Wild & Rise · Sample Week · September

Identity, Names & First Numbers

This is a complete Week 1 from Wild & Rise Kindergarten. Morning Meeting, the anchor lesson, all five subject branches, Wander Days, and the daily Closing Circle. Click through everything. This is exactly how a week looks and feels.

Week 1 · September

Identity, Names & First Numbers

This week everything grows from one idea: your child's name. A name is made of sounds. That's the anchor literacy lesson. It contains a countable number of letters. That's the math branch. It lives inside a family story. That's social studies. It can be drawn and observed. That's the art branch. It can be moved through with your whole body. That's the PE branch. By Friday your child will have explored their name through five different lenses without ever feeling like they studied the same thing twice.

✦ Rise Together this week

Write someone else's name beautifully and leave it somewhere they'll find it. A sibling, a grandparent, a neighbour. A name is a gift. Give it back.

Busy week?

The art branch and wander days are the easiest to drop. Protect the anchor lesson and the math branch. Swap anything else for a few ideas from the wander days and you'll still cover everything that matters.

Wild & Rise · Week 1

Morning Meeting

Establishing the Routine · 12–18 min · Daily

Morning Meeting

Establishing the Routine

Week 1 · September 12–18 min · Daily, all week

The goal this week

Same thing, every day, all week. Routine before skills.

The goal this week is not learning. It's routine. By Friday, your child should know exactly what Morning Meeting is, what comes next, and feel settled in it. Skills come later. This week: the same sequence every day until it feels like home.

What Morning Meeting is

A short, predictable opening. 12–18 minutes every learning day. Calendar, then counting, then a rhyme, then a little movement. The same order every time. By Week 3 it runs on autopilot. That's the whole point.

·

Part 1. Calendar Time 4–5 min

Set this up on Day 1 and use it every day

You need: a simple calendar showing the current month, a weather chart (a whiteboard or piece of paper on the wall works), and your ten frame set-up. Two laminated ten frames and a small container of counters.

The same four steps every morning, in this order:

① Point to today's date. Say it together: "Today is Tuesday, September 9th." ② "What day was yesterday? What will tomorrow be?" ③ Look outside. "What's the weather?" Mark it on the chart. ④ Add today's counter to the ten frame. Count all counters together aloud.

How it builds across the week

Day 1You lead everything and narrate.

Day 3Let your child do one step while you support.

Day 5They lead as much as they can. This handover takes weeks, not days, but start the transfer now.

·

Part 2. Nursery Rhyme 3–4 min

Same rhyme all week

"We say the same rhyme every day this week until you know it by heart."

Hickory dickory dock,
The mouse ran up the clock.
The clock struck one,
The mouse ran down,
Hickory dickory dock.

Day by day

Day 1You say it through once. Child listens, then joins wherever they can.

Day 2Say it together. Add a clap or tap on each beat.

Day 3Child leads. You follow. Slow it down together.

Day 4Can they say it without you? Try. Fill in gaps gently.

Day 5Child performs it. To you, a stuffed animal, whoever is nearby.

Nursery rhymes appear in Morning Meeting all year. This one comes back. Learning it now means it's available as a tool later.

·

Part 3. Arm Warm-Up 3 min

Same invitation all week. Free Arm Exploration

"No rules yet. Just move your arm as big as you can."

Day by day

Day 1"Draw anything in the air. As big as possible." No guidance. Watch what they make.

Day 2Same invitation. Try with the other arm.

Day 3Same invitation. Eyes closed this time.

Day 4Same invitation. Slow motion. Then fast.

Day 5Same invitation. On large paper on the floor or wall. See it land.

No specific strokes this week. Week 2 introduces tall lines. This week trains the awareness that the arm moves on purpose. That's enough.

✦ No new phonological awareness skill this week. Syllable clapping is introduced for the first time in the anchor lesson. Morning Meeting doesn't front-run it. The nursery rhyme plants rhythm and sound awareness naturally, without teaching. By the time syllable clapping arrives in the anchor lesson, the ear has already been warmed up all week. That's the design.

Wild & Rise · Week 1 · Anchor Lesson

My Name is Special

ELA · Phonological Awareness · Writing · Oral Language · 30–40 min · Start here this week

Anchor Lesson

My Name is Special

Week 1 · September 30–40 min · 1–2× per week

ELA · Phonological Awareness ELA · Writing ELA · Oral Language

Learning Intention

Today we discover that your name is made of sounds, and that every name carries a story worth telling.

