GREEN FINGERS
This term our topic “Green fingers” refers to gardening or growing plants, and our ability to make plants flourish and thrive. So we worked on trying hard to get an affinity for working with plants and create beautiful gardens as well as indoor vegetation with ease.
We developed our understanding of soil composition and its effect on plant growth, knowing the correct amount and frequency of watering and feeding, pruning and shaping plants.
We worked on the process things take to grow from; planting, seeing the roots appearing and then plants and vegetables growing. We then proceeded to our own planting.
During these eight weeks we kept on talking about the environment and compost. Children were asked to bring some compostable items from home as we talked about matters (natural and non natural during the last term)
History
During this term, we talked about the very beginning of the Earth and the apparition of dinosaurs.
Children were taught that Dinosaurs were a group of reptiles that lived millions of years ago. They learnt that they were some of the largest animals to ever walk the Earth, with some species weighing more than 100 tons. Dinosaurs were also incredibly diverse, ranging from small bird-like creatures to massive sauropods with long necks and tails. They lived all over the world and dominated the Earth’s ecosystems for millions of years until a mass extinction event wiped them out around 65 million years ago. Today, scientists study their fossilised remains to learn more about their anatomy, behavior, and evolution.
Science
During this term, we also worked on life cycles closely looking at bees, butterflies, plants and spiders from the very beginning.
We talked about photosynthesis, the process by which plants, algae, and some bacteria convert light energy from the sun into chemical energy in the form of organic compounds, like sugars. This process involves the absorption of light by pigments such as chlorophyll, which facilitates the conversion of carbon dioxide and water into glucose and oxygen through a series of complex biochemical reactions. Photosynthesis is vital for life on Earth as it produces oxygen, which is essential for respiration, and serves as the basis for most food webs.
As part of our project, we decided to build a scarecrow to keep birds and other animals away from our garden. The children used a saw with pieces of wood, old clothes and a marker to make him look like a human with arms and legs. Then children choose a site that provides a good view of the garden.
It has been an amazing experience.
Food Colouring Experiment
During this term, we also conducted an experiment consisting of putting white flowers in food colouring in order to explain to children that water is absorbed by the plant (flower in this case) to its highest level.
Our experience has shown that the flowers, initially with white petals,
,gradually after 3 days, become the coloured. Blue was predominant over red.
Practical life
Practical Life is a key component of the Montessori educational approach. It involves providing children with hands-on, real-life experiences that contribute to the development of physical, intellectual, and social skills.
During this term, we focused on skills related to self-care, such as, dressing and toileting. Care of the environment such as, cleaning and gardening and social skills such as, serving food and cooperating with others.
These activities help children develop their independence, coordination and fine motor skills. Along with concentration and a sense of responsibility. In repeating the same gestures children reinforce their self-confidence and acquire the necessary maturity related to their age and growth.
Sensorial life
Sensorial life refers to our ability to experience and interpret sensory stimuli from the world around us. We focused on using our senses. These senses include sight, hearing, touch, taste, and smell. Our brain processes this sensory information and enables us to perceive, understand and respond to our environment. Sensorial life is crucial for our survival and helps us communicate, learn and connect with others. It is constantly evolving as we interact with the world, and can be enhanced or impaired by various factors such as genetics, environment and experience.
This was provided through a number of our activities related the them Green Fingers. By planting the seeds in the soil, the children developed their touching ability; the daily watering, keeping a log, is also part of the process and development of the sight.
Cooking allows the opportunity to develop our taste buds as well as our cooking and Math skills. We cooked chocolate and vanilla cakes during this term.
Crafts
Through creative activities, we have been able to develop our skills; cutting, sticking, bending as well as working creativity with different materials. Crafting used to make things for personal pleasure and it is also a way to express artistic abilities and create unique items.
During this term, children enjoyed crafting as they find it to be a relaxing and enjoyable way to spend time. They developed their imagination and created things daily, such as, amazing crafts related to insects such as bees, ladybirds and spiders.
Thanks to these activities, children have mostly improved their motor skills and are now able to develop their creativity by using the material they need for and comment this activity.
During this term, we also focused on improving how to use the different matters. This allows the children to be more creative they enjoyed creating insects, plants and diverse works of arts.
