Year 1 and Year 9 Learning Together

In Year 1 Science and Technology, we have been using the Design Process to help us solve a very important problem: How can we improve our school environment to provide our fairy friends with a safe place to live?

Once our problem was clearly defined, we then went about brainstorming lots of possible solutions. We decided to make an inviting Fairy Garden complete with a range of essential garden features like swings, swimming pools, day beds, fences, tables and chairs. We spent time drawing our plans and thinking about the types of plants that would grow best in the gardens and the types of materials we should use to make the features.

Mr Innes, our school gardener, and Mr Mark, from the Maintenance Team, provided the resources for our garden, but we were left to do all the hard work of preparing the soil and planting the seedlings. When it came time to make the Fairy Garden features, we called on some special friends from the Secondary School. Ms Chadwick and her Year 9 Design and Technology class were just the right people to help us! Last Thursday afternoon, we all came together in the Year 1 classroom to bring our designs to life. We had brought in sticks and bottle tops from home and Ms Chadwick brought lots of different materials that were recycled from previous design projects. Working with our Year 9 buddies, we were challenged to think about how to assemble our creations using construction materials like string, blue tac, pins and glue. We also had to think about the scale of our designs and what would fit in our gardens.

It was a wonderful afternoon of learning and fun. We are very proud of our Fairy Gardens.

A big thank you to Mr Innes, Mr Mark, Ms Chadwick and the Year 9 Design and Technology students for helping us. We hope that our fairy friends will enjoy their new environment here at SCEGGS.

Cristi Wilsmore
Year 1 Science and Technology Teacher