We have been working on spatial awareness and large muscle control in gym class. We started out rolling the ball between each other’s legs and have had fun in a rolling circuit. We rolled a ball through a large mat tunnel, on a bench trying to touch a pylon at the end, between 2 benches and of course knocking down bowling pins. We have improved our control and accuracy when rolling the ball especially when we kept our head up and eyes open!

In Dina Dinosaur school, we learned what it means to relax and calm down. Wally shared his relaxation breathing and Raggedy Wally. Dina told us about a time when Wally was playing ball and some kids came up and took the ball away. There were lots of kids fighting and arguing over the ball. The teacher came and hauled everyone to the office. Wally wasn’t involved in the fighting and wasn’t taken to the principal office. He shared his secret that when he gets angry and tense, his muscles get stiff and his heart races. He takes a few deep breathes and it helps him relax. After, he is not so mad and can stay out of fights. The children practiced being angry and stiff like Tin Men and then after a few deep breaths they became old relaxed Raggedy Wally. Check out our stiff and relaxed photos! We can really relax like Wally.

A sledding we will go! The children and their teachers have been making good use of the fresh snow and the Fieldcrest hills. Winter is a great season for some different outdoor fun. We are sure the high school across the road can hear our laughter and screams as we have been sledding this week. Even Ms. Booth, our vice principal has been seen on the hill!

The children talked about going to the doctor and being sick during the holidays and decided to change the dramatic play centre into a doctor’s office. We have books about visiting the doctor, an eye chart, a reception area, appointment book and tools (stethoscope, needles, rolls of gauze) for the doctor and nurse to use. The children can be heard saying ” Your next appointment is . . . “, “Here is your prescription . . .” and “It is time for your needle . . . “.  The baby dolls have had many needles and our friends have had many wrapped arms and legs. Visiting the doctor isn’t so bad after all!

3 D shapes are here and there. 3D shapes are everywhere! This is what our 3 D Figures Poem said. So we went on a shape hunt in the school yard to see. We could not believe how many we found. Rocks and snowballs shaped like spheres. A cage surrounding an outdoor light shaped like a cube. A flagpole and a fence post shaped like cylinders. The top of a fence post and a traffic cone shaped like cones. We also found many 3 D shapes at home that we brought in for our discovery table. Some of our favourites were the slinky that looked like a cylinder and the many party hats shaped like cones. There must have been many New Year parties! The children have been learning the names of the following 3D shapes: sphere, cube, cone, cylinder, rectangular prism and the pyramid. They have explored those that stack, roll and slide. We have also been describing their faces, edges or corners. A cone has 1 circle face and 1 corner or vertex (or ouchy) as we like to call them. 3D shapes are fat not flat! We have sorted and traced these shapes, have begun building with them and exploring which shapes are best to support our structures. Thank you to the many families who sent in shapes from home!