KP

The children arrived bright and early. They carried their bags up to the loft area and cheerfully said goodbye to their parents. If some children felt apprehensive they were soon smiling and laughing. The children thought it was very funny that Oskar’s mum said goodnight to him!

We will keep a regular school schedule and the sleepover will begin with sandwich making and our visit to the park.

Sleepover time… see you tomorrow

The children had many ideas of how to get food for the sleepover.

Ray: Our grown-ups can do it. They can go to Costco and buy pizza.

Alex: My mum can go to Costco, we can all go to Costco.

Zoe: How will you get there?

Feng: You can drive.

Su Won: Yes all go your car, very funny we squashed.

Zach: We go in big taxi.

Hana: We need to pay.

I suggested we go to Homes supermarket because it was close. Some children realized we could walk there, others thought this was too far and we needed transport. We finally decided to walk to Homes.

We made food lists for three group and the children thought carefully about who they wanted to be in a group with. They put themselves with children they could ‘focus’ with. We set off on a hot Wednesday afternoon and the children quickly reached Homes.

Many of the children knew the supermarket and were able to find all the items without asking for help. Ray respectfully asked an assistant where the jam was. Cindy used her mathematical skills to calculate how many packs of bread we needed for 45 slices of bread. The children passed all the items to the cashier and packed their own bags. Each child carried back an item. It became a point of pride to get the bread back without “squishing’ it.

Climbing the stairs to the park made the children tired, they decided to stop in the shade of the bridge for a rest and a snack. The wonderful experience was rounded off with a walk through the rose garden.

I was very impressed by the level of responsibility the children showed and their ability to organize themselves. These children are ready for a sleepover.

Buying food for the sleepover on PhotoPeach

• 1 teddy bear or night-time toy
• pyjamas
• sleeping bag and pillow
• toothpaste
• toothbrush
• hair brush or comb
• face cloth
• wash bag to put wash things in
• sleeping bag/ blanket
• pillow
• full set of extra clothes (some children have a full set of extra clothes in school and do not need to bring more)
• flashlight

The children are excited about managing their own belongings and routines, “just like grown-ups!”. It will be easier for the children to look after their belongings if they are clearly labeled. This weekend the children should practice packing and unpacking their bags by themselves, several times, so that they know exactly what they have in their bags, where to find everything and how to fit it all in. (Sleeping bags can be particularly tricky.) This will help the children feel a sense of control and independence and will ease anxiety.

We talked about how everything has to fit in one overnight bag and the importance of “packing light”. While we have discouraged the children from bringing big suitcases (for space and storage reasons), it is important that the bag is big enough for children to fit  ALL their belongings inside easily.

Sleepover unplugged

I proposed that the sleepover be ‘unplugged’, with no electronic devices, after much debate the children have agreed.

Writing a list of things to pack for the sleepover

This is a perfect example of how different areas of the curriculum come together in authentic ways to support student learning. Ms Yuri invited the children to learn about Children’s Day from her book about Japanese cultural events.  The children remembered there was a huge Koinobori in ELC. We wondered whether the children would like to visit the ELC. They quickly said yes and made the suggestion of taking clipboards and paper to  sketch the Koinobori.

Koinobori inquiry by Yuri Airs

The children applied their sketching skills from art, carefully recording details of Koinobori for their own design. The children noted the Koinobori fluttering in the wind and pondered the question, What material is this made of? This was a direct link to our Unit of Inquiry about how we manipulate materials to suit our purposes.

Drawing our Koinobori on PhotoPeach

The children came back to class and wanted to share ideas of  how to make their own Koinobori. The children had lengthy discussions about the appropriate materials for their Koinobori. They pondered which adhesives would be needed to connect pieces.They estimated lengths of fabric, paper and plastic.  Some children used rulers to measure the length of their fish. They used words such as, longer, shorter, fatter and small to describe their designs. This shows the practical application of our measurement unit in maths.

Making Koinobori on PhotoPeach

The children made their Koinobori on a particularly gusty day and were able to test and modify their designs.

We asked the children whether they would like to have a sleepover at school. This would be a celebration of  the children’s learning journey this year.I showed the children a video of the sleepover from last year. This started a lively debate amongst the children and we decided to make a T.Chart,  documenting  all the good and bad things about a sleepover.

Good things

1. We can bring nerf guns and our toys.
2. We can use torches at night and play outside.
3. We can read books.
4. It will be a good time for us.
5. We can play any games we want.
6. We can sleep late until 5 o’clock
7. We will have happy dreams.

Bad things

1. I won’t be able to see my mum and dad.
2. I sleep-walk, I will bump my head.
3. There might be scary birds, bats, dreams and ghosts.
4. I won’t be able to sleep with my mum and dad.

Questions that arose from this discussion.

1. Can I have my special shawl from India?
2. Can I have my Mario and iPad?
3. How many books and toys can I bring?
4. Do we need a sleeping bag?
5. What food will we have?
6. What about allergies?

We made a table  to show whether people wanted to have a sleepover at school.