What is phonological awareness? The ability to hear and play with the sounds in spoken language. In the ear, not on the page. Research consistently shows it's one of the strongest predictors of early reading success. The best way to build it is through play, song, and conversation.

What are syllables? The beats inside words. Kim-ber-ly = 3 beats. Ro = 1 beat. Feeling those beats physically. By clapping, tapping, or pushing a counter forward. Is more powerful than any worksheet. The body learns it before the mind can name it.

A note on fine motor: When your child manipulates small letter cards, picks up counters, or traces letters in a tray, they're building the hand strength and finger control that pencil grip depends on.

What You'll Need

Whiteboard or large paper + marker (write your child's name. Leave it visible throughout)
Letter materials. Child's choice: magnet letters, tiles, blocks, or index cards Manipulating small letters = fine motor practice
Counters: buttons, coins, small blocks, beads, or dried pasta Pincer grip practice
Tray + medium for Step 4: sand, flour, shaving cream, or chalkboard Vertical tray position ideal for wrist development
Short or triangular pencil + any paper For the final writing attempt. Not lined paper today

▶ Alma Read-Aloud ▶ Clapping Syllables ↓ Free Name Tracing Sheet

Your Wildlings

↙ Ages 3–4

Clap names together. Match letter cards to fridge magnets or foam bath letters. One sound, one clap. That's the whole lesson at this age.

→ Gr. 1–2

Count syllables in every name in the family. Make a tally chart. Research what their own name means. Try writing it backwards.

↗ Gr. 3–4

Find the etymology of each family member's name. What language? What does it mean historically? Make a family name origin map.

The Lesson

1

Hook. The Story of a Name

10–15 min

Before you begin: cue up the Alma read-aloud video (linked above) or have the book ready.

Read or watch Alma and How She Got Her Name together.

After reading: "Alma has so many names and every one carries a story. Does YOUR name have a story? Who chose it? What does it mean? Does it belong to someone in our family?"

Take your time. Tell the stories together. Some families have rich name stories. Others are discovering them for the first time. Both are exactly the lesson.

✦By the end: your child is thinking about names as meaningful. Not just labels. That's the foundation for everything this week.

2

Count the Names, Look at the Letters

6–8 min

"How many names did Alma have? Let's count." (Six.) "How many names do YOU have?" Count first, middle (if any), last.

Write your child's name in large, clear letters on the whiteboard or large paper. Leave it visible for Steps 3 and 4.

Count the letters in your child's first name. Point to each one together. Ask: "Which letter comes first? Last? Do any letters repeat?"

This is letter recognition. Different from the sound work coming in Step 5.

3

Play with the Letters

7 minFine motor: manipulating small objects, pincer grip

Your child chooses how to work with the letters. Magnet letters, tiles, blocks, or index cards.

Build the name in order. Mix them up. Put them back. Try from memory. Can they do it without looking at the reference?

The free name tracing sheet (linked above) works well here. Trace each letter before building it with materials.

4

Write Your Name. Tray First

5–8 minFine motor: tray tracing, grip formation

This is your child's first attempt at name writing. Start in a tray. Not on paper.

Set up your tray: sand, flour, shaving cream, or use a chalkboard. Child traces their name through the medium with one finger, using the whiteboard name as reference. Repeat 2–3 times if they're willing.

Then invite. Don't require. A first attempt on paper. Any paper today. No lined paper yet.

"You wrote that. Those marks are YOU."

✦If the tray is enough for today, that IS the lesson. Pencil confidence will build.

5

Clap and Count Syllables. First Introduction

5–6 minFine motor: pincer grip with counters

This is a first introduction. The goal today is curiosity and exposure, not mastery.

Watch the syllables video first if you have a few minutes (linked above).

"Names are made of sounds and the sounds come in beats. Let's find the beats in your name."

Clap your child's name: "Kim-ber-ly. How many claps? Three!" Use counters: push one forward for each syllable as you say the name slowly. Count what you pushed.

Try your name, siblings, grandparents, pets. Follow their lead.

✦Your name has sounds you can clap AND letters you can see. Both matter and now they're connected.

