4 Square Writing

This term in English we are trying out the 4 square writing method. We started at the very beginning with choosing a subject and and organising basic content. We started off with concrete manipulative materials.

Above - I gave the children a bag of toys to sort into groups. Here we have "animals" and "transport" as our subject matter. The children then used a blank 4 square (below) to further categorise the toys into sections for writing about later. For example, eventually the aim would be to have a piece of writing on "animals" with a paragraph each on birds, cats, dinosaurs and pigs.

Next we went a little more abstract and used picture cards. I explained that this could be a good way to narrow down your ideas about a subject. The children chose their favourite content from among the subject areas of animals and vegetables.

Sorting into subjects - vegetables and animals

We then talked about content being relevant and used a worksheet to pick out and discard content that was not relevant to the subject.

Balls and dolls don't belong in a 4 square about food.

Next lesson we will go more abstract and brainstorm our own subjects on a four square.

Back To Skool

Hello

We're back to "skool" this week after taking a couple of weeks off. We were kept busy with trips and outings (read previous posts for more) but we also had time for a few other activities as well. Below are a few pictures from our weeks off:

The children used these sewing kits to make little stuffed mobiles.

By L

By R

R had a fantastic time excavating this dinosaur "fossil". You can see he's wearing the t-shirt for it too.

We went on a short 4WD trek in the blue mountains. Here we came across some interesting wildlife.

Circus Oz

Today we joined our friend from Home Education Penrith for a trip to see Circus Oz. Of course we weren't allowed to take photos. The show was very exciting and also very funny featuring magic, acrobatics and comedy. Next month our excursion is to actually go and have a try at circus skills for ourselves!

Joey Scout Camp

This weekend R and I attended the Joey Scouts Camp at Glenfield Scouts Activity Centre. The theme was communication. We had a go at lots of great activities, experiments, games and crafts.

Searching for clue disks in the sand

Having a go on the radio

Jamboree on the air badge

Dress up night (note the dead body behind)

Weather girl and pirate

The camp fire

Camp band

Kazoo experiment

Sculptures By The Sea 2012

Today we went along to Sculptures By The Sea at Bondi Beach. The exhibition is on every October and features hundreds of sculptures spread out along the beaches and headlands from Bondi Beach to Tamarama Beach. We went along to get some inspiration for making our own outdoor sculptures (coming soon). Here are some pictures of a few of the hundreds on display. 

Ocean Project Journals

Today we had a day at home working on our oceans project. I put out all the library books we had on oceans along with our own books. We had quite a collection!

I also put out some art materials, postcards and leaflets from our Maritime Museum visit, and the children's sketch books. I had paid a bit more for watercolour paper books and it was well worth it as the pages can take a lot of paint and collage without wrinkling. I also had the computer available for internet research and for printing out pictures. I pretty much let the children then do what they would with the materials whilst I worked on my own creation. R concentrated on reading but did do a couple of journal pages. L loved painting lots of pictures of fish. We had a book of "How to draw sea creatures", which was really useful.

Fish n sharks by L

Turtle and fish by L

HMAS Vampire by L

Fish, sharks and dolphins by L

Wing head shark by R

Fiddler crab by R

Endeavour by Mum

More Endeavour by Mum