Moreton , Term 4 Week 4Celebrating DiwaliWe were lucky enough to have Leo and his family spend some time in our classroom to share the special celebration of Diwali.Rachael and Leo told us the story of Diwali origin, before we made some ladoo together. The group had the chance to smell and taste fragrant spices in the process; cardamom and saffron.

Here is Rachael’s healthier, more natural version of a traditional ladoo recipe - but just as delicious!

Diwali Ladoos; a healthier take on a rich buttery Indian sweet (GF, DF, nut free, sugar free)

Add the following to a food processor;100g dates2/3 cup coconut flour150mL coconut milk (can add saffron and heat a little)

Pulse until all the dates are fine, then add;

1/2 cup oatsTbs honey1/2 tsp cardamom powder60mL melted nuttelex (or butter/ghee/oil)

Pulse again until just mixed (should look like cookie dough)Add more coconut milk if too dryRoll a tsp of mixture into small ballsCover in coconut or toasted coconutEnjoy!

After admiring Rachael’s sari and Leo’s kurtan in their beautiful, bright colours, everyone had the chance to try on traditional Indian clothing for themselves.

Thank you so much for sharing part of your culture with us Leo - what a wonderful way to celebrate the festival of lights!

Connected to EYLF Outcome 1 - Children develop knowledgable and confident self identitiesOutcome 2 - Children respond to diversity with respect

Moreton , Term 4 Week 429 October 2019

Blake from Monash University introduced us to Virtual Reality today.The children were introduced to Botley robots last term and reflected on what they found out about robots.

Mason. You send a message to them, we pressed the green button and sent a message and he walked.Felix. There was a bin button. You had to press it.Edward. The green button sent a message. It had arrows. It goes by the arrows.Felix It was a remote control.Ivy The buttons on the remote control make it do things.Lachie There were buttons on the robot too that you pushed.What else did you find out?Izzy We made a track that he could go along. If we had a problem, we found a solution.Lola We made a long slide and it couldn’t be too steep.Will On the remote control we sent a message. I made a washer place for Botley. Water to go in the holes to get the dirt off.Billy I was working with Botley too, we put a criss-cross roof on top so he couldn’t get damaged, so we could see it.Finley We were building a trail-I tried to make a home so I decided to make a short cut.What do we call it when send a message to the robot using the remote control?Billy We have a passcode at home.Milla Like a code.Felix Like making a flying car go-I heard that from my Mum and Dad.It’s called coding.Has anyone heard of virtual reality? We showed the children the mask and phone.Isla It is like when you put the mask on and you can only see when you’re inside and you can’t see outside.Isabelle I know about that too. My one was looking under the water.Isla The phone goes in the mask and takes you into a different world.Ivy I’ve seen lots of different ones; water ones and animals.Billy I went scuba diving in a cave with my dad and we saw fish.Ivy The animals were real but they weren’t really there.Isla You are really still in your house.Blake introduced us to the virtual reality cube. The children passed it around and had a close look at the markings on it.Leo Is there something inside it?Milla Why are they (symbols) on the side? It might be something that’s in the world. They might be something to tell them. They are images;

if you get one you are in the game.Felix If you get sucked in the game then you are in the game.

Some are hard or easy; some might be daring.Will That looks like an alien eye.Mason That’s what I think too.Harry They look like tools.Leo That looks like a tattoo.

Moreton , Term 4 Week 4Lachie That is an image of an eye ball in a triangle.Lola They look like everything.Mason Looks like a ghost.Milla It’s a cube.Felix It’s a tiny bit heavy; is it a robot?Isla How could the robot be inside?Ivy They (the images) are all flat but the silver is a bit higher.Finley It looks like a puzzle.Blake put the phone over the images on the cube.Isla Maybe the robot will come out?The children saw the image on the phone of planets in space.Milla How does that work? How did that happen.Will I think it has our world inside it!Milla How is it actually doing that when the planets are not there?Leo Maybe the planets are on the square. (cube)Edward Maybe that’s inside? Will Maybe it’s sending a message for us to see the world!Blake explained that there is a camera on the phone that looks at the Merge cube and the images or symbols. We are looking at virtual reality through the phone.Edward Our whole classroom could be space.Milla I think we are inside a bigger cube but we are actually standing on earth.

Everyone had a close up look at the virtual world they could see and then continued to explore the other robots we have from Monash University.

Happy 6th Birthday Lachie!

We loved celebrating over some yummy icy poles with you, and hope

you have the best day tomorrow!!

Moreton , Term 4 Week 4

Jane, a green thumb from Bunnings, visited us this week to share her gardening wisdom, and help us plant vertical gardens. We had a discussion about:- the value of worms in the garden, and what foods they can/can’t eat - what to add to a compost bin (tea bags, vacuum dust, fruit (except

citrus), vegetables)- what plants need to grow

Using recycled milk bottles as sustainable pots, everyone planted their own seedling, before adding everything it needs to grow and flourish.

A big thank you to Jane for all of your help, and for bringing in such wonderful supplies for us take care of. Connected to our PYP unit of inquiry: ‘Sharing the planet’:People that appreciate the natural world can take action for the environment

“Why try to explain miracles to your kids when you can just have them plant a garden” Robert Brault

Moreton , Term 4 Week 4

Feeling with our feetThe Moreton Bays and Gingkos were invited to take on a nature challenge outside, which involved taking shoes off and feeling with their feet.

The walk went through grass, rocks, logs and sand before the main event - thick, cool, mud! Some children observed their peers’ reactions of delight and wonder to this first, before finding the confidence to explore the muddy risk for themselves. Others responded by taking their shoes off to play in the sandpit and other outdoor spaces. Then finished off with a relaxing aromatherapy foot spa, we saw many children repeating this sensory walk again and again.

There are many researched barefoot benefits for children:

- Connection to nature through grounding

- Proper, strong, balanced foot and body development

- Increased kinaesthetic and proprioceptive awareness

(Nell Regan)

Good for our feet and good for our soul!

Connected to our PYP unit of inquiry: ‘Sharing the planet’:People that appreciate the natural world can take action for the environment

Connection to EYLF framework:Outcome 3, Wellbeing- children use their sensory capabilities and dispositions with increasing integration, skill and purpose to explore and respond to their world

“You learn a lot when you’re barefoot. The first thing is every step you take is different.” Michael Franti