Over the past year, we have undertaken a significant project inspired by our natural surroundings—our courtyard. The children became deeply engaged in revitalising the Year 1 courtyard. They collaborated to create plans, participated in discussions, role-played, and worked together to construct a new garden.
This inquiry has opened up various authentic learning opportunities, allowing them to develop new understandings while reinforcing existing ones. The project has dramatically enhanced our documentation process, enabling parents and their children to connect and discuss the work. It has sparked ideas and nurtured the children’s curiosity about our community life and ecosystem.
All the big ideas and concepts discussed in our collective inquiry were applied to the student’s project work. This includes constructing items for the well-being of humans and animals in the courtyard, planting in the courtyard space, and creating a performance to showcase their new understandings to the broader community. As the students transition into the communication phase, we will begin presenting this work to the community, seeking feedback and engaging in self-reflection.
In Weeks 7 and 8, we continued in the ‘communicate’ phase of our collective inquiry, taking significant steps to share our learning and inspire action around the courtyard ecosystem. The Project Courtyard group created posters to guide visitors on caring for the space, which was especially helpful around the PHPS Bazaar.
The Courtyard Sanctuary group used their research on creatures that might inhabit the courtyard to create a quiz, providing an interactive way to educate others while raising awareness in a fun and engaging manner. The Artists’ Company focused on writing scripts and crafting costumes for their ecosystem performances, bringing their knowledge to life for the community.
This phase has helped students realise the importance of learning about the environment and communicating that knowledge effectively, fostering a sense of responsibility and connection to the courtyard.
The children reflected on the courtyard project in the studio by creating clay sculptures and explaining why they made their particular pieces. The Year 1 Artist Company continued its journey of fostering connection and collaboration through play practice.
Students in the project group “Sanctuary for All” have worked hard to improve the courtyard’s aesthetics and promote the well-being of the people and animals that use it. In week 7, we reflected on our work and practised our writing. We also finished the lizard lounge and bug houses and hung wind chimes on the walls of the classroom before the expo.
