Our PSHE curriculum got off to a fun, yet challenging, start this term as Flamingo Class explored the idea of cooperation.What does it really mean to cooperate? How good are we at cooperating? What other skills do we need to cooperate effectively? All of these questions, and more, became the topic of discussion during some quite amazing challenges.
Children were set challenges last week. First, they were asked to build the tallest possible tower that could hold a marble, using only a limited number of resources. Our problem solving, communication and constructions skills were tested to the extreme in what proved to be a very difficult task. Tall towers were easy to build. But strong, tall towers were not!
The class focused on cooperation, perseverance, and fun as the key ingredients to effective teamwork in this task. While some towers stood tall, others collapsed under the weight of the marble!
Children were then asked to reflect on their successes and failures in preparation for another challenge. Armed with a greater appreciation for communication and perseverance, we tackled the second problem with greater skill and success. The challenge: to build a device that would enable a toy car to roll as far as possible. In this task, children’s problem solving was excellent, largely due to the fact that they were working more effectively in their groups.
Maybe it really is true – two heads are better than one!
