How does our garden grow?

With money received from HEHA (Heart Foundation) funding, help from parents and committee, and hard work from the children and teachers we have established our 'community garden'  Mosaic pavers made by the children (with help) are in place and we are planning to purchase some seating, making this a relaxing space where anyone can go for some quiet time. We have sent invitations to the local community inviting them along to share some kai and see what we have achieved.  

We also continue to foster links with our local community through regular contact with Concord School and classes make regular visits to share books and stories. As well as promoting language and communication skills children are able to share time with their older siblings and other close friends.   

Our new trolley and light table have arrived and as you can see the trolley is a popular addition to our outdoor wheeled toys

You are about to be snapped!   With the recent purchase of 2 new digital cameras, used along with other media our children are further developing their skills in technology (so far a camera dropped in water has survived!!) and we have set up our television to revisit childrens learning for each day - through slideshows and videos. 

Watch for more christmas news coming soon!

Outdoor Learning ...........

What happened to the Gingerbread Men? Our classic story from last week is revisited using gingerbread people with different body parts missing .....maybe the fox was still hungry and came to kindergarten looking for some tasty treats to eat....but these are made out of cardboard! Would he have found these good to eat?  Just a few of the questions to encourage childrens use of language and imagination.  

Our cabbage tree - Ti Kouka - presents  another challenge for children as they climb up and over the branches and then down the other side. Using some extra props - boxes, ladders, ropes etc - children find their own solutions for achieving their goals.                                          

Language and literacy are all around us.   Using chalk on the safety matting children draw, play games (e.g. hopscotch) and write numbers, letters and names (their own as well as others)

Exploration of art media - this time it is hand and finger painting outside.  How is this different from being inside?
Our children discover how quickly it dries out with the sun ... and their solution for this is to add more paint or water.
This is great tactile experience and another way to learn about mixing colours.

See you again soon! 

We are back - with more learning fun!

Welcome back. With the excitement of the World Cup behind us and Christmas only 8 weeks away we are heading into another busy term.

Here is a snapshot of learning since we returned from our break - 

• As you can see our vegetables are thriving as learning focuses on the process of planting, nurturing and harvesting healthy food
• Our new book 'In the Beginning'  introduces children to the Maori legend about Rangi and Papa, which children went on to retell in their own words using both the book and characters on the magnetic board 
• Challenging children physically as part of our committment to active movement as they master the obstacle course
• Literacy and the story of the Gingerbread Man  'comes to life' when we bake our gingerbread biscuits
• Families and visitors are always welcome to be part of our programme - games including this 'tug of war' are part of the fun shared with a kindergarten Dad
• 'I am a robot'  - dramatic play, music and creative art combine as children become robots

Join us again soon for more learning from the team at Concord.    

Out and about with learning

Early this month we took a small group of children to Corstorphine Kindergarten to watch their dress rehearsal for PolyFest.... what a colourful performance by so many enthusiastic children (and adults)  We then shared 'kai' with everyone and spent a short time exploring their kindergarten and meeting new friends before returning to our place.  Thanks so much to the teaching team at Corstorphine for inviting us. 

Rugby World Cup is capturing the interest of many families/whanau and of course the children as well.  'Rugby matches' are a regular event - with friendly rivalry between our 'All Blacks' and 'Australia'  (in the yellow and green jerseys).  Flags, rugby balls, banners, posters, photos, world maps, 'clappers,' programmes, clothing, souvenir books and lots of discussion all add to experience along with learning about the different countries taking part in this memorable event.

Artists at Work

Our children have many opportunities to explore and experiment with a wide range of art media.......paint, pens, crayons, clay, mosaics, plaster, dyes, collage.....to name a few. This is a snapshot of some of our budding artists at work.

Welcome to Term 3 and more learning fun at our place.

Firstly a big welcome to Trish Malthus, who has joined out Teaching Team until the end of 2011, while Gerry is teaching at Abbotsford Kindergarten.

With our Teddy Bears tucked under our arms we board the bus and head to the'Teddy Bears Hospital' where third year medical students are waiting for us. Each child receives diagnosis and treatment for their bears illness or injury and is given a consultation booklet with information from the visit.
Then we spend time exploring other hospital related activities before heading back downstairs for the bus trip back to kindergarten.

Through this excursion children are making connections to people in the community who help us and becoming familiar and comfortable with experiences they may encounter such has hospital and doctors visits. A big thank you to the 'medical team' for organising the Teddy Bears Hospital. <

Maori Language Week, Monkeys and the Crocodile and Goodbye...

Manaakitanga - making people welcome is the theme of Maori Language Week and this is very much part of the character of our place. We have in progress the development of a community garden and we are also in the early stages of planning a community map in conjunction with Sport Otago......more to come next term. 
This week another class from Concord School joined us, bringing books to read to our children as well as sharing in our programme. 

Parents and whanau contribute in many ways to our programme - this week, one of our Dads helped children construct a huge crocodile which was then enticed over to the mat to be 'teased' by  our monkey finger puppets........ and the result......lots of shared excitement and laughter, communication, language, a sense of belonging and of course we all had fun!!

