At the beginning of this year, Mighty Newton was introduced to “World Water Day” during iConnect with the world. We read a book on “Saving Caleb - The Adventure of Water Wally and Water Sally” by Adeline Foo. We discussed the importance of keeping our waters clean for our sea animals and that all trash belongs to the bin, not the sea. The children also suggested different ways we use water, such as drinking, showering, washing vegetables and brushing teeth.
When we started our SSDB journey with the theme of “We Heartly Connect”, it was a great opportunity to bring up the topic of “Saving Water”. All people, animals and plants rely on water. Little did we know, water is so versatile that it connects us to the world around us. The children realised that as much as how we need to drink water everyday, the plants and animals do too. Therefore, we came out with the question of “How do we care for the plants and animals while caring for ourselves?”
After much discussion, the children realised that caring for all involved giving them lots of nurturing care and showering them with love (water). As such, we decided to focus on how we could have enough water for all. One of them brought up a really great point of “reuse”, meaning to not waste water. With that, we collected the water from the kitchen that auntie used to wash the vegetables and reused them to water the plants in our school garden. As there was not enough water to go around, the children came up with an idea based on the concept of sharing; they would pour some of their water into their friends’ cups so that everyone got a chance to water the plants. Great teamwork, Mighty Newton! After which, the children sat down to illustrate their ideas based on the topic of “What can we do with water?” I hope we all understand the importance of water through this process and begin appreciating our water!
Following the journey of ‘water’, Mighty Newton was introduced to gardening through the book “Gorilla Gardener: How to Help Nature Take Over the World” by John Seven. Naturally, we had to get our hands by gardening! Here are the steps to gardening that the book has taught us:
Step 1: Get some seeds
Step 2: Plant the seeds
Step 3: Watch it grow!
Having completed Steps 1 and 2, it was time for us to be patient and wait for our little seeds to sprout. Only time would tell if our plan is successful.
Mighty Newton continued to observe our garden to monitor the growth of the plants. How could we possibly forget what the plants need - loads of tender loving care, and water! The children came out with a roster and took turns to water the plants daily. As the children explored, the learning experience developed into growing/caring for plants around them and watering them daily to show love. When there was finally a sight of seedlings, the children brought their markers and paper to the garden, to observe the plants and draw them. What a great learning opportunity for our little innovators to connect to the world through the element of ‘water’, to visualise just how much water is a crucial part of the world around us. People are just like seeds, we need water to grow and bloom too!
