Monkey Class Weekly Buzz!

Dear Monkey Class Families,

I know I say this every week, but it's true: we've had another super busy but fun-filled week in Monkey Class! We've been busy bringing stories to life, recreating famous artworks, and exploring new concepts as we question, create, and work together. Here is a quick peek at some of the highlights of our week.

Our Social & Play Skills Flourish!

We've been absolutely delighted to see a wonderful increase in collaborative play lately! Children are working together more, sharing ideas, and truly understanding that playing with others can be incredibly fun and supportive for developing new skills. This wonderful surge in teamwork does mean our classroom environment is a little noisier at times, but it's a small sacrifice for the joy of seeing and hearing children cooperate and build together.

The Monkey Class Playhouse Presents...

Our classroom is turning into a stage! This week, each group of friends will perform the stories they created a few weeks back. Last week, we reread the stories during circle time and made a list of all the characters we'll need. This week, the performances will take place! We'll be using simple masks and classroom items for our settings. Here's a sneak peek at the titles of our stories, many of the stories have similar themes and some connected to the children's favourite stories and characters.

Monkey's Busy Day
The Trapped Tiger
Fun in Fantasyland!
The Big Blueberry Tree
The Jungle Adventure 
The Mystery of the Missing Ocean Friends 
Space Park Adventure! 
The Ocean Treasure Hunt

I can't wait to share photos of these performances in the next update, and if time allows, we might even make some posters!

As we share stories, we're being wonderful communicators, expressing ideas and listening to each other. We also become fantastic thinkers, using our imaginations to bring characters and settings to life.

Little Artists, Big Masterpieces!

A while back, the children chose their favourite famous artwork or classroom image to recreate. It's been great to see how they've remembered their choice, with only a few changing their minds – though many insist they want to make them all! If only our school days were longer! It's so lovely to see the joy art brings to each child and the confidence they gain when sharing their interests and ideas. This is a slow process, as children build their artwork step-by-step, often revisiting and adding multiple layers. Working in small groups, they share what they notice and like most about the artwork. We're also focusing on painting with meaning, using various tools and mediums to explore different techniques. Through this, they become true inquirers and develop self-management skills.

Teamwork Makes the Art Work!

Our team spirit has been high, especially with our big Jackson Pollock painting! It's super messy and fun, working together to create something unique. We even added a number game to it, naming numbers and finding the missing ones. We're hoping to create a few more collaborative artworks in the coming weeks, too! When we work on big projects, we develop our collaborator skills, learning to share ideas, listen, and combine our efforts to make something amazing.

A Musical Surprise!

This week brought a wonderful surprise during arrival play when some of the children from Bradbury School delighted our K1s with impromptu musical performances! The monkey class children were excited to explore all the different musicians across various classrooms, brimming with questions about the instruments. It was wonderful to see their eagerness to share which instruments they knew or wanted to play. It was also interesting to observe which children were more interested in listening to the melodies, and those who were not interested in music and preferred to play in the classroom or only listened for a short while before going back to playing with toys. This was such a great experience for all the students involved and I love how lucky we are to have been able to see children from vary grades perform for us at Hillside.

Math in Action!

Math concepts are woven into our daily explorations! We've investigated patterns, from simple ABAB patterns in our blocks to visual and auditory patterns. We've also reviewed prepositions of place, focusing on words like "on," "under," "in," "next to," and "behind." Children confidently took turns telling us where to put blocks. It was funny when they initially said, "put the block in your leg" or "in your head"  but after a quick chat, they quickly understood and had us putting blocks "in" our socks and shoes! Number recognition and counting are central as we count friends each day, use one-to-one correspondence when distributing materials, and explore quantities in our block area. Through these activities, children build their knowledge and become confident communicators of their mathematical understanding.

Google Photo Albums

Don't forget to explore our Term 3 Google photo albums!


Parent storyteller albums will also be updated for the last time after this weeks storytellers.


Spotify Playlists

Here is a reminder of our Term 3 Spotify playlists! We will, however, continue to listen to a variety of songs from all the songs we have explored this year.

Monkey Class Playlist - Term 3

    Here are the links for the children's favourite songs from home, and we will continue to listen to these in the classroom till the end of term.

    Monkey AM Favourite Song    |    Monkey PM Favourite Songs

    Wishing you all a lovely week ahead, and we look forward to sharing more of our Monkey Class adventures soon! Until then, take care.

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