Last Friday was, of course, our Twilight Market. This annual endeavor is a major fundraiser for our school, as well as an opportunity for the children to display some of their project-based learning through the student-run sideshows.
The children put an incredible amount of thought and effort into their sideshows. We are constantly amazed by their ideas, and their ability to persist with and solve challenges. Each one of our five side shows was entirely the work of the children. From the initial idea, to the planning, building the components, fine tuning of how the side show should run, writing the instructions, typing and formatting them, each side show was a triumph of the children's creativity and persistence.
We also made a selection of prizes to be handed out to successful players. These 2D and 3D cardboard shapes were spray painted and sorted into baskets for the side shows. That afternoon the children responsible for each side show set up their work next to the kitchen garden. We made a roster for each child to be responsible for a side show for 15 minutes.
Fish for a duck
Fish for a duck involved hooking two ducks that were floating in the tub of water onto one hook on a 'fishing rod'. There were three different sized fishing rods, 60cm, 46cm and 36cm for big kids, little kids and really little kids respectively. The team in charge of this event decided that, since it was quite a difficult task, players should have three chances to hook both ducks. If players succeeded by the third attempt they won a prize.
Pick a Prize
Pick a prize was a labour or love and a major construction challenge. The box itself took over a week of construction, and rather than simply pulling out a prize, the children devised a sophisticated code to determine what each player's prize should be. Inside the box were cards with several different pictures on them, each of which correlated to a particular prize. Some cards resulted in a big prize, some in a small prize, and others gave the player one or three more turns at choosing a card. The codes were recorded on a code sheet displayed next to the instructions.
The paper planes were reinforced with masking tape over the nose and any parts of the plane likely to get torn or bent during repeated throws. A giant paper plane was prepared as a grand prize for the player who threw their plane the greatest distance.
Players stood at a line marked out by the team in charge and threw the planes along a track that had been outlined in the kitchen garden.
Like the other teams, the children in charge of pin the tail on the horse worked out the rules, drafted, typed and formatted their instructions completely independently.
They also discovered that the board needed a perimeter as the marble kept rolling off the edge. Once all the nails had been hammered in, they painted it to show the winning section clearly and added a button to indicate where players had to shoot the marble to win a prize.
The children are, justifiably, extremely proud of their work as we are of them. Thank you to all the families who came along to the Twilight Market and helped support the children and our school.
The children put an incredible amount of thought and effort into their sideshows. We are constantly amazed by their ideas, and their ability to persist with and solve challenges. Each one of our five side shows was entirely the work of the children. From the initial idea, to the planning, building the components, fine tuning of how the side show should run, writing the instructions, typing and formatting them, each side show was a triumph of the children's creativity and persistence.
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| Measuring the "prize" airplane, which, like all the planes in this sideshow, has been reinforced with masking tape to protect it over repeated uses. |
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| Adding the final touches to "Pin the Tail on the Horse". The large painting took several drafts to get the proportions right on such a large piece of paper, and to make it appear professional and inviting to the Twilight Market customers. |
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| Measuring a fishing rod, which had been measured and marked for cutting by an adult, to establish if it is the 'large', 'medium' or 'small' rod (for different sized children) |
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| Making signs to attract customers. Each paddle pop stick was carefully splinted to the one below. |
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| Difficulty making the sign stand unsupported - making a triangular frame at the base to make it stand upright |
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| Writing signs |
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| Typing up instructions to display at each side show |
We also made a selection of prizes to be handed out to successful players. These 2D and 3D cardboard shapes were spray painted and sorted into baskets for the side shows. That afternoon the children responsible for each side show set up their work next to the kitchen garden. We made a roster for each child to be responsible for a side show for 15 minutes.
Fish for a duck
Fish for a duck involved hooking two ducks that were floating in the tub of water onto one hook on a 'fishing rod'. There were three different sized fishing rods, 60cm, 46cm and 36cm for big kids, little kids and really little kids respectively. The team in charge of this event decided that, since it was quite a difficult task, players should have three chances to hook both ducks. If players succeeded by the third attempt they won a prize.
Pick a Prize
Pick a prize was a labour or love and a major construction challenge. The box itself took over a week of construction, and rather than simply pulling out a prize, the children devised a sophisticated code to determine what each player's prize should be. Inside the box were cards with several different pictures on them, each of which correlated to a particular prize. Some cards resulted in a big prize, some in a small prize, and others gave the player one or three more turns at choosing a card. The codes were recorded on a code sheet displayed next to the instructions.
Aeroplane Race
The paper plane race wasn't exactly a race in the strictest sense of the word. Two players competed to throw their paper plane (which had been made by the team in advance) the furthest distance. The children debated measuring the length each plane had flown but decided it was unnecessary because they could tell by simple comparison.
The paper planes were reinforced with masking tape over the nose and any parts of the plane likely to get torn or bent during repeated throws. A giant paper plane was prepared as a grand prize for the player who threw their plane the greatest distance.
Players stood at a line marked out by the team in charge and threw the planes along a track that had been outlined in the kitchen garden.
Pin the Tail on the Horse
This variation on pin the tail on the donkey also took a long time and many drafts to prepare. The children researched pictures of horses and drew several draft sketches on butcher's paper before carefully painting their piece. They decided on blue tack to attach the tail because it is easier to attach to paper, and prepared a paper tail as well.
Like the other teams, the children in charge of pin the tail on the horse worked out the rules, drafted, typed and formatted their instructions completely independently.
Pinball
The children drew inspiration for their pinball machine from a project that the 1/2/3s had made. They marked the places for the nails to be hammered into a piece of wood, however once we started hammering nails in they discovered that there were too many, making the pinball machine cluttered and difficult to use. They chose a few key points to place the nails and stretched rubber bands across to propel the marble.
They also discovered that the board needed a perimeter as the marble kept rolling off the edge. Once all the nails had been hammered in, they painted it to show the winning section clearly and added a button to indicate where players had to shoot the marble to win a prize.
The children are, justifiably, extremely proud of their work as we are of them. Thank you to all the families who came along to the Twilight Market and helped support the children and our school.
