Eggs, Nests & Animal Architects | In The Real Wonderland: Play-Based Learning

𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗲𝗻𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿 𝗼𝗳 "𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱"!
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Ｃｌａｓｓ　Ｄｅｓｃｒｉｐｔｉｏｎ

Over the next five weeks, we will weave, glue, sculpt, construct, play and explore our way through the astonishing architectural, mathematical and scientific world of animal's nests. 

Made from sticks, feathers, grass, mud, and even rocks or shells, nests are not just objects. They are the place where birth, life, survival and experiences of home intersect with our landscapes to reveal the stories, histories and identities of places. By exploring and playing with nests, children gain a sense of architecture, form and place at its wildest, strongest and most alive. In this class for young children, we will use stories, language, literacy, and science to inspire nest art, experimentation, mathematical thinking and play.  Through these open-ended experiences, children will be immersed in the engineering, environmental, social and artistic elements of nests. Observing, exploring, touching, playing with and building these homes is a fascinating way for young children to not only understand the natural world - but also to develop an authentic and dynamic connection to it. 

This class uses a teaching approach known as "scientific playworlds", which helps young children develop high-level STEM skills through imaginative play, art and story-telling. Research shows that, compared to circle time classes, this interest-led and play-based approach increases memory retention of science, maths and language concepts, and promotes children's longer-term interest in STEM (Chung, 2016; Fleer, 2017; Williams, 2010). Each session will start with sharing a story in an interactive format, allowing children to explore and talk about their understanding of important concepts. We'll then put these ideas into practice using observation of real nests and open-ended art activities, allowing children to make their own unique creations, challenge their thinking, and make sense of key concepts in concrete and playful ways.

Our weekly explorations will include: 

𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟭: 𝗡𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝗠𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗶𝗮𝗹𝘀
We'll begin our inquiry by reading our first story and looking at what a real bird's nest is made of. We'll then use some of the same materials as a bird to create our own beautiful "best nest" artwork. 

𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟮: 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗡𝗲𝘀𝘁𝘀
Today we will use stories, art and messy play to explore what other types of animals (beside birds) build nests...in water! We will talk about, and use our own materials to gain a hands-on understanding of how different animals use materials in their environments. . 

𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟯: 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝗦𝘄𝗲𝗲𝘁 𝗛𝗼𝗺𝗲
Today we'll continue explore some beautiful stories to spark creative ideas for our rich, sensory play and art. As we get creative, we will talk about ideas of colour, size, shape and volume and other mathematical, science and engineering concepts. 

𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟰: 𝗗𝗲𝗲𝗽 𝗢𝗯𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻  
In this session we will discover even more varieties of nests. We'll continue with our story-telling, play and art, and look at a some more real-life nests from different animals. What different shapes do we notice? Why do the animals choose these shapes? In what ways are these nests similar and different from each other? 

𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟱: 𝗔𝗻𝗶𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀
To conclude our time together, today we will reflect on some of our favourite things we've learned about nests and the animals who build them. We'll then consolidate all of our learning and ideas, by creating a sculpture masterpiece to keep forever.


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Ｉｎｃｌｕｓｉｖｅ　Ｐｌａｙ　＆　Ｌｅａｒｎｉｎｇ　Ｅｘｐｅｒｉｅｎｃｅｓ...Ｆｏｒ　Ａｌｌ　Ｌｅａｒｎｅｒｓ

All children have preferred ways of engaging with learning content. 

Typically, children learn best when they can engage with content in a way that reflects their own unique preferences. 

I endeavor to ensure that this class is inclusive of all learners (including E and 2E learners). I do this by structuring classes, activities and conversations so each child can choose to engage in the whole class, using whatever way is most appropriate, meaningful and rewarding for them.

In this class, where we will be exploring eggs and nests from many different perspectives, I structure each experience so that children may elect to engage through any one or more of the following ways:
~ sensory experience
~ exploring and discovering the properties of materials
~ manipulative and fine motor activity
~ sorting/ aligning/ categorising/ patterning activity
~ exploring cause and effect
~ problem-solving
~ construction
~ imitation and role play
~ fantasy/ imaginative play and creativity
~ art and artistic play

Because I maintain very small group sizes, I am able to ensure that each child is able to participate in whatever way is most meaningful for them. This means that each child is able to enjoy the benefits of a group class, while at the same time being supported with an individualised and personalised learning experience.
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Ｔｅａｃｈｉｎｇ　Ａｐｐｒｏａｃｈ

This information will help you decide if my approach is a "good fit" for your child.  

This class is capped at a maximum of five learners, to ensure each child has the best possible child-led, personalised learning experience. I believe that learning comes not from memorising abstract facts, but though children being able to create and make sense of new ideas. To guide this learning, we need to have immersive, two-way conversations with children. Small class sizes allow me to work personally in this way, with each child. 

Child-led learning means that your child decides how they participate and what they focus on in our class. In this class, I do not tell children what to think about, or what to focus on. Instead, my goal is to understand your child's unique internal motivation. I do this by using stories, art, creativity and conversation to spark engagement. I then support each child to respond to these ideas and to follow their interests in a way that the class content and material comes to life for them. This helps make their learning become meaningful and sustained. 

You may see some differences in my classes, from the traditional US-based pre-K/ K/ early elementary and seated classroom approach. My aim is to extend your child's learning beyond our allocated screen time, through teaching and classroom practices such as:

🦋 Child-led learning (not teacher-led instruction)

🦋 Shared understanding (not imposing meaning)

🦋 Individualised and humanising relationships (not standardised expectations)

🦋 Hands-on, authentic play (not lectures)

🦋 Deep experimentation with creative, scientific, mathematical and relational process (not factory produced products or worksheets)

🦋 Collaboration and meaning (not rote memorising)

🦋 Imaginative resourcefulness (not mundane replication) 

🦋 Growing children's passions (not their performance)

🦋 Reading and responding to children’s cues, behaviours and signals (not managing, pathologising or fixing them)

🦋 Being an adult who is in calm control (not an adult who is battling for control and compliance)

My teaching approach tends to suit families who are seeking a humanising and wholistic learning experience for their young child.