Ocean Dioramas

Dear Flower Class parents, This morning we continued with our ocean dioramas on the main table. We have already lined the boxes to look like the ocean as well as adding seaweed and some fish. Today we added some real seashells to the front of the boxes by using some strong white glue. Next week we will add some real sand to the front too to make it look just like the real ocean.

On the second table we saw lots and lots of sparkly beads and some colored plastic wire. We threaded the beads onto the wire and some of us even found the letter beads in our names to add to the bracelet. The teachers helped us tie the ends together so that we could take them home. We also saw the small perler beads which we put onto a small pegboard in the shape of a van. We have to be very careful placing the beads as just one small slip and the beads all fall over and we have to start again.

On the carpet the big plastic crane was very popular and we used the foam and wooden blocks to see how much it could lift. We also put out a piece of paper so we could make a waiting list to have a turn.

On the floor were also lots of wooden blocks with tracks in them along with some dominoes and pretty marbles. We tried rolling the marbles down the track and then watched as the marble rolled across the floor and knocked down the dominoes in a line. We also tried our hand at throwing balls onto a soft Velcro target. This was harder than we thought and found that underhand was the best way to hit the target and get points. After packing away the toys and eating our snack we headed for the park. It was a beautiful day and we loved being out in the sunshine.

Some of us found some tall weeds that look like young trees and planted them in the sandbox. It looked a bit like a small forest. We used the sand to hold the weeds in place and then gave them some water too. One of us found some vines and when he picked it up it looked just like a dog with 4 legs, a head and a very long tail. After we came back from the park we looked at the world globe and reviewed where we could find or see water. We had some good ideas: in rivers, in the ocean, in the sink, the bathroom, the bath, pens and markers, in the ground feeding grass, plants, flowers and trees. One of us also suggested for growing seeds too. We then looked at a world atlas and saw some places have lots of water, while others like deserts have almost none. We saw the big ice caps which contain lots and lots of fresh water too. We then moved to the table and decorated a cup each with paint markers before planting 3 pumpkin seeds into the cup. We added lots of fresh water and hope they will grow.

Have a great weekend and we look forward to seeing you all again tomorrow.

All our love, Darren, Ayaka, Maki and Ryoan.