occasionalcurriculum

Field Trips
The objectives of field trips—whether during the regularly scheduled meeting
time or otherwise—are to complement a themed Unit of Inquiry and to enable
the children to learn in a variety of environments and situations. Field trip
destinations in one English Blast group have included science and technology
museums, major traveling exhibits, parks for nature study, and a cosmetics
factory. Whenever possible, these field trips are undertaken as a group,
however, the logistics of coordinating busy schedules and traveling the
distances to some sites can mean that field trips are occasionally undertaken
as a family, rather than as a class, at a convenient time on a holiday or
weekend.

Interactive Family Days
These are days organized several times during the year (the average being
one per term) to involve the entire family in the English Blast program, to
deepen bonds among English Blast members, and to explore a topic in more
depth. These Family Days are scheduled on weekends or holidays allowing for
more time than usual classes allow (on average about four hours). One group's
Interactive Family Days have included an Egypt Day putting together a large
map of the Nile, dressing in costumes, and simulating and Egyptian market; a
mikan farm visit; planet viewing; camping and stargazing; tide pool
exploration with a marine specialist; Rome Day with Roman foods, games and
displays; India Day including lunch at an Indian restaurant followed by an
afternoon with Indian guests to teach dancing and introduce customs; and
Korea Day with displays of the children’s hangul writing, a visit by a Korean
guest, dressing in traditional Korean clothing, and making and eating Korean
foods.

Variety Blast Days
These are catch-all days that are scheduled when necessary in order to tie up
loose ends of a Unit of Inquiry, focus on some particular language skills, relax
with some less intensive work or play learning games. Planning meetings can
be held at the end of these classes.

Summer Homework and First Blast Class in September
Summer homework varies from year to year but has often included reading
logs and journals, with the main purpose being to motivate children to read
and write throughout the summer and to give children and parents concrete
goals. Many English Blast children travel with their families during the
summer months, often to English-speaking countries, and this is a great
opportunity for learning and discovery. The journals, reading logs, projects
and discovery accounts are then shared on the first class of English Blast
after the summer break.