YES

ZP   RJ   NB   FC   SP   AA   AM   EK   OD     SI   AT

MAYBE

SR

NO

HG   JH

As we discussed the sleepover some children changed their minds about attending. They talked with parents and  other children offered support. Cindy had been away for our initial discussion and the other children came around her and smiled warmly saying,”OK, right? You do the sleepover.” Allen had a sleepover at Oskar’s. It was the first time to has slept away from his mum and dad. He told us about his experiences and gave advice to children who have never done this before.

Updated chart

YES

ZP   RJ   NB   FC   SP   AA   AM   EK   OD     SI   AT  SR

MAYBE

HG   Ci

NO

JH

The children’s major concern was not having access to their electronic toys. They are debating whether they should have them for the sleepover. The children will be planning this event and problem-solving any issues. The first thing they wanted to resolve was what food they would eat. I am curious to learn what food they will choose and they they propose to buy and cook it.

We were ready for a new author of the month, but who would it be? Hana suggested Lauren Child. She told us Lauren Child has a collection of stories about Charlie and Lola who are funny characters. Hana, Naoimh and Feng went off to the library to find Lauren Child books. We also have a collection in Kindergarten.

The children were instantly captivated by the illustrations, drawing comparisons with Ezra Jack Keats and Louis Ehlert. They commented on the marrying of drawing with photographs. Children wondered how the illustrator had created this effect. Several children thought the illustrations were collages and referred to their experiences in art class.

Lauren Child does lots of interesting things with text, I am wondering how long it is before the children start to comment ton this.

For all the designers in KP, Lauren Child was asked to take her ideas from book illustrations and turn them into fabric. I thought you would be interested in the design process. It reminded me of our unit of inquiry about communicating our ideas in many ways.

Here is the instructional video for our K-2 team spirit dance for sports day. Thanks once again to Kirra, Ryuta, and Kayleigh  for choreographing this for us. Our first practice went very well thanks to these three great coaches.

Ok everyone let’s get moving!

Blog post by 2Q

Kirra and Ryuta in 2Q decided to  show how dance is a form of communication, this was part of their current unit of inquiry. They picked a video by Beyonce.  Ms Quinn wondered if  the children may like to make this the song for sports day. Everyone agreed it was a great song to raise enthusiasm and K to Grade 2 unity.

The Grade 2′s will learn the dance and will then teach it to the Grade 1′s and KG.  This is another example of how our taught curriculum combines with children’s passions and interests, creating authentic learning and sharing experiences across the school.

SO GET DANCING AT HOME, YOU CAN JOIN IN ON SPORTS DAY!

Further Information

This song was adapted by Beyonce to support Michelle Obama’s campaign to stop childhood obesity. Here is a link about the campaign CLICK HERE

The children realized  that Grade 10 children only come out to recess for a short time. We talked about how they have to do lots of writing. “Yes they don’t get own time,” the children noted mournfully. They felt very sorry for the Grade 10′s and wanted them to enjoy this buddy session. The children wanted to create an environment where the Grade 10′s could have their own time.

The kindergarten children prepared the room, Ruby told her mum she needed to come early to get the room ready. Aiden, Hana and Aiden  helped set up the room. They decided we needed lots of boxes and space for the glue guns.

Grade 10 visit April on PhotoPeach

Note the the quiet hum of conversation and the high level of engagement.

Our unit of inquiry entitled, “People use a variety of languages to communicate their ideas and feelings”, has been enriched by the creative forces within our school.

Last week we were able to watch the ELC assembly. The children had written and produced their own play. This was a joyful celebration of ELC as storytellers. The children broke into spontaneous applause and sighed when the production ended. We heard the children say, “Again… again, do it again. It was so good.” “Why is it finished? It’s too short.” The kindergarten children, who were in ELC, revisited their experiences of producing a play and shared their memories.

Naoimh: I was a princess, good.

Ray: I was the bead dragon and I slipped with my bag to get the Easter eggs. I became a good dragon with Jacob. After the play there was a line to have picnic and danced.

Aiden: I was the wizard and I turned Ray into the good dragon.

Julie: The play we watched was short.

Han: It was a long way to get there.

We returned to the same space, the auditorium, to view the Grade 12 IB diploma students art exhibition. This gave the children an opportunity to compare two exhibitions, as they had been to the elementary art exhibition in the tea house. The children immediatly noted the difference in the space from the ELC. They also noted differences in the style of art at the IB exhibition, “Wooo… so much, look… come and look at this,” were phrases we heard.

Visiting the IB art exhibition. on PhotoPeach

Hana: There were a lot of art. The drawing were big.

Jiwon: Is pretty, it looks like a treasure.

Naoimh: I like the flower where the light was shining on it.

Feng: The sakura black and white because the lights are in the box and it’s cool.

Julie: I liked the little squares outside they were white and inside they were crystals.

Aiden: I liked cat with two tails, it was cool.

Cindy: Purple flower.

Eren: Painting (translated by Shoma)

Alex: I liked the lamp where like they draw on it, because the lamp lighted up it looked like a real thing.

Zach: Because I like it

Sofie: I like the black crystals on the white, cause it has black crystals.

Shoma: Blue, because beautiful.

Ray: I liked the bones of the bull because they were not real.

Oskar: You couldn’t do anything there.

Allen: It was not fun because I can not play and shout.

Suwon: Heart, the pink because that pink heart is so funny.