𝗪𝗲𝗹𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗰𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘀 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘆𝗼𝗹𝗼𝗴𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀, 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗔𝗹𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗖𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗯𝗲𝗹𝗹, 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 '𝗜𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗹 𝗪𝗼𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱'!

From May 2023, group classes from 'In The Real Wonderland' will only be offered on Outschool on a limited/ occasional basis. One-on-one, individually tailored play-based learning sessions will continue to be available on Outschool for the remainder of 2023.

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Ｃｌａｓｓ　Ｄｅｓｃｒｉｐｔｉｏｎ

In this class for young children, we will journey into the magical, mythological world of the Fae: fairies, elves, pixies...and the occasional goblin. Fae come in all shapes, sizes, colours and genders. They are best known for caring for all the animals. They also love to play tricks and and get up to some mischief!  

In this class we will use stories, art, play and engineering to "meet" four different types of Fae: the Earth Fae, the Wind fairies the Fire Folk and the Water Sprites. As we learn about these fairies we will have the opportunity to stretch and grow our math, science and language skills. We will also be developing a range of social and critical thinking skills. Each week we will tell stories and make a fairy creation. At the end of our five weeks together, children will have created a beautiful collection of fairy treasures to keep the fairy magic (i.e. their learning!) alive. 

This class uses a teaching approach known as "fictional science" or "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, we will start by sharing and discussing a traditional fairy story or piece of art. I will also provide prompts and ideas for children to consider fairy tales from their own culture(s), places, and imagination. Following our story, children will work on an open-ended art or creative piece to explore our weekly themes and to engage in concepts in a hands-on way. I have designed our activities so that children can engage in ways that are most meaningful for them. This means that I usually start by demonstrating techniques that children can choose whether or not to follow, and then provide encouragement for them to engage in their own creative process, providing support as/ when needed. 

Our weekly explorations will include:

𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟭: 𝗘𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗵 𝗙𝗮𝗲
Earth fairies, pixies and elves live in rocks, soil, flowers and trees. This week we'll be exploring earth science, natural history and biology concepts as we meet some of the Earth Fae who take special care of the animals, birds and plants. We'll then use all of our geometry, measurement, algebraic patterns, and shape composition skills to create a special Earth Fairy wishing stone. 
⁠
𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟮: 𝗔𝗶𝗿 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗪𝗶𝗻𝗱 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗿𝗶𝗲𝘀
Air Fairies live high in the clouds, mountains and tree-tops. They love to float, fly and play on the breeze and in our dreams...and they are (sometimes) a little bit cheeky! You can't always see an Air Fae, but you can tell when they are about when you see the leaves dancing on the wind.  As we get to know the Air Fairies and Pixies we will be developing our science concepts about physics (force, motion, gravity), weather and even a little bit about aerodynamics! After our story and discussion, we'll put these ideas into practice with our mathematics skills (measurement, shape, spatial orientation and planning) to build a Fairy Detector Machine.  

𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟯: 𝗙𝗶𝗿𝗲 𝗙𝗼𝗹𝗸
Fire fairies are most active at night, where their job is to help the plants repair and grow. However, they particularly love sparkles, gold and light, and sometimes get a bit distracted looking for treasures! In this week's story about the Fire Folk, we will explore science ideas about light, heat and growth. We'll then practice our scientific thinking skills (hypothesising, observing, collecting evidence) to create a special sparkly, glow-in-the-dark luminary sure to attract the fire fairies. 

𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟰: 𝗪𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗦𝗽𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗲𝘀
Water fairies and elves live near rivers, oceans, lakes and streams, and the in the mangroves and billabongs. They are friends with all water-loving creatures (even sharks and crocodiles) and are known for having rude manners at times! As we meet the water fairies in our story this week we will also be introduced to the science and vocabulary of water, waves and rainfall. We'll continue to expand on our understanding of water science, as we create a beautiful water fairy portrait using oil to repel colour and water. 

𝗪𝗲𝗲𝗸 𝟱: 𝗔 𝗙𝗮𝗶𝗿𝘆 𝗡𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗜𝗻𝘃𝗶𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻
This week, we celebrate the end of our class with a story about all the different fairies. We'll then use our thinking-and-linking skills to bring together all of our ideas from the past weeks, along with our engineering ideas and mathematical skills (measurement, counting, algebraic patterns, shape construction and deconstruction, spatial orientation and visualisation), to create a beautiful fairy house or fairy door to keep our fairy (science) imaginations alive! 


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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 memorable for them.

In this class, where we will be undertaking our own fairy projects and creations, 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 seated 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.