What to Watch For

Syllable counting. Do they clap naturally and accurately, or need to slow way down? Both are fine starting points.
Letter recognition. Do they use the visual shape of each letter to find the right order, or rely on memory?
Letter materials. Which do they reach for: magnets, tiles, blocks, or cards? Note it. It's useful information.
Tray vs. pencil. How do they engage with each? Hand fatigue is information about fine motor development, not effort or ability.

Literacy Wander Days

My Name. Wander Further

Aim for 2–3 sessions this week · 10–20 min each

Choose 2 or 3 per session

We know the story, letters, and sounds of our name. Today we go further with new tools. Pick different activities each time. There's enough here for several full sessions.

Name Writing · try a new tool each session

Paint your name on large paper.
Make your name in playdough. Roll a snake for each letter.
Write your name in chalk outside.
Write your name from memory, no reference.

Letters and Names

Build your name with letter materials from memory.
"Do any letters in your name appear in someone else's name in our family?"
Draw something that starts with the first letter of your name and label it.

Syllables

Race through family names. Who has the most syllables?
Clap 5 new words from a favourite book or around the house.
Try compound words: cup-cake, sun-shine, rain-bow.

Going deeper?

Write your full name from memory. First, middle, and last.
Research what your name means. Ask a family member or look it up together.

✦ Rise Together connection: Write someone else's name beautifully and leave it somewhere they'll find it. A name is a gift. Give it back.

Wild & Rise · Week 1 · Branch Lesson

How Many Letters?

Numeracy · Counting & Cardinality · Comparing Quantities · Numeral Formation · 20–25 min

Branch Lesson · Numeracy

How Many Letters?

Week 1 · September 20–25 min

Numeracy · Counting & Cardinality Numeracy · Comparing Quantities Numeracy · Numeral Formation

← Anchor this week: My Name is Special. In that lesson we counted letters for the first time. Today we go further.

Learning Intention

Numbers are everywhere. Even in our names. Your name has a number, and today we find it.

One-to-one correspondence is the ability to touch one object while saying one number. Many children this age count from memory without matching the count to actual objects. This lesson makes counting physical and meaningful.

Comparing quantities. More than, fewer than, the same as. Is the language of mathematics. We're building it naturally through names your child already knows and cares about.

Numeral formation is separate from letter formation and equally important. Practising the specific numeral that represents your child's name length gives the writing practice meaning.

What You'll Need

Name on whiteboard or large paper (from anchor lesson, or rewrite)
Counters (same as anchor. Buttons, coins, pasta)
Paper and pencil for numeral writing
Optional: index cards with family members' names written on them

Your Wildlings

↙ Ages 3–4

Count together by pointing, one finger per letter. Writing the numeral is optional at this age.

→ Gr. 1–2

Count syllables AND letters. Are they the same number? Make a simple chart.

↗ Gr. 3–4

Find the difference between name lengths using subtraction. Make a family name bar graph.

The Lesson

1

Count Your Letters

4 min

Point to each letter in your child's name and count together. One touch per letter. "How many letters? Let's write that number." Write the numeral large on paper.

Place a counter under each letter as you count. One counter, one letter.

✦This is your name's number. It belongs to you.

2

Who Has More?

7 min

Write 3–4 family names (or names from Alma). Count the letters in each and write the numeral beside it.

Ask: "Does anyone have MORE letters than you? FEWER? THE SAME?"

Use the words: more than, fewer than, the same as. Say them out loud together.

✦This is comparing quantities. One of the most important ideas in early mathematics.

3

Put Them in Order

5 min

Arrange the name cards from the name with the fewest letters to the most.

"We put them in ORDER. Shortest to longest, least to most."

Can your child predict where their name will sit before counting?

4

Write Your Number

5 min

Practise writing the numeral that matches your name length. Just that one numeral. Parent models formation first. Write it big, small, in different colours.

Optional: write it in the sand tray from the anchor lesson.

✦Every letter-count from 1 to 9 is represented in a class. Any number is worth knowing well.

What to Watch For

One-to-one: does your child touch each letter as they count, or count from memory? The physical touch is the skill being built.
Comparison language: do they say "bigger/smaller" or "more/fewer"? Gently introduce the mathematical language without correcting.
Numeral formation: which direction do they start the numeral? Note it. Useful for handwriting instruction.
If counting is solid, move quickly to ordering. If still developing, stay with counting and writing the number.

