SPCA Visit Kindergarten.

Karman and Ian the SPCA educators brought Tammy the Maltese Dog (kuri) who lives at the SPCA and some of the other rescued animals to kindergarten this morning. The children had the opportunity to handle the baby rabbits (rāpeti) that were just eight weeks old and the little kitten (punua ngeru) that was found abandoned at Countdown in Stoke.This is a wonderful example of children experiencing an environment where connections with the wider community are affirmed and extended. The children are learning to cope with changes to the daily routines with the support of the teachers and in a familiar environment. For some children this may also be the first time that they have handled some of the animals that came.

Don't forget to check out Lynne's blog....

On the right hand side of the page a little further down you will see a tab with "Lynne's adventures" as we travel around the UAE and hopefully the mediterranean.
At present we are still at Sara's enjoying wee Milan, the weather is getting really hot now and some days it is too hot for outside time.  Never mind we had joined one of the local hotel complexes and have been lazing by the pool and sunbathing.  Hard work I know.

Milan was only 5lb born but is now racing to 8lb and she has already worked out how to make the most of life and her likes and dislikes.  She particularly loves going to sleep on grand dad... and an afternoon at the intercontinental lazing under the umbrellas.

And Nana does too - spot the swimmer, I should say floater, just lazing out like Milan.
Grand dad is busy doing his laps of the big pool - too much like hard work.

Stoke Vetinary Clinic

On Tuesday 15^th March 2011 a small group of us left kindergarten making our way through the centre of Stoke and onto Stoke’s Vetenary Clinic. We were delighted to meet people we knew along the way and had fun sitting in the brass hand statue. Amy one of the vetenary nurses met us and we spent the next hour totally enthralled and mesmerized. For many of us we experienced aspects of animal welfare that we had not experienced before. Looking through a microscope and seeing a flea was a highlight of some while others were delighted seeing a dog having an operation. We had hands on experiences to feel the weight of titanium plates and screws that some animals receive to help repair bones, looked at x-rays, hold a huge hair ball that Amy had clipped from a Burmese cat who hadn’t been groomed properly and see some cats and a dog who were in the animal hospital recovering from their operations and were on the road to recovery. What an amazing morning we had, it was in walking distance and people from our community were enriching the learning opportunities of our tamariki in meaningful and real life situations

Making Paper Bricks

This week we have introduced paper brick making into our programme. This is one way we can extend on our zero waste and sustainability goals. Recycling materials in a useful way has high impact with children. Sorting through the paper recycling bins, bringing used paper waste from home, practicing ripping the paper into small pieces and soaking it in the bowl is fun. The process of making a paper brick takes time and the children can contribute at any time during the process. Certainly the squeezing and pressing of the brick is the highlight for many. The children who have so far taken a keen interest have taken on the role of teacher and it is great to see some parents staying to contribute to our ever growing pile of bricks.

Take time to smell the roses.

On Friday I took a small group of children for a walk to Broad Green Gardens. Lately I have been thinking about ways I can make it possible for children to be able to explore the neighborhood outside the kindergarten gates so today i took the opportunity and off we went. WOW, what a stunning place we live in. As soon as we go there the children were eager to run off and explore. Of course we took time to smell the roses, gaze up into tall tall trees, count fish in the pond,hug a tree, look a t things through a magnifying glass and even watch a local man pluck walnuts from the trees.All this and only ten minutes walk from kindergarten.Makes me so appreciative of the wonderful world we have right outside our gate.

Doggie Day Care!

Following the interests of many of the children we decided it would be good to bring in some dogs to visit. And because I own two small and very sweet-natured dogs we thought we would start with Maggie (Rough Coat Jack Russell) and Dolly (Spoodle). Ian arrived with the dogs and of course was soon met by some very excited children, Dolly and Maggie were very popular and soon large groups of children were eagerly waiting for a turn to pat them, feed them or take them for a little walk. Earlier in the day we had set up a dog crate so the dogs would have somewhere to rest if it all got too much, which proved to me very useful. Dolly and Maggie say thanks very much Elaine (woof, woof, lick lick, lick). Before the dogs came the cage was full of lions, wild dogs and dinosaurs, which fortunately left as soon as the dogs arrived. Ian and the dogs stayed for lunch so that the afternoon children also had a chance to meet them, and once again the dogs were the subject of much affection. Once again I had reason to feel very proud of the children of Nayland Kindergarten as they so carefully enjoyed the dogs but were mindful of caring for them too. Thanks Ian, Dolly and Maggie for giving up part of your day to come and spend time with us.

Yes pink it is! or maybe red

This one is for you Margie couldn't resist showing you children's kitchen furniture all the way from Dubai.
I wonder which one you would choose.  IT WAS ONLY 3000 DIRHAM. Quite stunning infact.

