It was time for us to gather at the Piazza, a gathering spot in the Early Years Centre where we come together to sing dance, listen and connect with others. This morning we began with the song and ended with a dramatic story. The teachers took videos and photographs of the Early Years gathering, to help the children reflect on the morning’s activities.
Next, the children were invited to draw what they saw, heard and felt while they were together as a community. We listened to the children’s ideas and wonderings. Some guiding questions encouraged the children to think about the purpose and ways we come together. We paid attention to common themes and ideas that the children presented through their drawings and discussions. When the children watched the video, they told the story of connection, fun and laughter.
We noticed that the children were beginning to talk about agreements and behaviours that would make the EY gathering a positive experience for everyone.
Some suggestions were:
Choose a good sitting spot for listening (respectful listening).
Sit in a circle, at the edge of the last circle (including everyone).
Talk and sing together (enjoyment, connection).
Listen to instructions so that everyone knows what to do (listening for information).
Use a speaking voice when we speak and a singing voice when singing.
We wonder…
In what ways do we come together with others?
How did we feel in different situations where people get together?
What makes something a good experience?
This led to a conversation about the different situations that bring us together.
The children explained that we come together to…
sing
dance
read
play games
talk
We documented our ideas on chart paper to help us think about the ‘purpose‘ and ‘ways‘ we come together. We decided to use photographs to document our thinking.
Every Friday afternoon, the adults and children gather on the green doughnut to sing, dance and be with each other. We took some time to reflect on the time we spend together.
What do we do during our EY gathering?
What behaviours help us have fun together?
The children discussed their ideas and then made their thinking and ideas visible on paper.
As a class, we took time to reflect on what the children said. We documented these ideas on chart paper. Next, we discussed suggestions for the EY gathering.
What would YOU like to do more of during this time?
Make things with paper
Plant seeds and plants
Show different things to the EY community
Share how we do things
Draw
Read books
Play with balls
Build things
Going forward, we wonder how we might use some of these suggestions to make our EY Gathering an exciting, fun learning experience.
We have been creating patterns with pattern blocks, sounds and actions. As the children were showing an interest in nature, we decided to go outdoors to see if we can create patterns in nature. The children used leaves, sticks and stones to make their patterns.
How else can we represent our patterns?
The children have been using musical instruments to explore concepts such as sound, rhythm, melody, tempo and composition during their time with Ms. Heidi. We decided to provide the children with opportunities to explore the connection between patterns, composition and music.
The students have been working in groups to find and document what they know about powerful words. They have written descriptions, provided explanations and presented their words to the class. But which of these words are the most powerful?
To help the students explore this further, we asked them to rank the words from the ‘most powerful’ to the ‘least powerful’ through an activity called Diamond Ranking.
The Diamond Nine is an oral language strategy that challenges students to work together to evaluate and collectively prioritise nine ideas, opinions, or pieces of information into what they consider highest to lowest importance.
We noticed how the students engaged in rich focused discussions as they tried to reach a consensus on the placement of the words. Justifying their choices and listening to others’ perspectives helped the students negotiate and decide on the final ranking.
They had opportunities to manage information, communicate with each other and learn to prioritise information.
Then, each team explored how they might show their most powerful words through performance and dance. They had opportunities to be imaginative and use their bodies and a range of materials to express their ideas creatively.
Related Concepts: gesture, movement, voice, communication, self-expression, creativity
The time has come to plan our ‘Showcase‘. How will we choose to share our expressions, feelings and ideas? The students sat down to discuss the choices they wanted to include in the Showcase. They decided on 6 different acts.
The groups joined an expert to help them learn more about the different ways we can express ourselves.
The Sri Lankan dance group joined Ms. Shemo to plan the performance. There were 6 students who wanted to choose this form of expression. We decided to call it the ‘Asian Dance’ but then changed the name to ‘Sri Lankan Dance‘. We gathered to talk and document our thinking and ideas on chart paper.
