Who We Are (2022-23)

Central Idea:

We can create opportunities that bring people together.

Lines of Inquiry:

* reasons people come together
* creating contexts for participation
* inclusion and how it makes us feel

Key Concepts:

well-being, interaction, participation, belonging

Related Concepts:

CONNECTION, PERSPECTIVE

 

Story #1

Identity and Feelings

During the first weeks of school, we take time to explore our own identities and learn about others in our community. This helps us develop strong, positive and safe spaces for play and learning.

We began to unpack the following:

  • Who we are
  • How we feel
  • What we like and dislike

We read the picture book ‘Lots of Feelings’ by Shelley Rotner, to look at all the different ways we show our feelings and emotions on our face.

Then, the children used black markers on white card to create self-portraits.

The children looked at their reflections in the mirror, making faces and sharing details about themselves as they drew their pictures. They gave each other feedback about their pictures. They laughed, shared stories and their wonderings about their drawings.

“I have many hair on my head because I am not bald. Bald will change into a silly. OK good bye…”

 

Learning Outcomes:

  • I can use drawings to help me express my ideas.
  • I can use spoken language to express myself.

 

Story #2

Identity – Family

We continued to talk about and learn more about the people in our community. Following on from our self-portrait projects, we began to explore family.

The children were eager to draw and share information about the members in their family unit. We noticed that the children included themselves, parents, siblings, grandparents and pets in their drawings. They used written symbols, letters and numbers to express their ideas.

“Mummy and Daddy love” explained one child, drawing a heart between the two figures to communicate the concept of ‘love’ and ‘caring’.

“I am so happy because I have mum and dad. Mummy is so happy because she has Daddy and me. Daddy is so happy because he has Mummy and me” explained another child.

The concept of belonging, relationships, play, joy and love were emphasised as the children discussed and shared stories about their families.

 

Communication Skills:

  • Use mark-marking to convey meaning.
  • Express oneself using words and sentences.

 

Story #3

What brings us together?

We sat down to share our thoughts on ‘when and why’ people come together.

Morning Greeting, Morning MeetingEach morning, we come together to greet each other. We sit in a circle so that everyone can see the speaker. Our time together helps us connect with each other. When we greet our friends, we look at each other, use a calm voice and respectful language. Our names are special because it helps us identify each other. A person’s name can also have special meaning or story attached to it.

  • Kenan “Sit on the blue carpet because I need to make a circle and talk to friends.”
  • Patrick “We talk about ideas.”
  • Tracey “We are going to a circle to say ‘hello’. We said ‘hello’ with a butterfly. We wave hands.”[with action]
  • Noah “It’s Morning Meeting.”
  • Patrick “Every morning we say ‘hi’. We feel happy. When someone says ‘hello’ to you, you say and it will take you to a good place and you will be excited.” [points to his heart]
  • Olivia “Because say ‘hello’, and ‘good morning’, morning we go to school.”
  • Tae Woo “Ms. Eileen is greeting. Like a butterfly.”

Through this experience, we learn to value our diversity and appreciate our uniqueness. This is a wonderful opportunity for us to learn about our community and to find ways in which we might be connected.

 

The Fire Drill

This week, we had an announced fire drill. Before the drill, we talked about the different safety measures we take when the alarm goes off.

During the practice, we took a picture of K2A while they were sitting together silently.

The image was presented to the children. The children quickly explained “we know it means the fire is here. Not a real fire!”

 

Snack Time

  • Doho “Everybody is hungry.”
  • Sean “Eating snack.”
  • Kenan “Everybody is eating on the blue carpet.”
  • Patrick “We are on the blue carpet. We wash hands and then we take snack box and then we eat the snack. But now we eat in the book space.”
  • Olivia “Because eating fruits.”
  • Patrick “The trash is on the blue carpet so we need to tidy up and clean.”
  • Noah “We clean up. We fold the blankets. We put it where it belongs. Then we have Morning Meeting.”

 

Lunch

  • Chloe “Eating lunch. Wash our hands, its dirty. Wash hands in the toilet. Stand, line up. Lunch in the red box. Take it out. Eat the lunch. Drink the milk.”
  • Eunice “Finish and put it away. And line up. I put away.”
  • Kenan “First line up. Then go to lunch. Then, we can finish and then go back to class. Everybody cleans up because eating the food is everybody.”

 

Cleaning Up

  • Tracey “We are together playing.”
  • Mason “Clean up because too messy.”
  • Tae Woo “Cleaning.”
  • Olivia “We cleaned up because we played with block toys.”
  • Mason “If you don’t clean up the things will lost.”
  • Patrick “When you don’t tidy up other play it’s a mess and cannot use it to play. The people who play with the toys they go away. And now another people cannot tidy up it. We are happy then we can play again.”
  • Allen “Very tidy.” [in Mandarin]
  • Andy “Everyone is tidying up. After cleaning up it will be very tidy. And people will find the things they need easily.” [in Mandarin]
  • Sean “Tidy up blocks and animals. Animals in basket.”
  • Noah “If the toys are lost then we can’t find it. Then we lost them. We will feel sad because we lost one. We clean up so they don’t lost.”

