Throughout the term we have been reading, writing, and rocking maths. We have groups that are based on children's needs and abilities, and when they aren't working with me they are having fun exploring the other elements of numeracy and literacy. During this time rotations are set up and one of our favourite rotations is play dough! At this station we explore letter and number formation, 1 to 1 matching, and making interesting shapes and models. The learning involved is more than just exploring literacy and numeracy elements as we are also working on our fine motor skills. Rolling play dough in to balls and snakes helps us to develop our muscles in our fingers, hands, and arms. This helps us in all aspects of life, but it is especially helpful to strengthen our pen and pencil grip.This could be a fun activity to do at home too. Making play dough is super easy and a great way to explore measurement.
We wrapped up the term with more exploration of The Arts. We choreographed a routine for the school production. Ryker suggested the music - "Shake It Off" by Taylor Swift, which was a hit across the school. Every time we put it on students, teachers and parents couldn't help but boogie to it too! We had to make our head piece, a Fairy Basslet fish, which we painted bright colours and covered in glitter paint. We did 3 shows and each and every time Room 1B performed their best! I was blown away by how brave they were, their ability to remember our dance under pressure and their mad dancing skills! We are seriously a classroom of performers! It was lovely to see parents and whanau who had come to watch and then to see your proud faces afterwards.
As you know, Room 1B has grown, in fact we have tripled in size! We started Term 3 with 5 children and finished with 15. We are spending time learning how school works: setting up routines and expectations, learning about what it means to be a good classmate and friend, as well as doing our reading, writing, and maths. It's very busy, but lots of fun!
As always, you are welcome to come in and see me if you have any questions. Please check out our classroom and our work; we love showing you our learning.
Jenna, aka Miss Hannah :)
jennah@paremata.school.nz
P.S. Check out some “highlights” photos of our term. Aren’t we adorable?!
P.P.S. Check out Emily showing off her poster to advertise for the School Gala. She won best picture across all of the junior entries! Well done, Emily!
