Journals: Week 2—10 October—14 October 2016

Monday, 10 October 2016

“Which bird is it from?” - Lexi

The weekend windy weather was a starting topic of conversation on Monday morning. The conversation lead to a

continuing discussion about birds nests and the children wanting to find out more about birds nests.

Alexandra: I saw two trees fall down and they were really big.

Thomas: Sean was at my house and I nearly got flown away and my Dad had to rescue me.

Angus: One day it was really windy and a tree nearly fell on my chicken nest.

Blake: When I was coming to school a branch fell on the driveway.

William: You need to stay inside.

Isobel: When I was watching TV I couldn't watch my kids show because the wind was too windy.

Why do you think you couldn't watch the TV show?

Angus: The wind affects the TV.

How?

Harper: Electricity.

William: There is too much sound from the wind.

Lexi: The phone lines.

What affects the TV? What’s on the roof? How does the signal get to the TV?

Henry: The electricity is under the ground.

Taj: The cords of the electricity outside the wind blows them and it.

Chloe, what did you find that has blown from a tree?

Chloe: It’s a bird’s nest. And we put some fake eggs in there. It’s made from twigs and grass.

Lexi: Which bird is it from?

Blake: It could be from a magpie or maybe a crow.

Chloe: It fell out of a tree and it floated down and Dad invited me over to see it. It might be a pigeon or a parrot because I

have seen them in them in our backyard.

Blake: They use twigs. They take some twigs and leaves and bark. And they use their beaks to pick up stuff.

Lexi: I made a birds nest. I put a stick here and here and here and here [making a square shape with her hands]. And I

kept going around. When there was enough sticks I put some leaves in to make it comfy.

Ruby: Because it was a beak to grab stuff.

Arabella: And their claws.

Olivia: Easy for a bird.

Lexi: It’s very delicate.

Some questions we wanted to find out:

Do all birds make nests?

Do all birds make nests in trees?

Who makes the nest( females or males)?

Do any other animals lay eggs?

How long does it take for a bird’s eggs to hatch?

Do they use the nest again, next year? ‘A bird making a nest with a twig in its mouth.’ —Isobel

Journals: Week 2—10 October—14 October 2016

Tuesday, 11 October 2016

“It’s like sewing when you are a bird.” - Isobel

After our discussion on Monday about bird’s nests, Ms. Bawden showed the children a variety of different nest that had

been found. The children looked at the different materials the different birds had used to make the individual nests.

Blake: Miner birds steal the other birds nest and sometimes the eat the eggs. There are Indian Miner birds they got

brought to Australia and Australian Miner birds. The Indian Miner birds comes from India and they came to

Australia and they steal all the other birds nests and their eggs.

Angus: If the nest is tiny then they adult bird must be small.

Clara: Maybe it is old.

Gigi: Sticks and mud is how you stick it together.

Blake: The leaves make it cosy.

Isobel: It’s like sewing when you are a bird.

Blake: The female magpie has grey on it’s neck and the male is black and white.

Felix: The male birds have the black and white.

- Olivia

- Harper

- Aiden

- Kyler - Chloe

- Alexandra

- Arabella

- Billie

Journals: Week 2—10 October—14 October 2016

On Wednesday, Henry arrived very excited to share with the children that there was a

digger at school. The children watched as the workers loaded the sandpit full on sand, counting

the loads as the digger dumped an initial layer of rocks, followed by sand to fill the sandpit up the

top. On Thursday the Moreton Bay children eagerly raced over to the sand pit to play.

What’s at the bottom of the sandpit?

Milan: Pipes.

Why?

Angus: The rocks will make...the water will flush all the water away.

What will go on top of the rocks?

Alexandra: New sand.

Gigi: And it’s going to be all white.

Wednesday, 12 October 2016

“I saw a digger on the other side of the school.

The digger is coming!!” - Henry

Journals: Week 2—10 October—14 October 2016

Uno’s Garden by Graeme Base

We are currently inquiring into how Human actions have consequences on the environment. As a provocation for the

children we read the story Uno’s Garden, which tells a story of how Uno cares for the forest and the animals in it and in

particular one Snortlepig. A village, then a town and then a city grow around Uno’s home and Uno realises the animals and

plants have begun to disappear.

Why are the animals and plants disappearing?

Gigi: Because the jungle is getting smaller and the whole entire city is getting bigger.

Blake: The city is ruining their habitat.

Isobel: He looks like a ghost.

The finals pages show how Uno’s children and grandchildren start to replant the trees and plants and the animals return. The

story finishes with “...the forest and the city found themselves in perfect balance.”

What does balance mean?

William: Balance means you are not falling off.

- William - Clara

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework

COMMUNITY – Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world The children demonstrate that they were able to critically think about how the expansion of the city had environmental consequences for the

animals habitat.

Journals: Week 2—10 October—14 October 2016

This week in our Motor Skills class we focused

under arm throwing and catching. Throwing and catching

are fundamental motor skills necessary for many sporting

and activity. The children are enjoying practising their

skills and improving and refining these skills with you at

home.

The children were encouraged to use their bean

bag to throw over objects and control their throwing as

they tried to make their beanbag land on the circle dot.

The activity required the children to concentrate on their

throwing and coordinate their hands and eyes to ensure

the beanbag was landed safely in their hands. We

finished the session with a game of Cat and Mouse,

where the Cat chases the Mouse around the circle and

tries not to get caught.