What makes a good friend?

What makes a good friend? It's a good question and often a topical one. So I asked the tamariki.....

"When you play something with you and they be your friend" said Asher.

"When they play with me and be kind. When they do puzzles with me" said Waituhi

" Umm play with each other and keep your hands and your feet to yourself, being kind to each other" said Alanni

"We be kind and you play with them" said Kendall Lee

"Being friendly" said Nat

Friendship's can be rewarding and challenging.  As children work and play with others they develop ideas and concepts around friendship. How to be a good friend to others and how to recognise a good friend in others.

Indeed, Haslett and Samer state that friendship interactions are vital for healthy development of children, and may result in heightened self-esteem, positive self identity, effective communication as well as successful cognitive, social and conceptual development (1997).

"The only way to have a friend is to be one" (Anonymous).

"Come and play with me and be my friend because I know it when I come to kindergarten. Sometimes I don't know it when its dark. It makes me happy when we play, we play on the swing, play in the sand, play on the monkey bars, play with somebody and they being good. "You have to be a good friend" said Harper. 

"One of the most beautiful qualities of friendship is to understand and to be understood" (Seena)

"Helping friends, being nice to them. Show them happy with you help them" said Jericho.

"Poseidon is a good friend to me, he's good to me. He be's nice to me, do nice things, do the good stuff. I be a good friend by not hurting anybody and do good things for people"  said Braxton.

"Being good, listening to what the teacher says. I watched TV and got treats because I was so good" said Lachlan.

"Do some friendly things cause hes my friend always" said Olivia.

"Play with someone else, playing with cars and planes" said Noah.

"Finn is a good friend, he plays with me. Some friend is good because them make pictures with me" said Maia.


"If they be happy they will be kind" said Kendall Lee.

"You could play with them, you could play mums and dads with them, you could tell them that looks like a good game can I play too" said Jessica.

"Play with them, play on the swings" said Oliver C.

"My friends make me feel happy" said Kendall L

Rainy Days and Puddles

It would appear that the seasons are starting to turn and that we are definitely heading towards winter with the increase in rainy days and nights as of late. This means opportunities for the children to play in the rain and puddles at kindergarten. 

We do have some raincoats at kindergarten and the children are encouraged to wear them if they want to play outside when it's raining. 

Recently, a few of the children braved the rainy weather and ventured outside to the sandpit. There they discovered that the rain converged at a point on the shade sail, allowing bigger and heavier drops to fall through. 

"The water is breaking through" said Braxton.

"It's dropping on my head" said Waituhi.

"It's dripping on my head too" said Aotea.

It became a challenge to try to catch the falling drips and the children utilised different tools to help them....

...including their mouths!!

 

"I like the rain... I like the rain cause it makes muddy puddles" said Waituhi.

"I like muddy puddles too" said Belle.

And so do a number of the other children. When it rains, the mudpit becomes the biggest and best muddy puddle. And the lure of all that water is just too hard for the children to ignore.

The number one way the children choose to explore the muddy puddle is by throwing things into it to make splashes. They throw small logs, they throw small tyres, they throw things from up high and down low. They even use their own bodies to make splashes... and they absolutely love it!

 

"Tell me about the rain..." I said to encourage the children to share their thoughts and ideas.

"The rain is not inside... I bring my gumboots... I like water in the mudpit and playing" said Nat.

"The rain comes and we get wet... we can't get wet and my Mum will be happy" said Asher.

"I'm just a bit scared of the weather and the clouds that go boom... I like the rain to get me cold cause sometimes I get hot" said Caden.

"I like the rain - it's different on me" said Kendall-Lee.

And Kendall-Lee is right...  Bob Marley once said "Some people feel the rain. Others just get wet." Some people appreciate what the rain brings, the way it feels, puddles, and rainbows; they live in the moment ... while some people find the rain simply a nuisance. 

Some of the children preferred a gentler approach and leisurely wandered through the puddle, without all the big splashes and mess.

And there were others who wanted to play in it without even touching it let alone walking through it!!

And because some of the children don't like the 'muddiness' of the mudpit puddle we also make puddles in the sandpit...

"Water play fosters learning in all developmental areas. It provides opportunities for children to experiment with math and science concepts, strengthen their physical skills, advance their social and emotional skills, and enhance language development" (Angie Dorrell, 2008).

There is an old Swedish saying that goes "There is no such thing as bad weather. Only bad clothing." 
And rain or shine, the children here at kindergarten find numerous ways to play in the water and get wet. 

In service to others

It's all about helping each other

We've set up a kitchen work station alongside our eating area so that children can work together on the cleaning up process following kai routines.  Children have responded with a great amount of enthusiasm and teamwork for this responsibility!

 Developing a disposition of care
The benefits of helping each other...

"The best way to find yourself, is to lose yourself in the service to others" (Mahatma Gandhi)

• Helping others makes you and others feel good
• Feeling good reduces stress levels
• Helping others boosts self esteem and makes you feel good about yourself
• Teamwork develops a sense of community, feelings of belonging through friendships shared goals and social connection
• Helping creates positiveness and a great vibe that is contagious! 

"Washing the dishes, not playing.  I'm washing the dishes.  I do drying the dishes too, it's work" said Ella Breeze.  "It's teamwork, everyone wants to do the dishes."

 

 "I like doing the dishes and I do it all the time...some days Mum doesn't let me do it at home.  Some days Papa doesn't let me do it at home.  I do it at kindy" said Sebastian.

"I wanna do washing.  I'm cleaning this so it's not wet" said Nat.

"We want to do dishes, we like to do dishes...do drying then putting them away" said Nate.

 

 

"I want to help because umm, I want to play and do the dishes.  I like doing dishes and drying and playing.  We help each other, we tidy up together" said Harper.

 

 

“Service is an act of giving. Service is giving something of ourselves for the benefit of others. When we serve others we show humility and empathy for the needs and desires of other living beings.” (Toni Christie, 2016).

Altogether this was an awesome helping week! 

 Opportunities like this provide chances for children to develop caring dispositions, which become skills for life.  And let's face it, the world needs all the kind, caring, thoughtful, community minded and most helpful people it can get!

Oh, and for those of you worried about the state of the water...don't worry, all the dishes were put in the dishwasher after the children had finished "cleaning" lol...but that's our little secret, wink, wink, nudge, nudge!

Arohanui,

Tania