Early Learning

Bees

When your enemies fall, don’t rejoice. When they stumble, don’t let your heart be glad. 

Proverbs 24:17

Each of us should please our neighbours for their good in order to build them up. 

Romans 15:2

The Bee group have been learning these important lessons from the Bible as we have focussed on celebrating each other. Children have been making books about themselves, and sharing their ideas with their friends. We have also made a book about everyone in the Bee group which we will be able to take turns borrowing to read with our families. 

Earlier this week, we had a “Bee Pentathlon” event in the gym. We started with running races to limber up the limbs and shake off the nerves! We then progressed to Musical Hoops, and that’s when the competitive spirit really kicked in. Although it was a case of the first in the hoop got to stay, the children were very kind in directing left over children to empty hoops. There was an abundance of cheering and support going on from the sidelines!

Next, we hit the Paper Plate Skate Race – what fun! We learned that the unicorn plates were far too slippery and our shoes kept coming off, and that good old no name plates achieved the best and fastest results! The concentration on the faces of the children was testament to their desire to conquer the plate skate race challenge, and the ground work has been laid for getting them onto their skis next snow season.

On our very rainy Thursday, the Bee group worked together to create an obstacle course for the game “the floor is lava”. Charlotte and Lewis appointed themselves as helpers, and quickly reset parts of the course as they got moved. Later, we played a ninja warrior game and took turns battling in pairs to see who could knock their partner’s cylinder away. Children cheered both of the warriors, with the winner and the loser both cheered and encouraged for being good sports.

Beth Parker & Judi Missen

Head of Early Learning / Early Learning Teacher

Monday Wombats

This term the Monday Wombat Group have enjoyed building with our large outside blocks. They have used their buildings to create role playing games that everyone can join in. 

When Jim and Lenny built a “Maccas”, everyone was excited to order food. Jim managed the hungry crowds by saying “Sorry, but you have to line up”. Soon more staff members joined the crew, with a chef, people to take the orders, and people to run and relay the orders to the chef. 

When they ran out of pancakes, some of the children went to get more, and others took over their jobs until they returned. Children worked in a production line, demonstrating great communication and cooperation. Children waiting in the line to order also demonstrated an ability to join in play and listen to others’ ideas. These are valuable skills and behaviours that reflect the VEYLDF learning outcomes of Community and Communication. 

Beth Parker

Head of Early Learning

Ants

The Ant Group continues to be fascinated with maps. This week we created maps as an Acknowledgement of Country. First we investigated the map of Warrnambool and surrounds by satellite images. We looked at natural characteristics such as bays, beaches, rivers, lakes, and Tower Hill. These have been present since the Gunditjmara people were the only people living in our region, and long before that! 

We talked about how the region might have been impacted by different people. Harry said the Gunditjmara people fished in the rivers with spears. Ava suggested they might have lived inside caves, and June said they built bark huts. We thought about how bushland has been cleared to make way for farms in more recent times. Next we zoomed closer on our satellite map, way down into the crater at Tower Hill, and we looked at the streets of Warrnambool. We followed familiar roads past Lake Pertobe playground, through the town and all the way to our kindergarten. 

Later, the children worked alone or with others to create maps of the natural landscape of our region. Next they drew streets, our kinder, their homes, playgrounds and their child care centres onto baking paper. Their baking paper drawings were placed over the maps, to help them see our natural landscape and the additions of the urban landscape. We considered how we and the Gunditjmara people live on country in our present day, and how we each belong to our beautiful region.

Also this week, children have been interested in learning to write. They have enjoyed opportunities to draw symbols and copy letters and words in playful ways. In their play they are recognising letters, recalling letter sounds, and developing concepts of these sounds forming words. Picture and word cards about things they might see in spring time were explored. We were impressed with the Ants' neat handwriting! 

Sian Duggan

Early Learning Teacher