Discovery Time

Every Monday morning we spend from 9-15am until morning tea with Discovery Time.  This is a hands on focus time where we emphasise one of the key competencies within the NZ curriculum. Today our focus was on thinking.  Encouraging students to think about what they are doing.  Students who are competent thinkers can solve problems and know how to seek and use knowledge.

Here are photo's of the students in their Discovery Time exploration.

These students were creating a town, giving consideration to what might be required in a town, and how the town layout might affect people's lives.

These students were thinking about colour and how they might express themselves .

Here the students are taking turns at teaching. Ella is setting out her requirements for appropriate behaviour on the mat.

With our focus on safety these students were thinking about how they safely move their cars and people around on roads.

These students were comparing the capacity of different containers to hold water.  Does a tall skinny container hold more than a short wide container?

These two were working out a new game, discussing the way it should be played.

Safety Module

Last week we started a 2 week focus looking at safety.  As part of this we had bike/scooter safety, looking at how we keep ourselves safe with basic maintenance, use of helmets and high visibility clothing.
On Friday we had a visit from St John's who introduced the students to the different responsibilities of Fire, Ambulance and Police. The students we able to engage in hands on activities with bandaging and viewing an oxygen cylinder. This week our focus will continue with dialling 111 and a safety focus walk with a Police Constable.
Below are photos from our time with Catherine from St John's.

Welcome Back!

We are back and into it! This is an action packed term and one where we really want to consolidate the students learning from the past two terms. Our Maths focus for the next two weeks is measurement.  We are focussing on mathematical language comparing different objects e.g. taller, shorter, heavier, lighter, longer...

Today for discovery time we had hands on activities comparing lengths and heights. Comparing objects used for holding water and their capacity. We joined hands and realised that with all our students we could make a chain that stretched from our classroom to the fence.

Here are some photos from our first day back.

Stoke Library Trip

This term it is my intention to take a walking class trip to the Stoke Library. Over the next week I will be posting information to assist parents/caregivers to get each student signed up with a library card.  The library experience is made all the better if the students have their own library card and are able to have books issued to them on the day of the trip.  Establishing a love of reading at a young age can be hugely beneficial for learning.     

The present

Last week we had as our focus caring for others. Room 8 had a present waiting on Monday morning. For the week the students tried to guess what was in the present, wrote about and shared their ideas and hopes.

During discovery time the students made gift boxes for each other and wrote messages of encouragement and support for each other. On Friday we opened the present to discover a further note directing us to find Mrs Sawyer who had waiting  a plate of warm chocolate muffins. Yum!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This week, in the last week of term, we are focussing on Dinosaurs. As a part of this we are learning to write our letter d's and b's.  This is an area the students often find hard, remembering which letter is which.  During the week encourage the students at home to write letters d and b.  Words like bed, bad, dab, in which the students write both the b and d can be useful.  

Keep up the reading at home.  Students will be sent home with extra reading books for the holidays as it is important to keep reading even when away from the classroom.

Below are some photos from our discovery time today. The giant footprint is that of a Tyrannosaurus Rex.  We wanted to see how many students feet would fit on a T Rex foot.

Rainbow fish

We have completed our Rainbow fish today (friday) with the students putting finishing touches to our fish with his yellow plasticine lips and glitter flashes to the tail and fin. We are very pleased with the finished art piece and the students are excited about the Art extravaganza next Friday.

Please remember to get all the library books back next week to allow for the library staff to carry out their stocktake. Sight word testing for the students will take place again on Thursday so keep practicing sight words with the students at home. We have been working on practicing numeral formation and recognising numbers to 100. Encourage students at home to write and say numerals they see. 

ART ART ART !!!!!!

This week we have been gearing up for the art extravaganza taking place friday of next week. Make sure you mark your diaries and plan to be there.
Students in the multi learning space have completed an individual multi media art piece combining crayon, dye, photography, pastel and framing.  The completed pieces will be on display at the art extravaganza but here are a couple to whet your appetite.

We have also been working on our collaborative art piece "Sharing is Caring" from the rainbow fish story. Together we have been reading the rainbow fish story, learning about how through sharing we can have more fun and enjoyment.  We have covered our fish with papier mache and each student has used crayon, pastel and dye to create a unique scale which now adorns our beautiful fish. We are in the final stages of completing our art piece which will be for sale at the art extravaganza. 

Icecream week

Last week we had an ice-cream focus in room 8. The reason for this was to give focus to the week around our big book ( The Giant's ice-cream ) and to inspire writing from the students. This week we are going to be focussing on our collaborative art making a large Rainbow fish. Parents you are welcome to join us as we papier mache our fish.

The students will be tested on their sight words on Thursday of this week.  Keep up the practice at home. It would be great to see all students progressing to the next sight word level as this helps considerably with their reading.