Play-based Learning in the Middle School (Year 3 & 4)
The middle school is made up of two classrooms and a variety of breakout spaces which can be used in different ways. The two classes are Ruma Piwakawaka and Ruma Kakapo with fifty-four children and two teachers: Mrs Constable and Mrs Rehmann.
Currently, we run a dedicated session PBL on a Friday morning. Previously, two or three sessions were held in the afternoons, depending on other curricular activities. Apart from the session on Friday, we incorporate many PBL activities into our daily teaching programme. For maths, this might be in the form of a hands-on maths-related play activity with shapes instead of a worksheet.
Children can choose from a variety of activities in different spaces. They can choose where, how, when and who to play with, as long as they follow our three rules which build the framework for everything we do in our syndicate: Be safe, responsible and respectful.
In a PBL session, you might see any of the following things happening, depending on the weather outside:
- Cooking and baking
- School garden and orchard: weeding, planting, harvesting, depending on the season
- Arts including painting, drawing, sketching
- Construction table
- LEGO, Stem and other block play
- Sandpit
- Dress ups
- Fort and shelter building
- Imaginary play
- Science activities
- Ball play and tag games