Fairyology: The Science, Maths, Literacy and Art of Fairies, Pixies & Elves | Play-based Interest-Led Learning | Neurodiverse Affirming - Dyslexia, Autism, ADHD, Gifted & 2E friendly |
Welcome to Fairy School! In this multi-sensory and hands-on class we discover the science, maths, literacy, writing & engineering secrets of Fairies, Pixies and Elves...through creative play, open-ended art, imagination, experiments and speech/ language development. This class is part book club, art studio, science lab and social club...and part magic! #academic
Class experience
US Grade Pre-Kindergarten - 2
๐ช๐ฒ๐น๐ฐ๐ผ๐บ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐น๐ฎ๐๐ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ฟ๐๐ผ๐น๐ผ๐ด๐ถ๐๐๐, ๐๐ถ๐๐ต ๐๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฏ๐ฒ๐น๐น, ๐ณ๐ฟ๐ผ๐บ '๐๐ป ๐ง๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฅ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐น ๐ช๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฟ๐น๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ'! 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. ___________________________________ ๏ผฃ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝใ๏ผค๏ฝ ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ In this class for young children, we will journey into the magical, mythological world of...
The intended learning outcomes for this class are aligned with the Australian and UK early years curricula. They are also consistent with the preschool/ early years curricula for NZ, China, Korea, and most European countries. This class utilises the Michigan Essential Literacy Practices Framework, and the Mathematics Learning Trajectories. ______________________________ ๏ผฉ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ ๏ฝใ๏ผฌ๏ฝ ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝใ๏ผฏ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ ๏ฝ 1. I can explore, infer, predict, and hypothesise in order to develop an increased understanding of the environment and my relationship to it. 2. I can combine fine-motor, cognitive skills and thinking strategies to achieve increasingly complex patterns of activity to create, communicate, solve-problems and adapt to new situations. 3. I can manipulate objects and resources in order to investigate, take apart, assemble, invent, assemble, construct, and experiment with cause and effect. 4. I can make predictions and generalisations about different environments, and communicate these using language, gestures, numbers, and symbols. 5. I can use language, gestures or visual symbols to communicate and convey meaning about social and personal experiences; mathematical ideas and scientific concepts. ______________________________ ๏ผฃ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝใ๏ผด๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝใ๏ผฑ๏ฝ๏ฝ ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ(๏ฝ) 1. Are fairies real? How do we tell the difference between something that is real, and something that is not? 2. What do fairy stories teach us about our world? 3. What would it be like to be a fairy? ______________________________ ๏ผณ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ ใ๏ผฃ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ ๏ฝ๏ฝใ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝใ๏ผฃ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ ~ Living things are adapted to a particular ecology. ~ Living things grow. ~ Engineering involves designing something to solve a problem. ~ The structure of something influences its function. ~ Light comes from a source, and travels through the air. ~ An ecology is made up of many different plants and animals that all interact together. ~ Oil and water are different substances, and oil repels water. ~ Water moves across a surface. ~ Fire is a source of heat and light. ~ We see colour when light is reflected off a surface. ~ The earth's surface is made up of soil, rocks, water and plants. ~ Things move and stop as a result of forces. Forces are "pushes" and "pulls". Gravity is a type of force. ______________________________ ๏ผญ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝใ๏ผฃ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ ๏ฝ๏ฝใ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝใ๏ผฃ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ ~ Counting. ~ Subitising. ~ Comparing number. ~ Composing numbers. ~ Patterns, structure and algebraic thinking. ~ 2D shapes. ~ Composing 2D shapes. ~ Disembedding shapes. ~ 3D shapes. ~ Composing 3D shapes. ~ Spatial visualisation and imagery. ~ Spatial orientation. ~ Measurement (length). ~ Measurement (area). ~ Measurement (angle and turn). ______________________________ ๏ผถ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝใ๏ฝ๏ฝ๏ฝใ๏ผณ๏ฝ๏ฝ ๏ฝ ๏ฝ๏ฝ This class will provide a setting for children to develop and practice their vocabulary and speech relating to the content, concepts, and activities we are exploring. The words we will be using will include nouns, verbs, adjectives, adverbs, prepositions, conjunctions and interjections. โVocabulary (or knowledge of words) includes understanding their