Summer - sand + water = Fun, science, engineering and social skills.

What do you get when you add sand + water + enthusiastic learners?  During the  past two weeks the afternoon children have been gravitating towards the sandpit and mostly staying there all afternoon.  Working together in groups to create rivers and pools of mud, wonderful to jump, splash and sometimes even swim in.  Powerful learning takes place while children work in small groups,  finding out how to work together, problem solving through trial and  error, and finding new and different ways to make things work. You might call this “PLAY”, but for children it is very serious work as they go about their business, exploring the properties of sand and water with their whole body, creating waterways to redirect water and learning how to share spaces                                                 with others. Powerful learning indeed.

The Bug Hotel is open for business

Kaiako had been discussing the interest in bugs and insects and how some centres have containers set up for children to view insects etc inside. Thinking about our garden and the fact we like children to explore the bugs in their natural habitat etc I went searching for an alternative viewing place and came across bug hotels! Google image the words and you will see all types of amazing structures.
I printed off some examples and then a team of children joined me to plan, build and construct Nayland Kindergarten's very first bug hotel
 
There was a whole community of builders who worked on the house with children helping each other manage the large black pipes and the taking turns at the sawing.














After construction we began to fill the tubes and pipes with things we thought the bugs might like. Thank you Reuben for bringing in the pea straw and other things you thought about. Children found sticks, bark and leave from the kindergarten garden to add.



















There was a quick trip to Margie's to gather bricks for the base of the bug house. That was heavy work. Well done guys! Ka pai to mahi.

Have you discovered it yet?  

Angus and Reuben became the leaders of the project and worked on it to the very end, preparing the site, laying the house in place and making a very cool sign. 

 To date we have seen spiders, lady bugs and baby cockroaches.

Over the fence

Living on a busy road gives us many opportunities to see life happening over the kindergarten fence.  When the big truck and digger parked outside out fence it was an invitation for us to watch the digger making a big hole in the concrete ready for more fibre optic cable laying.   It wasn't just the boys watching, it was the girls too and the friendly workers chatted and told us about the job.

Expanding our digital literacy repetoire

We have had Kidpix 3 & 4 for a number of years so thought it was time to upgrade and add some 3D experiences for children and to enhance literacy opportunities.  With the touchscreen PC all up and running again I downloaded kidpix 3D, art rage and explored the many features of the computer, finding the webcam avatars which proved to be an enormous amount of fun for teachers, whanau and children.  So many opportunities and so much fun!!  A must for every centre!!

Kidpix 3D has all the creative art experiences as well, but this week was all about exploring other possibilities too.  As there is a growing interest in movie making kidpix offers a mini version so that children can manage it by themselves. 

Sharing skills and knowledge within our community of schools

When the Broadgreen Intermediate girls came across to question a small group of  4 year olds about kindergarten they never expected to get a lesson in Highland fling, but that is exactly what happened.  Our very dynamic little 4 year old demonstrated the Highland Fling and then raised the bar by expecting the visitors to get it right, she was happy to correct them and to demand excellence. It is great to see learning being shared and learners becoming the teachers and vice versa.
Lots of laughter and fun was had by all.

Later that week we had an opportunity to visit the Child Studies students at Nayland College with a group of 15 children.  They had designed individual lunchboxes for each child and planned the healthy contents to tempt children to try some delicious morsels, possibly for the first time.  The children were delighted and they gave the girls some very useful feedback.  Thanks Nayland College we will see you again next year, and maybe this time we might cook lunch for you.  Well maybe not all 1200 of you.

Our work to get us to work

This is our boat. We use our boat to get us to work. We work overseas fixing houses overseas.

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Spring Seed Sowing.

Kaiako Sue, Abby and Donna got busy with a group of afternoon children sowing seeds for our spring garden. Watch the garden to see what happens next. If you are interested in gardening, and have even half an hour to share we would love for you to come join us caring for our garden . Just chat to one of the teachers if you are keen.

