A morning in a magic place

We were off to visit a family's farm for the morning, 10 morning children and 7 adults were off on a farm adventure with their backpacks on their backs and morning tea for the adults and the animals.
A short drive out past Brightwater, around a few windy roads and a step drive and we had arrived to a magic place.
The animals were there to greet us, the sheep, lambs, calf, cow, pigs, dogs, chooks, and birds were awaiting our arrival.

It was so peaceful, the sun was shining and we made a decision
that this could have been a week long excursion.  We were in heaven sitting up there looking down the valley.

Morning tea over we set off into the forest, heading up to the top of the hill after the very energetic children, who were excited by their new surroundings.  Reaching the top we had to call out and tell them to stop, as they were ready to go on much further.  "Where are we?" I asked.  "In the North Island" was their reply.  Not letting on of course, some of us felt like we had tramped that far too.


We thought walking up hill was hard work, well we were in for a treat as the boys decided to take the quick way down.

This is one of those moments when you wished you had worn the right shoes, all those pin needles start to move at speed and so do you.  Lots of fun and it didn't take us long.  The children had not run out of energy or steam they were ready to go again. Now it was time to check out the treehouse, what a great place to play and it would be fun to sleep up here too. Wow, you can even slide out of it, slow and slippery but lots of fun.  A climbing wall was attached and ladders to go up to the hut ontop.

How did time pass so quickly, it was time to go home and time to say goodbye to the animals and the wonderful family that had invited us. 
Thanks to N's family for the wonderful morning and thanks to all our helpers, I know that you didn't want to leave either.

Bunny Day.

Vaydim came into kindergarten clutching something small in his arms and calling "It's Bunny Day". He had a small baby rabbit tucked into his arms. Of course very soon a larger group had arrived to have a look and have the chance to pet him.
It soon turned out it was indeed Bunny day because Ruth and her Mum arrived with two more bunnies in tow. They set up a special enclosure and children took turns climbing inside to pat and feed them. Outside our student teachers Jess and Meghan were face painting and yes , your guessed correctly, very soon a whole clutch of bunnies were hopping around the playground.After kindergarten that day Jake and his Mum went to pick up his new pet bunny,so next day he brought it in to share with us.
What an awesome opportunity for children who might not have any pets at home.Thanks to these children and their families for sharing their pets with us.

A trip to Nelson Airport to see the helicopters

Bede and his family had invited a small group of afternoon children to visit the helicopter hangar at the Nelson Airport.  With great excitement we set off to with lots of parents as helpers.
What an amazing opportunity and Bede's Dad had lots of new and exciting adventures for us.

There was time to explore the helicopter inside and out, ask loads of questions and find out what it might be like to be a helicopter pilot.
We tried out the winch and harness to pull us up into the rescue helicopter safely in the case of an emergency.  Then the children decided that I should have a go too, and I have to say that I was pretty keen to give it a go.


Bede and Mum were helping Dad strap everyone in safely, waiting for the thumbs up to start the lifting, checking in that all was well below.
Bede's Dad took him for a ride in the blue helicopter and we watched on, as the helicopter hovered above the ground in front of us and then turned to land again further away.  I smiled as one child said, that isn't fair because my Mum doesn't have her licence to fly helicopters.  It wasn't possible for the children to fly that day, but there may now be lots of children asking for helicopter trips after this. 

 

  There was a smaller helicopter alongside the rescue helicopter and the boys wanted their photo taken standing in front of it.  Boys dream about being a pilot one day.

 We also discovered that there was a NZ Flying Doctor aeroplane operating out of Nelson.We watched as the pilot backed the plane out with his little tractor, getting the aeroplane ready for its next flight.

Thank you to Bede and his family, we had a fantastic time at the helicopter hangar, and thank you so much for making it possible for us to find out the rescue helicopter and see you and Bede fly in one together.  I am sure that it made many children's dreams a reality and adults too.

What's happening here.

I just love the purposeful buzz that happens during the morning as you look around the mat and see children engaged in small clusters busily working away at their chosen task.
The blocks were well in use today.
Some clusters were focused on the problems presented by the building activity in itself.
As they built they were involved in design, pattern, size, balance and stability. Problem solving and selecting the right materials for the job. There was negotiation of roles, and ideas, listening and responding appropriately.

For others the building was a prop for dramatic imaginary story telling with dinosaurs, animals and insects.

Another exploration was around size, height, balance, comparison,with all of the careful thoughtfulness and anticipation that goes into building a tower. Would this be the block that makes the tower tumble? Observers were drawn in to offer advice and make comparisons. It was great to see the children respectful of each others ideas and guiding their own and contributing to the group learning.

A trip to the theatre.

Tanya Batts, story teller extraordinaire was visiting Nelson as a participant in the Nelson Arts Festival. We are familiar with her story of the magic playdough at kindergarten, a mat time favourite with the children. A visit to the theatre royal was arranged for our kindergarten morning session to hear Tanya's story telling.
She held a theatre full of 4 years olds spell bound for an hour as she told the story of the little duck, the gingerbread man, then Grandmothers bed.

In the evening Tanya held a workshop at kindergarten for teachers from our association and others about story telling. We will be using her material during sessions as the weeks go by.

Why tell stories?
Tanya would say " to make sense of the world, and a develop a sense of self.
To engage and empathise with other perspectives, build and strengthen relationships and encourage problem solving skills.
Story telling develops language and narrative, and exercises an alternate way of knowing.(From The story sack. Tanya Batt)

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!