Exploring the Dark with Our Senses
For the months of November and December, we will be exploring who we are and what we are capable of doing through the parts of our face. We will be using our sense of SIGHT, HEARING, SMELL, and TASTE. Today, we focused on our sense of SIGHT.
For us to slowly close the festivities of Halloween yesterday, we were welcomed this morning with a DARK room. Our eyes widened upon entering the room with the lights off yet with battery operated candles were lit up and placed around the room.
Erika and Goh San asked us, “Can we still go around the room without the lights on?” Yes, we could still go around the room as we were able to use our legs and feet to move around and use our hands to do the activities yet it felt a bit “strange” having to navigate around the room with dimmed lights.
Our teachers emphasized that the light that is helping us “see” inside the room is coming from the candles and from the sun through our balcony window. E, R, and W went around the room holding a candle /lantern to find their way around the room. S, K, R and L gave more focus on tinkering with the battery operated candles by switching it on and off and by placing it inside jars.
To emphasize on the natural light coming from the sun, a cooking station was placed out at the balcony wherein K and W spent most of their Free Play period cooking dishes. Goh San, S, and E used their candles and lanterns to help them read a book.
Circle Time
For Circle Time, Erika asked us to each hold a candle and to take care of it as it our source of light while inside our dark classroom. While holding the candle, we were asked if its flame looked similar to the ones we see on a birthday cake… it looks the same yet in some ways, it was also different. It did not feel warm/hot when we got close to it and it also did not have a smell. It was shared to us that we always need to ask permission from an adult if we happen to see a lit up candle before going near or holding it.
We balanced the candles on top of our heads and went around the room moving to the groovy tune of “Pode Ser” by Chancla. We were also asked if we would prefer to have our snacks in the dark or with lights… Most of us preferred being able to clearly see what we had for snacks which called for a picnic out at the park!
Seila assisted us while we did our transition period of going to the park while in the dark. We were able to change our shoes, wear both our jackets and Ohana smocks on even though we had little light… We all just had to be more mindful of our actions to make sure we were wearing the correct shoes and wearing our jackets on correctly.
Out in Daylight
Before having our snacks, we first headed to the pond. Before entering the pond area, we were asked to use our ears to listen to the birds chirping, to use our noses to smell the scent of dried leaves, and to use our gentle voices so as not to disturb the neighbors.
We were welcomed with a blanket of red and yellow dried leaves upon entering the pond area. We were given the task to pick up the best looking leaf and place it inside our class bag for us to bring back to school.
After some time out at the pond, we headed towards the green area of Step Park to prepare for our picnic. Before having our snacks, we read the story “If You Go Walking in Tiger Wood” by Alam Durant wherein we had to identify which animal was going to come out next by identifying its eyes.
After a fun interactive storytelling session, we were asked to show our hands so that Goh San can give us some hand gel to make our hands clean before eating. We rubbed the hand gel.. It felt sticky! We smelled the hand gel… it had an unfamiliar scent to us. Hmmm.. interesting to explore our surroundings through our sense of sight and smell!
While having our snacks, we were gently reminded to be mindful of how we ate as we were eating in a public space. We were asked to place our garbage inside a plastic bag and to tidy up right after eating.
After resting for a while, we ran around the green area to our hearts’ desire. We even tried running backwards and sidewards which made us become aware of our body coordination and spatial awareness. This is in preparation for our Sports Day tomorrow!
We came back to school with our classroom lights welcoming us back. It was wonderful to have the ceiling lights turned on yet we all had a good, long time running around so we preferred to have the lights turned off to have a good nap. We are looking forward to discussing our experience of using limited natural light.
Love,
Buds Class Children