structure (morphology), use (grammar) and meanings (semantics). It also includes understanding how one word links to other words (word/semantic relationships). Oral and aural vocabulary skills (or, for non-speaking children, visual and gestural vocabulary skills) are absolutely crucial to later development of literacy decoding and reading comprehension and fluency. Because this is such an important skill gained in early childhood, I use a strong evidence-based and developmentally appropriate approach to vocabulary and speech development. This includes: ๐๐ ๐ฝ๐น๐ถ๐ฐ๐ถ๐ ๐ฉ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ฏ๐๐น๐ฎ๐ฟ๐ ๐๐ถ๐๐ฐ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป Explicit vocabulary discussion means that, in this class we not only use words, but we may also sometimes talk about them. We might discuss, for example: ~ what does this word mean? ~ what words would communicate what we want? ~ what other words can we use for this? While these discussions are explicit, they are not a discrete part of our classes or delivered as a "lesson". Instead, we weave these into our organic discussions while we play, create and tell stories. I do not choose or have a "list" of specific words that children "must" learn. My approach is to respond to children's interests by offering explicit vocabulary discussion that is purposeful, and which helps each child engage with their goals, interests and motivations. This means that children are developing their vocabulary (and self-awareness of it) in a meaningful, relevant and active way. ๐๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป While it may seem "efficient" to get children to memorise, or rote learn, words - this approach has been shown to have no real value in speech/ language development generally, including vocabulary development. Rather, evidence confirms that the critical requirement for strong vocabulary and speech development is sufficient opportunity for children to engage in meaningful, two-way conversations that are interesting to them. To provide this for your child, I maintain very small class sizes and a child-led approach to learning. This ensures that each child has many opportunities to "chat" and "talk" with me and other learners throughout this class about the things that have captured their interest or that they are discovering. I focus on finding opportunities within these conversations to not only introduce new vocabulary, but to also extend and stretch each child's confidence in using and understanding vocabulary in speech.
I am both a trained nurse and Masters qualified Early Childhood teacher, and a Play Therapist. I have over 30 years experience in working with young children, specialising in designing programs to improve children's neurodevelopmental, educational/ learning and mental health/ well-being outcomes in both "typical" and complex circumstances. I have received numerous government and industry awards for my work in both teaching and therapeutic practice.
Homework Offered
There is no assigned homework in this class. In some cases, depending on the pace that each child prefers working at, they may not finish their project in the allocated class time. In this case they can continue working on their projects after class. Following each session, I will also provide a handout with suggestions for (optional) activities, play and art to extend children's off-screen learning and interests between sessions. Prior to each session, children will need assistance to prepare and set-up. This will typically take 5 - 10 minutes for most sessions.0 hours per week outside of class
Assessments Offered
I do not use tests or other standardised approaches to assessing children's progress. In this age group, testing it is not developmentally appropriate and in some cases may be psychologically and academically harmful. However, as a teacher, I do believe it is important for me to be accountable to both children and parents. I aim to deliver classes that are not just "busy work" or entertainment, but which actively contribute to each child's learning in meaningful and sustainable ways. To do this, I use continuous observation of children's activity and conversation. When I make these observations, I am specifically considering the child's development in relation to the learning outcomes of the class (see above). I then routinely provide feedback to children. This may consist of: ~ positive affirmation (e.g. "I really liked the way you communicated your idea with that painting"); ~ positive reflection (e.g. "I wonder how you came up with that idea?"); and/ or ~ positive stretching (e.g. "I wonder if you could show that idea in other ways?). This is a wholistic approach to assessment. The child's response to my feedback helps me understand of "how far" they have traveled in their learning, and then "what comes next" in their learning. I welcome questions and inquiries from parents about their child's learning progress.Grades Offered
