Understanding the world

This month our Early Years children were involved in learning opportunities that focused on understanding that different people have different beliefs, attitudes, customs, and traditions and why it is important to treat them with respect. The learning opportunities extended to our United Nation Day activities where the students learned about a variety of countries and took part in activities based on the different countries, traditions, and customs.  Below are some of the countries, traditions, and customs the students in Early Years learned about.

Understanding of the World is one of the seven learning areas in Early Years where the children learn about other people, the place where they live and about all aspects of the environment. It involves guiding children to make sense of their physical world and their community through opportunities to explore, observe and find out about people, places, technology, and the environment.

Each year Mrs Paetzold highlights an African country, not only because her roots are in Africa, but also because there are so many wonderfully interesting animals and creatures in Africa. Our Early Years children have some prior knowledge of animals and are always interested to learn more. This year the country Mrs Paetzold chose was Eswatini formally known as Swaziland. It is a small landlocked country surrounded by South Africa. The children made traditional necklaces, using paper plates and foam shape stickers. These necklaces are worn by both men and women.

Miss Lelo chose Lesotho, officially the Kingdom of Lesotho is an African country within the border of South Africa. Along with the Vatican City and San Marino, it is one of only three independent states completely surrounded by another country. The official language is Sesotho. Lesotho is well known for its scenery which includes snow-capped mountain ranges during the winter. Miss Lelo taught the students how to make the Lesotho hat known as a mokorotlo, which is a type of straw hat widely used for traditional Sotho clothing, and is the national symbol of Lesotho.

Mrs Baker chose England and she welcomed the children to her classroom as one of the royal family. I wonder if all the children were able to guess who Mrs Baker was dressed as! During the activity Mrs Baker focused on one of the most famous things about the UK; royalty! The children became royalty for the day and made royal crowns to wear on their heads decorating them with jewel stickers and shapes.

Miss Juru chose Canada and she taught the children about the national symbols of Canada, such as the importance of the maple leaf tree. The maple leaf does not only provide yummy maple syrup, but it is the official symbol of the country, it’s on the national hockey team, money, flag and on the country’s coat of arms. The children explored some of the amazing wonders of Canada which has to be enjoyed by the rest the world like the wonderful Niagara Falls, the bluest river in Alberta. The children also learned how to play the national sport that is enjoyed by many around the world - HOCKEY! The children learned the basic skills; how to use a hockey stick and how to score a goal. The children explored some these simple phrases (hello, thank you, welcome, please, what is your name? my name is) using the second official language of Canada French.