Very modern with all the bells and whistles.  
When you visit the big malls here in Dubai and Al Ain there are entire levels dedicated to children, and that could be 150 shops all side by side.
I have not had an opportunity to visit any preschools over here yet, but will be interested to see how they are resourced.
Couldn't resist this Margie knowing how much you love pink and I love red - NOT!

Purple Cake Day

Last Tuesday we all participated in Purple Cake Day. This year was the inaugural event with the purpose being to support and celebrate children worldwide but in particular those of Haiti and the thousands of people killed in the 2009 earthquake. However, in light of recent events in Canterbury, the organisers had broadened it to also act as a fundraiser for Christchurch. So our Kindergarten community got right behind this with many of us dressed in purple, purple face paint, balloons, paint and play dough being the order of the day and one child brought in purple cup cakes for morning tea. Although not used as a fundraiser as such, families were encouraged to bring in non-perishable donations for food boxes for Christchurch and children participated in making a fabric banner to send to the Kindergarten Association in Christchurch. A large poster depicted both Haiti and Christchurch and the day provided a valuable opportunity to talk to the children about those caught up in both earthquakes and raise their awareness of those less fortunate and ways of helping. It was very touching to hear some of the concerned comments made by children and a proud moment when we had a child from Christchurch join us for the day and to see him welcomed and cared for so well by two of our boys.

Tubes, funnels and water.

Recently we have added various sizes plastic tubing to the water trough which has provided the children with new problems to solve and interesting areas to explore. This week I was with a group of children and a parent as we explored just what happens when water is poured through a funnel and then into the tubes. The problem was how to get water from one place to another, from the trough down into the tub in the sandpit. I listened to the conversations around me and the careful questioning of the adults as children were encouraged to explore and to test theories about how we could solve the problem we had encountered.While their minds were on figuring out ways to solve the problems their bodies and in particular their hands and eyes were also getting a work out. Practicing skills like pouring water into the funnel and jugs helps to improve physical dexterity , hand - eye co ordination and small and large motor skills. If reading this post has given you an idea of other resources to use in the water trough and you know you have access to them feel free to have a chat to one of us.

Physical Fun with Lee Corlett

Lee Corlett facilitates sessions with the children and teachers on a regular basis throughout the year as part of our physical activity programme. Lee's sessions are always so much fun, as evident by the excited greetings he receives from the children when he comes through the gate. Each session focuses on particular skills and areas of physical development, so very essential for children's cognitive development and learning. Children and teachers can then replicate some of these activities during sessions so that children continue to practice and develop these skills. Do check out our Physically Active Programme folder at Kindergarten for more stories and photos of our children in action.

Ukulele Practice.

Over recent months I have been learning to play the ukulele. Sometimes I feel brave enough to bring it out during a session so the children and I can sing and play together. Today one of the children decided she would start her afternoon with some ukulele playing and singing.Off we went to sit under the big tree on the deck and very soon a small group gathered. We sung and played,relaxing in the sun, getting to know each other and enjoyed the music(the best part is the children don't seem to mind my VERY SLOW chord changes).So what was the learning ? For me it's about practicing the new skills I am learning and also an opportunity to share with children the pleasure that music and song brings. We sung many songs with many renditions, with each of the children contributing their versions. They each chose a song to sing and play , and were able to confidently express their ideas to the others.As we sat and played, chatted and sung together we learned new things abut each other which of course helps to build friendships. Children were also learning about appropriate ways of using instruments, and about the fact that music is a wonderful tool for helping us to relax, and also express creativity .What a wonderful way to spend the afternoon.

Curiosity the fuel of early childhood. Curiosity the fuel of life.

What a powerful phrase to capture what learning is for life.  I was reading "Junior Horizons" (Vol 11, No. 1) when I came upon this article "The fuel of early development- Curiosity".  I know that as a teacher and learner alongside 3 and 4 year olds that my learning happens everyday in many different ways and the cycle of learning never stops.  At Nayland Kindergarten we want children to be motivated to be curious and be motivated to learn, so providing opportunities for them to explore is just part of what we do.
Children are curious social beings, they explore, question and wonder and the more often they are able to explore and discover the more they will repeat the process.
This week settling back into kindergarten after a long time away took a little bit of time and with the support of the teachers and their peers.
Providing tactile, sensory experiences in groups is often the way to reconnect children with the environment and their peers and teachers and stirs their curiosity to engage.

