What a fun term it has been! We started it off concentrating on learning about animals but we also took some detours into our planting projects and transitioning into more outdoor learning activities.
Learning about the animal kingdom
We have noticed that the students have an interest for animals and so we created some learning activities that would address those interests. We took a trip through some of the world’s habitats and we learnt about the animals that live in them.
Our trip to Thoiry Zoo Safari
To complement some of our school learning about animals we decided to provide the children with the opportunity to see some of their favourite animals up close so, we visited the Thoiry Zoo Safari. We got to see many of the animals we have been talking about in class but we also got to see some new animals we had never heard about before. We started off walking around the park and we finished off the day driving through the safari. The highlights were: getting really close to the lionesses and finally getting to see our favourite classroom animal, the rhino.
Our planting project
We discussed about the way a plant grows and how fruits and vegetables are able to grow if we take good care of their seedlings and plants. We established what plants usually need to grow and thrive and we frequently checked on our plants to make sure they were healthy.
We used different methods to help germinate the seeds: One of our methods was to place the seeds directly in a pot of dirt, another method was to germinate the seeds in a wet cotton ball or towel and then plant the seeds in dirt after it had grown little roots. We have been observing both processes and next term we will determine what were the results of each methods used.
We learnt some more about composting as we visited the worms who are helping make some of the fertilizer at school. We also got to add our composting materials from home into our bog composting big.
We also learnt about how potatoes will grow in a bucket at school and we got to plant our own potatoes, which will will harvest later on in the year.
More outdoor learning in the Forest
As the weather improves we have been moving more of our learning to the forest. We have been observing nature changes as the spring gifts start to appear. We have been closely looking at all the trees budding and the ferns appearing from the ground. We have also noticed the sounds of the animals getting louder and the temperature rising.
We took advantage of a lovely sunny day to have a lesson that included reading the book “The Color Monster: A Story about Emotions” and discussing the different feelings we may experience. We complemented the discussion with Yoga and meditation, which explored the topics mentioned in the book and we talked about different breathing strategies that can help us when we are experiencing big emotions that may be at times overwhelming.
Easter
We had a lovely Easter celebration too! We made our own Easter baskets and then we got to use them to collect all of our chocolate eggs. The Easter bunny paid us a visit and we had so much fun seeing him and following him around; he took us to the garden so we could find all of the eggs he hid for us.
What is to come?
During Term 5, we will continue our learning about animals, the world’s habitats and we will also explore the life cycles of animals and plants. We will participate in the school egg project, which will give us an opportunity to see how germinated eggs will hatch and chicks will come out and grow. We will also be learning how to care for the eggs and chicks and about the importance of being kind to all living creatures.
We will also resume our swimming classes, which is very exciting!