The class was tided and beautiful, we had considered where to put activities, carefully placing signs for parents to read. The room was ready for student led conferences. The class filled with the gentle sound of conversation and laughter. Children quickly moved parents to their favourite area.
Children delighted in their expertise and parents noted their children’s skills as guides and teachers. A dialogue of mutual respect was apparent as parents and children worked together, each sharing their expertise. “What else do you have to show us teacher?” A father noted. “I can’t believe you know all this in English.” A mother exclaimed.“I will show you, try again mummy.” A child said gently. Then there were the conversations I couldn’t understand, the Mandarin, Japanese, Swiss, Korean and Danish. Respect and joy in these shared engagements was apparent.
The experience is best conveyed through images, enjoy revisiting this special celebration of learning.
KP, beyond knowledge, creating a shared understanding.
Etsuko Inada (Hana’s grandma) is a master calligrapher, this means she has a special name, Sessui Yamamoto. She used to take part in calligraphy competitions and Hana’s mum remembers her practicing calligraphy and the fragrance of ink filling the house when she was a child.
Sessui Yamamoto kindly offered to share her expertise with the children. She came to school with her special mat, calligraphy paper and brushes. The children were amazed by the huge brush and enjoyed calling out words for her to write.
We hope you enjoy sharing this special experience with us.
Jacquie Pender has made a beautiful display of all the languages the children speak. It can be found going up the stairs to the art room. Please go and have a look. Thank you to all the children and parents who wrote hello in their home language. We had
Japanese
Korean
Mandarin
French
Swedish
Danish
Spanish
Hindi
English
Maori
Gaelic
Several parents noted Jacquie’s skill for capturing beautiful images of children. She has kindly shared them with us.
As members of an international school we are mindful of the ever changing dynamics of our class; some children leave and others arrive. These transitions are filled with conflicting emotional states. People are sorry to leave and excited with the anticipation of new adventures, or returning to extended family. We feel the lose of a friend and are delighted by alternative perspectives brought to us by new member of the class.
Throughout these transitions technology remains a constant. New children and their families are invited to visit the class blog and share in the year long learning journey of the class. Children who leave can carry on these conversations with their old friends. Twitter acts as a message service between children.
Frederique sent us messages when she left the class to return to Holland. She shared pictures of her holiday in Bali through Tweet pics. The children verbalised their sense of lose and also an appreciation of continued share experiences.
Frederique sent a picture of herself carrying on Writer’s workshop by herself at the pool. The children noted, “We wish we could be on a field trip there with you.” Frederique replied, “I wish I could be at school with you.”
Technology forges links between the old and the new. It helps us make transitions at our own pace. It is some what like a stitch we receive when we hurt ourselves. It helps us mend and change. When we are mended it dissolves and we are left repaired and new.
This month I proposed we share our dice game with parents. The children agreed. I framed questions for the children which I hoped would help them think about our sharing activities.
Where will we do this activity?
How will we do this activity?
Why will we share this?
What did this activity help us learn?
The children quickly generated a list of activities to share and were able to reflect on the choices they had made.
Aiden’s mum read our blog post about author of the month, Mem Fox. Aiden and Mem Fox come from the same country, Aiden’s mum offered to read a Mem Fox book in Australian English. This gave the children a chance to hear the book with the accent of the author. Aiden’s mum also brought in vegemite for the children to smell. The reactions ranged from,
The children learned that words rhyme in Mandarin, as they do in English. The children quickly picked up on the words that sounded the same. The book Feng’s also taught the children numbers in Mandarin.
The children had a planning meeting about their celebration of learning. They decided they needed food and a place to go. The final decision was to make picnic food and go to the park. The children planned out the food they would like and we emailed it to the parents, who made some suggestions and now we have a picnic!
The final list of food was
Sausages on sticks
Sandwiches (ham, cheese, vegemite or tomato)
Marshmallow and fruit sticks
Rice balls
Miso soup
The brown bags are packed, the weather is glorious and we are ready to picnic in the park.
Thank you to all the parents for the lovely suprise gift this morning!
The children were very attentive as they listened to a story in Korean, read by Jiwon’s mum. Su Won commented on the illustrations which were made from collage and drawn components.
On the last Friday of every month the children share their learning with parents. This month the children took sole responsibility for setting up the areas. The bowling was very popular with the children, though we did note that the parents were only allowed to be spectators. The items chosen by the children reflect what they felt has been most important or interesting this month.
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working with and learning from parents | 
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Posted by Zoe Page
