Merry Christmas to all!!!

Well our year has drawn to close and what a busy year it has been!! We wanted to take this opportunity to thank everybody who has helped out in some way during 2010.

A big THANKS to our fabulous Parent Group, who without them, our Christmas Party wouldn't have happened (check out the pics). They have also co-ordinated the Kindergarten photos this year and have been involved in various mini projects throughout the year. The names of the parent group members is on the entrance door...Feel free to approach any one of them if you are interested in joining :)

To all our awesome parent helpers who came on excursions, prepared our morning and afternoon teas or lent a helping hand in order to keep the Kindergarten presentable at working bees and end of term tidy ups....THANKS!!

With every body doing their bit, our Kindergarten is able to provide some wonderful learning opportunities for our children. We CANNOT do it without your help and it has been greatly appreciated.

And yes, we were lucky enough to host Christina Vaughan as she completed her Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Education this year...We wish her all the best in her future career as an Early Childhood teacher. I'm sure everyone will agree - She will be awesome...

Congratulations Christina!!

Wishing all our families a very Merry Christmas, an even happier new year...AND a much deserved break from routine...See you all in 2011 - Kindergarten will re-open on the 24th of January
Cheers,

Kylie and Judy!

2010 is drawing to a close....

The year is drawing to a close at a rate of knots!!
It has certainly been a busy year and I just wanted to share a few updates that are happening during the last two weeks of the term,

First and most importantly a big THANKS to everyone who took the time, at this very busy time of year, to come along and share in your child's learning that has happened over the last term. What a great way to see what the children have been up to!! We hope you enjoyed it, I know I enjoyed compiling the video...it sure has been a busy term and it's a great way to celebrate!! A special mention to the Dad's that came along, it's great to see you!!
Thanks to everyone who filled out the questionnaire...It will give us lots to ponder on for next year...

Next week,

Anna Dakila - Randall's Mum, is coming in on Tuesday morning to make traditional Mexican biscuits - Polvoron - with the children. It would be great if we could have some extra hands on deck to assist Anna, so if you're free come on in and lend a hand.

Louise Robson, Sam's mum has arranged for Donna, a cheese-maker to come in a make Mozzarella cheese with the children on Wednesday morning. She will be here from 10:30am onwards. Check your parent pockets for more details. This is a follow-up from Liberty's question about Milk.

Thanks for all your ideas and help over the term, it is such a neat way to expose the children to different skills and experiences. If you have a skill that you think would interest the children, please feel free to organise a day with us (next year) to come in and share. We - and the children - just LOVE visitors sharing their skills!!

The Kindergarten Christmas Party is being held next Friday the 10th of December. A big thanks has to go out to the Parent Group for organising this night for our families. Check your parent pockets for more information

Our ERO report has been all confirmed. The hard copy of the report is on the sign-in desk if anyone is interested in having a read - We had 8 areas of interest which is pretty exceptional!! Yep, Winton Kindergarten sure does ROCK!! You can also read the report online at www.ero.govt.nz

The Kindergarten has two weeks left of term and the last day will be Friday the 17th of December. We return on Monday the 24th of January. The end of term tidy-up roster will be out on Monday, please pick a job...Many hands make light work!!

Phew...A busy couple of weeks ahead!!

Thanks again!!
Kylie and Judy

Pike River Tribute, and farewell from Christina

This morning we had a Kindergarten tribute for the 29 miners who perished in the Pike River Mining Tragedy. It was our special way to acknowledge and grieve for the miners and their families and friends. Over the week we have had lots of discussion during Morning Meeting about the crisis in Greymouth. Matthew Mansell was an excellent reporter, being able to tell us about the gases what caused the explosion and progress of rescue efforts being made to save the miners.

