I think this semester went as fast as the speed of light, which is quite fitting with our unit this term! What a fantastic semester it has been and we celebrated our time together and all the learning and fun that has taken place at our party on Thursday. The children enjoyed different craft activities and delicious snacks provided by the families. It was wonderful to see so many parents getting their hands glittery and helping to lead the activities. I know this was a very special time for the children.
At the beginning of week, we attended the Grade 5 market. The children in Grade 5 made their own stalls and products to meet the demand of the customers. K1 enjoyed looking around at the different stalls and activities. The food was a particular hit! This experience also gave the children the opportunity to pay for items and receive change, developing their understanding of how money is used.
We also spent some time this week reflecting on our Unit of Inquiry and thinking about how light behaves in different ways. The children were given time to apply their understanding to their play and it was really exciting to hear them use specific and accurate vocabulary and to see them carry out their own investigations. We looked back at our wonderings from the beginning of the unit, and talked about whether we had answered all of our questions. This is what the children said:
- I wonder if it is the solar system - Yes!
- I wonder if it is magical - no!
- I wonder if the sun is falling to the ground - No. The sun stays still.
- I wonder if the moon is yellow - No. It is grey/white, a sphere, it is made of rock and has craters.
- I wonder why there are so many lights - The sun is very big and made of burning gas.
- I wonder why the light is in the sun - The burning gas is fire. it is the most important star.
- I wonder how the circles of light are made - Don't know. We could look, go to space, use a telescope, read a book, think about it or watch Brainpop to find out.
This week we also referred back to our height chart that we completed in term 1. It was exciting to measure each other and to see how much we'd all grown. The children counted each centimetre and shared their change in height with their friends.
That's it for Semester One! I look forward to welcoming the children back in the new year, rested and ready to enjoy all the experiences that await them in Semester Two! Have a wonderful holiday!