A Group Reflection 15

What a delight to see all those enthusiastic happy faces when we opened the door on the first day of Term 3. The children were excited to see their friends again and get on with the business of being busy at Kindergarten. Over the year the children are developing more confidence in themselves and their own identity, becoming strong in their sense of their own social and emotional well being, and developing a sense of belonging to the Group and the Community.

We sat around the mat and told each other what we had done in the holidays - each child who wanted a turn was able to stand up confidently and tell the others about their adventures, many children had brought things or photos for us to see. The children are developing confidence and becoming effective communicators - able to express their ideas.

The children drew a page in their Art Books (which will go home with the children at the end of the year) about their holiday experiences, and were able to transfer their ideas and memories onto paper, some wonderful drawings!

When we went outside many of the children rushed to the Vegetable Garden to see how things were growing - our broccoli is starting to develop and our lettuces are quite big - and the weeds are trying to take over - so each day the children have been helping to weed the garden - one of the children described weeds as - "plants that are growing where they shoudn't be growing!" - a good definition!

We now have Stick Insects on our Nature Table at Kindergarten - a mother and two babies, so we will be able to watch them grow to adults. We had a group discussion about Stick Insects - what they were / where they live / what they eat (gum leaves) / and how well they were camouflaged. We have reference books and pictures for the children to look at, and many children have spent time looking at them carefully through our big magnifying glass - developing dispositions for learning - observing / investigating / and also showing respect for creatures and the environment.

We have also set up a shop - it is a very busy place , with the children taking turns to be the shop keepers, taking money, using the cash registers and the phones, and others using the supply of bags and baskets to do their shopping, then taking the goods purchased into the home corner. This gives us the opportunity to discuss money and the process of purchasing, and different types of shops - we will continue to extend this knowledge over the next week or so.

So it's been a busy happy week - What will happen next week ?

Margot, Ann and Lisa
Group A Educators