Prep Spotlight

This term in Inquiry, the Preps have been learning all about living things. We have explored the differences between living and non-living things, the habitat and features of different living things and what living things need to survive.

Our term started with looking at the life cycle of plants, starting from a seed. We had the chance to try and grow our own beanstalks. Sadly, not all seeds were successful in the germination process and only a handful developed into a plant. But it was still amazing to see what happened to those that did.

We then moved to learning about the life cycle of a butterfly. We were fortunate enough to have a couple of chrysalises in our classrooms and watched as they developed to the point where the butterflies came out. While most of our butterflies chose to wait until our backs were turned, for those fortunate enough to witness a butterfly emerging, it was a wonderful sight to see.

We have also learnt about the life cycles of frogs and humans. It is fascinating seeing the similarities and differences between the various types of animals.

In week 6, we jumped on the bus and headed to the Melbourne Zoo. And what fun we had! We followed several trails around the zoo to view many different animals in their own habitat and enjoyed watching them eat, sleep and play around. We also had the opportunity to be Wild Explorers in a garden of discoveries and met a couple of baby giant tortoises, learning about their needs.

Last week we had our Minibeasts incursion where we met a number of creatures, critters, and creepy crawlies. Not everyone was as excited to meet the stick insect Lisa but we loved trying to catch crickets and slaters to view in magnifying glasses, examine different bugs in lightboxes and feed some butterflies red cordial, using sponges on sticks.

It certainly has been an exciting term and helped to nurture our curiosity of the world around us. A wonderful unit to finish off the year!

Prudence Reynolds

Prep Teacher