Our Fish and Chip/Fancy Hat Night on Friday was sadly also a Farewell for Gerry, who is transferring to Abbotsford Kindergarten for 6 months to further her learning journey. 
All the best Gerry and we look forward to seeing you back in 2012. 

Exploring Thinking and Learning

Kia Ora & Welcome again to all the followers of our Blog :). Some of the busy events which have taken place recently have been learning about action games, tigerworms, nature, weather, teddybears, bugs & our environment. Our music, drama & movement have included a variety of dances like creative, contemporary & even Irish Dancing. Here are some photos of the fun learning experiences at kindergarten. Enjoy...:)

We are celebrating Matariki - Maori New Year throughout June. With help from everyone we have set up our own 'Planetarium' under the verandah. Black plastic covering the walls and roof, planets inflated and hung in place, lights, space ships, books, puzzles and posters make this a special place to explore and discover much about the stars. Did you know Matariki is also called Pleiades or Seven Sisters? Learning has been further enhanced with other related activities - flying saucers, (you can see the spacemen finger puppets ready for take off) and what great fun we had launching Jude's rocket into space - 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1...blast off !!! It only flew over the fence once! This ongoing celebration will continue with a Matariki story telling session with Kaitrin. Dramatic and role play always features strongly in our programme and this week a group of children initiate a concert of their own featuring music, dance and singing. The 'audience' are enthralled by the show and are patiently waiting for their turn to be part of the act...........thanks to the 'directors' for being so inclusive and inviting all those budding performers to join in. We must do this again soon.

Active Movement and Healthy Food

Once again we have had a busy few weeks.Helen set up a tunnel outside and the children were keen to try it out.After building up healthy appetites outside it was time for morning tea.

Active Movement and Fun:)

A few more photos of the busy learning at kindergarten...Watch this space for much more to come :)

Creative Expressions at Kindergarten

Hello, Kia Ora, Talofa Lava, Kia Orana, Namaste,Bonjour,Ni Hao & greetings to all our followers of the blog. We have had a busy time at kindergarten with Breakfast & Pyjama Party here. We have also been actively involved in contributing to our programme with active movement, music, stories,games, art & lots of learning taking place.Our delicious spread included toast, cereals ,milo & fruit just to name a few. Here are a few photos for you.

Our learning journey continues.............

We all love the book 'My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes' and now thanks to Jude bringing along some huge ones we have.......our children hiding in boxes. Well not only hiding - you could almost say there is a mini kindergarten inside a box, as games are played, songs and stories shared and the art area finds a new home as well. Creative skills are evident as the outside is painted and doors and windows added. What is being created at the carpentry area this week? Have a look at our children at work in this area, developing their skills with carpentry tools, literacy (using descriptive language, letters for names etc)) and numeracy (measuring, counting) and experiencing a sense of achievement on completion of their projectsTinkerbell, Bella and Toby, our guinea pigs receive gentle care and loving attention. Some of our children have little or no experience with pets and animals so learning how to care and look after them and our canaries, Whistler and Michael Jackson, is important for building childrens knowledge as well as giving them confidence to handle animals. We have also been exploring the dinosaur world this week, with the discovery of 'dinosaur eggs' and 'bones' in the sand as well as learning about them through books and discussion. Thanks for visiting our blog and sharing in our learning. See you again soon!

Plaster, bugs, school children, and travel...

It has been another busy week, filled with learning fun here at our place. When a child asks 'What is chalk made out of?' it is the perfect opportunity to make our own so we find our plaster of paris and set to work. It is mixed with water and colour added before the children fill the various molds ...hearts, bugs, bears, sea creatures and ice block containers to make sticks of chalk.........Our children have always demonstrated a fascination for bugs and small creatures and these are again a hot topic. With heavy rain earlier in the week the ground is wet and easy to dig so we collect some in a tray and gently trawl through it to see what can be found.........slugs, worms, centipedes, beetles.........and then we investigate how they live, what they eat, etc Mr Turnbull and his class from Concord School arrive on Wednesday morning to share stories and experiences. What great role models - sharing quiet quality time talking and interacting with our children. Thank you for taking the time to walk up that hill and visit us. Our world map/globe is out for us to check out Rarotonga (Gerry is there this week) and also Turkey (where one of our families has gone for a month to visit relatives) Safe travels to you all.

Hi & Kia Ora to all our children , Families/Whanau & Community. It has been a busy term so far with lots of dramatic play, dress-up day on Thursday with favourite fairy-tale or nursery rhyme character. Hint : watch out for Goldilocks & the three bears. We had ladybirds, bumble-bees, Snowhite, Turtle, stars etc turning up too:). We had a great time on Thursday 12th May 2011. Thank you all for your active participation. Our surprise morning tea included porridge & honey sandwiches. Talking about drama, active movement, fun ,weddings and so on... here are a few photos for you. Thank you to all our families, community, teachers and everyone at Dunedin Kindergartens for the beautiful gifts, cards & warm wishes. Gerry & Rob Hunter have had wonderful wedding celebrations & are off to Rarotonga on honeymoon. Kia Kaha :)