Australia

Many of you will have heard about Australia by now.  Perhaps your child told you that they flew to Australia or that Mrs. Proud or Mrs. Piquette told him/her to go to Australia for a little while.  Please don't be alarmed!  Australia is a place that is safe and sound in our classroom.

The concept of Australia as a quiet spot where children can take a break, calm down, reflect on behaviour, or be alone for a moment comes from the book "Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day" by Judith Viorst.

We read the book in class and found that a lot of our students could relate to Alexander and his bad day.  After all, everyone has a bad day once in a while, where everything seems to be going wrong.  In the book, Alexander is having such a horrible day, that he wishes he could just move to Australia.  Hence, our area of the room for calming down and taking a break when things seem to be overwhelming or not going your way, is called Australia.

Children can go to Australia, one at a time, if they need a break.  They are able to set a time for 5 minutes, and take some time to cuddle a toy, lay down, stomp their feet, read a book, or use a TheraBall to help them.  There are also a variety of visual aids in Australia to help children remember to breathe and reflect.

In class we are also going to be diving into problem-solving strategies.  Mrs. Piquette and Mrs. Proud, along with the rest of the kindergarten team have been meeting regularly to discuss our students' urgent learning need.  As a team, we have begun an inquiry project around how to help our children be better problem solvers.

Our inquiry question is very simple:

What impact does teaching our students problem solving strategies have on their ability to solve problems independently?

Australia is one strategy we have implemented so far.  We also spent some time talking to the children about what they think a problem might look like in our classroom.  We generated a list at focused learning time to see what our students know and understand about problems.  Once we can define what "problems" mean, our next step will be to work on what it means to "solve" a problem.

As a class we generated a list of what
problems at school might look like.
What IS a problem?

The Castle Inquiry

A tower with ramps built in the engineering
centre on March 23 (one week before we
introduced the castle inquiry)

Many of you have now, hopefully, heard about our castle inquiry.  It began very simply, with the children showing interest in building a multitude of towers in the engineering centre.  Mrs. Piquette and Mrs. Proud watched this experimentation with a variety of blocks go on for a few weeks.  While the children had always shown an interest in building, it wasn't until we pared down the number of blocks and provided a wider variety of both blocks and loose parts that the children started to focus their building more concisely.

The next event that piqued our interest was when we asked the children what they wanted to change our dramatic play centre into next.  They came up with a few ideas, but many agreed on creating a castle.  It had not been the first time that the children had suggested we create a castle, but combined with the recent surge in building towers, we felt the time was right.

Mrs. Proud and Mrs. Piquette began by discussing all of the possible ways the inquiry could go.  We knew that the main thrust of the children's previous experience would be via fairy tales and Disney movies, and we wanted to see what that looked like.  We showed the children some of the images we had found on the internet of dramatic play areas set up as castles and asked them to draw a picture of how they wanted it to look.

Here is our summary of how we introduced the topic.


For this inquiry, we will be following the outline of an article from the Educational Research Review, which is an international journal concerned with the research and agencies in education and instruction.  The February 2015 volume contains an article entitled: "Phases of inquiry-based learning: Definitions and the inquiry cycle," by M. Pedaste et al, which outlines the following five phases of inquiry-based learning:

The Inquiry-based learning framework from
"Phases of inquiry-based learning: Definitions and
the inquiry cycle" (2015) by M. Pedaste et al., p. 56

1. Orientation:  The process of stimulating curiosity about a topic and addressing a learning challenge through a problem statement
2. Conceptualization:  The process of stating theory-based questions and/or hypotheses
3. Investigation:  The process of planning exploration or experimentation, collecting and analyzing data based on the experimental design or exploration
4. Conclusion:  The process of drawing conclusions from the data.  Comparing inferences made based on data with hypotheses or research questions
5. Discussion:  The process of presenting findings of particular phases or the whole inquiry cycle by communicating with others and/or controlling the whole learning process or its phases by engaging in reflective activities

                                                                                                                                                        (p. 54)

Curriculum Connections:

Social Development:1.2  demonstrate the ability to take turns in activities and discussions (e.g., engage in play activities  
       with others, listen to peers and adults)
3.2  demonstrate respect and consideration for individual differences and alternative points of view
      (e.g., help a friend who speaks another language, adapt behaviour to accommodate a classmate's
      ideas)
3.3  talk about events or retell stories that reflect their own heritage and cultural background and the
       heritage and cultural background of others (e.g., traditions, birthdays, cultural events, myths,
       Canadian symbols, holidays)

