Dear Angwin families and friends,
We have had a lovely start to the
holidays with the children finding their individual and group interests in and
out of the classroom. We have been exploring how marble runs work using
different resources such as battery operated ones or makeshift ones that the
children had fun building. This gave opportunities for testing theories and
experimenting which strategies and resources work the best. We added different
loose parts in the block station and the children worked collaboratively to
create amazing structures with fine details including lights. Outdoors the
children found beetles which sparked discussions about Christmas beetles. We
unpacked the children's collective knowledge and questions about this
discovery.
Sammy: If you are really lucky, they can make you presents.
Walter: They can actually bite you
Lochlann: When it’s Christmas time, their
bumps come out and they can
scratch when you pick
them up.
Felix: When they are lying on their back
with their feet out, they are giving themselves
a massage.
Ashton: They give themselves a massage on
the ground when they are feeling
scratchy
Josh S- Did you know, some beetles have
claws, some are big and some small
Edward: Don’t kill them…. because they are
special
Jed: They fly
Daniel: They are magic. They eat Christmas
trees
Oscar: Do they eat the decorations?
Paxton: Do you know that there are many
different types of Christmas beetles?
Sammy: Here’s a fact. They have certain
colours- green, red and black.
Alina: …and golden
Sammy: No, only those colours
Felix: But golden is the colours of the
ones we saw in the oval though
Next week we will find ways to find
answers to the questions posed about Christmas beetles.
Paxton - How
do they fly?
Walter - How
and why do they scratch?
Audrey - How
do they go upside down?
Ashton - Where
do they live?
Thomas - How
can they eat?
Sammy - How
do they swim?
Mrs Rocca - Why are they called Christmas
Beetles?
Daniel - They can swim because they are magic
Felix - I saw them swim in our pool
Sammy - But you don't know if that one was a Christmas beetle
We spent some time outdoors
exploring the campus, collecting sticks for our Jacaranda Tree project and some
beautiful flowers for our Art station. With our busy days, we took the time to
calm down by having yoga and an Peace Out times, allowing the children to relax
their bodies and let their imagination do wonders for their mindfulness.
We also have budding story tellers
in the Angwin room using our story board and felt resources. This encouraged
the children to improvise stories that have settings, beginning, middle and
ending. Such a great activity to promote confidence in speaking in front of a
group. Oh, the stories that this are group come up with, you have to prepare
for the unexpected!!
The highlight of our week was making
rainbow in a cup using jelly. There was a lot of voting, guessing and making
choices within this activity. We are looking forward to making fresh lemonade
next week.
On Friday 22nd December, please send
your child in their favourite Christmas top and a Santa hat if you have any to
celebrate our last day for the year 2017. Mrs Rocca will also be away from
19th-21st of December to attend her graduation in Melbourne.
The Rocca and Nacca Team :)