During Wednesday's session we worked on a Tribute Card to send up to Greymouth. The children talked about what makes them feel happy when they are sad, and we came up with some ideas of what we could draw that would show the miners families that we were thinking of them at this time. As you can see in the photos, the children drew love hearts, smiling faces, flowers - all things that make them feel happy. Wihanel Kruger made a touching picture of a flower and sunshine, "I drew a sun so the miners can see," beautiful Wihanel. Archie Bryan's picture was of the miners smiling, "These are miners smiling because they know we are coming to rescue them." Malachi Todd thought that some treats would make the miners happy, "This is licorice for one of the miners to cheer them up; licorice makes me happy when I feel sad." Mikayla Colvin from our afternoon session, drew a picture of a parent, " This is a Mummy because my Mum makes me feel safe," she said about her drawing. The drawings were pasted on the front of our giant card, which we planned to finish off in today's session.

Unfortunately, after Kindergarten was finished for the day, we learned that there had been a second explosion in the mine, and that all hope of the miners being rescued alive, was lost. How were we going to explain this to the children tomorrow? They had been so involved and interested in the events of the past few days, that this had to be addressed in some way that they would understand that the miners would not be coming out alive. After consultation with Judy, Kylie, and some of the parents this morning, we decided to continue with lighting the tea light candles and sending the card.

At Morning Meeting we shared the news of the second explosion, with lots of questions following. Again, Matthew Mansell was able to explain to everyone that the miners had passed away, and we talked about this and what we could do to show our support and aroha to those affected by the sad news. Ella McBeth had a yellow ribbon hair clip, so we talked about how some people were wearing yellow bows over their hearts as a tribute to the miners, signifying hope for their safe return. It was decided that we would make our own yellow bows after Morning Meeting.

Kylie sourced a clip of photos relating to the tragedy, which we watched in silence; there were tears and hugs around the room. 29 tea light candles were lit and arranged in the shape of a heart, and we had a moment of silence to reflect and think about the miners and their families. Kylie then placed these on the light box along with our card and a hard hat; children came up to this throughout the session to reflect on the sad news.

Rebecca our first year student, and myself, started to make yellow ribbons out of pipe cleaners with the children - soon everyone was wearing their own yellow bow over their hearts - again talking with the children about why we were doing this.

After Library Day, we had an end of session gathering to watch a slide show of pictures that were taken during the day around the Kindy. Some children sat their watching the screen with the Kindy's hard hats, "Just like the miners had worn."

This was our own special way to pay tribute to all those affected in the Pike River Mine Tragedy. Thank you to all the children for sharing their thoughts and feelings; I really believe that the events of today will stay with them for the rest of their lives. Everyone was very supportive and caring for each others grief, especially towards the teachers and other adults - we are all very touched by how understanding and empathic the children can be. I believe it was important to share this event with our children, who bring an entirely new perspective and way of processing sensititve information than as adults we might do.

Before arriving this morning I was concerned about bridging the news that a second explosion had occurred and that there was no chance for survival. But today showed me how we should not fear the reaction of children - it is ok not to have all the answers -the important thing is that they know it is ok to talk about how they are thinking and feeling. This is what I have loved about my time here at Winton Kindergarten. The children are one; they are individuals within a collective; they are family.

Tomorrow is my last day at Kindy, and I am sad to leave the faces who have become family to me over the past few months. Thank you to all the children and families who have made my time so special - you will forever be in my heart. And of course, I couldn't leave without saying a BIG thank you to Judy and Kylie, you have a wonderful teaching team here at Winton Kindy, and it has been a privilege to have been given the opportunity to come in and learn from the you both.

