Banksia Group

This term we have been focusing on kindness. After reading the ‘Fill a bucket story’, as a group we’ve been exploring how our actions and words can “fill someone’s bucket.” The children are learning to notice kindness, give compliments, and help each other feel included. During each session we discuss who has been filling up our buckets with kindness.

We had a visit from Drama Toolbox. The children enjoyed role-playing different characters from Tiddalick to help tell the story. They shared with Katie how we Acknowledge Country and did this together. The children enjoyed the experience, listening, taking turns and following directions.

During the term we also had a Body Safety incursion, where the children learned important messages about personal boundaries, safe/unsafe feelings, and who they can turn to for help.  These sessions were engaging and age-appropriate, supporting children’s confidence and wellbeing. The staff also attended body safety training and how to support children. 

In our everyday routines, we’ve continued to focus on fine motor skills— such as drawing, cutting, squeezing, pouring, threading, and building—which help prepare little hands for writing. Alongside this, we’re encouraging independence with tasks like packing away, managing belongings, and problem-solving during play.  

As we progress through the term, children have been engaging in more cooperative play and working together in more activities. This could be at the blocks – making a large building or completing a puzzle, role play in the café area, a board game or helping each other in the box construction / craft area. With this play comes more negotiation, listening, taking on other ideas and being flexible, trying new things and helping others.

Buddy time continues to work well and with some support and guidance from teachers to support language, negotiation and turn taking. This activity promotes peer scaffolding, new friendships, language, being flexible and working together.

With school transitions coming up soon it is important to get to those if you can and children are welcome to come and go if it is during the session. If you have times or dates for transitions, please let us know and we will do our best to plan around and have children ready to go.

Some things to practise for school are –putting on shoes, getting a jumper on and off, packing their bag, putting on sunscreen, opening containers in their lunch box, managing the toilet independently and asking for help (this is one of the most important skills of all).