Friday 27th November

Fabulous Friday! Today was the last day of posting for our college students Shannon and Jaide so we decided to have a 'fun Friday'. First thing this morning Shannon did some puff painting with the children, this involved making a special paint mixture with self raising flour and a range of other ingredients. Once the mixture was complete the children then painted on their pages which were then placed in the microwave. Shannon operated the microwave whilst the children counted down from ten and then like magic the paint had risen all over the page, the children were just fascinated by this whole process. After the puff painting was complete it was time to make piklets for morning tea, topped with cream and jam, YUM-O! Take a look at the slide show below for pictures from these two experiences.

Wednesday 18th November

TURTLE POWER! We were lucky enough to have Sheyanne, (Maja's Mum) pop in this morning with some special visitors. Bert and Ernie were visitors with a difference, let's just say they were not of the human kind. Bert and Ernie are snake neck turtles and very unique characters. As Sheyanne arrived with the turtles all of the children eagerly made their way to the mat to greet their visitors. Let's just say it was a little difficult to stay sitting in a circle with two little creatures making their way across the mat, this really was very exciting. Sheyanne talked to the children about where the turtles live and what they eat, we even witnessed a live screening of feeding time. Sheyanne dropped a block of dried fish into the tank and the children observed with great intent as the turtles ate. The children were lucky enough to touch the turtles with careful supervision, they had hard slippery shells. All-in-all this was a great group experience and there was much discussion about the turtles for the remainder of the day. Maja was able to share her pets from home with her friends here at kindergarten and all of the children were able to get up close and personal with a turtle, making links to the wider world. What fascinating little creatures!

Friday 13th November

Running Fun!!! The children have been having running races amongst themselves all week at kindergarten. Chalk lines on the footpath have marked the start and finish lines and the children have been organising these races amongst themselves. Today for something different we thought it would be fun to burn off some energy before mat time and have some all in running races, we even opened the middle gates and had a teacher supervising at the end gates where our new finish line was. The children were very excited and enthusiastic as they raced to the end gate, so much so that they turned around and ran back again. We had a girls race a boys race and then an all in race. All of the children happily participated, and this follows alongside our emphasis on active movement and nutrition. Take a look at the videoclip from the all in race.

Wednesday 4th November

Motorbike Mania!

Of late the children have shown a real interest in motorbikes. Daily we hear the rumblings of motorbikes from the next door neighbours and the children race to the gate to get a glimpse of the bike making it's way down the road. Beck's our third year student did a little research and alongside bringing books and information on motorbikes into the kindergarten she managed to talk Mike one of our parents and motorbike enthusiasts into bringing his bike along to kindergarten.

Mike talked to the children about the importance of wearing the correct safety gear when riding a motorbike and the need to have a motorbike licence. The children had a great time getting up close and personal with a real motorbike. It was the talk at kindergarten for the rest of the week, the children are already asking when Mike will be back with his bike. Take a look at the slideshow which captures some of the children involved in this experience.