New wooden bowls

We are a bit spoilt in Room 13!! 
Today Taylor bought in two new home made wooden bowls for our dining area.  They are very funky and have been put to great use already!! Thank you again to Ian for making such thoughtful additions for our sustainable classroom.

Chalk and water

Mrs Rova found some chalk and some of the children were wanting to go outside and use it.  We each got a piece  and created a masterpiece in the shelter shed.  There were lots of different creations on the concrete, steps and walls.  Then we decided to add some water to the chalk drawings and see what happened. This in turn led us to add chalk to the water. The water changed colour and was able to be used to paint with. It was a great activity and lots of different ideas were able to be explored.  Before we headed inside the class decided that they needed to clean the chalk off the walls. Mrs Rova found some old rags and we had a lot of fun removing our art. Ask Room 13 what the best part was and majority of them said it was wiping and cleaning up.  

This may be a skill  you can utilise at home when it is time to spring clean the house. LOL

Bug hunting

Armed with bug catching containers and magnifying glasses we went on a class adventure outside.  Our task was to try and find bugs in their natural environment.  One group found a big weta on a tree. It was very exciting. We were also able to find a few slaters, ants, slugs and a black beetle. 

Sorting objects

At maths time we have been learning about different shapes.  We have been focussing on creating groups of objects.  Our learning goal is to sort objects by their appearance.  Mrs Rova gave us a tray of shapes and we had to create a group and then verbalise what our groups were.  Some of us sorted our shapes into groups of colours.  We also had some groups of different shapes.  
You can try this activity at home using household items and making groups.  

Visiting bunnies

We were very lucky today because Taylor and her sister Lara bought their bunnies in to our class.  Their names are Marsh mellow and Milkshake.  We learnt about what they are fed and how Taylor and Lara take care of them.  They felt very fluffy and hopped around the class.  It was funny to watch their little noses twitching.  Thank you to Taylor, Lara and Ian for sharing the bunnies with Room 13.

We welcome pets, as visitors, so please see Mrs Rova if you have an animal you may like to share with us.

A busy morning...

Whilst Mrs Rova has been withdrawing children and taking writing groups we have had a busy morning.  Here is a small sample of some of the activities that we have been participating in.  

Monarch Butterfly

One of the senior boys found a dead monarch butterfly whilst bringing the milk to our class.  We used the microscope and magnifying glasses to look at it closely.  We talked a lot about the patterns on the wings and also the different colours that we could see.  We had lots of different ideas about how it may have died.  Room 13 thought perhaps it was tooooooo cold for the butterfly.

Card making

In Room 13 we have been learning about writing for a specific audience.  We talk a lot about who our audience may be. Our class often like to share our wonderful writing with teachers and students in other classes.  One of our class members, Taylor, had been unwell and away from school for several days and we decided that we could make Taylor some 'Get well soon' cards.  Here we are creating  some special cards. We each wrote our own message also.  Once we had finished we sent them home with Taylor's big sister. 

Perhaps you could also make a card for someone in your family? 

Three buckets, one cylinder and one water tap..

Today we went out to the sandpit with three buckets and a cylinder tube. The water tap was also turned on. Before we went outside Mrs Rova talked a lot about taking turns and working together as there was only going to be one tap, three buckets and one cylinder. At times we found this very challenging however with some great negotiating we were able to work through the issues that this presented.  Mrs Rova was very impressed with the fantastic discussions and creativity that evolved. Some of the construction and chatter was based around police officers and police cells, foot spas, queens, kings, castles, swimming pools, spa baths, nests, dinosaurs and volcanoes.  WOW BUSY BUSY!

What are some of the skills the children are exploring with this activity?

·         *How to work together as a team and take turns

·         *Listening to and following simple instructions from each other

·         *Problem solving 

·         *Using words and sentences to describe and extend upon play

·         *Using imagination and dramatic play to explore the world around them and feelings/emotions

·         *Exploring and investigating our senses and talking about what is being felt

·         *Cause and effect - adding water to sand/sand to water

·         *Strengthening fine and gross motor skills

·         *Creative self expression

Our class looks forward to trying this activity again as our class numbers get bigger.

Our school chaplain

Today Room 13 had a special visitor -our school chaplain, Irene Hosking.  We learnt all about her job at SPS and we got to ask her some questions.  Irene is very nice and friendly.  We can not wait to see her out and about around our school and in the playground. 

Irene is available for all the children, parents and staff to talk to and she will always listen to what is on our mind.  
Perhaps you could ask Room 13 children about what a chaplain is and why we have one at SPS?