Kinder

Sensory play

The kinder were very excited and full of enthusiasm to find out that Sensory play was back on the table. We introduced play dough, water play and clay. The children were busy molding, engaging their five senses, eye-hand coordination and social and cooperative play. It was very rewarding seeing the sense of belonging and respectful relationships between the children while they take turns, share the equipment and encourage their friends in cooperative play. We also had our Stem experience which included finding out about Ice and its properties. What a fun week it was! As a gentle reminder for our families, we are making sure that the play dough is not being re-used after the day and the equipment being sanitised after each play for the health and well being of our kinders.

Vegetables and herb garden

What a rewarding feeling ! The Kinder have been demonstrating a great sense of responsibility, patience and enthusiasm for growing vegetables in the garden. They made sure the vegetables were watered and that their peers were not stepping on the ones on the ground. It was with lots of excitement and curiosity that they cut the lettuce leaves to make their own afternoon tea. As part of our kinder programming, we encourage the children to build on their sense of independence and self-help skills. Moreover, it was a very nice surprise to see that all the children had taken responsibility for their healthy eating and had their piece of lettuce that they grew themselves in their sandwich. We have more vegetables and herbs growing and will keep you updated about cooking experiences coming soon !

Hand manipulation and fine motor skills

We have introduced and implemented a range of learning experiences that promote the children hand manipulation, fine motor skills (the muscles in the hands) and eye-hand coordination. We believe it helps children refine their existing skills in grasping, holding and also allow them to build on their writing skills as they build awareness to their school readiness. This week we have been making necklaces and bracelets and it has been a very popular station. We have also been engaging in cutting, pasting, peg boards, weaving dream catcher and threading. 

Rocket ship corner 

We would like to say thank you to the McMahon family for their input and bringing us some big tyres as well as cardboard boxes for the children's play and engagement. So during group time, the children brainstormed and we decide to make a rocket ship and Space. So first, alongside the teachers, the children started making the control panel of their rocket ship and adding the paint on it. Then they kept extending on their imagination and sense of wonder and we discussed the solar system. This morning the children walked in and asked if they could make real planet to put in our spaceship area. We have therefore been creating a new space for learning and watching more educational videos on the screen during our mat time.

Winter reminders

We would like to remind our families that as the days get colder, we strongly encourage you to put warm clothes in their bag. For example, we have noticed that the children are wearing light jumpers or no spare clothes in the bag. YMCA programming and policies underlines the importance of indoor/outdoor play at any time of the year and the children really enjoy their outdoor play too. As a result, we would be grateful if our families would include; Padded jackets, warm trackies, socks as well as gumboots for messy play!

We have included some photos to help you get an idea of the types of jackets or clothes that would keep them warm and away from coughs and sneezes! We enjoy seeing our little friends healthy and happy !

Important information about Story park & Kinder enrolment/transition

We would like to remind our families to have a browse through the Story park issue in our newsletter as we are swapping from the QK KIOSK Journeys. We are also reminding our families that during the month of August, the kindergarten team is in the process of completing transition reports of kindergarten children of 2020 for the parents and the schools. In order to support children's transition to school and support the parents with the process, we will be conducting parent/teacher interviews in the month of August. We will keep you posted on the time scheduled for the meetings as soon as possible.