Hi All,
Here is a small snapshot of what has been happening in the Prep Neighbourhood.
Kindness
Since the first week of the term many of our prep neighbourhood children have been actively recording moments of kindness on our documentation clipboards. In week 2, three of these children approached me with their clipboards asking to see the principal. When I questioned them about this they proceeded to explain that they would like to talk to the principal about kindness. We have now begun to explore the meaning of kindness, how to share this with our wider community and the processes involved in seeking meetings with members of our school community. These small invitational workshops exploring kindness will continue to expand our understanding of this concept and the many different ways available to us to communicate and share our discoveries. Perhaps we will use the mail system beginning to develop in the Prep Neighbourhood?
Letter Writing
The ‘spark’ for this invitational workshop was the question, posed by Hattie- ‘Why do we have to write?’. A small group of children came together to discuss this idea through a conversation rich in questions, wonderings and ideas. During this session we read a picture book titled ‘Grace’s Secret’ about a little girl who shares kindness through writing letters to her neighbours. This then lead to the children writing their own letters to friends and family and one big letter to all of the preps to explain how they would like to share kindness. This idea has now progressed to the group introducing a letter box to the Learning Commons, a guide for how to post a letter and the beginnings of a letter delivery system……….
Moving the Rock
During provocations we have had a determined group of students that would like to move a rock in the garden bed to help construction an ant house. This small group of students have met regularly with a teacher to discuss the progress of the rock. In these meetings the students have discussed their ideas, put their ideas on paper, acted on the ideas and reassessed their goals. The students have discovered that a manager may be required to help organise the group of workmen. Here a few of their designs and the students in action.