This week was very special for the Savanna Class! We celebrated Tanabata (Star Festival) together with all the classes and officially began our new Unit of Inquiry. It was a week filled with celebration, curiosity, exploration, music, outdoor adventures, and lots of summer fun.
We started the week by joining the whole school for our Tanabata celebration. Ms. Aya shared the Tanabata story through a puppet show, and everyone enjoyed singing the Tanabata song together. Our Savanna students showed that they are becoming Knowledgeable learners by remembering important parts of the story and confidently sharing what they remembered. Many children excitedly said, “Kamisama is angry!” as they recalled why Orihime and Hikoboshi could only meet once a year.
The children were also excited to harvest four eggplants from the plants they have been caring for. Seeing how much the vegetables had grown made everyone very happy. This experience encouraged the children to be Caring learners as they celebrated the results of working together and learned the importance of taking care of living things.
On Tuesday, we officially began our new Unit of Inquiry. To spark the children’s curiosity, we took a nature walk along the riverside with one simple challenge—to look for something small that is moving. The Savanna students eagerly explored their surroundings and discovered many tiny creatures, including caterpillars, spiders, ants, worms, and other little living things. They excitedly called out, “Look! Look!” whenever they found something new and carefully showed their discoveries to the teachers. When we returned to school, they eagerly shared their observations by saying, “I saw a spider!” “I saw a caterpillar!” “I saw an ant!” and “I saw a worm!” They truly demonstrated the learner profile of Inquirers through their curiosity and excitement about the natural world.
The following day, we read the story Mad About Minibeasts! and encouraged the children to continue asking questions. Their curiosity was wonderful to see as they wondered, “Why do worms go under the ground?” “Why do spiders have so many legs?” “Why do caterpillars become butterflies?” and “Why do centipedes have 30 legs?” Using the clues from our nature walk and the story, the children began guessing what our new unit could be about. After sharing many ideas, one student proudly exclaimed, “Small Creatures!” Everyone cheered as they realized they had solved the mystery together.
On Thursday, we continued our inquiry by going on a field trip to Azumino Park. During our nature walk, the children carefully observed the environment and found spiders, caterpillars, ants, bees, butterflies, and even mushrooms, which many of them found especially fascinating. They showed the learner profile of Observant Thinkers by paying close attention to the details around them and sharing their discoveries with excitement.
We then visited the science room, where we observed different kinds of fish. Our tour guide kindly explained the different fish and introduced us to the mother fish and baby fish, helping the children make connections between animals and their families. Inside the museum, we learned about the many small creatures that are protected in the park, including butterflies, frogs, beetles, and many more. One of the highlights of the visit was seeing a huge beehive, which amazed everyone! We also enjoyed listening to a Japanese kamishibai performance of the story Nezumi no Sumo. Although it was not the children’s first time hearing this story, they still listened with great attention and enthusiasm from beginning to end. They showed the communicator learner profile by listening carefully and showing appreciation for the storyteller.
With the warm summer weather, we also enjoyed playing in the outdoor pool. The children had a wonderful time splashing water using watering cans and plastic bottles while developing their confidence, cooperation, and friendships through play. During our music lesson, they practiced playing melodies from Do–Re–Mi to Mi–Re–Do using the correct fingers. They carefully controlled when to stop each note and were praised for their excellent focus and effort, demonstrating the learner profile of Thinkers as they practiced and improved their musical skills.
It has been an exciting week full of new discoveries and meaningful learning experiences. We are looking forward to continuing our inquiry into Small Creatures, asking more questions, making new discoveries, and learning how we can care for the tiny living things that share our world. Thank you, as always, for your continued support. We can’t wait to share more of our learning journey with you! 🌿🐞🦋