Exploring oobleck provided just that opportunity!
There was a number of learning opportunities happening as children were observing, exploring, experimenting, measuring and testing their working theories about how this material feels.     This is science in action, as mixing water and cornstarch does something unusual when mixed together - (try it out at home -google Oobleck)
The substance becomes a liquid, but when squeezed in your hands, it becomes solid. Two things commonly cause this type of change—temperature and pressure. You can
roll Oobleck into a ball, but when 
the rolling stops, it will become a
liquidy mess!  As the children experimented the adults were exploring it as well, curiosity is the fuel of life as it starts from birth (or before some might suggest) and children will continue to be curious if we value it.  We started with one bowl of yellow oobleck and one of blue and before long the children had noticed it changing colour and yes we did dye some children green for the day.  Oh and some adults too.

The next day the children experimented with white oobleck and then we turned it into finger paint with some hot water.
 The following day the children returned to the water play area where they saw the bowls set up again and they were soon settled and busy.
Settling back into the kindergarten had taken no time at all and the conversations and explorations going on were just magic.
So what was some of the learning?
Water, finger paint and oobleck provide children with opportunities to understand basic science concepts such as gravity, color, water pressure, movement and properties.

They are developing maths concepts as they explore weight, volume,measurement, counting,

shape and size, classifying, and explore their

own physical capabilities.

Literacy concepts are explored as children

use language to describe their experiences and

add meaning to their hands on play. When teachers work alongside children as they explore sensory experiences and the many concepts associated with it,  it relevant and meaningful which makes it powerful learning for children and adults.

Curiosity grows confidence in social learning and   it may just lead to a cafe starting up in the sandpit alongside, with baking and making coffees (don't you just love our wonderful Nelson Cafe culture) and exploring maths again as they explore the value of money.  $10 for a slice of cake or $1 for a flat white- I will be back to have a coffee that is for sure.

A new start to the year!

Coming back to kindergarten before schools
start means that many of our ex kindergarten children come to play with their siblings.  This not only supports their younger brothers and sister to settle back in after 5 weeks away, but it also means that they  able to return to some of their favourite places to play.
They are great role models for our younger children, showing them how to be creative with the materials available.  Sydney, Jake and Connor were all part of our visual art research and art exhibition in 2008/2009 and they were often our teachers as we were the learners.  There is a culture of "children as teachers" and "teachers as learners" embedded in our kindergarten  programme and this is evident throughout the kindergarten environment.

What's happening over the fence? When we arrived back on day one the walk way to kindergarten had been dug up, although a little inconvenient, what a wonderful learning opportunity. We watched the The very friendly road workers showed us their skills pushing the concrete around until it smoothed out to make a new entranceway.  Never let a learning opportunity go by.  
There has lots of activity on the pedestrian crossing this week, as it is now controlled by volunteers and Nayland College to improve the flow of traffic and keep our children safe. 

It is all about community!

We started the year knowing that the ECE funding cuts were about to kick in on the 1st February and how this would impact on kindergarten and our families.  Once again our amazing families have come together as a community to share resources, time and ideas, as to how we can work together to minimise the impact.    
The hum of a community working together is like no other and the sharing of items and food donations is just astonishing.  So again thanks to our fantastic community of children and families.
The teachers have been planning how to get to the fish market in Seattle to live the "Fish Philosophy" (check it out- just google "Seattle fish market"), but we don't need to go now because we know that we have our own "Fish Philosophy" market at home.

Over the holiday period families supported us by repairing and sewing new dress ups, repainting and remodelling some of our furniture, topping up our sandpit (which was very low and required a big truck, digger donated by Kyle Whiting Contractors and sand donated by Fulton Hogan- a huge saving to the kindergarten), new noticeboards were made with board donated by the MDF plant, and material donated by Hubbers Furnishings.  It was really helpful to have families taking turns checking in on the kindergarten over the 5 week holiday break to water, mow lawns etc. 

Thanks to everyone who pitched in to help us out - it is all about community.

  

Yes we can!

The Nayland swimming pool is about 100 metres away and we have been talking about taking small groups of children swimming for over a year now,  it seemed quite a tricky thing to plan as we needed 1 adult to 1 child in the water at all times.  But once again our amazing families jumped at the idea and within days we had it organised and were ready to go.     

What an amazing morning of fun, laughter, peer role modelling and bucket loads of courage and lots of learning for all of us.  Can we do this again and again "YES WE CAN!"  What a wonderful way for children and adults to get to know each other in a different learning space, and for children to be our teachers.  
Next time we could bring more than 10 children as  the pool could accommodate at least 20 children and adults.





Thank you to all our families for always making yourselves available to support as we explore our community and find out about what children and families do outside kindergarten.

I do not like to admit it but it was my first swim for the season, and with the temperature at about 26 degrees it was like having a bath at 10am in the morning.                                                                              
We will have to return to practice all the new things we had learnt for the morning like going down the slide, jumping off the edge and going underneath the water.  I am sure the others will want to come now they have heard about our amazing morning.