Booster Rooster.

This week Jo from Plunket came to talk with us about car safety. She brought along her friend Booster Rooster who reminded us of car seat safety and the importance of using booster seats until you are 148cm tall. Each child was measured against Booster Roosters height chart, and then given a certificate with this information. The reason for needing booster seats is that car seat belts are designed for adults and therefore children are more than likely to be damaged by the seat belt in an accident. Using a booster until they are tall enough keeps them safer, as it keeps the belt firmly on the shoulders and hips. Another important safety tip is that the back seat is the safest place to be. Cayden did a fantastic job of helping his Mum share this information with the children and we could tell that this is something he knows well.Thanks Jo and Cayden for taking the time to share this with us.

Ephemeral Art

This term children have been experimenting with 'ephemeral' art using a range of natural resources.
Lisa Terreni is a lecturer at Victoria University of Wellington College of Education and also a practicing artist. In one of her papers she talks about “creating environmentally friendly ‘ephemeral’ art”. ‘Ephemeral’ means that the work is temporary and will last for a short time. She goes on to say that “ephemeral art is often made with materials that are at hand and left in the environment where the work was created”. She suggests that “giving young children an organised selection of natural materials for ephemeral art-making is one very successful way to get children to re-use materials. This type of art-making involves design and patterning, creates maths opportunities such as grouping and sorting. Most importantly they can be used to deepen children's learning about the aesthetic qualities of materials, enhance an appreciation of the inherent beauty in the materials, and deepen their respect for these taonga.”
As this type of art work can not be taken home by the children photographs may be used as a means to capture the creations and provide opportunity for children to revisit their work.


So next time you are at the beach maybe you could have a hunt around with your children for some shells, driftwood, feathers, stones etc and create your own piece of ephemeral art. And any collections of natural materials will certainly be enjoyed by the children at Kindergarten and used to create stunning creations.
Watch our art wall for our next mini expo!

That's how we roll at Nayland Kindergarten.

This week when Lee came he focused on rolling. First children had to lie on a Swiss boll while an adult rolled them back and forward, while they had lift their upper body. Then they had a turn to sit on the Swiss ball and find their own balance.Outside Lee encouraged the children to practice long pencil rolls and forward rolls. I asked Lee how to teach children to do forward rolls and this is what he had to say "bend down, hands down, head down and roll". Rolling is good for your child's brains and something you can do easily and simply at home.Have fun.

Ulearn 2010

During the second week of the holidays the teachers had the privilege of being part of the Ulearn conference in Christchurch for more than 1500 teachers across the early childhood, primary and secondary sectors.
As well as listening to speakers and attending workshops run by educationalists from NZ, Australia, UK and Canada, the team lead by Lynne and Margie represented Nayland kindergarten and the early childhood sector with a workshop entitled 'Igniting the spark of creativity' focusing on ICT, Creativity, and Visual arts.
The attendees at the workshop were very impressed with our competent and capable 3 and 4 year olds.
There is an evening planned very soon to share the outcomes of the research project that Nayland kindergarten undertook.
The conference ended with a dinner with a carnival theme. A fun night of performance, food and dancing.
Google Ulearn 2010 and check it out.

Spring is here, it's time to plant.

What a great first week of term, the fantastic weather makes it even more pleasant to be outside. The warmer weather has been making our garden grow like crazy so we have been busy this week weeding and tidying up the garden. We also decided to plant sunflowers again with the children but this year we have experimented with a new kind of pot to plant the seeds in. We used newspaper to make our own pots which can then be planted straight into the ground. What a great way to use up old newspapers and makes the transplanting of the plants an easier process later.

Emma, Kaimahi Māori

Tuesday, 14th September

What a presence Emma held at our Kindergarten today when she arrived in her national dress! The tamariki quickly approached to ask her, "Why are you wearing that?" and to touch her piupiu. For many this would have been a first experience and I am sure a lasting one. Emma looked stunning! At mat time she explained the various parts of her dress to the children before sharing a story with the tamariki, all about feelings. Then she lead us all in the waiata we have been learning, 'E Toru nga Mea'. This was only the third time the tamariki had sung this but they were amazing, following Emma and echoing back each line. What a sense of pride the kaiako felt as they listened to the voices of the tamariki. Then we all joined in with 'E Poi' before Emma led us into karakia kai. What a journey we have all had with Emma over the past two terms. Kia ora, Emma! We hope to see you again next term but we realise we do have to share you with other Kindergartens.

They're tying the knot - And we are all invited!












Yes the planning is well underway. There has been a lot to do. We have had photos and dresses brought in by families to share. What a privilege it has been to share in everyone's special days and hear all the wonderful stories. Check out the hair styles and fashions!






