Welcome to Term 2.

Happy New Year! It was lovely to welcome the children back and we are looking forward to a busy and exciting new term.

Many children have maintained their interest in our metaproject and shared information about the world from their holidays, such as countries that they visited and what they saw and did. I showed photos of my trip to the Glasshouse Mountains in Australia, and asked the children to share any thoughts...

"It looks like a volcano."

"But no lava is there."

"It is extinct...that means the lava is gone."

The sea has been of interest to the children lately. We have been using our prior knowledge as well as non-fiction books and the internet to share information and begin our inquiry. Some children have made a sea collage and created creatures to add.

I posed to the children the following question...

"Why does Earth have seas?"
"If not...all the people couldn't have water and they will die."
"The fish need water."
"The sea's got treasure in it and there's water and sharks and whales."
"Even the sea has fishes; like an aquarium."

Something that I have noticed in my observations of, and chats with, the class is their interest in the realm of fantasy and magic within the world. The imagination is a powerful meaning-making tool for young children who may not yet have the experience or language to construct and convey understandings in a "rational" way. Fostering the ability to "think outside the box" is invaluable to children's (and adults!) problem solving. Recently we have seen drawings about Lord of The Rings, songs from and discussions about  Frozen, scenarios created with fairies and wizards and play based around the idea of zombies!  They children have enjoyed sharing their knowledge of imaginary characters in the world.

One of our classmates lost his first tooth a couple of weeks ago, and I overheard the following conversation...

"When your teeth fall out and then you put it under your pillow and then the Tooth Fairy will come."

"But you know...when your tooth fall out you throw it in the window and when you sleep you can see it's in the outside place."

"The Tooth Fairy is special. Some fairies are different and some are the same. They are very special and they can come anywhere."

"They don't come if you are awake."

"Yes, yes...and fairies can make magic with her magic wand."

Our Student Led Conferences on Tuesday 13th were a great success! The children did a fantastic job of  sharing with their parents how they learn in K1. I was very proud of the independence and confidence shown by MZa children.

During the K1 Arts Exhibition, many children in our class contributed to the making of this wonderful sea / ocean.