It's a Policeman!

Friday 17th June

The children were very excited when Constable Garland arrived at Kindergarten during kai time. They quickly forgot about eating their morning tea and surrounded him asking,"Do you know my name?" No shyness here! One boy even went and got a chair for him and insisted that he sit down by the kai mat. Then we all went in to mat time where the children had the chance to ask Constable Garland some questions, ably facilitated by Ethan, the designated teacher for mat time. Constable Garland also talked to the tamariki about the role of the police, general road and car seat safety and the police uniform. Some lucky guys got to try the uniform on. Then at the end they all lined up to shake hands with Constable Garland. Thanks to him for taking the time to come along and talk to the children.

A visit to Jake's house.

Jake and his Mum Margaret invited a small group to go to their house to see their new baby finches. We helped mix up the food for the babies and then give it to them. Some children bravely went inside the aviary while the rest of us watched. Jake also has a rabbit, some very cool toys and a trampoline. The chidlren were quick to explore everything and Jake and Margaret were brilliant hosts sharing their special things with us.
Small Group excursions are a wonderful way of building connections between kindergarten and the community, of deepening the relationship between children, their homes and kindergarten and also extending on the interests of children. The thing I appreciate the most is having the time to interact iwth children and parents in small, relaxed and informal settings. Thanks Margaret and Jake for inviting us. Thanks also to Angeline, Alicia, Kirsten, Nat and Pauline for coming with us . Thanks for your help. it meant the afternoon went smoothly and enjoyably for us all.

Winter time can be noisy!

We often tell children to use a quieter voice, an inside voice or a smaller voice - but what does that really mean with 40 children inside on a winter morning and everyone is busy chatting with their friends?
The teachers came up with a plan - how could we make noise visible? - installing a noise monitor which is approved by the Deaf Association would make noise visible to children through something they are already familiar with - a traffic light.  
After a week on the wall, children are talking about it, watching it to check out the colour flashing and reminding their peers that it needs to be on green so that it does not hurt our ears.  Some children really like red so we will work on that one, but already safe noise is visible inside.