This morning during garden time, the Stars took part in an exciting throwing and counting challenge. Our learning intention was to develop the children’s understanding of numbers, counting, and distance while strengthening their gross motor skills.

Standing at number 1, the children challenged themselves to throw the shooting star as far as they could, aiming to reach or travel beyond number 5. Before each throw, the Stars carefully looked at the numbered markers and talked about how far they thought their shooting star might travel. After throwing, they counted the numbers to see where it had landed and compared distances, using language such as near, far, further, and furthest.

The children showed great enthusiasm and determination as they practised coordinating their movements and controlling the strength of their throws. They were excited to discover how changing the force of their throw affected the distance travelled. Through repeated attempts, the Stars developed their understanding of number order and measurement concepts, with every child successfully throwing the shooting star beyond number 5 at least once.

It was wonderful to see the children encouraging one another throughout the activity. They celebrated their friends’ successes with comments such as, “Well done, that was a great throw!” and “Wow, that went so far!” Their kindness and teamwork helped create a positive learning environment where everyone felt confident to keep trying and challenge themselves.

We were so proud of the Stars for their perseverance, mathematical thinking, and supportive friendships. Well done, Stars!