Amelia’s Class: Term 1 Week 4

Hi everyone,

Surely I am not the only one completely over this heat! Bring on Autumn please!

Some of the key highlights this week included our lesson on Rock and Water. The children used what they had learnt last week about ‘standing strong’. When I announce ‘standing strong’ we all assume a stable steady position with our feet hip-width apart, knees slightly bent, cores engaged and take a deep breath in and out. We use it as a centering tool to feel grounded and connected with ourselves before engaging in physical play or role-playing activities. The children tested their ‘standing strong’ positions by having a partner gently but firmly push against their hips, shoulders or backs and resist the force. We will further explore this state of feeling and standing strong, and how it can support us in a range of situations, particularly with conflict or strong emotional states.

We also had a few lovely messy painting sessions that required quite a bit of encouragement on my end! To finish off our learning about Jane Goodall, we looked at the key differences between human and chimpanzee hands including the colour, palm length and shape, finger length and shape, and hair covering. We spoke about why we think we have these key differences, with a lot of the children highlighting the differing ways we move and the reliance chimpanzees have on their hands and arms for transport. At first, the children became VERY resistant when I suggested painting our palms and fingers to print chimpanzee handprints. I encouraged them all to have a try, notice the sensation and temperature of the paint on their hands, and recognise that while it is a bit messy, nothing bad will happen to us! Once they all got started, unsurprisingly, they absolutely loved it! Sometimes going out of our comfort zones teaches us a lot about ourselves and builds skills in perseverance and resilience. Well done my group!

Next week, we will be going swimming on Tuesday with the elders in Joanna’s class. At the moment we only have one parent volunteer, so please add your name to our shared Google Doc if you are able to join us (and have a valid WWCC).

Amelia x