The students decided that they need to think about the following points:
costumes
bindi’s
candles
makeup
dance routines
The students decided that they need six bindi’s (1 for each of them) and 1 for the teacher. They wanted big ones ‘just like Ms. Shemo wore’ during the Sri Lankan dance performance. They also wanted to wear a saree and have nice makeup.
The students wanted to think about the different dance moves. They began to draw the different moves and then showed the moves using their bodies.
Next, they stitched their costumes using a sewing machine.
The ‘Cat Song‘ group started with a group of 14 students. They planned their performance with Ms. Hannah.
Jessica suggested having some dancers as well as singers.
Michelle suggested that the dancers could sing and dance at the same time.
The group members all agreed with the decisions. The children decided on the costumes and designed makeup for the Showcase.
Yet another group of students joined Mr. Cal to explore sound, rhythm and beat using drums. They were curious about the different sounds they can make with the different drums.
They decided on a song they would like to play while they performed in ‘The Band‘. The group practiced with Mr. Cal to the song ‘Wavin’ Flag’.
Two students decided to join the ‘Taekwondo‘ group with Ms. Victoria. After a discussion they decided on the:
costumes
soundtrack
lead (person the lead the group)
Taekwondo moves
They needed costumes and a ‘cool’ soundtrack. They decided to use the song ‘Kung fu fighting’!
The costume for the performance.
One student decided to teach and lead the dance group.
Ruby and Freida decided to express themselves through paints. Ms. Pam led the ‘Painting‘ group as they prepared for their showcase.
Ruby decided that purple hairspray would be a wonderful addition!
The Exhibition
The students eagerly practiced for the showcase. They wheeled the display boards through the gym to the foyer near the Library. The decided where to place the boards and tables that would display their learning journey.
We remember planning a show for our community. It took us a long time. We had so many jobs that needed to get done. It was so much fun.
Soon, we will have another opportunity to be on stage. This is for our PreK-K1 Showcase. We gathered together to talk about the experiences we have had so far.
We remember taking part in the Chinese New Year celebrations, learning more about China, appreciating the culture, language and traditions.
We created our own story ‘Not A Stick’, using our pictures as a way to express our ideas.
We used small world toys to express ourselves through storytelling.
We shared our stories through the creation of gamesand drew Zentangle pictures to express our feelings.
We also reflected on how we created stories and shared important messages through our photographs.
We enjoyed going on journeys to other countries through dance, song and food.
As we continued to map out our experiences on how people express themselves and their diversity in many different ways, we wondered how we can share some of these experiences with our community. We looked at a picture of the stage in the PAC to help us plan our ideas.
It was a big space. What should we choose to showcase?
We talked about some of our favourite ideas. After many discussions, the students began to narrow their ideas down. We had 6 options. We listened to the music track of each item to make our choices. It was hard.
The students have been singing and exploring culture through music during their regular Mandarin classes. As the Chinese New Yearcelebrations commenced, the students gathered on the Early Years stage, to sing their favourite Chinese New Year songs to the parent community.
After the performance, the students and parents gathered to create lanterns and make Baozi. The students worked the dough and created 2 delicate buns. Then they were sent off to the cafeteria to be steamed. The students enjoyed their delicious Baozi!
Another group of students joined Ms. Cherry to create Chinese lanterns. They used letter shapes, Chinese characters, sequins and other decorative material to create their lanterns. The parents joined in, to help their children create these beautiful pieces of art.
The students were excited about the show they have been practicing their different acts and we now ready to perform for an audience. Our final show would include the students sharing the following items:
Gymnastics – Tumbling on the incline mat and wedge ramp
Bridge
Splits
Gymnastics – Rolling
Cartwheels
An introduction to yoga followed by partner balances
Ribbon dance
The students were particular about the music they wanted. ‘Waka Waka’ by Shakira and ‘Axel F’ by Crazy Frog originally performed by Harold Faltermeyer, and ‘See You Again’ a wonderful Chinese instrumental by Guzheng were chosen for the final show.
A group of students made tickets for the audience.
The students arrived with their parents, excited to share what they have been working on. Their first job was to put on their face paints.
