Bread Experiment

Last week we talked about germs and bacteria, and the importance of hand washing and hygiene. As an experiment we touched bread with unwashed and washed hands, to see if the level of bacteria on the bread made it go mouldy faster. The results speak for themselves! Wash those hands! YUCK!

Guest Speakers

We were fortunate today to have two parents passionate about health come and share their expertise with us. Jeannie helped us understand just what is in our processed foods, and how to make balanced choices based on identifying ingredients and quantities from food labels. Jon is an experienced triathlete, who talked with us about how the body converts food to energy. He helped us understand that we need to be conscious of the best 'fuel' to fill our tanks with.

Thank you to both of our fabulous speakers! We really appreciated you taking the time to come in and educate us!

CSI - Ms Tatiana

Ms Tatiana has been spending time in the grade two classrooms. She has been helping learners fine-tune their understanding of concepts relating to out unit, through the use of the visible thinking tool 'Colour / Symbol / Image'.

Today they worked in small groups around our units themes and related concepts of balance, choice, responsibility, lifestyle, and health.

Practising 'Calm'

Part of our UOI has focussed on ways to keep our body healthy, but we have also been looking at factors that contribute to our mental wellbeing. Children are identifying ways in which they relax, and activities that lead to their own positive feelings. This week we spent time talking about ways that we relax, and listened to some meditative music to wind down after a busy day. Luckily nobody fell asleep!

Emotions - Colour Symbol Image

We have been introducing a visible thinking routine called Colour / Symbol / Image into our unit of inquiry. Last week we explored how colour can evoke mood, and have been having plenty of discussions about feelings and how to stay calm. Today they had their first attempt at a Colour / Symbol /Image around an emotion of their choice. 

The short film below is called "Just Breathe" by Julie Bayer Salzman & Josh Salzman  of Wavecrest Films.
It demonstrates a group of children discussing how they feel when they are angry, and how they can calm down. We will be discussing this and other 'calming' techniques during the week.

Guest Speaker / Eating Rainbows

Today we had Nurse Alison come and talk with the class about being healthy. She talked about the 5 essential elements to keep our body healthy. Who can remember what they were and post their answer as a comment?

At lunchtime, Mrs Karyn went around with her camera and tried to see who was 'eating rainbows'. We wanted to see if children were eating a balanced lunch with a lot of different coloured foods.

Read Read Read

We love reading! It is fantastic to see the children self selecting high interest books. Many have been investigating the unit books, to help them find the answers to their own inquiry questions.