ย 1 file available upon enrollmentIf you are unable to find anything on this list, please contact me as I can usually recommend a substitute. ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ - ๐ช๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ ๐ญ ~ A 250g packet of air-dry clay (white is best for this project) OR home made salt dough (a recipe using flour, salt, water and vegetable oil will be provided on enrollment). ~ A hard, flat surface to work on. ~ A sheet of baking paper. ~ Some colourful, water-resistant items (buttons, ribbons, sequins, pebbles, shells, yarn, glass beads/ sea glass, feathers, etc.). ~ A child-safe knife or cutting tool (such as a butter knife). ~ A rolling pin is helpful, but optional. ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ - ๐ช๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ๐ ๐ฎ - ๐ฑ ๐ ๐น๐ถ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฏ๐ฒ ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ฑ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฒ๐ป๐ฑ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต ๐ฐ๐น๐ฎ๐๐, ๐ผ๐๐๐น๐ถ๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐บ๐ฎ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐ถ๐ฎ๐น๐ ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐พ๐๐ถ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ณ๐ผ๐น๐น๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ. ๐ง๐ต๐ถ๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ฒ๐ป๐๐๐ฟ๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐ป ๐ธ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฝ ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ ๐ผ๐ณ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐ ๐๐ผ๐ ๐๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ป๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ ๐ฒ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต ๐๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ธ. In summary, the ESSENTIAL materials needed for weeks 2 - 5 will include: ~ A good collection of different cardboard boxes (e.g. cereal or shoe box size, milk carton size, and smaller), interesting shaped food packaging. ~ A packet of paper straws. ~ A packet of craft sticks. ~ Fabric and wool/ yarn scraps, different colours. Cotton, felt, furry, silky, tulle are all acceptable. If you don't have fabric scraps, you can usually pick up some old pillow cases and sewing off-cuts from the thrift store. ~ Some "split pins" (also called "paper fasteners") - cheap at most stationery stores ~ An empty plastic drink bottle (size should be 1 - 2 litres). ~ A bottle of cheap vegetable oil. ~ 2 neon highlighters of the same colour (any colour is fine - but they should be the same). ~ Alka-seltzer tablets (parents to supervise these). ~ Water colour paper (2 - 3 sheets) ~ A small amount of milk - around 1/2 cup. ~ A small amount of dish washing liquid - around 1/4 cup. ~ Food colours. ~ Cotton buds/ cue tips or toothpicks. ~ A foil or plastic tray. ~ White/ pvc/ Elmer's/ school glue ~ Some acrylic paints. I recommend having white + at least 4 different colours. These are available cheaply from most $2 shops or department stores. ~ 3 - 4 paint brushes of different thickness. ~ Some dishes for mixing paints in. ~ Any lovely items you collect on a nature walk - leaves, flowers, acorns, pine cones, interesting pebbles, bits of bark, feathers, etc.
~ Children will need assistance to prepare and set-up prior to each session. This will typically take 5 - 10 minutes. ~ Some of the materials needed in this class will need to be collected from nature in your local park, streets or neighbourhood. Many families like to do this by doing a treasure hunt on a "nature walk" prior to the class. ~ This class includes a strong focus on children's hands-on participation and agency. Please be aware that some activities are "messy", and I suggest having a large tray, towel or sheet to ensure easy clean-up following the class. Children should wear clothes that you are comfortable if they get messy or stained. ~ In this class you have the option of using home-made salt dough using flour, salt, water and vegetable oil. If your child has food allergies, please ensure to use flour and oil types that they are not allergic to. ~ Although I am a qualified nurse and play therapist, I do not provide any nursing or medical care, or therapy in this class. The purpose of this class is outlined in the class description and objectives in the learning outcomes.
This class is inspired by the book "Good Fairies" (Brian Froud). We will share some selected (age-appropriate) art work from this book during the class (used with permission), as well as traditional fairy folk tales. Teaching approaches in this class are drawn from: ~ Waldorf and Montessori teaching philosophies ~ Play-based learning, with a focus on Play Profiles (Sara-Lea Chazan). ~ Imaginative Pedagogy (Kieran Egan) ~ Eight-Ways Pedagogy (Tyson Yunkaporta)
PLEASE NOTE: At this time, Alice is on an extended medical leave. She is not currently booking classes and is unable to respond to messages at this time. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Hello! My name is Alice. Through my independent teaching...ย
Group Class
$105
for 5 classes1x per week, 5 weeks
40 min
Completed by 3 learners
Live video meetings
Ages 4-8
4-6 learners per class