led Conference is a special day in the school calendar. Throughout the year, the students have decided what learning stories they would include in their ‘treasure box’, that showcase their growth, learning and development.

It is a special day for the teachers, as they watch the students take ownership over their learning. In order to do this with purpose and confidence, they first practiced this task with a friend.

The Bug Hotels

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We have been discussing and planning where and how to place the bug hotels. We want to make sure the insects that live in them feel safe.

We needed to make the signs to let everyone know where our hotels are on the playground. The children decided to make the signs using wood, as it can be kept outdoors in all types of weather. 2 children went over to the Design room to use the wood burning tool to write ‘K2A’ on the two signs.  

 

Then, we went outdoors to place the two bug hotels. The teams decided where they wanted to place them so that many bugs make them their homes.

The children took all the bugs they have collected in the classroom out to the hotels. They gently placed the worms, pill bugs and beetles inside the different spaces.

We are excited about the hotels and wonder which little creatures will visit the bug hotels. We wonder if we need to make some signs to let the other children know how to look after the bug hotels.

Our project continues…

The Shed Project – Installing the Hooks

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Over the past few months, we have been planning and organising the Shed.

After a planning meeting with Ms. Jacqui, the project team decided to order hooks for the pinboards in the shed. After their data collection, they placed an order for the hooks.

The hooks for the shed arrived through the post. The team worked to attach them to the pinboards.

Another team went to the shed to count the number of hooks and signs we need. They recorded their information on the iPad.

Then, created labels with images and numbers to let the children know how to sort and store the different items in the shed.

While planning and organising ‘The Shed’, the children took responsibility and ownership of their learning spaces and materials.

They worked in teams, sharing ideas, listening to different perspectives and working together for a purpose. They used their thinking skills to explore possibilities, to reimagine spaces and solve problems in creative ways.

The children used their knowledge of number and data handling when collecting and sorting information. Discussing and presenting ideas, documenting their learning and using what they know about signs and labels to inform others, developed their literacy skills.

Homes – The Bug Hotel

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During the field trip to the Insect and Reptile Museum, the children went into nature to collect natural materials to make a ‘Bug Hotel’.

They worked in teams to make 2 homes for the bugs, decorating them to attract more living things.

When we returned, the children discussed their ideas for the ‘Bug Hotels’. They talked about the different materials they used, and wondered what types of insects might want to live in the hotels.

The children have noticed many different types of insects and littles creatures in the playground. They think the ants, bees, pill bugs, beetles, spiders and butterflies might want to make the hotel their home. Growing more flowers and plants will encourage the bugs to visit the playground.

The two groups gathered to decide where they want to place their bug houses. They discussed their ideas, trying to agree on the locations. This was challenging as they all had their own preferences.

They had to listen to each other, consider different perspectives and then reach a final decision.

One team decided to place their bug hotel on a tree and the other in the garden near the flowers.

Next, we discussed the different options we have for signage. Paper and card were suggested. However, paper and card are not suitable materials for outdoor signs as they get wet. The children decided to use wood to make the signs.

Over the next few days, they will work together to create the signs and place the hotels and signs in the correct locations across the playground. They are excited to see which insects make the bug hotels their home. 

We know that we share our playground with many different living things. We will continue to use our observational skills to notice and document our thinking to help us make decisions about the environment.

Field Trip Reflections

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We had a wonderful time planning and then going on our Field Trip to the Insect and Reptile Museum. We wondered what we learned from our trip and what questions we have as a result of our learning.

The children began to put their ideas on paper. They used drawing and writing to share their ideas.

We gathered to talk about the different ways writers can plan and share ideas with others.

As we discussed what we noticed about each other’s writing, we documented the different ways writers communicate their thinking, planning and ideas.

We could:

– draw, colour, add details and make our pictures look ‘real’

– use our own ideas

– sequence the different events

– add feelings

– use thinking clouds

– add writing using words and sentences

– include ideas in different spaces across a page

– add labels

– show the weather

Then, we went back to improve our work, to share more details through pictures and words.

What we learned:

  • Mason “If you see the snake and if he has a triangle shaped head it is a poisonous snake.”
  • Kenan “I learned about the chameleons can change colour.”
  • Doho “The dragon can change colour, if it is angry it can change colour to red colour. Many colours.”
  • Tracey “The chameleons tongue is sticky so he can catch the fly.”
  • Mason “We saw the bug swim in the water. Inside the water there are weeds and they eat them.”
  • Doho “I see the chameleon was walking in the water.”
  • Joon “I see the water. I saw fish in the tank.”
  • Tracey “The bugs get a jelly.”
  • Mason “The insects will run away if they are not in the cages.”
  • Doho “Some bugs make people die because some bugs have teeth.”
  • Mason “And some bugs have poison because they can help themselves (protect).”

Questions we have…

  • Sean “Why is the chameleon so slow?”
  • Eunice “Why does the chameleon change colour? Why do snakes have peeled skin?”
  • Eunice and Sanghyeok “Why do animals have 6 legs?”
  • Doho “Why don’t touch the snakes with a triangle head?”
  • Sean “Why snakes have poison? Why are snakes long?”
  • Noah “Why do the animals stay in the baskets?”
  • Tracey “How do they make the jelly for the bugs?”
  • Eui jin “Why do snakes go round and round.”
  • Allen “Why snake’s tongue is like a V?”

The K2 inquirers will continue to do their research to learn more about insects and reptiles. 

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