Numeracy Wander Days

Numbers in Names. Wander Further

Aim for 2–3 sessions this week · 10–15 min each

Counting and Comparing

Count the letters in a favourite book title or food on the table. More or fewer than your name?
Count the letters in a pet's name, a sibling's name, a grandparent's name.
Set the table: does everyone have the same number of forks as spoons?
Find things that come in the same number as the letters in your name.

Numbers in the World

Find your name's number on packaging, a clock, a page, a house number.
Count items on a grocery shelf. Which has more? Which has fewer?
Count steps between rooms. Which room is more steps away?

Ordering

Line up shoes by size. Shortest to longest.
Order books by how many words are in the title.

Going deeper?

Make a family name bar graph. Draw a column for each person. Who has the most? The least?
"Your name has 5 letters and mine has 7. How many more do I have?"

✦ Rise Together connection: Count the letters in the name of the person you wrote for this week's Rise Together. Tell them their number.

Wild & Rise · Week 1 · Branch Lesson

The Story Behind Your Name

Social Studies · Identity · Family & Community · Cultural Connections · 20–25 min

Branch Lesson · Social Studies

The Story Behind Your Name

Week 1 · September 20–25 min

Social Studies · Identity Social Studies · Family & Community Social Studies · Cultural Connections

← Anchor this week: My Name is Special. That lesson opened the name story. Today we go deeper into where names come from.

Learning Intention

Our names connect us to our families, our histories, and our places in the world.

Some families have rich name stories passed down for generations. Others are discovering them for the first time. Others may have complicated relationships with name history. You don't have to tell any story today that isn't yours to tell.

If you don't know the story: "I don't know, but let's find out together" is one of the most powerful things you can model. Even "we chose it because it felt right for you" is a complete and true story.

If the story is hard to tell: "Your name is yours and it belongs to you" is enough for today. If your family has names from another language or culture, this is a beautiful moment to share that. You don't need to speak the language or have all the answers.

What You'll Need

Paper or your child's journal
Drawing supplies
Optional: family photos
Optional: behindthename.com for name meaning research

Your Wildlings

↙ Ages 3–4

Focus on "this name is YOURS." Draw the family together. That's the whole lesson.

→ Gr. 1–2

Research name meanings together. Write a sentence about what each name means.

↗ Gr. 3–4

Make a family name origin map. Find the countries your family names come from on a globe or map.

The Lesson

1

Tell the Story

8–10 min

"I want to tell you how you got your name."

Share the story: Who chose it? Why? Does it belong to someone in the family? Does it come from another language or place? Take your time. Tell it like a story, not a fact.

If you don't know the full story: "I'm not sure. Let's find out together." Write down one question. Who could you ask?

If the story is complicated: "Your name is yours. We chose it because it felt right for you." That is a complete and true story.

✦By the end: your child knows their name was chosen for them. That's identity formation.

2

Draw Your Family

7 min

Draw your family. Everyone who matters to your child. Parents, siblings, grandparents, close friends who are family, anyone your child includes. Let them define who belongs in this picture.

Write each person's name underneath (parent scribes for younger children). Do any names repeat across generations? Are there patterns?

3

What Does Your Name Mean?

5 min

Look up your child's name meaning together, or ask a family elder. Write or draw what it means next to the family drawing.

"Does that feel like you? Does it fit?"

✦A name with a meaning is a story your child gets to grow into.

What to Watch For

Pride and connection: does your child light up when they hear the story of their name? That emotional response is identity forming in real time.
Questions: do they ask follow-up questions? Curiosity here is a strong indicator of engagement.
The drawing: who do they include? Who do they leave out? What that tells you about their sense of family is worth noticing quietly.

Social Studies Wander Day

Names in Our Family. Wander Further

1 session this week · 10–15 min

Family Name Exploration

Ask a grandparent or family elder to share their own name story. How did THEY get their name?
Find out if any names in your family come from another country, culture, or language.
Look at family photos together and name everyone. Who shares a name?
Find out where your family surname comes from. What does it mean or where does it originate?
If your family is still discovering the name story. Write down one question and decide together who you might ask. The wondering itself is social studies.

Names in the Community

Look for names on street signs, buildings, or parks near your home. Most places are named after someone.
Find out who a nearby street or landmark was named after. What's their story?

