Real Learning Counts - Weekly Recap (Week 3)

This week was layered, creative, and full of deep engagement.

Learning showed up through:
• a library visit with our homeschool group, including coding activities
• expanding self-care play by adding makeup to the self-care table. Barbie received a very fancy makeover
• continued small-world role play with dinosaurs
• problem-solving while posting LEGO bricks through a paper towel tube and figuring out how long pieces could fit
• gardening together, weeding, watering, and planting seeds

And then there was this moment of learning that unfolded slowly:
• a 3.5-year-old falling completely in love with a baby T-Rex garden ornament
• caring for it as a pet, feeding it other dinosaurs because it’s a carnivore, making cosy beds, giving it water
• deciding it needed a collar, and planning how to make one
• exploring materials, designing, creating, reflecting on what worked and what didn’t
• recognising some materials weren’t suitable for a collar, but choosing to repurpose them into a collage instead

We also:
• used pattern knowledge to create a colourful watercolour background for a first-day self-portrait
• practised controlled sideways lines across the page
• followed curiosity into an unexpected experiment with paper, cotton wool, and water
• observed changes as materials became wet, soft, and breakable
• strengthened fine motor skills through squeezing, tearing, and manipulating materials

At one point, my instinct was to stop it.
It was messy.
Materials weren’t being used “correctly”.

Instead, I paused.

I reminded myself:
This wasn’t hurting anyone.
This was exploration.
This was learning.

So we leaned in.
Added more water.
Added a tray.
And let it unfold.

This is what real learning looks like.
And it all counts