Thanks, Christina :) xox

"How does the milk get from the cow?" -Liberty Jesperson

Another question for us to ponder at Kindergarten this week. Liberty has lots of cows around her house and often asks her family this question, "How does the milk get from the cow?". Thanks Liberty and Becci for sharing this with us and we have had LOTS of discussions this week about how this might happen...
Having a few families that live and work on dairy farms enabled us to establish the answer rather quickly. Matthew M. and Wihanel shared that cows were milked with cups...and no, not the same cups that we drink from!!! Then I asked "Is there any other way to milk a cow", and there was a unanimous "NO!" from Takahe group. Interesting isn't it. Children develop their own ideas by building off prior knowledge, something they have seen or heard before. It is very very uncommon in Southland and I'm sure in New Zealand to see cows getting milked by hand. Hence the big "No" from the children.
So I managed to source a You Tube clip of a cow being hand milked. We found out that it could take up to 30 mins to milk a cow this way. No wonder we don't see this happening anymore!! Imagine a herd of 1000 cows being milked by hand, no thanks!!
A big thanks to Wihanel and her family for contacting the owners of the Robotic Dairy farm...keep checking the notice board for more information regarding this excursion and remember the more helpers we get for excursions the better.
Our challenge next week is to see if we can make our very own butter...we certainly are getting very self sufficient here at Kindergarten!! First salt, now butter...have you got any other suggestion about what we could make with milk, we would love to here from you. Has anyone ever made home made cheese or ice-cream before?? Maybe you could come into Kindy and share how it's done with the children. Leave us a comment and we will see what we can do.
And I've got a question for everyone....If the cow eats grass to make milk, then why isn't milk green???
Check out the You Tube clips that I posted yesterday and just a reminder - We love getting comments!!
Cheers
Kylie and Judy

How to Milk a Cow by Hand

Many of the children in Takahe group thought you could only milk a cow using a machine, so I managed to source this video for them to watch this morning.

Milking Time in Takaka New Zealand

Or is this more like it :)

How to Milk a Cow

I wonder if anyone in Southland still milks their cows like this.....??

How to make your own Sea Salt

"How does salt get into the sea?" - Josh McDonald

Thanks soooo much for your question Joshua McDonald!! Josh has since moved off to school but the children's curiosity to find out continues to buzz!!

Last week Judy managed to find clips about Salt Farms on You Tube and then managed to stumble across a step-by-step movie on how to extract the salt from the water....How cool is that!!

Kylie bought in some sea water on Tuesday and posed a question..."How do you think we will get the salt out of the water?"

Matthew Mansell thought it would be really easy because we could just pick it out with our fingers, but we tried that ... didn't work.

We then referred back to the clip... We had to boil it for 1 hour!! Whoa, that was a long time!!

But, an hour went by, and nothing. We had alot less water - (and we learnt a new word, EVAPORATION) but no salt.

Kylie put it on the range and continued to cook it for another whole hour!! What we found in the bottom of the pot was amazing...lots and lots of chystalysed salt!! Wow how amazing is that!!

After scraping it onto a tray, each child had a taste test...Hmmmm, pretty good actually!!

Another question was asked..."What are we going to do with the salt?"

Caitlin was VERY quick to suggest we put it on some hot chips, because that is what she likes to do with salt at home. Great suggestion Caitlin.

Friday came along and we had potato, parsnip AND kumara chips to prepare, cook and eat. Thanks to all my wonderful helpers today...peeling and chopping all those vegetables was pretty hard work we found out!! Ryan Fitchett deserves a special mention because he persevered and managed to cut ALL the potato chips up for us!! Thanks Ryan :)

I must say, the chips were so good...and the Sea Salt made them taste delicious, what a lovely treat for a Friday and a great way to wrap up the very salty experiment...BUT, we STILL aren't sure how the salt GETS INTO the sea...Does anyone have any ideas? Leave us a comment...We would love to hear from you.

Kylie, Judy and Christina

Green Thumbs...and fingers and toes!!

Have you seen our vegetable plots??? Make sure you check them out as the afternoon group have spent this week preparing, planting and watering the garden in anticipation that we will be able to harvest our very own kindergarten vegetables within the next term....

The children assisted as we worked the soil, made some holes and planted Carrot seeds, Radish seeds and Mesclun salad mix into the first planter.