Going deeper?

Make a family name origin map. Find the countries your family names come from on a globe or map.
Research a grandparent's name meaning and compare it to your own.

✦ Rise Together connection: When you write someone else's name for this week's Rise Together, find out one thing about their name and tell them when you give it.

Wild & Rise · Week 1 · Branch Lesson

Make Your Name Beautiful

Visual Arts · Creating · Identity · Visual Observation · 25–30 min

Branch Lesson · Visual Arts

Make Your Name Beautiful

Week 1 · September 25–30 min

Visual Arts · Creating Visual Arts · Identity Visual Arts · Visual Observation

← Anchor this week: My Name is Special. That lesson looked at letters as sounds and shapes. Today we make them into art.

Learning Intention

A name isn't just a word. It can be a beautiful object. Today we make our names into art.

Letters are visual objects. This lesson asks your child to look at the shapes inside their own name. The curves, straight lines, diagonals, and open spaces, then turn those shapes into art. It's a different kind of looking than reading or writing.

Process over product. A name filled with dots and stripes is as successful as one with elaborate drawings. The goal is engagement with the letters as visual objects, and making something worth displaying.

What You'll Need

Large paper. Bigger is better. A3, or tape two sheets together.
Thick marker or dark crayon for outlining letters
Colouring supplies: crayons, markers, coloured pencils, watercolour. Any combination
Optional: ruler for geometric letters
Display space. This piece goes on the wall when done

Your Wildlings

↙ Ages 3–4

Parent draws the letters large. Child fills them with colour. That is the whole lesson and it is enough.

→ Gr. 1–2

Fill each letter with a different repeating pattern. Dots, stripes, zigzags, swirls. Add a decorative border around the name.

↗ Gr. 3–4

Research illuminated letters from medieval manuscripts and create one illuminated first letter with a detailed scene inside it.

The Lesson

1

Look at Your Name

2 min

Look at the name written on the whiteboard from the anchor lesson.

"What shapes do you see inside the letters? Any curves? Straight lines? Circles? Diagonals?"

Just noticing. Building visual observation before creating.

2

Draw Your Name Large

5 minFine motor: large marker strokes, letter formation

On large paper, draw each letter very large. At least palm-sized, filling the page. Use a thick marker or dark crayon. Refer to the anchor whiteboard name as a reference.

Leave the insides of each letter empty. That's the canvas for the next step. Parent can guide letter formation if needed, or draw the outlines for younger children.

3

Fill With Colour and Pattern

15–20 minFine motor: controlled colouring within boundaries, tool variety

Fill each letter. The inside spaces. With colour, pattern, or design. Each letter can be different, or all can match. There is no wrong way to do this.

Prompt gently if they get stuck: "What if this letter was full of dots? Or stripes? Or your favourite colour?"

Try different tools if you have them. A marker for bold lines, watercolour washed over crayon, or coloured pencil for detail work.

✦The letter is the frame. What goes inside it is entirely theirs.

4

Display It

2 min

Find a place on the wall and put it up together. This is their first piece in their learning space.

"That is YOUR name. You made it beautiful."

✦When work goes on the wall, children know it mattered. This one will stay all week.

What to Watch For

Control within boundaries: can they colour inside the letter shapes, or do they fill the whole page? Both tell you something about fine motor development.
Pattern vs. colour fill: do they choose repeating patterns or solid fills? Pattern-making is a significant early math and art skill worth noting.
Tool preference: which tools do they gravitate toward? This matters for future art and writing sessions.
Time on task: some children will work for 25 minutes. Some will be done in 5. Both are fine. The speed tells you about attention and perfectionism, not skill.

Visual Arts Wander Day

Your Name, New Ways. Wander Further

1 session this week · 10–15 min

New Surfaces and Tools

Write your name in chalk on the sidewalk. As big as you can make it.
Try painting your name with watercolour on wet paper. Watch the letters bleed and bloom.
Use sticks, rocks, or pinecones to spell your name outside on the ground.

Letters in the Environment

Find the letters of your name in nature. A curved branch for C, a straight stick for I, a forked twig for Y.
Look for your name's letters on signs, packages, and books around the house.
Shadow play: shape your body into the letters of your name in the sunshine.

Going deeper?

