Group A Reflections – Week 3rd – 6th March 2015

This week we continued our interest in the sea and water creatures – the children continue to ask questions about this which encourages further discussion and learning. We talked about turtles and tortoises – so we had a table set up with models to illustrate the turtles life cycle , and a book about this which we read together and talked about. We also had a story about a baby hippopotamus  who lost his mother in a big storm and flood, and eventually found a giant turtle who he adopted as his mother – she had a round body with skin that felt like his mothers, she was big, and he felt safe with her. This book  is based on a true story, and is at kindergarten if you would like to read it. 

We have also started to create a fish/sea mural on our big window – which is based on the popular story of “The Rainbow Fish”- the children worked together  to make the beautiful rainbow fish, and we will continue to work on this mural next week. We also talked about the meaning of the story- that it is good to be kind to your friends – to listen to them and look after them – this makes everyone happy. Some children have felt strongly that they have favourite friends   and can be quite possessive of them We talked about how everybody can play with everybody at Kindergarten, and that it’s good to have lots of friends – we will continue to talk about this.

The children have also worked together  to make their own play dough – following the recipe, measuring the ingredients, stirring and mixing, then enjoying the results. This experience covers Maths concepts of measurement, following instructions - and Science concepts , what happens when you mix different ingredients and textures together to make the resulting play dough – messy but great fun -  and the sensory experience of kneading and playing with the finished product.

These children have boundless energy, and on arrival want to run and run., so we let them do this, and then add other concepts – such as relay races using a relay baton, and jumping over a rope held by the teachers. These activities require patience waiting for a turn, and helping the children to be aware of how to control their movements and be aware of their bodies in space – it uses up energy too!

We are also having table games recognizing shapes and designs, which require the children to concentrate, be patient, take turns , share,  respect the rights of others and perhaps help each other – learning to be part o f a group.

Another busy week!  What will happen next week?

Group A Educators – Margot, Ann and Lisa.