A music note

This week it was all about music...

"When young children are consistently engaged by music in an age-appropriate, socially accepting environment, they benefit at many levels including social-emotional, physical, creative,quantitative and early literacy.  And of course, they develop a lifelong love of music."

(Created by Grow and Sing studios).

Music makes children feel good.  It makes them want to dance, it is a way of communicating and a way to express yourself.

Last week I brought out some ukulele's and pretended that I knew how to play.  Our children were none the wiser (as I was that good..) and they too played liked they knew exactly what to do.(They too were just as good)  Some children were naturals and held the ukulele like they had done this before and some were so keen to try but stuggled to figure out how it hold it.  Either way this was fun and it prompted lots of dancing and singing and playing of other instruments.

 "What do you like about music?"

"I love singing it, like Castle on the Hill, and I sing it all the way, um do you like pink?"(Lachlen)


Oh yes Moana and I like a drum (Asher),



"Twinkle,twinkle little star, how I wonder what you are"..(Jacob),








"I like Moana"(Kendell-Lee)

"I went to see the Violin, I like that" (Georgia)

"If you want, I tell you and I do it to you"
(I did not recognise this song by Caden).

"My favorite part of instruments is the violin" (Braxton)

"Because I like singing, makes me happy" (Jessica)

"I need to dance" (Aoife)

"YES, dancing" (Sophia)

"I like ABCDEFG,,,is my favurite, I make it" (Mathilda)

 "Music is a piece of art that goes in the ears straight to the heart"

Music is good because.........

- Helps language acquisition by repetition of words
- Provides opportunties for children to discover different ways to communicate
- Develops memory skills through opportunities for recall and repetition of singing favourite songs regularly
- Develops hand eye coordination by getting a good sense of beat from music
- Cultivates an awareness of different emotions and feelings
- Builds confidence and develops self esteem

- Music is fun and makes you feel good!

"I like to dance and I like to sing and dance outside with music" (Alanni)

"I like music" (Savannah)

"Belle like music too"





Music, singing and dancing will continue to be an important part of our curcurlim at kindergarten. Hope you enjoyed the photos.  Tracy

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.