Movement has been the focus for inquiry in the Prep space this term, stemming from nature wonderings about the how animals wind and weather move.

After viewing a BTN episode on meteorologists, we noticed a mention of ‘weather ingredients’ which caught our attention. ‘What are the ingredients for a storm?’, we asked. Taking this opportunity, we looked at recipes as a text type and the elements needed to write one. We wrote a class “Recipe for a Storm’ and everyone had a go at writing their own. By collecting materials from the playground and putting them into a jar, students concocted their own storms. Some made sandstorms, others shook theirs vigorously to show the movement of their storms. Others noticed ‘layers’. 

Picture books have played a large part in our journey. We read “Big Rain Coming’, which led us to explore personification after we became captivated by the image of a cloud with a face blowing wind. We responded to this image by painting an aspect of weather and recording what we imagined it was thinking, feeling or communicating. Our interest in clouds was also captured after reading ‘Sometimes Rain’, which used beautiful linework to illustrate the movement of wind and cloud formation.

Emma

There must be provision for the child to have contact with nature, to understand and appreciate the order, the harmony, and the beauty in nature. – Maria Montessori