We noticed that we come together:

  • to be with people
  • to talk to people
  • because it makes us feel good
  • to greet each other and share information
  • to be safe
  • to eat
  • to work and celebrate special occasions
  • to read and learn
  • to clean up after play

We wonder how we might create opportunities that bring us together.

 

Story #4

Playground Essential Agreements

The children have become more comfortable with their outdoor spaces and are curious about the different options for play. We have noticed the children play hide and seek, race around on the tricycles, make dams and waterways with sand and water. They have been playing creative games, climbing, running, and taking care of the plants in the EY garden.

Today, the children approached the teachers with some playground concerns. They were wondering about the different games and agreements they had for play. After listening to the children’s views, we called a class meeting.

The teachers posted a picture of the children playing and it led to a group discussion about the way we wanted to feel in the playground. The children shared their perspectives, stories and offered suggestions. At the end of the discussion, we made a list of the most important ideas.

When we are playing outdoors, we:

  • can ‘play’ with the toys
  • can play hide and seek
  • use a gentle, careful touch
  • ride the tricycles on the road
  • keep the sand in the sandpit
  • are safe
  • are kind
  • put the toys away when we hear the gong sound once
  • line up when we hear the gong sound twice

We will continue to encourage the children to think of ways in which they can have fun and play safely in all the different community spaces we use.

 

Story #5

We Come Together to Play!

We have noticed the children engaging in different types of play outdoors. Following on from our discussion on safe and kind playtime, we decided to ask the children more about their play. The children took their sketchbooks and pens outside to think and document the experiences they have during outdoor playtime.

The adults took note on the ideas the children shared through their drawings. We listened for recurring themes and different perspectives on well-being, interaction, participation and inclusion.

The children began to show and explain their drawings. We noticed how they showed ‘action’ and ‘engagement’ with peers.

Common interests such as hide and seek, imaginary games and construction with sand and water brought them together.

Approaches to Learning (ATL’s)

Social Skills

  • Practice empathy and care for others.
  • Be respectful to others.
  • Play cooperatively in a group: sharing, taking turns.
  • Help others.
  • Be self and socially aware.
  • Be aware of own and others’ impact as a member of a learning group.

 

Writing How can I tell others about my drawings?

The children included writing to share information about their drawings.

Through this process they:

  • told, drew and wrote about the picture.
  • wrote letters for each of the sounds they could hear.
  • used the ‘Alphabet Chart’ to look for the letters and sounds they need.
  • used actions to identify the letters of the alphabet (letter shapes).
  • left spaces between words.​

Finally, they shared their drawing and writing with the class.

 

Story #6

Playtime Invitations

The children documented their play scenarios through their drawings, they presented them to the class.

  • Chloe “I like to jump.”
  • Doho “I like to play Sean.”
  • Mason “I play hide and seek with Matthew and Andy I play in a special place.”
  • Olivia “I play with Tracy, Noah.”
  • Noah “I like to play with Tracey, Olivia.”
  • Tracey “I like cat game with Olivia and Noah.”
  • Patrick “I like to play with sand. I can make river with water and shovels. First I dig a hold then I put water in the hole. I make another hold and they put together and the river makes.”

  • Sean “I like to jump on stones.”
  • Eunice “I like to Pikachu.”
  • Tae Woo “Play with friend.”
  • Kenan “I am riding my bike.”
  • Allen “Me outside play Olivia, Tracey, Noah.”
  • Euijin “I like to run and play on the hill by myself.” [in Korean]
  • Andy [

We used this information to create a visual of the different games and groups the children played in.

The children began to talk about the different games and play experiences they had outdoors. Some of the children asked if they could join other games. The students thought about the language they could use to invite others or to ask to join a group at play.

– “Could I play with you?”

– “Can I play with you?”

– “Do you want to play?”

Next, we read the story ‘Strictly NO Elephants’ by Lisa Mantchev, illustrated by Taeeun Yoo. This is a story about a boy who has a pet elephant. When the local Pet Club won’t admit a boy’s tiny pet elephant, he finds a solution. The story focuses on The story focuses on friendship, inclusion and community.

We revisited the play scenarios chart to see how we might invite others to our play and games.

When the children went out to play, we noticed a change in the groups as they played and explored different parts of the playground. There were more children on bikes, less in the waterway and more playing imaginary games with new friends. We used a different colour (orange) to document what the children shared.

  • We wonder how this piece of documentation might change over the next few days.
  • We wonder what the children will learn from their play.
  • We wonder about the different ways they come together as a community.

 

 

Story #7

Early Years Gathering 

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.