Early Learning
Bees
The Bee group read the book Picasso’s Trousers by Nicholas Allan. We learned that Picasso said that every child is an artist. We also learned that anything can be art! Using lots of different colours, the Bee children have been thinking of something they’d like to learn to paint, and then painting it. We have had a police car, unicorns, lions, a tiger, fruit, and lots of other things!
Mrs Ezzy showed us her violin, and we learned about instruments in an orchestra. Music and dancing are art too.
The Bee group have also been interested in chemical reactions, particularly when making volcanoes. We thought about how some things stay the same until they are combined with other things. We made a chemical reaction using milk, food dye and detergent and noticed that what we made was also art. We put paper on it and made it into prints. We also made some lava lamps and noticed how oil and water separate, and how they react when a gas is added.
Walter brought in some birds eggs that had hatched to show everyone. We also thought that nests and eggs are definitely art. We talked about different art we can find in nature that God has made, and realised we are works of art made by God too.
Beth Parker
Head of Early Learning
Ants
The Ants went marching one by one… over to the gym!
On Tuesday morning, the Ant group headed to the gym for some heart racing, blood warming, fierce physical competition. Musical hoops was a favourite, and Eseta’s Mum, Mrs Tuisuva risked life and limb as she removed hoops and helped the children find an empty hoop when the music stopped. Huxley’s Mum, Lisa helped out with the plate races and the children found ingenious ways of manipulating the plates under their feet as they wiggled, twisted, and even reversed their way across the gym.
Harry’s Dad, Brad helped Jemima race to the finish, and they were given the biggest cheer! The hurdle relay with the ‘baton’ (the French, fancy pronunciation) brought forth hurdlers with athletic prowess comparable to our Australian Olympic team. A highlight was firefighter Brad picking up Harry under his arm and delivering him to the finish line.
Sage soared over every hurdle so gracefully, and Owen passed the baton like his life depended on it!
Last, but not least, the Popcorn Chicken Bean Bag Pickup was achieved in record times as Reggie used his ‘magpie claws’ to rescue the spilled food, and Anugragh exercised Ninja like stealth to put the winning bean bag in the bucket! The children praised, cheered, supported, encouraged, and inspired one another as we all enjoyed an energetic morning in the gym. Many thanks to Lisa, Mrs Tuisuva and Brad for enabling us to run a gym program that wore out muscles, children, and educators!
Back at Kinder, the children chose a floor puzzle and some friends, and worked together to piece the puzzles together. Some puzzles were harder than others, and when easier puzzles were completed, friends helped others complete theirs. It was a relaxing way to rest up after lunch, whilst still keeping their busy Ant brains active!
Judi Missen
Early Learning Teacher
Monday Wombats
Our Monday Wombat group noticed themselves in the mirror near the easel, and started painting themselves! They observed their different facial features and thought about what colours they wanted to use. They created some very expressive self portraits!
Beth Parker
Head of Early Learning
Wednesday Wombats
As the weather warms up, the children have been enjoying spending more time outdoors. They have discovered insects and snails among the bushes and plants and observed and felt the texture of them. They further explored insects through their drawing, and enjoyed singing the counting song The Ants Go Marching. As the children are excited about Christmas, we created a Christmas tree which supported the children’s learning about patterns. They are learning about the life of Jesus through stories and songs.
Sharon Harrold
Early Learning Teacher