Class Three began their term by exploring the natural world of farming. They learnt to identify grains and became aware of natural cycles, especially in relation to the seasons.  We looked at Indigenous Australian methods of agriculture, horticulture and aquaculture.  The children were told stories of the daily and seasonal life on a farm.  We had a visitor from Goodies farm who taught us all about biodynamic farming, growing and harvesting.  We were even lucky enough to mill our own flour, bake bread and make delicious butter to go with it.

These experiences brought about a realisation that all we enjoy is derived from the work of others which cultivates gratitude and a true understanding of the interconnectedness of our world.

Biodynamic farming - Class Three preparing 500 through a process where they stuffed cow horns with fresh dung from lactating cows, then buried it underground.  We will dig this up at our school sleepover in six months time (hopefully during a full moon).

After farming, Class Three delved into the world of measurement by connecting with the different aspects of their surroundings and measuring everything in it.  Through the experience of old Egyptian, Roman and English systems of measurement, the children used their body parts to measure length.  They then utilised standardised units of measurement.  Tape measures, rulers, and trundle wheels were used to work out length and distance.  We even measured out Noah’s Ark and discovered it was too big to fit on our school oval.  From this we explored mass using balancing scales from traditional trading times.  We worked out how much we have grown since birth, and who was the heaviest and lightest baby.  Volume was explored using water from our creek.  We even measured how much rain water we could collect in ten minutes.

Visit from South Coast Bushcare Services

Class three were fortunate to spend an afternoon with the knowledgeable team from the South Coast Bushcare Service.  We have started weeding a specific area in the forest and plan to continue using some of our Wednesday bush afternoons to care for this beautiful land that our school resides on.

We have just commenced our Building and Shelters main lesson and cannot wait to share our learning and creations with you all next term.

Bree