3 Year Old Koala Group Blog 31/10/2013

On Monday we were outdoors digging under the tree with long handled spades, digging in the sandpit with spoons and bowls and examining the garden. One of the four year old groups planted some vegetables over a week ago and our Koala group children have been watering them and making sure that they are not being eaten by different bugs such as “caterpillars”. When being on Bug patrol they did discover there were snails hiding under the flowers. We spoke about what we could do with the snail and “inside” was the general decision, with the other snails in the container, ”Snail House” More and more snails just keep emerging. If you have not seen the snails they have joined the stick insects on the nature table which is half way in the room. Remember that if your family find anything from nature we would love for you to share it with us.

How exciting was Monday afternoon when our Grandparents and/or special friends were here with us at Kindergarten. It was lovely to see the children show their family members what they like to do, who their friends are and how they can climb, swing and run. Of course the children sat for some time and eat all the delicious food. Yes our special friends did have something to eat but the children did enjoy eating............Thank you all so much for coming to Kindergarten.

Karen was away on Thursday so Margot was able to be with us. We stayed outdoors for most of the session as the children were very involved in the different areas in the yard. We saw the lady from “Woof” again with the same 5 dogs come to walk them in the park behind the Kindergarten. The children watched them come out of the van and they came over and said hello to us and then of course off they went. Today some of the children watched the dogs running in the park. “They run fast” was a comment made by one of the children. Will we see these dogs again???????

We hope you have a happy Melbourne Cup long weekend and we will see you on Thursday 7/11/2013

From 3 year Old Koala Group Educators; Karen and Annette

We had the Museum come to visit us at kinder this week. Sally the presenter started by asking the children what they thought the museum might collect?

‘Fossils and dinosaur bones’ said Asher

‘Bones dug up from the ground’ said Max

‘People have to put bones back together’ said Lucy

‘Things from a long time ago’ suggested Roan

We then went through the kinds of dinosaurs that existed on our earth 65 million years ago. We learnt a lot of facts about their habitat, diet and physical features. We learnt about which dinosaurs were meat eaters (carnivores) and which were plant eaters (herbivores), and hypothesized... ‘How did the dinosaurs become extinct? Asked Sally?   

‘A Volcano erupted and exploded’ said Max

‘A big space rock hit Earth’ said Roan

We looked closely at Tarbosaurus another meat eater which was slightly smaller than Tyrannosaurus. Sally brought in a large head which showcased his large sharp teeth we also looked at his large leg bones which were much longer than ours. We discovered it took three children to be as long as his calf and thigh bones!  

The fossils on the table were very interesting and the children were able to have a guess about what the objects were. Lucy had leaves which had set in mud; Tom was holding an ‘Annamite’ and we thought it looked a lot like a snail, Metecan had a dinosaur tooth and Sam held a knuckle. We were amazed that these objects still existed after all this time. Sally told us Palaeontologists study fossils found in the ground and their job is to put all the dinosaur bones back together like a big puzzle!  

Sally then read a story about dinosaurs and we finished by doing the dinosaur stomp around the room...what a great presentation!

Amy, Tracey, Helen and Amy
Extended Hours Kindergarten Team  

Another busy week - starting off with a very exciting day - The Museum Outreach Programme visited with their Dinosaurs and Fossils. Sally the Presenter expertly explained to the children how fossils are formed - using pictures she showed the children the sequence of a Dinosaur dying and falling down, it's flesh gradually disappeared leaving it's skeleton, which was then slowly covered over many many years with water and soil - the bones then gradually and slowly turned into fossils, which Palaeontologists now find and take back to the Museum - where they put the bones together like a jigsaw puzzle until they can see what it looked like - they are always making new discoveries, but there are still many things we don't know about Dinosaurs - we know how big they were, what they ate, but we don't know what colour they were. Sally then showed the children the huge skull and leg bones of a Tarbosaurus. We measured ourselves against them, and played games about Dinosaurs. We had many Reference books for the children to look at, and the children remembered what they had seen and drew about Dinosaurs in their art books.

The children's interest in nature and creatures continues with the children bringing many things they have found to put on our Nature Table for us all to learn about - including different birds nests, a wasps nest and different seeds and leaves. The children spend a lot of time outside collecting snails - we had so many we had to get a bigger snail house with a secure lid so we didn't find them all around our room. The children also built outside houses for the ones that really wouldn't fit into our inside snail house. We have researched snails and learnt they move on their "foot", "see" with their tentacles, hibernate in winter, have teeth on their tongues, and hatch out of eggs which the female has laid under the ground. A wonderful natural experience!

Our Silkworms continue to grow bigger and bigger - the children check them every day.

Another favourite activity this week has been creating "Margot Stories" - the latest one has continued over the whole week. These stories are made up using our imaginations - I started the story off - this one has been about a bear cave - the children then take turns to contribute ideas to continue the story - the next day we continue where we left off the day before. This is a great fun way to extend the children's imaginations, their ability to put their thoughts into words, how to listen to each other's ideas, how to put their ideas together to make a story - exposure to words - pre literacy skills!

What will happen next week?

Group A Educaters - Margot, Ann and Lisa.

On Monday we started outdoors first. Even though it was cloudy everyone still had to wear their hats and have sunscreen on and of course wear appropriate clothing. Well done everyone. There was a lot to do such as kick/throw balls, mow the lawns, climb up over through and down various pieces of equipment and swing themselves on the swing. Some friends even pushed each other.

After going indoors on the mat the children were able to follow directions that were given in relation to stretching and learning more about what our body can do.  Prior to commencing experiences I used different clues to describe a child. The other children said different names but once I said “her name starts with I several children at the same time all said ........When her name was said she had a big smile on her face and was the first person to choose what experience she would like to participate in.

Tuesday saw some children very interested in participating on the long horizontal pole. Each child spent time using it in different ways such as moving along the top very slowly or by resting on it and moving their legs in a running motion. So many skills are developing. Other children were involved in climbing on the rocks amongst the grass plants and then jumping off. They were laughing so much and rolling on the grass. When we went indoors the silkworms were examined closely for some time by several children while others were involved in drawing and using rulers at the drawing experience or in the hospital taking care of others.

On Friday most of the children designed a pet rock with Fiona or used their growing skills and confidence on the pole while outdoors. Inside the children are building their understanding about how numbers on a clock work.....how to tell time. It’s good to know that the doctors in our hospital know how to care for their patients. Fiona read a special story called “Press me” which most of the children enjoyed being involved. Rather interactive.......Once you get a chance to read it you will see why the children loved it.

The children had spoken a lot about their homes and their cars so we requested last term that you all email us a photo of your home and a photo of your car. Could you please do this over the next week? These will be used within our program and build your child’s confidence, pride and love for their family and who they are.

It’s great to see that everyone is wearing a hat and has had sunscreen applied. Even though we have had overcast days the UV is what we have to be aware of.

Don’t forget GRANDPARENTS and/or SPECIAL FRIENDS are invited on Monday.

From 3 Year Old Kangaroo Group Educators; Fiona, Fiona, Karen and Annette