Look up illuminated manuscript letters and try designing one large letter with a scene inside it.
Make a second version of the name art using only one colour family. All blues, all warm tones.

Wild & Rise · Week 1 · Branch Lesson · FMS Week 1 of 40

This Is My Body

Physical Literacy · Body Awareness · Spatial Awareness · Personal Space · 20–25 min

Branch Lesson · Physical Literacy

This Is MY Body

Week 1 · September 20–25 min FMS Week 1 of 40

Body Awareness Spatial Awareness Personal Space Stability Domain

← Anchor this week: My Name is Special. Just as your name belongs to you, your body belongs to you. Today we get to know it.

Learning Intention

Today we discover where our body is in space, and that it can make any shape we imagine.

Body awareness is knowing where your body parts are and how they move in space. Without having to look at them. It's the foundation of coordination, balance, and eventually handwriting. Children who lack body awareness struggle to stay in their seat, hold a pencil, and navigate crowded spaces.

Personal space. The invisible "bubble" around your body. Is not just a social skill. Understanding where your body ends and space begins is a spatial concept that supports letter formation and reading direction.

All three FMS domains are present this week: Stability (body shapes, personal space), Locomotor (walking through space without collisions), and Object Control foundations (spatial awareness for future tracking skills).

The name connection is real: Asking a child to make their body into a letter shape requires them to hold a mental image of the letter and translate it into physical form. That cross-domain connection strengthens both movement literacy and early reading.

What You'll Need

Open floor space. At least 2×2 metres clear
Optional: a flashlight for shadow letter games (see Wander Day)
Optional: soft background music for movement activities
No equipment needed. Bodies only today

Your Wildlings

↙ Ages 3–4

Focus on the bubble space and body shapes. Skip the Name Shapes step. Body awareness in space is the whole lesson at this age.

→ Gr. 1–2

Try to make every letter of their name in sequence. Partner up if there's a sibling. Can two bodies make a letter together?

↗ Gr. 3–4

Spell the whole first name in body shapes, then try a family member's name. Photograph the letters and make a body-alphabet card.

The Lesson

1

Bubble Space

4–5 min

Personal space concept. The invisible bubble around your body.

"Imagine you have a big bubble all around you. Stretching from your fingertips to your toes to the top of your head. That bubble is YOUR space. Move around the room without popping anyone else's bubble."

Walk slowly at first, then a little faster. Can they navigate the space without bumping into furniture, walls, or each other?

Freeze on your signal. "Is your bubble still whole? Good. Your body knows where it is."

✦Personal space is a concept, not a rule. Making it physical and playful means it actually sticks.

2

Body Parts Freeze

4–5 min

Move through the space freely. When you call out a body part, they freeze and point to it, or touch it as fast as they can.

Start easy: "Freeze. Show me your elbow. Your knee. Your shoulder." Then get harder: "Show me the back of your knee. Your collarbone. Your heel."

Follow their lead. If they ask to be the caller, let them. That's the whole game working at its best.

3

Body Shapes

5–6 min

Call out shape words. They make their body into that shape. No wrong answers.

"Wide! Narrow! Tall! Small! Twisted! Round! Flat! Pointy!"

Try combinations: "Wide AND low. Twisted AND tall." Can their body do both at once?

Move between shapes quickly. The transition IS the movement challenge.

✦A body that can make many shapes has a head start on reading, writing, and sports. All of it lives here.

4

Name Shapes

6–8 min

The anchor connection. Bodies make letters.

"We've been making shapes with our bodies. Now let's make the shapes of the letters in your name."

Start with the first letter. Look at the whiteboard name (from the anchor lesson) if needed. Can they make that shape with just their arms? Their whole body? On the floor?

Work through as many letters as they're interested in. Some will be easy (I, O, L). Some will be wonderfully silly (S, K, Z). All of it counts.

Laugh together. Silly is the point. Silliness lowers the stakes and raises engagement.

✦Your name lives in sound, in letters, and now in your body. It belongs to all of you.

What to Watch For

Spatial navigation: do they bump into things or freeze up in open space? Both tell you about body awareness development.
Body parts: do they know where their collarbone, shin, or heel is? Gaps here are normal and useful to note for the year ahead.
Shape vocabulary: do they understand "wide" vs "narrow," "twisted" vs "straight"? This spatial language connects directly to letter formation and geometry.
Letter shapes: can they hold a mental image of a letter and translate it into physical form? This cross-domain skill is worth celebrating when it appears.

