Reception

Welcome Back, Reception Students!

We are so excited to have all Reception students back for Home-Based Learning this term! We look forward to more fantastic learning experiences this new semester!

An Inquiry into Natural and Man-Made Primary Colors

In term 3 Week 2, we introduced the Primary colors to our students through provocations by having the children classify and sort objects that are man-made and natural on Jamboard. Children observed black and white objects on the screen and used their prior knowledge to think of the actual color of the object. Ibu Tessa took students to the school garden virtually so they could see parts of campus they have yet to experience and she picked some flowers so the children could make pea flower tea together. We integrated Science expectations into the discovery about what would happen when blue pea flowers are added to water. Students are continuing to explore more about natural occurring colors and how we use them in our daily life.

Visible Thinking Routines

By Ibu Ashley K-S

Each week in English this semester we will be focusing more on the essential PYP elements through intentional conversation. Our goal is for our younger learners to get more acquainted with conceptual thinking routines and for our reading skills lessons to be student-driven. Visible thinking leads to more creativity and evidence-based reasoning and through simple Jamboard exercises like these, we are growing confidence and having deeper discussions that lead into more solutions found by the children. Agency is another bi-product of these routines, so we’re excited to see what happens this last semester in Reception! SO many children were excited to look up answers to these questions. We look forward to revisiting these pictures next week to see what discoveries these small, but mighty ones’ have for us!

WEEK 4

Students listened to The Day the Crayons Quit and drew a colorful picture using all the crayon kit colors. Students practiced self-management skills, applied art concepts, and literacy skills while creating their work of art. They combined elements from the story and produced an example of how human-made colors work in their world.

After listening to A Color of His Own, by Leo Lionni, students made connections to the story and our central idea. They colored a picture of a chameleon and explained why they chose that color. This simple task integrated literacy, art, and research skills. It also provided an opportunity for the children to design, execute, and integrate.

COLORS OF US

We started Week 4’s integrated Social Studies lesson on color shades by front-loading using BrainPop Jr. Some provocation questions followed when referencing different color cards:

“What can you tell us about these colors?”

“Where can you find shades of colors like this?”

We then made connections to our Art lesson, which focused on the beautiful story, “The Colors of Us.” Students created different shades of skin color to represent people they love. Students applied concepts, produced, and analyzed the colors used to form new versions of those colors.

LUNCH BUNCH

Week 4, our Reception students tapped into their schemas and shared their understanding of natural & human-made Primary, Secondary, and Tertiary colors. This prior knowledge discussion led students to actively participate in our synchronous Lunch Bunch plate activity during Week 5

The children looked at their food-themed colors and shared what they had on their plates with the class on Seesaw and during our face-to-face Google Meet. As an extension activity, we used the color from the food to create paintings on paper. We also inquired about what kind of food makes the best colors. Our extraordinary Reception scientists recorded these learning experiences in their Food Diary for three days in a row.

My Food Diary continued over three days during Week 5. Students shared the colorful food on their plates during Lunch Bunch and explained what colors were Primary, Secondary, or Tertiary colors. This transfer of knowledge to one another through their photo journal and recordings empowered our mighty inquirers and improved their communication skills (listening, speaking, viewing, & presenting). It was so cool to see the healthy lifestyle choices that our small but mighty ones were making too! Proud teachers, proud students!

Week 6, we led a guided reflection session with the students to give us insight into what stuck with them. We are halfway through the term, and this purposeful check-in allows us to evaluate our teaching and assist with future instruction over the next four weeks. These slides give us a launching pad to write our reflections- to describe our successes and further enhance lessons for future lessons to fill in any gaps that may have been unclear. We heard students’ opinions of Lunch Bunch, the unit in general, and motivated them to learn more about how the world works.

MATH

Our Reception students watched videos about digital clocks and then explained what they did on Sunday at different times in the day. The children created their digital clock using popsicle sticks provided by teachers. Students presented their thinking by recording and uploading to @seesawlearning. This simple task allowed students to create, make connections, practice digital literacy, and develop fine-motor skills.

SCIENCE: “Walking Water Experiment”

The walking water experiment was one of our Science experiments related to our current unit, “How the World Works.” The investigation was so much fun and super easy to do. Reception students were utterly mesmerized by the process. Teachers modelled the Walking Water experiment during a GMeet session Week 5, and then students inquired more about the form and function of colors. Our Science learning outcomes are assessed at the end of each semester and give teachers the flexibility to develop a range of experiments connected to our Unit of Inquiry.

STUDENT ACTION

Anya from Reception B did a Science experiment about walking color and created a rainbow paper after learning about the walking color experiment with Ibu Angel in Science Class. She saw a video on YouTube with her mom and decided to show her friends in class how to make a rainbow using paper towels, colorful markers, and water. It was amazing to see how our students make connections to what they have learned in class.

Minjun did a rainbow tower Science experiment for Show and Tell. He used honey, dish soap, water, corn oil, rubbing alcohol, and food coloring in the investigation. He colored the liquids with food coloring so the result would look like a rainbow. He also explained to his friends that the liquids don’t mix because they have different densities. Such a remarkable experiment!

After our Civics lesson about taking care of the environment, Nolan from Reception B was inspired to do a great activity with his family during the weekend. Nolan gave trash bins to his neighborhood and cleaned the area by collecting trash and putting it in the trash bin he bought. He said that he wanted to inspire people to take care and keep our mother earth clean.

During Morning Meeting, Mena and Hiro told their friends they saw the sky so colorful yesterday. They said the sky was changing color because of the sunset. They saw pink, purple, white, and orange colors.