Wednesday came along and it was time to plant the seedlings, Broccoli, Lettuce and Silverbeet. Yummo!! We will have to keep an eye on Sting as I'm sure he will try to grab a nibble on his travels!!

A group of children also chose to plant their own radish seeds to take home and watch the process of seed cultivation at home...There are still some at Kindergarten, did your child make one?? Check them out on the kitchen counter on Monday and take your one home, cheers!!

What a great opportunity to learn alongside our peers. Some children could also share with the group some of the vegetables that had been planted at their house recently...Awesome!! Joshua Munro shared that he had planted lots of vegetables but he was most excited about the Strawberries!! Guess what Josh, we have Strawberries growing at Kindergarten too. I wonder which ones will be ready first??

If you have a vegetable garden at home, we would love to see photos...another great way to promote discussion amongst the group. And for our families that have some kindergarten radish seed at home, we would LOVE if you could document the process through photos and stories and send them through to us....just a small challenge :)

Cheers guys,

Judy, Kylie and Christina

Check out these amazing 'Thinking Faces' ...

Now we can feel some serious thinking going on in the Project Room ... What could you do today girls ??? Questions & Questioning skills are our focus for Term 4. We already have had a thought provoking question shared: Josh McDonald wants to know 'How does salt get into the sea?' Can anyone help us .... leave us a comment. WE WANT TO FIND OUT MORE !!! Someone mentioned there is a salt farm in Marlborough? Let us know.

It's great to be back ... and it's great to have some warm weather at last. This week in morning meeting (aka Group Time) we have watched the progress of the Chilean Miners. The children have been VERY interested ... again lots of questions: How did they get there? How will they get out? We have shared some video footage before, after & during ... and we have had lengthy discussions about what the miners would need to 'survive'. And of course we have shared some snippets of the Commonwealth games ... GO THE SILVER FERNS (but not forgetting all the other sporting achievements). And of course we had to have a conversation about losing that ... LOG OF WOOD (aka Ranfurly Shield). So lots of discussions about current events ... fantastic.

Our Afternoon group has had LOTS of new faces. A warm welcome to Keira Moodie, Tara Zwies, Timata Ropata & Hannah Price ... great to have you amongst us. Because we have soooo many new children we are wondering in all our Parents could sit with us @ group time @ the end of the day. It provides a more settled & warmth to our end of the day.

The kindy newsletter has been e-mailed out to all our families along with our Term Evaluations ... let us know if you have received them. Would you like a Term Slide Show iDVD? Ask Kylie or Judy. Also we are wanting some ideas for our Term Planning & Programme ie local places to visit, community events or activities, visitors to the town (we were really disappointed about not being aware of Craig Smith (Wonky Donky author) was visiting Winton Library so PLEASE let us know ... we NEED you to share things with us.

Oh .... just about forget. Can you help with sweeping (a weekly roster is displayed on the noticeboard in the foyer) the children DO notice and it is also a great way to show the children how well we look after our Kindergarten & Morning/Afternoon Tea (rosters are currently on the sign-in desk) and also @ the end of the day could you ... grab a broom, clean some brushes, wipe a table, finish a puzzle or rake the sandpit ... anything to help would be GREAT.

Have a great weekend ...

Judy & Kylie

Haere Mai to all our new families!!

We have welcomed many new families into our Kindergarten family over the past few weeks so I just wanted to take this opportunity to welcome you all, it is so great to have you and both Judy and I look forward to getting to know your children and their family during their time at Kindergarten. To all our existing families, if you see a new face, please introduce yourself and make them feel welcome :)

We continue to have LOTS of changes in our rolls over the next few weeks, so please bare with us...it IS a big job, I'm sure you have noticed how many Kindy Birthdays we have had recently. They are such a neat way to share this very special time with the big 5 year old to be, and their families.

