Boronia Group Term 2, 2022

Boronia Group News Term 2 2022

An eventful Term 2 has been had by the children. Exploring, investigating, building, creating and adventuring through play. The children returned to kindergarten this term rested after the holiday break. 

As the term progressed, the children began to establish peer connections within the group and shared information with each other and their educators. Our yard has filled up with the wonderful changing colours of the autumn leaves. We have taken time to find different colours and noticed how all the leaves are different –reds, yellows, oranges, greens and browns. No one leaf is the same. 

As part of exploring and questioning during the term we have explored various science and sensory activities –slime, creating our own mini-volcanoes and learning what happens when we mix too much or too little of the bicarbonate of soda and vinegar together. All explorations incorporate language and numeracy skills. We have also been moulding playdough using our hands and natural tools and using droppers to melt ice. 

Role play and dramatic play has been part of our weekly sessions, extending on language development and imaginative play. We have explored dinosaurs, the flower shop and using various boxes to add into our block constructions and felt board story telling. Music and action movement songs have provided the opportunity for us to be active: learning to use the space around us and our voices. Puzzle building – looking at the whole picture, breaking it apart and putting it back together again. It has been very exciting to introduce the Helping Hands for the day. This provides the children an opportunity to set out our “café tickets”, choose how we are going to transition from the mat to washing our hands and meal times. 

In spite of the cooler days, we have rugged up and embraced being outdoors. The children continue to gain confidence in taking part in riskier play and giving it a go and a try outside on the obstacle courses, balancing blocks, whizzy dizzies, and manoeuvring their way through, under and over the stone creek, sandpit and mud pit. Using the large soft foam shaped blocks, various constructions have been built. Our garden beds, with flowers, vegetables and strawberries allow for the children to partake in caring for nature. They have had the opportunity to water the plants, observe and notice any changes and even used some of the fresh mint and mixed it into our playdough. By encouraging simple observations and discussions about the nature we find in our kinder yard, we begin to introduce the ideas of STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) to the children. We all learn by 'giving it a go'; that making a mistake is ok. 

During Term 2 we have also welcomed our very special guests who joined us to celebrate Mother’s Day. The children were thrilled to share their special kinder room spaces with their visitors –from reading books, to threading, drawing, playing playdough, puzzles, games and outdoor play. It was wonderful to observe the happy, chattering conversations between the children and their visitors. We are looking forward to creating our up and coming incursion by Drama Toolbox –Mini-Beasts. This will be an exciting morning for us. 

A few housekeeping reminders as we continue through Term 2 and into Term 3:

• *Clothing: Layering is ideal. As the days become colder, layering of clothing assists with the differing temperatures. Please send a warm jacket or jumper, as we do go outside and play even when it is cold. 
• *An adequate number of changes of clothes and a pair of shoes that are labelled for those days when we get extra messy or wet during play. Please pop in a plastic bag into their bag, to send home any wet clothing.
• *Illness–If your child is sick, has cold like symptoms or COVID please keep them home until they are well to return to kinder. 
• *Stay and play–if you would like to come and stay for a short play with your child during one session, please let me know.
• *If any of your contact details have changed, please let us know. 

We look forward to seeing you all again in Term 3.

Bye for now, Yvonne, Alyson, Julie