Feeling scared

 

June Newsletter

Ben's video to England

Ben has just moved from England to New Zealand.  He is missing his family and friends in England, and when I asked if he would like to make a video message for them all, Ben was very keen!

To ringa ki roto

Another great waiata to sing with the tamariki!

Big body play

What's happening here...

Developing social and emotional competency
The children are willing participants in a game of rough and tumble.  It's a load of fun!  At times it can get a bit boisterous...however these times provide opportunities where children are able to practice their conflict resolution and social skills.

Healthy heart
This vigorous big body physical activity is just the ticket to develop a fit body and mind.

Great article on rough and tumble play 101

Power to the people

Levi wanted to add to our kindergarten rules.  We encouraged him to share his idea at our ‘coming together’ mat time.  The other children were very  receptive to his idea, and we put it to the vote with very interesting results.

19 to 2 voted in favour of the new rule worded ‘When you’ve finished, clean your mess’.  However, two voters weren’t happy with the wording...proposed changes read as ‘When you’ve finished, pick up your toys and put them in the box’.

   

Literacy lunch!

Today we made alphabet soup!
It was very exciting to see all the little alphabet letters swell into a delicious yummy soup for a cold winter's day.

Once it was ready we all sat around our kai table and shared a cup of soup each.
The children loved hunting out their letters...

"It's my number" said Ben as he found a number 4.

 What better way to recognise letters and numbers than in our soup!

All the children had opportunities to communicate their ideas and listen to each others offerings.

The children enjoyed it so much there was NO leftovers!!!

                                                                     

This was a very fun experience for the children to be involved in
recognising their letters in print (edible print at that!).

"I found a T for Tyler"

Challenging self

Teachers Reflection

What did I discover about Cooper today?

Cooper's deep engagement and determination to succeed crossing the obstacle course highlights his perseverance and tenacity. He showed a positive attitude to tackle and persist with difficulty and uncertainty...all qualities needed to be an adventurous and successful learner and 'go getter' in life! 

Good on you Cooper, what a star you are.   

Literacy - The gingerbread Man

Mat time self review

After a recent visit from ERO, we have been challenged to reflect on our mat time routines. We want to research educational information, gather insights and aspirations from children, parents, schools and our own teaching staff. 

 Reflective questions to guide our review...what are the teaching and learning intentions of our mat times...what purpose do they hold, is there value in mat times and if so what makes them valuable?

Here is a summary of what we've found...

In conclusion

Teachers response:

These results reinforce our belief of the importance of responsive and purposeful mat times...that children need to be reciprocal partners in the process, and that we as teachers need to create a climate of culturally sensitive group unity, where children's confidence and self esteem is nurtured. 

We'd like to thank all those involved in our learning journey, we appreciate your feedback.