Early Learning
Possums
Any teacher will confirm, we never forget children we have previously taught! It is a special privilege getting to know someone over a year. In Early Learning we see so much growth and are always amazed that the children we send to school at the end of their 4-year-old Kinder year are the same children who began with us in Term 1.
This week, we were excited to welcome back a Possum group alumni who has taken big strides in starting school! Coco came to tell us a bit about what school is like, and planned and ran some activities for this year's Possum children. These included some hand prints and making bracelets. We value the connections we make with families over their time here, and are so pleased when we can maintain those connections, and continue to witness the growth, learning, and adventures that our former students experience.
Last week, the Possum children swapped paper for bark from some of the gum trees on our school grounds. Children enjoyed the different experience of painting on bark, and some children made the connection between paper and bark both coming from trees! We have been learning about how paper can be made from trees, but that it can also be made by recycling old paper.
This week, we experimented with making our own paper. We tore up paper from our recycling bin, mixed it in the blender with water, used a mould to get the right shape, then flattened it and squeezed out water with a rolling pin. This was a fun sensory experience, as well as creating something new for us to paint and draw on! We have been learning that God created the world, and are starting to think of ways we can help to care for it.
The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it. - Psalm 24:1
Beth Parker
Head of Early Learning
Echidnas
When children are enrolled in the King’s College Kindergarten, they not only become a part of the Kinder, they become connected to other families via parent/carer volunteers.
We started the year with the manager of Officeworks offering to set up a pen/marker recycle system for us via a sustainability commitment the company strives for. We are excited about this partnership, but no one was more excited than Charlotte when the manager came to Kinder to explain to us how these unwanted items are repurposed… the manager just happened to be her father! James independently offered to organise this program for us and was driven by being a part of the Kinder community and sharing what he can do to help us help the environment whilst being a part of Charlotte’s Kinder journey.
Another parent read on Seesaw that Mrs Ezzy was playing the violin during the children’s rest time after lunch and volunteered to play classical music on the piano for the Wednesday session. Esther had the children in a musical trance as we enjoyed some of the classics like Music Box Dancer and Ava Maria. We loved it, but David loved even more the fact that his mum was coming to Kinder to play for us! Oh, and a big shout out to Esther for making my $50 Marketplace keyboard, with nothing to hold the music on and only half the size of a piano, sound amazing! Donations of an electric piano would be gratefully accepted…
Jack decided that making a cutout of a person into a Gingerbread man called for the activity to be extended into an actual Gingerbread making experience because "they taste delicious". Kingsley’s mum, Nicole, joined us on oven watch because in years past, these tasty morsels have escaped from the Kinder ovens. Even though we walked the perimeter of the room and checked all doors were locked, one escaped out the kitchen door, through the Possum room, through the yard, and into the carpark. Mrs Missen ran as fast as she could, yelling and screaming at the cheeky little Gingerbread man to come back, but he was too fast. Sadly, the Gingerbread man never made it past the hungry dog in the school car park. Then Mrs Missen had to lay prostrate for five minutes to recover from her record breaking old lady running speed.
But, through all this kerfuffle, the amazing Nicole didn’t bat an eyelid and played along. Nicole also fronted up for double duty to help us at the gym the following week, so perhaps we haven’t put her off volunteering! Kingsley was so proud that his mum was "Coming to help!".
Finally, Max’s mum, Brodie, messaged me about bringing in Max’s miniature Goats on Wednesday to share with the class. Despite the fact that they are pooping machines, we embraced their cuteness in the Kinder yard, and again, the children loved the experience. Max was super chuffed to be able to show the Goats to his friends.
So, this week’s item is a big thank you to our Kinder volunteers and families that have jumped right into the madness and chaos in our Echidna room/yard/gym and shared their gifts, their time, and their very cute pets with us! It’s a cracking start to the year!
Judi Missen
Early Learning Educator
Koalas
The Koala three-year-olds have begun their first year of Kindergarten and are off to a great start!
It's a big achievement for young children to separate from their families and develop comfort in a new environment with new teachers and lots of other children. It hasn't been taking them long to settle each morning as they are becoming familiar with us, and we are already seeing them maturing in these capabilities so early in the term. We are learning routines and daily activities such as toileting independently and eating meals together, choosing how we'd like to play, joining in Circle Time experiences, and relaxing our bodies during rest time. The children have been enjoying their time of rest each afternoon and have been keen to snuggle down with their own blankets. It's important that we recognise our need for rest and to feel refreshed for more busy playtime!
Another great stride in development has been successful toileting and nappy changes while we are learning about our bodily needs. Using a toilet can be very scary for a lot of young children; we took the unfamiliarity out of the toilet by sharing the Toilet Song by The Wiggles, sharing toileting themed picture books, and our dolls demonstrated how to practice good toilet routines and hygiene. The result was immediate improvement in our confidence using the toilet, practicing hand washing and greater self care. Children have been discussing and remembering our toilet procedures together as they share Home Corner Play with the dolls and new friends. Well done, Koala Group!
During play, the children have been demonstrating and voicing their learning interests.
Water play - pouring, filling and transferring - has been a big favourite and helped children feel relaxed and connected at Kindergarten. Billie shared his love of finger puppets with us and now everybody joins in our favourite finger puppet rhymes; children have also begun organising themselves into spontaneous sing-alongs with the puppets. We all love singing and dancing with colourful scarves, going faster and faster to the Jelly on a Plate song! The Three Little Pigs is currently the children's favourite story; they agreed they would like to hear and retell this classic story in lots of different ways.
All these things help us to design purposeful programs for further learning. We're looking forward to lots more fun, dancing, singing and learning together next week.
Sian Duggan
Early Learning Educator