Early Learning

Possums

The Possum group has continued our exploration of different countries. Lately we have been interested in learning about Italy, and were fascinated by the Leaning Tower of Pisa, Michelangelo painting the Sistine Chapel, and the canals of Venice. We played in a small world of Venice, painted our Sistine Kinder Chapel ceiling, cooked and ate delicious pizza, and built some Leaning Towers out of magnets, blocks, and boxes! We also looked at maps and flags, and learned some Italian words. 

This time when we worked on our "KWL" chart (what we Know, what we Want to know and what we've Learned) the teachers noticed quite a jump in children's understanding of this process, which reinforces metacognitive thinking habits. Children were able to generate so many more questions about Italy, and were able to think of ways we might go about finding out the answers. We are really starting to think about our learning at Kinder. 

2 Peter 3:18 says "but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ". Growing in knowledge of Jesus includes learning through engaging our minds, experiencing, and learning from others. At Kinder we are learning how our brains can learn, we are experiencing our learning through play, and we are learning from, and teaching others. We also grow in knowledge of Jesus through our habits of listening to Bible stories, praying, and worshipping God.

This term, we have been collecting donations for Food Share, and thinking about how the Bible tells us that children were able to help Jesus help others. Ms Parker's favourite bible verse is Micah 6:8: "He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God." At Kinder we learn about fairness, how to love others, to be kind to others, and we learn that God loves all of us.

Beth Parker

Head of Early Learning