Numeracy
During this term, we have continued to work on understanding tens and units and practicing for the children to be more accumulated.
Children have also been strengthening their knowledge of addition and have continued to develop their counting skills by counting from one to hundred, two by two, five by five and ten by ten. The notion of substruction is now becoming more concrete and children have pursued their practice while counting.
We also worked on writing numbers and will continue on the next term.
Spelling/writing
This term we have continued to develop our knowledege and understanding of phonics. We have explored a range of new letters and sounds through actions, songs, story telling and games.
Jolly Phonics phase 4 introduces more new sounds, blends and letter combinations.
The sounds introduced in this phase are :
ai, j, oa, ie, ee, or /ai
Children will continue to use their knowledge of letter sounds to blend and segment words. They will also learn to read and spell tricky words such as “was”, “my”, “you”, etc.
In this phase 4, children learned to read and write longer words, sentences and stories. They have be encouraged to read with fluency and expression.
Children developed their ability to segment longer words, read and write sentences, practicing tricky words, and using the sounds they have learnt to read and write phonetically plausible words.
We are also focusing on the spoken language thanks to discussions during circle time, we talk about different subjects such as weekend activities, books we are reading in class, their interest in different subjects.
Book read this term :
- How a seed grows
- Supertato
- Superworm
- What the ladybird heard next
- I don’t want to eat my dinner
- The very busy spider
- The Pout Pout Fish cleans up the ocean
FOREST/PE
During this term, forest activities included building, comparing, tool use, nature art, and wildlife observation. The approach is based on the philosophy that nature provides an ideal setting for children to learn and grow. The children benefit from the freedom to explore and create their own learning experiences in a safe and supportive environment.
Children intuitively explore the world around them and are more aware of how plants, insects, animals take birth, live and die, how they grow. Children also understood that some treasures were hidden in the soil such as seed, roots, insects they discovered that digging was the best way to learn about the local area.
The children also gained confidence in riding their bicycles and were capable of taking long trips.
Children have also worked on developing their ability of throwing and catching through a range of different PE activities and experienced some yoga in the forest.
Music
Music is a form of art that involves organised sounds and rhythms.
During this term, we practiced singing and playing instruments. This has been a way to express emotions, memories and moods through classical and children’s songs and yoga.
Special days
We have worked together with the Primary Section creating ‘Special days’.
In fact, we celebrated Easter by doing traditional activities such as dyeing and hunting Easter eggs , exchanging Easter baskets and preparing Easter activities.
International Forest Day
International Forest Day is observed on the 21st of March every year. It was declared by the United Nations General Assembly in 2012 to raise awareness about the importance of trees and forests in sustaining life on earth. The day aims to highlight the significant roles of forests in providing environmental, socio-economic, and cultural benefits to people worldwide.
As a Forest school, we provided a full day in the forest, working, exploraing, understanding and offering recreational values to the children.
An International day has been organised at school with all the parents providing dishes from their own country and creating a very nice ambiance, linking the parents and families .
International book day
World Book Day, also known as World Book and Copyright Day or International Day of the Book, is an annual event organised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to promote reading, publishing, and copyright.
We celebrated this day with some costumes representing the different characters and offered the children more opportunities to know about the books they were representing.
Zoo
This term has ended with the visit of Thoiry. We have had a very nice walking through the zoo and discovering all these animals. It has been great fun:-)
French
Durant cette quatrième période de l’année, nous avons continué à lire 6 albums de jeunesse (en lien avec le printemps, Pâques…) :
De ces ouvrages, ont découlé différentes activités qui ont permis l’exploitation de ces histoires. Nous avons donné du sens à l’apprentissage, une façon plus ludique et une approche plus concrète.
A chaque début de semaine, vos enfants ont appris et chanté une nouvelle chanson (7 semaines = 7 chansons):
Le ciel est parcouru d’frissons, L’air du vent, Printemps, Le roi Jazz, Nous aimons vivre, Gentil coquelicot, Pirouette cacahuète.
Les objectifs de cette période ont été de :
– enrichir la langue française
– construire des phrases plus élaborées mais correctes
– s’exprimer en petit groupe
– tracer le bonhomme de chaque mois
– comprendre les histoires lues
