Amelia’s Class: Term 1 Week 3
Hi everyone,
We had a wonderful but busy week in The Cheepy Birds.
Our literacy stations are flowing well and the children are starting to adapt and become more independent with the routine. Over the next few weeks we will be fine-tuning our rotations to get the most out of each station and ensure a balance of teacher-led, teacher-supported, and independent work. So far, the children have seemed to be really enjoying these sessions, and are eager to get into their reading!
This week we also introduced our new maths textbooks and fast-finisher books. We started by looking at a mixture of strategies for addition including counting-on, skip-counting, doubling, friends of ten, or using ten frames. I was also so pleased to see a large number of the children engaging with their fast-finisher books in their own time. A big shout-out to Hazel, June and Stevie, who have spent most of their break times with their noses buried in their maths books!
In ‘What Matters?’ this week, we expanded our view to those outside of us. We explored the life and achievements of Jane Goodall, and the amazing commitment she made in her life to caring for chimpanzees and educating scientists around the world. We spoke about some of her amazing discoveries such as the first animal other than humans to be seen using tools for a purpose was the chimpanzee, which led to further research and discoveries of our connection to apes. The children imagined and drew what important cause they would dedicate their lives to just as Jane Goodall had. Some of the lovely
thoughts that were shared included becoming a doctor to help people, researching and protecting marine life, helping educate and reduce pollination, and protecting endangered species.
On Thursday, we had our first ‘Oceans’ session with the juniors and Joanna’s class. This group will now aptly be named ‘The Spidercrabs’. It was a lovely introductory lesson into this topic, which culminated with the children tasting some ‘saline’ water and pretending we were in the ocean. Yuck!
Thank you again to everyone who joined us for the parent information evening. Just a reminder that I have sent out an email with the slides and key documents if you were not able to attend.
Next week, our class will be going to the Lane Cove Library on Monday with Joanna’s class. On Wednesday, the school will be celebrating the Spanish festival day ‘Carnaval’ with Carolina. If your child has some beautiful vibrant festive clothing to wear, please encourage them to do so! We will have a parade at the end of the day just before 3pm.
Amelia