Jacaranda Journals Term 3, Week 4 : 5 - 11 August 2019

Monday, 5 August 2019

“The magic was inside us!” - Samuel

This week we continued exploring transformation, this time using a block. Each child was invited to transform an ordinary block into different items, including a skateboard, walking stick, telephone, animal’s tail and a toothbrush. The idea of transformation is to invite the children to use their imaginations and see the multiple possibilities a single object can offer them. The children grasped the notion of transformation stating that it was “changing things into something new.” (Ayaan)

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework Outcome 5: Communication - Children are effective communicators Children interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes and engage in enjoyable reciprocal interactions using verbal and non-verbal language.

Jacaranda Journals Term 3, Week 4 : 5 - 11 August 2019 Tuesday, 6 August, 2019

What is a habitat? On Monday, a small group of children were reading a book about Australian animals when

the word habitat was men=oned, promo=ng the children to ask ‘What is a habitat?’. We brought this ques=on to the group to see if we could share our ideas.

Heidi I think it means when you hide something. Samuel I have heard of it before. It means we have to get on a plane quickly because it might

slide really quick. Max It means we are going outside. We were unsure, so we showed the children some nests. What do you no5ce about the nests? Ayaan One of them is an egg and the other is a nest. Lucas There’s an egg. Heidi Is that a bird’s egg? Woody Yeah that’s a bird’s egg. Samuel And a nest. Imogen Another nest. Ayaan There is three nests. Anna One white nest and two brown nests. Chloe There was three nests and one egg. Jude It is a crocodile’s egg. Samuel No. Crocodiles are green. Jude Crocodile’s eggs hatch at night =me. Viaan It’s a dimetrodon egg. And dimetrodons are electric. What animal do you think lives in there? Samuel Maybe a bird. What clues can you see that make you think it’s a birds nest? Samuel There is a small feather. Ayaan That means it a bird. Viaan It’s a carnotaurus nest. Ayaan No, carnotaurus don’t have feathers. Viaan But carnotaurus have horns. What’s it made out of? Heidi It looks like it’s made out of mud, twigs and tree branches. Jude Fur. From Foxy Loxy. Samuel It’s made of s=cks. We need to be gentle, why? Florence Because something might live in it - a liQle birdy. Heidi It’s very delicate. Viaan A liQle dinosaur. EvereQ Dinosaurs can’t live in there. Are the three nests made out of the same things? Collec=ve No. Are houses the same? Collec=ve No.

Jacaranda Journals Term 3, Week 4 : 5 - 11 August 2019 Tuesday, 6 August, 2019 Continued….

What other homes might animals live in? EvereQ Trees. What animals live in trees? Collec=ve Birds. What other animals? Samuel A koala. Heidi And they eat eucalyptus trees. Could a koala live in the ELC playground? Collec=ve Yes. What would it eat? Samuel It could eat the eucalyptus tree. Florence It will just climb up the eucalyptus tree and eat all its leaves. Is there enough eucalyptus leaves for a koala? Collec=ve No. Samuel I know they eat lots of gum trees. Hundred and hundreds of gum trees. Viaan Maybe we could plant some more. How long do you think they will take to grow? Heidi 50 days. Anna Maybe 10 years. Ayaan 10 minutes. What about a whale inside the ELC garden? Collec=ve No. It’s too big. Imogen Because it’s got no pool. Imogen, does a whale need a pool to live? Imogen Yeah. Chloe In water. Samuel At the beach. A koala can’t live in our ELC garden because there is not enough food, and a whale can’t live in our ELC garden because it needs water. So what do you think a habitat might be. What is a habitat for a human? Florence A house. The yabbie in our classroom no longer lives in the river. Do we just have water in the tank for the yabbie. Florence No. Because it needs a liQle home to live under the water. Because it wants to

keep safe from other animals. It sounds like houses or a habitat protect us. Samuel My house is old but my house it where my mummy, my daddy and my Darcy live.

Because my house it really strong. And my door has glass because the glass lets people see the rain. And there is rain to go in muddy puddles.

Heidi Peppa Pig likes mud. Chloe Peppa lives in a house. EvereQ A habitat is where you live.

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework Outcome 4: Learning - Children are confident and involved learners

Our group discussion was an opportunity for the children to share their ideas and as the discussion continued it became evident that their understandings began to change and they were able to transfer knowledge to problem solve the original question. As children transfer and adapt what they have learnt from one context to another as they engage with and co-construct learning.

Jacaranda Journals Term 3, Week 4 : 5 - 11 August 2019 Thursday, 9 August, 2019

What does the word calm mean? Ayaan Still and do nothing Heidi When you are feeling cross your mum tells you to calm down and

relax. Florence We have to relax when other people are mad at us. Charlie It means you have to not cry and don’t fight with someone. Imogen It means you need to go to sleep. Ayaan Viaan looks calm now. Because he is sitting on the mat doing nothing. How does your body feel inside when you are angry? Everett Cross. Heidi Mad. When you are feeling angry why is it a good idea to do nothing or be calm? Anna When you shout really loudly your heart will be beating long and your

heart will be hurting. Imogen When you are calm you take a deep breath. What are some ways we can make our body feel calm? Anna Relax. Samuel Tell our body not to be angry. You have to tell your body to be calm.

No one can hear us, you say something in your mouth and your body tells it.

Viaan Calm means stop fighting. And you have to go to timeout. Your legs feel angry, your body feels angry.

Ayaan Your heart feels angry. What can you do to make your body feel calm and relaxed? Florence Take deep breaths in and out. Heidi When you are feeling really angry your mummy says why don’t you go outside and play with my

sisters. Amelie We do that too. Imogen Also play with my baby brother. Lucy I play with my brother on the trampoline. I go really high and then it makes me really calm and

happy again. Samuel When you are angry you go back to calm and then back to happy again. Anna When I’m feeling sleepy and happy I listen to the piano. Its helped me feel a little not sleepy

anymore. How does your body feel when you listen to the piano? Anna Relaxed. We used the gooey timer as a relaxing technique and asked the children who they felt after the experience. Amelie Calm. You cuddle your mummy and daddy. Imogen Calm. I take a deep breath. Florence If you are mad you have to take deep breaths to feel happy again.

Throughout our day we use a variety of different mindful techniques to help calm our bodies. On Thursday afternoon, we whole group experience we listened to Mozart whilst we painted on wet paper with liquid dyes.

“It’s amazing because it’s floating by itself.” - Everett