Anzac poppies

For the past few weeks, we have been looking at World War One and what happened at Gallipoli. Today we read a lovely picture book called 'The Red Poppy' and talked about how the poppies were a bit of beauty and wonder in amongst the horror and death that was life in the trenches. We contrasted that to Jesus death on the cross....the wonder and the horror! A great link right after Easter.

We then looked at what a field of poppies looked like and how some artists had represented their different perspectives. We then used watercolours to paint our own interpretations of the poppies amongst the fields or trenches.

Here are a few of the final creations...

Brain breaks

Students attention spans range from 5 minutes to 20 minutes and I have always been looking for fun ways to 'take a break' from their learning; to help them re-focus and stay on task.

I have seen numerous ideas around on Pinterest and other teaching blogs, but I thought that the concept of a 'brain break' sounded good!

So I got some thick paddle pop sticks from the $2 shop, traced around them on some funky papers, glued them together and found an empty jar. Then I racked my brain and googled some fun breaks(some shorter, some longer than ones).

Hopefully my kiddies will enjoy the breaks!