We have even visited a bridal shop to get some ideas for the bride's dress. The girls had fun dressing up in the veils and discovering small peoples clothes. They then set to work designing their own creations. I am impressed at the detail of their sketches including lace overlays and veils.





So watch for your invitation and we will see you there. Dressed up of course!

The Kiwi Group go Horse Riding

Friday 10th September

The sun was shining brightly when this group of very excited children, parent helpers and both Sues headed up to the Whakatu RDA at the top of Brook Street for some horse riding. There have been lots of small group excursions over the term and this time it was the Kiwi group who were heading out for some fun. When we first got there we had a picnic morning tea and got to have a look at the horses waiting in the paddock, the children deciding which horse they might like to ride. Then it was time to be fitted for riding helmets before heading off for a ride. For most of these children it was a totally new experience and yet when we saw them sitting up there so straight and relaxed in the saddle they all looked like naturals. In groups of four, each child got to spend about 15 minutes going around the exercise area, firstly getting a feel for being in the saddle and then doing some special activities like placing rings over cones. Not a problem for these Nayland Kindergarten children! While some were waiting for their turn they were able to visit the Waimarama Organic Community Garden where we saw the composting and worm farm. Of course our children already know about worm farms but this one was a lot bigger. They also saw where the horses were kept and even got to help comb down the little pony, Dinkie. It was a great morning out in the fresh air and sunshine! Since then the children have done some amazing drawings about their horse riding which we plan to make into a book. So watch out for this publication!

Almost but not quite!
Find the teachers in the crowd! Were you there too?
If so post us a comment and tell us about your experience of the day.

More than 2500 people took part in the attempt to break the world record for the largest haka.

We didn't quite make it but it was such an awesome and powerful experience which brought our Nelson community together like never before. See in February for the next attempt.

Kia Kaha!

Haka: Attempting to break the world record.
No doubt you have read about the challenge and heard from the children that we have been learning and practicing the Haka so we can take part in the challenge.
WHEN: Saturday 11th Sept 1pm at Tahunanui Beach.
Come along and be a part of creating history as well as standing strong as part of the Nelson community. Here is the video for you to practice with.

Wharenui at Nayland Kindergarten

At Nayland we celebrate Maori as Tangata Whenua and strive for children and teachers to be able to walk in both worlds with knowledge and embracement of language, cultural values and customs. Part of thid journey has been the children building a wharenui (meeting house) on the front deck. The children have been learning about the tikanga (customary rules) about the use and components of the whare(house).
After the wharenui was built we held a small blessing ceremony with a karakia (prayer) and waiata (song). Children spoke of what they contributed to the wharenui and how they felt about having one.


Children worked hard at constructing the building and then painted the outside. Over a couple of days we prepared the tukutuku panels by using red and white paint on black paper and used the lattice card to replicate the carvings. A tekoteko was prepared for the top of the house replicating the ancestral carving.


Children have embraced the meeting house ensuring the rules such as no shoes, no food, no drink and no fighting/ guns allowed. Check out the diagram by the wharenui and ask the children to explain the parts.

Bokashi Juice for the Garden.

Bokashi is another form of composting we do at our kindergarten as it allows the faster breakdown of food especially citrus. The juice from the compost collects in the bottom bucket to which we add water and pour onto our garden providing rich nutrients for our vegetables and flowers.

Sarah Langi from the Nelson City Council will be coming again in the next few weeks to update teachers and parents on our sustainability programmes so watch the notice board for more details.

Children have continued to prepare meals from the garden and also families have been sharing in the extra produce. Watch the gardens over the next couple of weeks as we prepare the mound with grasses and more planting of vegetables, herbs and flowers.

Lee comes to play.

We have invited Lee Corlett just to come and play in the playground with us. We have been having a brilliant time too, learning many new things and taking time to practice the skills he has been teaching us. This week the children spent time jumping off the boxes into the octonut Lee added another challenge, they had to catch a ball while jumping. The next stage was to bat the ball into a hoolahoop while jumping off the boxes. Soon it was obvious the children were ready for another challenge and so we moved over to the catch a frame that I have borrowed. We had been using this to practice catching skills and Lee added another challenge of having to throw the bean bags and land them into different coloured hoolahoops( all for different amount of points) . I so appreciated having Lee to give me some different ways of using our equipment and I know the children benefit from having his input as well.We will put a note on the noticeboard when Lee is next coming to play, so if you have time come along and hang out with us.Thanks Lee for giving some of your time to us.

Trash Band

Monday 30th August

The trash band has been a great asset to the outdoor environment and the exploration of it by many children has been very evident. Here we see some of our afternoon children having a jam session. The little drummer was quite stunning as was the accompanying cymbal player! They were very in rhythm together and the enjoyment very evident on their faces. Thanks to Nayland Primary School for passing this on for our children to enjoy.