With Halloween in the air, the children got busy making spooky spiders using colourful construction paper and glue. After looking at a finished spider and watching how it was made, the children were eager to get started. They chose a paper circle for the body and rectangular pieces for the legs. By folding the ends of the rectangles, they made their spiders stand up.The children enjoyed experimenting with the steps and creating their own versions. Around the room, we heard excited voices: “Look at the spooky, spooky spider!” “This is long!” “Only one eye!” “Can you help me, please?” and “Where is the wet towel?” They looked happy seeing their works displayed on the wall.
During our music time, they had the opportunity to practice using bells. They listened carefully to the instructions and did their best to cooperate, follow the rhythm and play their bells at the right timing. There was lots of excitement as they began getting ready .
Our mud play and pool play have come to an end, so we are back to our usual school yard play. This week brought extra excitement as the children had opportunities to play with friends from the other classes.On one of the days, when we went outside, the children noticed that their friends had not come out yet. They immediately asked, “Where are the Waterfall friends?” They were clearly looking forward to seeing them and sharing the playground together! Once everyone was outside, the children enjoyed even more of their favourite activities. There was pretend cooking, rolling tyres, spinning hoops, racing, checking on the tomato plants, and balancing on the planted tyres. They also enjoyed connecting and playing with friends across the classes.
Among the books we read this week was the much-loved, The Three Little Pigs. It was the first time reading that book in the classroom but as as soon as the book was shown, some children eagerly raised their hands, ready to tell us what they already knew about the story. One child proudly announced the title, “The Three Little Pigs!” As we read, the children listened closely and made observations and made statements such as, “The pig is sad,” “The pig is happy,” “The wolf is angry,” and “The house is breaking!” One child heard the word, “frightened” as it appeared in the reading and wanted to use it to describe how the second pig was feeling. Although the word did not come out clearly at first, modelling the pronunciation gave him a helpful opportunity to hear and practise this new word. When another child was asked why the house did not break apart when the bad wolf huffed and puffed, he confidently replied, “Because this house is so strong.”It was lovely to see the children recalling details, learning new vocabulary, expressing their ideas, and thinking about the characters’ feelings as they listened to the story.
It has been a busy and joyful week plenty opportunities to learn together. From making spooky spiders to enjoying the school yard with friends and sharing ideas during story time, the children keep showing so much curiosity. We look forward to another week of discovering, learning, and having fun together.
