Science

In Class 3 typically faming, house building and people at work were considered three separate main lessons. However farming is a separate Main lesson and people at work and house building should be incorporated into one  main lesson. called Home Surroundings. 

​

Farming 

The Farming Main Lesson places before the children a history of the gathering and cultivation of food, suitable for their understanding. Perhaps beginning with the loss of Paradise, Adam and Eve would have to find their own food and shelter - how did they manage? A brief introduction of gathering that which grows naturally leads into the discovery of managing the land; planting and rotating crops; sustaining and enriching the soil and the development of husbandry. Traditional Māori methods of cultivating food will be explored; the tikanga around food cultivation will be a part of this study. 

The emphasis is always on the practical aspects of the lesson; the children should be engaged in filling the soil, planting seeds, making a compost heap, learning to recognize the plants stages of ripening; tending and harvesting that which is grown. If the class can grow their own wheat and make bread from it, so much the better! Visiting a farm and experiencing some aspect of the work can also be planned for. Connecting the rhythm of life on a farm with the seasons and the tasks of ploughing, planting and harvesting; and the shearing and lambing of sheep can be included for the class’ exploration. 

Experience of the interrelationship and balance of the natural world is a key point: for milk to be available the cow must eat grass, the right grass must be grown, the soil must be healthy for the grass to grow – etc. And the simple miracle of the gentle, ruminating cow who grazes upon the grass and daily gives us our milk, which we use for so many things can be pondered upon through story, verse and song. Experiencing a cow being milked, separating cream from milk and churning butter should all be included as part of the lesson wherever possible. The ongoing interrelationship of human beings with the earth will speak strongly to the nineyearold; there will awaken within their feeling life an appreciation of these inter-weavings and, of course, a new understanding of the food that appears so magically before them! Easily attainable within the daily process of the class is the division of waste that the children have been taught to do since Class 1. Accompanying the compost bucket to its site and taking part in the building of the compost heap can be included as part of this lesson. The children will return to this activity in Class 6. 

Home Surroundings

As the children unconsciously experience their bodies as 'the house of the soul', we lead them through an experience of the creation of a house. The house as home, a place of warmth and safety can be explored. The children may begin with building model houses or actually creating a real shelter from natural resources. The structure of the Māori wharenui and its relationship to the human being, physical and spiritual, will be investigated. The archetypal roundhouse may be investigated before the children begin to discover all the people who play a part in the creation of a modern home. It is significant, morally, to have a consciousness of the number of people and the many different areas of work that contribute to the building of a house. 

Visitors could come into the classroom, or the children could be taken off site to see various aspects of house building taking place. The children shouldn’t be subjected to technical and intellectual explanations  simple stories that illustrate the workers’ art can be given as well as an opportunity to have a hands-on experience of some aspect of the work. Following the progress of the building will also interest the nine year old, with the children naming the parts that make up the whole and appreciating that the lintel has a task to do that is just as important as that of the door. 

This lesson should, wherever possible, be hands-on and practical; the children should have the opportunity to mix concrete, lay bricks, build a wall and lay a path. If they can contribute something permanent to some part of the school or community, it should be done. 

Space might be found somewhere on the school grounds throughout the year to allow the children the experience of building as part of play, and care must be taken by the teacher that full social interactions are sustained throughout this play. Socially this time must be tended and nurtured carefully by the teachers, to ensure that all are equally involved, and all aspects of this play are shared with all class members. 

including- People at Work 

Connected to the Farming Main Lessons, when the children have experienced the differing occupations that contribute to the completion of a house and the offerings of food that we eat, there is now the opportunity to expand and took at other tasks that contribute to a functioning society. 

Specifically, those occupations that contribute to 'the good of the world' should be studied, those that interface between human and animal, human and mineral, human and plant and human and human. The sheep farmer, the veterinarian, the blacksmith, the market gardener, the forester, the nurse and others along these lines. 

It is always of value to have whānau contribute to these practical lessons where possible, and the wise teacher will begin to investigate the possibilities early in the Class 3 year. 

The children should have practical, hands-on experiences of the chosen occupations. Wherever possible the class should visit places of work and have some practical experience of what is involved.  Encourage the visitors to describe how their work helps others while giving a simple overview of their day’s tasks and activities.