Emotional Development1.1  recognize personal interests, strengths, and accomplishments
1.2  identify and talk about their own interests and preferences
1.3  express their thoughts and share experiences
2.3  demonstrate self-motivation, initiative, and confidence in their approach to learning by selecting
       and completing learning tasks
2.5  interact cooperatively with others in classroom events and activities

Language1.2  listen and respond to others for a variety of purposes  and in a variety of contexts
1.4  follow and provide one- and two-step directions in different contexts
1.5  use language in various contexts to connect new experiences with what they already know
1.7  use specialized language for a variety of purposes
1.8  ask questions for a variety of purposes and in different contexts
2.4  respond to a variety of materials read aloud to them
2.6  use prior knowledge to make connections to help them understand a diverse range of materials
       read by and with the EL-K team
2.10  retell information from non-fiction materials that have been read by and with the EL-K team in
       a variety of contexts
4.3  write simple messages, using a combination of pictures, symbols, knowledge of the
      correspondence between letters and sounds (phonics) and familiar words
4.5  experiment with a variety of simple writing forms for different purposes and in a variety of  
      contexts
5.2  communicate their ideas verbally and non-verbally about a variety of media materials

MathematicsG3.3  compose pictures, and build designs, shapes, and patterns, using two-dimensional shapes and decompose two-dimensional shapes into smaller shapes, using various tools or strategies
G3.4  build three-dimensional structures using a variety of materials and begin to recognize the three-dimensional figures their structures contain
G3.5  investigate the relationship between two-dimensional shapes and three-dimensional figures in objects that they have made
G3.6  demonstrate an understanding of basic spatial relationships and movements

Science1.3  explore patterns in the natural and built environment
2.1  state problems and pose questions before and during investigations
2.2  make predictions and observations before and during investigations
2.3  select and use materials to carry out their own explorations
2.4  communicate results and findings from individual and group investigations
4.2  state problems and pose questions as part of the design process
4.3  make predictions and observations throughout the design process
4.4  select and use tools, equipment, and materials to construct things using the design process
4.5  communicate and record results and findings after constructing things either individually or in
      groups 


Health and Physical Activity2.2  demonstrate persistence while engaged in activities that require the use of both large and small muscles
2.3  demonstrate strategies for engaging in cooperative play in a variety of games and activities

The ArtsD1.1  demonstrate an awareness of personal interests and a sense of accomplishment in drama and
          dance
D1.2  explore a variety of tools and materials of their own choice to create drama and dance in
          familiar and new ways
D2.1  explore different elements of drama and dance
D3.1  use problem-solving skills and their imagination to create drama and dance
D3.2  dramatize rhymes, stories, legends, and folk tales from various cultures, including their own
V3.1  use problem-solving skills and their imagination to create visual art forms
V5.1  communicate their understanding of something by representing their ideas and feelings through           visual art

References
Pedaste, M., Mäeots, M., Siiman, L.A., et al. (2015). Phases of inquiry-based learning:        Definitions and the inquiry cycle. Educational Research Review, 14, 47-          
     61. http://ac.els-cdn.com/S1747938X15000068/1-s2.0-S1747938X15000068-main.pdf? 
     _tid=86758990-ff8a-11e5-9b74 00000aab0f6b&acdnat=1460340793_
     c6b022c3df464eadae9f26bf7b4fc932

Guacamole for St. Patrick's Day

What is it about spring time and guacamole?  Last year it was in early March that we made guacamole, and this year we did it again!  We wanted to make something healthy and green for the students before the March Break and for St. Patrick's Day.  The students had a lot of fun tasting the various ingredients and mixing them together.  Many of the students enjoyed eating the guacamole with tortilla chips, and even asked for seconds!

The Go Go Grandmothers of Guelph - March 11, 2016

We aren’t really sure how we have arrived at April already, but here we are.  Sadly, we have not had a single moment to update the blog in a while, so be prepared for some back dated posts to start clogging up the screen!

Lots of exciting things have been happening in Kindergarten A.  We continue to make changes, add things, and remove things to support our students.  Stay tuned for more posts about that!

 On March 11 we were lucky enough to experience an amazing presentation from the Go-Go Grandmothers of Guelph.  The Grandmothers work as volunteers to raise money for The Stephen Lewis Foundation and the Grandmothers to Grandmothers Campaign, raising money for African grandmothers who care for orphaned children.

The Grandmothers told us a great story using puppets about a rabbit named Zomo who has to gather 3 things in order to learn a secret.  The Grandmothers used puppets, drumming, and storytelling to bring the story to life, and the kindergarteners LOVED every minute of it.  Afterwards, the children were able to play musical instruments and learn about puppeteering.  It was truly an incredible visit, and we are very grateful to Mrs. Higginbottom from KB for organizing it.