Waratah Group

Hi Waratah Families. 

We had a number of children away throughout Term 3 for a variety of reasons including holidays and illness. When different children are away from kinder or if we mix with different groups etc it changes the social dynamics as children are with different children than they are used to. It can be challenging for lots of children but this is an opportunity to develop and enhance their social skills as children build new friendships, take on different ideas, engage in different styles of play and so on. We encourage this fluid social structure in the kinder environment with small areas for 2 or3 children or larger areas for say 5 or 6, with Buddy time, through intentional teaching where we might encourage 3 or 4 different children to play a game together or work collaboratively to solve a problem, etc. Concepts we have been exploring in the program this Term, include water proof, floating and sinking, mixing colours, numeracy, literacy using name labels, signing in, word mats etc and more recently shadows.

We also recognise, respect and reflect that early childhood education should embed Aboriginal Perspectives into every aspect of the curriculum. We often read books by indigenous authors that encompass these perspectives and dreaming stories. One we read recently and have been using as a provocation for art is “The seven sisters” by Reggie Sultan. There are a number of books by Indigenous authors in our parent library in the foyer.  

We had our Body safety session through ROAR and we continue to embed the Body safety practices across our programs. Again there are some books that lend themselves tobody safety conversations in the Parent library.  The “Gruffalo pie”  was thoroughly enjoyed by family members and the children at the family session a few weeks ago. We will continue to have cooking experiences in the group and appreciate the donation of ingredients that allow us to do so. 

Other experiences the children have been engaging in that reflect these perspectives include using bush tucker in cooking, using Australian Flora and Aboriginal art as provocations in painting experiences and discussions and reflections on important days and dates in the calendar year. 

Louise.