Soccer

Winter is soccer season for us. Here I model perfect soccer mum attire LOL

Boronia is snug and keeping out of the wind on the sidelines.

Mulga with his adored coach.

Waratah, "eagle-screeching" at the opposition as he prepares to attack the ball. 

The boys' enthusiasm for lego has waned somewhat lately, which has allowed Boronia to step in and explore - literally. Her favourite position is inside the lego box.

I made one final effort to interest the boys in the 2D lego challenge - here I have made a picture of Gollum to illustrate The Hobbit, which we are currently reading. He is lying on his rock in the lake, with his precious and a fish to eat.

Flat out!

A miscellaneous collection of photo records of learning today :)

This is a close up of the raw sugar solution. We have been discussing what makes the brown colour, how it is less refined that white sugar, and how as a result it contains impurities which are really left over bits of the sugar cane. This has been graphically illustrated with our raw sugar solution where we can clearly see the "impurities" and how they could be refined out through filtering processes. 

Boronia is recovering very well from her operation to remove the pyogenic granuloma on her forehead. No ill effects from the anaesthetic, thank goodness, and the wound (which we have been asked to leave open to the air) is very clean - not bothering her at all.

This week's lego challenge was to build a flat (2 dimensional) image. The boys were not sure how to go about that, so I made some demonstrations and we discussed the differences in their construction and the effects produced - using lego to make a top down view...

and a to make a side-view picture.

Lego challenge week 3 - "vessel"

Mulga's space ship, complete with the all important communication satellite and transmitter, and booster rockets underneath.

Waratah's tourist speedboat that carries 30 passengers on very fast sight-seeing tours, and has wheels so it can run up the ramp to let passengers on and off.

Lego challenge week 2 - "monochromatic"

Mulga made this shiny red building all by himself. He tells me it is a toy workshop 

(and has been making up games with it for much of the day).

Waratah made this blue house on wheels (the front wheels swivel for steering). He got a bit frustrated because (a) his brother used up all the red blocks and red is his favourite colour, and (b) we don't have many long blue blocks, so the floor is quite a patchwork, and whenever he tried to put a roof on, the whole thing collapsed into pieces. He eventually handed it to me and said "You give it a roof, Mum..." so a collaborative effort.

It must be my day to do lego... this is the Mum and baby entry... I made this sturdy green tortoise and habitat for Boronia (who turns 1 tomorrow :D) to play with while the boys were busy (in between collecting red blocks for Mulga and building a blue roof for Waratah...)

Lego challenge week 1 - "car"

Waratah's "pterano-car".

Mulga's high flying truck.

2012 Term 4 Week 1 Day 5

Kindergarten

Religion: Craft
Theme: The Sacraments - Baptism
☑ Paper Dove

English: Story Time
☑ Mark Sperring, The Sunflower Sword (2011)

With discussion of themes, illustrations and comprehension questions.

Mathematics: Maths Games
Theme: Measurement - What attributes can be measured?
☑ Laura Ljungkvist, Follow the Line (2006)

 With counting, pattern recognition and spatial awareness exercises.

Creative Arts: Painting
☑  Decorating 'Pakistani' trucks.

Human Society & Environment: Discussion / Debate (Clarifying Values)
Theme: All about me.
☑ How does an enemy become a friend?
Discussion arising out of Snowleopard video (see below) and The Sunflower Sword (see above).

Science & Technology: Video
Theme: A baby grows to an adult.
☑ David Attenborough, Natural World: Snowleopard - Beyond the Myth

Personal Development, Health and Physical Education: My Body
☑ Once Upon A Time... Life: The Body's Sentinels [Playlist - 3 episodes]
Cultural Studies: Investigating Diversity
Theme: Babies
☑ We followed on from the Snowleopard video, which was set in rural Pakistan, to see what we could find out about the Pakistani culture and environment. Along the way we discovered the amazingly beautiful Pakistani trucks, and decorated our own (see Creative Arts above).
☑ We also investigated some Pakistani dances, and discussed why the majority of videos we found involved groups of men dancing, and not women, or men and women dancing together.
☑ We ended with a video of a Camel Dance!

PreK - Play-based learning (EYLF)

Sensory Play
☑ Textures - while creating Pakistani trucks above

Exploratory Play
☑ Mulga joined in our video investigations of Pakistani culture

Manipulative Play
☑ Lego building

Dramatic Play
☑ Tabata moves - Dance like an animal

Creative Play
☑ See Pakistani trucks above

Infant - Play-based learning

Sensory Play
☑ Boronia started "feeling"objects by putting them in her mouth

Exploratory Play
☑ as above

Manipulative Play
☑ as above - it is still quite a challenge for her to maneuvre objects where she wants them

Dramatic Play
☑ we played peek a boo and looked in the mirror

Creative Play
☑ singing nursery rhymes