This week sees the end of our 'All About Me' programme for our morning session. I hope everyone has found this beneficial for your children. We had Jo Lilley and Amby the Ambulance from St John come to the Kindergarten yesterday and Jo was blown away with how many of the children knew their own addresses and phone numbers...Awesome ay!! Remember to keep working on remembering these with your children. You never know when they may need to use them to get help for themselves or someone else.

Also don't forget to return the 'All about Me' evaluation form please.

Have a great holiday everyone!!!

We will see you all back ready for yet another busy term on Monday the 11th of October!! Term 4 already...where has the year gone!!!

Kylie and Judy

We have been busy!!! Take a look....

What a busy past couple of weeks we have had here at Winton Kindergarten!!

We began with Maroon Friday for the morning group and a dress up day in the afternoon group with both days raising funds for the Red Cross Canterbury Earthquake appeal. Maroon Friday also worked in conjunction with the Rugby Southland initiative as they are asking all Southlanders to dig out their Maroon every Friday while the Stags hold the Ranfurly shield. Well done to Emma McCallum and Cameron Scully who remembered again today :) .

A big thanks to ALL who contributed to the Earthquake appeal, Winton Kindergarten collectively raised $76.60 - Fantastic!! Mother nature can be so unpredictable at times and I'm sure it has made everyone more aware of what they need to do to get their homes and families more prepared in case mother nature decides we need a bit of a shake up. We have talked lots about 'Turtle Safe' and finding a doorway or table to take cover under. We also have regular earthquake drills too. Talking about this at home will further ensure your children know exactly what to do in case of an emergency.

A big thank-you to the 6 parents who came along to help at the working bee last weekend. Our parent group organises these for us and they will occur once a term to ensure our grounds are presented to a high standard. Many hands make light work as they say so the more people we could get coming along to these would be fantastic. Keep an eye out on the notice board for the next one.

Yesterday the Morning children were invited to see the production of 'Snow White' at Limehills school. The senior school students were the stars of the show and to say our kindergarten children were mesmerised would be an understatement!! What a lot of time and effort put into such an event and were felt very privileged to be able to get a private viewing!! The children were also lucky enough to get to chat with the stars of the show afterwards and check out the set while they got their photo taken up on the stage. I'm sure there were LOTS of stories being told about Snow White over the dinner table last night. I wonder if anyone had Subway for tea.....???

Our Celebration of Learning evening was held last night too. What a great success this was once again. It's great to see so many Mums and Dads interested in what's happening at Winton Kindergarten. Both Judy and I are excited as our work in the 'Special Focus Kindergartens' continues to progress and we really appreciate your input into your children's education. I have posted a couple of the clips that we talked about last night on the BLOG too for anyone who missed them. Also if you haven't already received one, for the people that came along there is a chocolate frog waiting for you in the office :) See Kylie!!

Something Daryl, our Parent Group president thought after listening to Johan and Joyce speak was getting our parents to sponsor our very own stoat trap. How cool would that be, getting regular updates as we found out how many stoats and rats our trap had eradicated. Food for thought!!

We also discussed the differences between 20th century education and 21st century education and my goodness what a difference. Technology use on both schools and kindergartens has increased remarkably in the last 10yrs which is proving to be very beneficial for our children. If you have any questions from the evening, feel free to ask

Again, thanks all for coming, and we can't wait for the next one!!

Like I said we have been busy!!

Till next week,

Ka kite ano

Kylie and Judy

21st Century Education vs. 20th Century Education

Crazy houses-A follow-up from our Celebration of Learning Evening

An afternoon reminder.....

Hi to all our afternoon families,
Just in case you didn't get your notice, we are holding a dress-up day at Kindergarten on Monday afternoon to raise funds to go towards the canterbury earthquake victims. Children can dress up in their favourite outfits for the day. We ask if it's possible could you bring along a gold coin donation and a shared plate for afternoon tea.
Thanks all,
Kylie

Southland Stags Ranfurly Shield Holders

STAG fever!!

The day had finally arrived....and we weren't going to let a little bit of bad weather keep us away after counting down the sleeps for the last week!!

