WHAT A WEEK!! I know this blog is supposed to be all about the learning in K2BeM but, just this once, I am going to start by sharing my news! As you all know, Milo Morley arrived safe and sound on Tuesday evening. Heloise was just incredible and he is perfect. He seems so, so tiny next to the rest of the family. We are really looking forward to spending some time at hom getting to know him. I have promised K2BeM they will be the first people at school to meet him. Thank you all for your kind messages.
Away from all the excitement, we have been as active as ever in K2BeM. Following last week’s escapades across the campus, this week, the children have been using everything they have discovered back in the classrooms as they face the ultimate “Magic Materials” challenge. They have been tasked with designing, constructing and testing a device that will transport Tickles and Anna from one side of the swimming pool to the other without getting wet...the catch being that nobody is allowed in the water! They will need to use everything they have discovered about materials as well as everything they understand about collaboration and teamwork. We are hoping to record the whole process on the iPads to document just how far everyone has come in their understanding over the course of the unit. To get the creative juices flowing, we explored whether certain materials float or sink and we made a guessing game using our extreme close-up photos of materials.
To help us do this, PLEASE can you send in any recycled materials you might have at home that you think we could use in our creations.
Meanwhile, we still found time to explore a couple of new fascinating materials and observe how they change under particular conditions. We enjoyed painting with invisible lemon juice...and then baking our creations in the oven as the pictures came to life. However, the biggest success of the week was the discovery of Oobleck! For those of you who are not familiar with this magical substance, it has the mystical quality of displaying the properties of both a solid and liquid at the same time (I think the scientific term is a non-Newtonian fluid!!). We heard all about Bartholomew and how he helped save his kingdom from this weird and wonderful material. If you would like to find out more, just ask and we will be more than happy to share the secret formula…but, be careful, it is pretty strange stuff!
In Writing Workshop, the children are becoming more comfortable at adding to their pieces as they try to remember “When I’m done, I’ve only just begun.” One of the aims of this introductory unit, if not the main aim, is for all the children to feel like writers irrespective of where they are in their writing development. A good indicator of this is the volume of writing the children produce. We want the children to write, write, WRITE and not to be inhibited by the mechanics and conventions of the writing process. For the most part, K2BeM are now happily producing books on an almost daily basis and, next week, we will encourage them to select one or two pieces to revise, edit and, eventually, publish.
In Reading Workshop, the children have continued to focus on partner reading and how to use each other as a strategy to improve reading comprehension and enjoyment. We have focused on how partners can help you out if you get stuck on a tricky word or do not understand something in your reading. Your partner is a reading strategy! Alongside this, the children are also becoming more comfortable and competent working through a range of differentiated phonological activities inspired by Letters and Sounds.
In Mathematics, we have focused on how we count a given set of objects and the many different ways we can do this. We have explored the idea of where you start to count being unimportant when computing a total amount and investigated ways to choose the most efficient method. To enhance this, we are beginning to introduce ten frames as one way of representing quantities.
We were lucky enough to be invited by our Grade 6 buddies to watch world record holder Scott Hammell perform this week. Scott is a magician, escape artist, stuntman, hypnotist and motivational speaker. His goal is to entertain and inspire. His speeches uncover the meticulous planning and attention to detail that go into his stunts but also reveal Scott’s motivation for defying gravity and expectations. Audiences are often surprised to discover how relatable many of Scott’s struggles are as he works to conquer his fears and give back to the community. It was quite an experience! Apologies for the quality of these photos but I did not want to turn my flash on and put him off!
The fourth annual quiz night in aid of Kuma Cambodia (the K2 Global Concern) will take place on Saturday 5th October…hosted by yours truly! As the event has been sold out, we are opening the auction to people throughout the school community. Thanks to the generosity of some incredible sponsors, we have fantastic prizes on offer. Please visit the auction section of the Kuma website to bid and support this wonderful initiative and feel free to spread the word.
Next week, I will be on Paternity Leave. I will leave K2BeM in the more than capable hands of Miss Ida (and, of course, a cover teacher...the lovely Miss Caleb). If you need to contact Miss Ida to inform her of changes to pick-up routines etc, her email address is
zubaidahuwc
Have a lovely weekend.
Ben and Ida
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