Earthquakes are scary
During March we decided to have a sensitive chat to the children about the earthquakes in Christchurch and Japan, we cut and pasted newspaper photos of the events that occurred from the New Zealand herald newspaper. I found the children wanted to talk about the earthquakes and they got quite worked up about it, talking loudly about the fires that the earthquake caused to peoples homes. The children mentioned that they saw the earthquake burning peoples houses down on television news and the people had no beds,or food, they told me that the people were sad and crying. The children said the buildings had tumbled down. They saw the stormy events in Japan on the television news and as they pasted the photos from the New Zealand herald it brought back into their minds what they had seen on television. The children pasted photos of the tsunami in Japan and we chatted about the water flooding the people and their houses and cars and bending the trees over. Te Whaariki states that the "programme builds on passions and curiosity of each toddler,and that adults can talk with toddlers about differences in people, places, and things (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.69). I felt surprized and happy because the children obviously needed someone to talk to outside their families and Whaanau, and to share and tell others about their feelings the children have learned that their friends watch the televion news just like them. Information and Communication Technology has enhanced learning opportunities for the children, enableing the children to share the same concerns and interests from the television. Watching the television news has"broadened their horizons by exploring the wider world" (M o E, 2004, p.2). ICT has taught the children to notice, recognise, listen and respond.
My next step in extending news items will be about the Royal Wedding and how Prince William and Princess Kate get married at the Westminster Abbey. This experience will be a happy, colourful exciting time with story tale, romantic, news cuttings, and the children can role play and become royalty. The children will see the wedding on television and it will become a big event for us.
References
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He Whāriki mātaurangi mō ngā mōkopuna o Aotearoa. Wellington: Learning Media.
Ministry of Education. (2004). Kei tua o pae: Assessment for learning: Early childhood exemplars. Wellington: Learning Media.
Kia ora Mavis. This is a great story, I liked the way how you incorporated this story into a meaningful learning experience for the children without being so PC, and its great to see that the children know that they can trust you with all that has being going on in the wider world around them. This is a great example of how you have built a great relationship with your children in your cente. Awesome I look forward to reading the rest of your stories. na Faith:-)
ReplyDeleteHi Mavis, reading your blog about what you did with the children about the earthquake was a good opportunity given for them to express their feelings about what happened to other children and their families in the country. They could hear it on the radio or have the stories told to them by the parents and other members of their families but when they see it through the medium of television technology, it makes a big difference. They are able to see the real thing happening as if they were present but except for feeling the horror of the real earthquake. Technology these days are very handy and we know that it is part of our daily lives. You did a good and relevant activity with your children because they need to know what other children and their families are going through. It gives them an understanding to appreciate life every moment. It also gives us teachers an opportunity to work together with them role modeling about giving and helping those who are in need because of unforeseen natural disasters as we did with our centre when we asked all families to contribute for our giving to the earthquake victims when it first happened and are still doing it. Last week we had a soup and bread lunch inviting all parents to join us for 5.00 for lunch and the amount will be send to the earthquake’s families. Some good reading Mavis, and very relevant for our times today.
ReplyDeleteHi Mavis, it is good to see that you have extended children's learning on earthquake. It is important for children to know what to do during earth earthquake and how to keep themselves safe. It is great idea for as well to talk about in my centre for the safety of the children.
ReplyDeleteKa pai Mavis - you have done a good job of integrating the two strands of this course; technology and social sciences. Effectively you have used technology as a tool to foster children's learning about social issues, in this case the rceent earthquakes in Christchurch. The Royal Wedding brings lots of possibilities for discussion in relation to the social sciences e.g What's a wedding? Why do people get married? What social roles are involved? What is royalty? What do Kings and Queens do? All good fodder for the next assignment!
ReplyDelete