They gathered together, parents helping their own child, while supporting others students.
A group of students placed tags on the carpets to let the audience know where they need to sit. They have tags for ‘Parents, PreK-K1A, PreK-K1B and K2.
Next, a group of students handed out the tickets they had made. Each person needed a ticket to watch the show.
A student from K2 acted as MC and welcomed the audience.
“Welcome to the PreK-K1show. We hope you enjoy the performance!”
At the end of the show, the K2 student thanked the audience for coming in to see the show. Ms. Angie explained to the parents how the show was a student driven process.
Some of the K2 students came in to share the ‘Thank You’ cards they had made for the students in PreK-K1C.
SLO’s
Movement Composition
explore different ways of moving on the floor and on apparatus
The students in PreK-K1C were excited to see the PE Assembly. They were amazed by the different skills and acts presented.
A group of students asked, “Can we have our own show?”
Teacher “If you can plan your own show, then we can present it.”
The students began to put their thoughts down on paper. They communicated their ideas through detailed pictures and words.
They discussed their initial ideas with each other. They edited their pictures based on the feedback they received from others.
They presented their ideas and initial planning to their teachers.
Next, we brought our ideas together.
Nicolas suggested that we should have the ‘ribbon dance’. He wanted to use face paint and glitter on the ribbons.
“Ribbon Dance.”
Another ideas was to include the ‘hot-wheels’, another name for cartwheels. We wondered, what might we do to ‘be safe’ while presenting these different performances.
Alejandra suggested that we should include ‘the splits’ and ‘the bridge’. She also suggested we add some ‘Ballet’ and ‘Taekwondo’. She explained that we need to have the right costumes for that.
Nicolas suggested that we eat well before the performance. We need to eat plenty of broccoli and drink lots of water.
“The food you need to eat.”
“You are strong.”
Nicolas suggested a piece of music. He hummed the tune. “Do you know that one?” he asked. We decided to share the tune with Ms. Angie and ask her if she knew the song.
Where shall we have this performance? We had two options. The stage in the Early Years or the Green Gym. We needed to check with Ms. Angie and see if the gym was available to us.
Who will be our audience? Who shall we invite?
The students decided that we would invite the parents, siblings, grandparents, Ayi’s K2 and all PreK-K1 classes.
Alejandra explained that she will be happy to create the invitations for the performance.
We gathered to see what resources we already have. We found lots of ribbon!
We wonder where we can find the costumes, the music and other resources we need for our performance…
November 19
We spoke to Ms. Angie about our ideas for the performance.
We wondered if all the students wanted to take part in the performance. A few students went over to talk to everyone, to find out if they also wanted to join in. Nicolas asked Ms. Tina to help him translate but Alejandra offered to help with translating. Most of the students decided that they wanted to join.
Three students went over to the costume cupboard with Ms. Angie to see what costumes were available. We needed to ask permission before we took the costumes. What about face paints? We needed some designs!
We also wondered when we can have the performance. We looked at the school calendar to find a suitable date. Ms. Angie helped us look for a ‘special day’.
We decided to have a sign-up sheet to help the students choose what they would like to perform.
November 21
The students voted on their performance choice.
Approaches to Learning (ATL’s)
Thinking Skills
Evaluating
• Organize information.
Considering new perspectives
• Seek information.
• Practise some “visible thinking” routines.
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).
Communication Skills
Listening
• Listen to information.
• Listen actively and respectfully to others’ ideas.
Speaking
• Participate in conversations.
• Negotiate ideas and knowledge with peers and teachers.
The students brought in bottles, empty toilet rolls, tissue boxes, empty cereal boxes, metal tins and dried rice. They were invited to create their own musical instruments with the recycled materials. They used coloured paper, markers, sequins, foam shapes and other materials to decorate their creations.
The students have been coming in a little earlier after lunch to join in some movement and yoga or simply to have some quiet reading or rest time. Click here to access a list of their favourite yoga videos. This change has helped the students settle down after play and has also encouraged them to listen and follow instructions while having fun.