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Author: Scott Grason-Taylor
The Gingerbread Man
This week in Explorers we are reading ‘The gingerbread man’.We are looking at ‘dry’ and ‘wet’ this week so this morning with the children that have been in, we have looked at all the different ingredients used to make gingerbread. The children had a feel of the dry ingredients before we added the wet ones to bind it all together. The children then used the rolling pin and cutter to cut their gingerbread man out and once cooked, we are going to decorate them. We also have some gingerbread dough in the kitchen with some of the dry ingredients in pots so the children can make their own creations.
Prepare for Christmas
We began our preparations for Christmas by discussing the meaning of Advent. We went on to look closely at the foliage and got going snipping,cutting,trimming and creating our own wreaths for our Prayer Space in the classroom. The Pioneers went foraging for some scented additions to finalise our creation.
There was some left over eucalyptus and holly so that has gone in a vase and the house is now topped with branches of fir and trailing ivy.
It smells like Christmas in our classroom.
Trying new food
This morning we read Handa’s Surprise and looked at all of the fruits in our basket. Just before snack we took the basket of fruits to the table. Miss Idle took each one out and we looked at them to see if we could remember what they were called. We then had a guess of what colour the fruits may be inside. We passed each fruit around the circle to feel the texture and once Miss Idle had cut them in half we all smelt the fruits. After we had done that we had a taste of the delicious fruits at snack time. Today we tried banana, orange,passion fruit, pineapple, avocado, tangerines and mango. All of the children tried everything which was fantastic. We even had some empty plates and some children who asked for more!
Let There Be Light
Shadows were of interest so we got out some filters and overlays,torches and mirrors to experiment with.
So much learning about sorting materials and new vocabulary-opaque and transparent,flexible,rigid and reflective.
Sorting and Comparing : Fruit and Vegetables
Fresh vegetables were added to the Cat’s Kitchen. A question was asked,”Is it real?” and so a different investigation took place.
We sorted fruit and vegetables,real and plastic and wooden. We sorted again depending on how it grew-above or below ground,on plants or trees. Then we had a poke around inside to look for seeds.
Some liked this. Some were less keen!
Painting Pumpkins
Some painted on paper. Some preferred to paint straight onto the pumpkin. Either way the Pioneers adapted their strategies to suit the tools and the canvas. Focus and energy. Patience and thought.
Great exploration.
Paint and Puddles
Sometimes the best learning happens on the spur of the moment. The brushes were intended for painting but the puddle was too inviting to miss. The Pioneers discovered that they could make wonderful arcs of water spray when the waved the brushes around. They ran in big circles trailing the brushes behind them and of course they made the biggest waves possible in a small body of water.
The addition of powder paint was amazing and the effect was spectacular. The Pioneers were slightly concerned about the mess but they were reassured that everything would be fine when it rained.
Mr Grason agreed.
Kebabs and Mucky Pumpkins
We had been using the chimebars in the classroom to experiment with rhythm. The beaters were repurposed and appeared in the Little Red Hen’s Kitchen in the form of Kebabs. This was a great new use for the sticks. The Pioneers were all interested in making kebabs and discussed that some may be having these at home in the holidays with marshmallow and chocolate.
We took the idea one step further and made some leaf kebabs in the forest. These allowed us to collect and compare leaves at various spots in the forest.The Pioneers spotted the difference in the shapes and the talked about the seeds that we found too.
When we brought the pumpkin in,it was clear that it needed a wash,so we washed it and scrubbed it and massaged it with bubbles and green froth.
So good.
Where Did the Wind Blow Our Leafmen?
A visit to the forest was required to locate our missing Leafpeople. Many were close to the edge of the forest. Some were stuck in bushes and trees. Poor Mrs McGill had great difficulty in finding her one and needed help. The Pioneers were very quick to offer kindness and support and after a long hard search the lost leafman was located.
