Tuesday, 21 June 2016

“When it goes cold and then its summer.” - Gigi

Over the term the children have been asking many thought provoking questions about the universe, including “Why is the moon in the sky during the day?“ and “Where do the stars go during the daytime?”. Tuesday marked the winter solstice. We inquired with the children about what the winter solstice could be and what changes have we noticed in the weather that could help us find the answer.

The children’s put forward their ideas and demonstrated their ability to critically think. The ideas presented showed the children’s deep understanding and abilities to further the discussion to seek more knowledge.

What does winter solstice mean?

William: I’m a winter baby.

Henry: Water turns into ice.

Billie: Snow. It was actually cold at Mt. Buller.

Blake: Winter is all about when the weather changes.

Isobel: Ice makes water. And ice makes fog. And fog makes the bathroom warm.

Angus: I’ve been to Mt. Buller. Snow makes water.

Aiden: In winter it rains a lot.

Gigi: When it’s cold everything is cold. You can’t wear summer clothes.

Sean: We were trying to go to the MCG and it was too foggy. And we couldn’t go there.

Olivia: Ice turns into water.

Does anyone know what solstice means?

Alexandra: Sun and winter.

Henry: Night time.

Gigi: When it goes cold and then its summer.

Taj: It means its cold.

Will it be winter all year?

Gigi: If it was all winter it means we won’t even play and we need to go somewhere hot.

Felix: Weather changes.

Do we need to wear sunscreen and a hat now?

Ruby: No. Because its winter.

How does it feel?

Ruby: Cold a little and warm a little.

Lexi: Because it’s cold.

How many suns are there in the universe?

Blake: 100 million, thousand, six million and 20 thousand.

Isobel: I don’t know.

William: 100.

Milan: Infinity suns.

How many do you see?

Sean: There is 100 suns.

Alexandra: There is only one sun in the sky.

Aiden: There is a sun every year.

Alexandra: No, it’s the same sun.

William: There is only one sun in all the planets.

Taj: There are different suns all over the world.

In Bali was the weather the same as it is here in Australia?

Ruby: It felt really warm. The sun stays but you can’t see it.

Was it the same sun?

Arabella: It was the same sun. In Bali and in the Melbourne.

Thomas: I think every sun in the world is the same. We just don’t know.

William: My brother said you can fit infinity suns in one sun.

Gigi: How do you go to a different place without going to space?

Ruby: We flew through the world.

Angus: Infinity is not a number.

William: No! Infinity is a number. It’s when it is so long. You can’t get higher than 100.

Kyler, when you went to Hawaii what was the weather like?

Kyler: Hawaii is a little island. It was hot in Hawaii.

Why does it feel the same?

Kyler: Because it changed weather.

Gigi: When it gets to night time it changes to the morning.

Angus: When its might time here in another place its day time.

Lexi: When its night time here its day time in Scotland.

Do we share the sun with other countries?

Lexi: No. The sun shines the whole world.

Thomas: In Antarctica when its night time, it never gets dark. It’s at the bottom of the world.

Why is it sunny all day?

Felix Because Thomas knows the moonlight shines down. The moon is making the light.

Ruby: The sun is going down. That’s why it’s still light.

Billie: There is dark at my house one day. The cars made the light.

Does the moon make it light?

Angus: The sun comes still in the sky but it shines to the moon. The sun is the moon in the sky.

Felix: It cooperates. The sunlight. It goes behind the moon. The light makes the light go over the while moon.

Gigi: Under it is the shadow.

Angus: The moon is just there and it makes light and the stars make light.

Ruby: Gigi, does the sun go near the moon?

Gigi: In the daytime we saw the moon but it was only a little bit.

Thomas: When I go to the footy and it is starting to get dark and the sun is rising.

Alexandra: The sun is still there but you can’t see it because it’s very dark. The sun stays but you can’t see it.

Wednesday, 22 June 2016

“There is one sun in solar system.” - Taj

Ms. Harrison (middle school science and psychology teacher) came in on Wednesday to help answer some of our questions about how the earth moves around the sun. She was able to give the children a 3D visual representation of how the earth spins.

Angus: The sun shines on the planet.

Ms. Harrison: The sun is further away in the winter than the summer. That is why it is hotter in summer than winter.

Gigi: Australia is down the bottom.

Ms. Bawden: How many suns are there?

Taj: There is one sun in solar system.

Felix: The sun shines on the moon so it shines.

Ms. Harrison: All the stars you see are suns.

Thomas: Are shooting stars suns?

Ms. Harrison: They are suns.

Yesterday Thomas “In Antarctica when its night time, it never gets dark.” Why is that?

Ms. Harrison: Sometimes it does get dark. The sun is always shining on it.

Gigi: When the sun goes to the earth and it goes to other parts of the

earth, it switches days.

The planets.—Ruby

Arabella

The sun is shining on the whole world.—

Taj

The sun is making the moon light.—

Milan

This is about the earth. America and Canada and

Hawaii and Australia. The whole world.—Kyler

Victorian Early Years Learning and Development Framework

LEARNING – Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners. Children develop a range of skills and processes such as problem solving, inquiry, experimentation,

hypothesising, researching and investigating.

This is the earth. This is Australia and my house.

There is a moon on the sky and the stars, There

are aliens in outer space.—Henry

Wednesday, 22 June 2016

“A buddy is your best friend.”—Angus

On Wednesday, the children enjoyed spending the afternoon showing the Year 3s all the things we do in the ELC.

Over the year the Moreton Bay children will have regular contact with the Year 3s who will be their buddies. The Buddy

Program aims to foster and support the ELC children's connection to the Junior School children. These connections will be

beneficial when the children transition in the future to the Junior School.

What is a buddy?

Angus: A buddy is your best friend.

Alexandra: A buddy is a boy.

Gigi: Its not all boys.

What do buddies help us with?

Gigi: They help us do stuff.