We completed the first full week of our Waterfall class! We were so happy to be playing, learning, and cooperating together. We welcomed a new member to Shimauchi campus, Yukari, from Monday. Yukari has already made so many friends, and has shown herself to be so independent!

This week we also started the second unit of inquiry for the year all about animals! We have been using photo cards of animals to see what we already know about them, and how we can sort animals in to different groups (that’s called taxonomy!!). We talked about what animals we like, what animals are big, small, cute and scary!

We also had a special Tanabata themed school assembly! Students learned about the ancient story of Tanabata, all in English. Miss Aya put on a wonderful puppet show for us, and students were thrilled to hear all about the princess, the prince, and the Milky Way!

Students had a lot of exercise this week, running outside, playing, and discovering. We found a snail, and some pill bugs too! We talked about how we should treat those animals, and how to take care of them. After lots of discussion, we decided it would be best to put them in the bushes. Lovely caring!

On Thursday we had our first pool play session! Students really loved splashing, playing, and exploring the water with each other. It was perfect weather for it too. The water was super refreshing in the summer heat. Importantly, when we came back in, we tried to be independent and dry, get dressed, put away our clothes by ourselves.

As we begin to get used to the routine of being in Waterfall, we will continue to focus on developing our independence, and our curiosity together. It seems like every day we are developing new skills, and discovering new interests. We’re looking forward to next week!