Dot Day

Today was International Dot Day. This is a global celebration of creativity, courage and collaboration. It draws inspiration from Peter H. Reynolds’ book The Dot, and has been celebrated in classrooms across the globe since September 15, 2009.

'The Dot is the story of a caring teacher who dares a doubting student to trust in her own abilities by being brave enough to “make her mark”. What begins with a small dot on a piece of paper becomes a breakthrough in confidence and courage, igniting a journey of self-discovery and sharing, which has gone on to inspire countless children and adults around the globe.'

This is the story...

On Monday we had time in the art room to create our own 'dot' masterpieces using our imaginations and creativity. The designs were all unique and beautiful in their own ways. Learners made 2d and 3d designs...making use of their choice of materials from the art room.

Today we celebrated dot day by exploring the literary messages in the book. We learned about the artist's inspiration that came when he went to sleep with a maker pen in his hand and woke up with a colourful dot on his page. He turned what could be viewed as a 'stain' into something positive.
During a session in the library we looked at what attitudes and learner profile attributes were represented by Vashti in the story.
Children commented that;

' Vashti was caring because she tried to help the boy believe in himself at the end of the story'

'She was creative because she came up with many different ways to create the dot art'

'Vashti was a risk taker because she didn't think she could do it but then she kept trying'

'I think she was a communicator. She used pictures to show a message'

We sang along to the dot day song written by Emily Dale and the book author Peter H Reynolds.

Today we made dots by blowing bubbles in coloured dyes and dishwashing liquid and pressing the paper on top. We will use the beautiful paper we made to write 'growth mindset' quotes on.

We explored ways to represent our thinking in mathematics. In math - the desired outcome is the same; however, we discussed how there are many ways to represent and solve a problem. We tried to think creatively like Vashti in the story...and were brave enough to share our mathematical thinking strategies with others.

We iced biscuits on a 'dot day' theme. This did not fit so well with our focus on nutrition...however children recognised that sweet food is OK occasionally...just not if you eat it all the time! I was very impressed when Ms Liz came in and asked if she could ice a biscuit and the group she was at promptly reminded her that she had to wash her hands or she could spread germs to other group members!

At the end of the day, we took our dot day art onto the field and Mr Adam sent the school drone up to take a photo of grade 2 'dot art' from a birds eye perspective. Watch this space for images!

After this hectic day...including a session of PE, school photos, and art class; we still managed to find time to hear Irrham read a book he brought from home in his mother tongue - Malaysian! I continue to be impressed with these student's willingness to share and explain their favourite books in multiple languages. Great job Irrham!