Another fantastic week in Waterfall class!

We have been continuing to dive deeper into our unit of inquiry topic of “animals”. We played a game where students looked at close-up pictures of the skin of animals. They had to then pick which photo of an animal matched the skin. Once we got used to the rules, it was a really enjoyable game. We also talked about the difference between “skin”, “fur”, “feathers”, “scales”, etc. 

Pool play has been continuing, and to match with our animal theme, we spent the first 5-10 minutes of pool time pretending to be animals! We saw some ferocious crocodiles, hungry sharks, beautiful flamingos, and even some cute penguins! Not only does this enable us to naturally practice and learn new vocabulary, but it helps us think and experience more deeply what these animals are like, and stimulate interest in students.

This week we also started studying the alphabet. We made a classroom display with the letters that spell “Animals”. I was happily surprised to see that students were already familiar with the shapes of letters, and were keen to match them to the alphabet wall! Following on from this, and at their own request, some students even began tracing their names using pencils! Even at such a young age, the curiosity and enthusiasm for new skills naturally arises! We will definitely build on this during August.

Our spotlighted learner profile attribute in Shimauchi right now is being “balanced”. Helping students reflect on this, we have been highlighting how important it is to try new food that we normally don’t like, and to try to finish all of our lunch. Everyone has been trying really hard, and been so proud to show their empty plates! Let’s keep it up!

Next week we have our field trip to the Shiga fossil museum to look forward to! We hope it continues to fuel the students’ curiosity about the natural world.