PE Wander Day

My Body, My Space. Wander Further

1–2 sessions this week · 10–15 min each

Body Awareness Games

Simon Says. Body parts version. Who can find their Achilles tendon? Their temple?
Mirror games: stand facing each other and copy every movement as a mirror image. Then switch who leads.
Statue game: move freely, freeze on signal. Can they hold their shape for 5 seconds? 10?

Shapes and Space

Make the widest shape possible. The smallest. The most twisted. Take a photo of each.
Can they move through a space without touching the walls or furniture? Time it.
Draw chalk outlines of their body in different shapes on the driveway or sidewalk.

Going deeper?

Shadow letter names: on a sunny day, use your body to spell your name in shadow on a light wall. Photograph it.
Flashlight letters at night: hold a flashlight and trace the letters of your name on the ceiling. The moving light = moving body + spatial awareness.

Wild & Rise · Week 1

Wander Days

Child-led extensions across all subjects. Dip in when the moment is right. Nothing here is required.

Wander Days · All Subjects

This Week's Wander Invitations

Week 1 · Identity, Names & First Numbers

Each subject branch has its own Wander Day built in. This page brings them all together if you want to plan the week at a glance. The full instructions for each are in the individual branch tabs.

Numeracy · 2–3 sessions

Counting name letters in the world. Groceries, books, signs. Comparing quantities in daily life. Making a family name bar graph for those ready to go deeper.

Social Studies · 1 session

Family name exploration with an elder or grandparent. Looking for community names on signs and landmarks. Wondering where names come from.

Visual Arts · 1 session

New surfaces and tools. Chalk, watercolour, sticks and stones. Finding name letters in the environment and in nature.

Physical Literacy · 1–2 sessions

Body awareness games, mirror play, shadow letter names in sunshine, flashlight letter tracing at night. All child-led, all low-stakes.

✦ Literacy Wander Days live inside the anchor lesson tab. Look there for syllable play, name scavenger hunts, and letter-sound explorations that come directly from the anchor concept.

How to use Wander Days

Wander Days aren't assigned. They're available. Drop them into gaps in the week. After lunch, during quiet time, on an afternoon when the anchor lesson didn't happen. Nothing on this list has a prerequisite except interest.

If a Wander Day turns into an hour-long deep dive, let it. That's the whole point. If it gets one sentence of interest and then nothing, that's fine too. The curriculum doesn't penalise curiosity that doesn't pan out.

Wild & Rise · Week 1

Closing Circle

A gentle ritual to close the learning day. 5–10 min · Daily · Same structure every day.

Closing Circle · Weekly Card

Week 1 · Five Days of Reflection

Week 1 · September · 5–10 min daily

Closing Circle mirrors Morning Meeting. It gives the day a shape and tells your child that today is complete. One prompt. A little quiet drawing. A moment to name something good. The same each day until it's a ritual.

Day 1

Draw a self-portrait. This is you on Day 1 of your learning journey. Tell one story about your name. Parent scribes.

Day 2

Draw one letter from your name. Make it big and beautiful. Tell one thing you noticed about names today.

Day 3

Draw something that starts with the first letter of your name. Write that letter next to it.

Day 4

Draw your family. Write (or dictate) how many people. Label each person with their first initial.

Friday

Draw one thing you learned this week. Complete the sentence: "I am good at ___." Save this page. It's your first portfolio entry.

Friday's Closing Circle is a portfolio entry. Keep it. This is what "Week 1, Day 1" looked like. It will mean something at the end of the year when you can see how far your child has come. Put it in a folder, a binder, a box. Anywhere it will still be there in June.

How Closing Circle Works

The Structure

The Prompt

One question or one invitation. Read it aloud. Let your child sit with it for a moment before responding.

The Drawing

5–7 minutes of quiet drawing in response to the prompt. Parent scribes words if the child wants to add them.

Something Good

Name one good thing from today. The child shares first. It can be tiny. It just has to be real.

✦ The Closing Circle Journal PDF (available separately) has pre-formatted pages for every day of the year. Triple-line writing space, a drawing box, and a weekly portfolio summary. It works as a record of learning and a gift worth keeping.

Identity, Names & First Numbers