Cracker Jim the story teller

Storyteller Jim Henderson from Palmerston North came to share his stories and puppets with the afternoon children.  Being a farmer Jim is keen to share  with New Zealand  children, the pleasures and challenges of farm life. We have purchased one of his books for the kindergarten library.

A story about Princesses.

The large white board and an understanding and familiarity with print and its uses, was an invitation for collaborative story writing today. The girls drew up columns and the writing flowed as their story about Princesses unfolded.

A water conservation project with children.

How can teachers and children develop responsible habits in the use of water??

Our parents as teachers

The teachers really value family and whanau sharing their expertise at kindergarten too, especially in the area of the visual arts.  The children can watch Cassie's Mum creating a piece of art using the same tools, resources and art language that is available to them each day.  It is also exciting to see how children then borrow some of these ideas to create their own unique piece of art work.

BMX Fun

A group of boys have been riding their bikes at kindergarten everyday for the last 2-3 terms, so we decided it was time to explore some tracks outside the kindergarten gate.  After some innovative biking track designs in the kindergarten playground and through the sandpit we decided it was time to visit the BMX track.  What an amazing morning out with many of our parents coming along to help out. The boys rode like champions for 1 hour, we had to set up a drink station for refueling as they just kept going.  It was exciting to see them tackling some very challenging slopes and challenge themselves to ride with such perseverance and determination.

We have also ventured out onto the Railway Reserve to explore some of our local tracks close by kindergarten.

We never quite made it along to the end of the track on the first day as the weather became a bit icy and wet so the next day so we decided to walk to the track and test the track for safety. 

It is always fun to discover the places and spaces nearby kindergarten together with friends,and we will soon head back on our bikes to test these slopes.

Learning about Geodes

Thanks to one of our morning families we had an opportunity to find out about geodes, we all gathered around to see what wonders would be inside when we hit it with the hammer.  The shiny crystals were clear, sparkly and almost diamond like as the sun shone down on it.  The geode broke into several pieces and we all had an opportunity to touch it and observe it up close.

Engaging in literacy

Everyday everywhere there are opportunities for children to engage in literacy experiences, signing in each day is just one way to do that.  Being able to sign in as a group is a very powerful way for children to work together and to notice the work of their peers.

A Matariki Visitor and Story

Hello, Its Luca here, said a voice, when I answered the phone today. Can Mum and I come and tell a story to the children today.
It is always a special time when children who have moved on to school return for a visit. When Luca was at home recovering from a cold he thought it would be a good time to come to share a story about Matariki that he and his Mum had been enjoying. Kristin had made some wonderful props, felt fish and a magic net to help her tell the story. The children remembered the story of the seven little star fishes from our telling of it the day before. The story end with the one star that remained nameless so that children can put their name on the star. In this way they will be among friends while they sleep.
Alexis and Mitchell where asked to name the last little star.
Thank you Luca and Kristin for sharing this story with us today.

The Quiz Night was a huge success!

Fit, fun and full of energy is the recipe for a fantastic Quiz Night.  All but one is a kindy Mum, dressed for action and all cylinders firing they had a great night together, gaining a prize for the noisiest table.

A bit thank you to Woody for being a fabulous Quiz Master, Gaye, Margie and Cassie's grand dad for being the markers, and our wonderful FLG team who organised such a successful night.

Matariki Celebrations

As Matariki rises in the night sky we are celebrating the time of harvest and the beginning of the Maori new year. We have been sharing stories about the stars of Matariki and preparing and sharing Kai together. Today the children bought along a vegetable to add to delicious soup. We cooked sausages and the children toasted marshmellows on the brazier in the kindergarten playground.

While the fire was being prepared the children helped to illustrate the story of the seven little fishes caught in the fishermans net and rescued by  Tama nui te Ra who took pity on them. He flung them into the sky where they became the stars of Matariki. Six of the stars he named, Tupua nuku, Tupua Rangi, Waiti, Waita, Waipuna o Rangi, Ururangi, and the seventh with no name is for any child to give their name.
If you would like to see a little story about this go to
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvWU-Wl4Ycc&safe=active

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvWU-Wl4Ycc&safe=active