We all clambered on the bus after singing our own rendition of 'The wheels on the bus' song and putting on our excitement!!

Once in Invercargill we headed towards The Homestead Stadium. Archie whispered in my ear as we got closer, "Does the bus driver know where he's going?" I sure did hope so Archie, and sure enough around the round about we went and we were there!! Phew.

Once off the bus, we all went inside to be greeted by the almighty Ranfurly Shield!! I must say, Cameron, Archie, Eddie and Josh along with many others were in awe!! Cameron took the first opportunity he could to have a feel of the 'Log 'o' wood' in the flesh!! Amaaaaazing.

Russel was our tour guide for the morning and took us all around the Stadium, including the Stag's changing room, and what did we see as soon as we walked through the doors, the Winton Kindergarten Shield that we made!! It also had the smell of liniment lingering in the air. The president's lounge. And as morning tea time loomed we heading up lots of stairs to the supporters lounge, and what a view from the top!!

After our tummies were filled we heading down to the grounds for a bit of a run around and we got to have our photos taken with the Ranfurly Shield, it was very very special. Be sure to check out the big screen on Monday for photos, and if you would like a copy let either Judy or Kylie know and we can email them to you. Also for the parents who were taking photos of the day, feel free to email some in so we can add them to our slide show here at Kindergarten.

Cameron thanked Russell on behalf of the Kindergarten, then we were back on the bus headed for the Invercargill museum to see the Mo Tatou Ngai Tahu exhibit which has been bought down from Te Papa museum in Wellington. Jonty Unahi and his Mum Danielle were able to view a piece of their ancestral heritage too, how cool is that!!

A huge thanks to all our parents helpers, I hope you enjoyed the morning as much as your children did.

Next Friday we will have Maroon Friday...Dress in Maroon to support the almighty Stags in hope of yet another victory!! GO THE STAGS!!

Kylie and Judy.

The wheels on the bus go to 'Forest Hill'

Well, our trip went from being postponed due to rain on the Monday to a glorious sunny day for us to head to the forest on Tuesday!! Yahoo.

Children and parents all loaded onto the bus set for an adventure. Questions were pondered..."I wonder if we see any dinosaurs" asked Malachi. "Nah, probably just bones" thought Sam. "Will it be scary" asked Molly.

Well we were soon about to find out as we turned onto the road to the Forest Hill reserve.

Driving along the bumpy road, the excitement in the air was infectious, especially when Sam turned to Declan and said, "I'm a little bit excited". I don't think you were the only one Sam!!

As we reached our destination the bus came to a halt and the 22 children all clambered off the bus set for an adventure.

Challenges were set as Judy passed around a list of treasures to find on their bush walk...I wonder who could fine the tallest tree, the sun, some big flat leaves, and was there a tree with flaky bark? And who knew there would be some teddy bears partying in the forest??

At the end of our walk we discovered a cave...Watch out for bears, and dinosaurs too for that matter!! By after a bit of a read of the sign we found out it was a Weta Cave. Talking about dinosaurs...Sam was right!! We did indeed find some bones, cool!! A big thanks to all our treasure hunters, you were awesome.

Also a big THANKS to all our parents helpers!! We couldn't go on these excursions without your help.

Cheers,

Kylie and Judy!!

Daffodil Day - 27th August 2010

Wowee!! What a fabulous group of families we have at Winton Kindergarten. The children looked absolutely awesome in their Yellow gears, and then there was that amazing morning tea!! It continues to blow Judy and I away with the imagination and inspiration that our Mums, Dads and children have when it comes to the food bought in for morning tea on these special days...A BIG thanks to everyone!!!

Children were just buzzing today and Matthew Gill, our chief photographer managed to capture lots of photos of everyone in their Yellow. Take a minute on Monday to check out all the pics on the big screen if you missed seeing them today. They are very cool.

We had daffodil painting, daffodils made with clay and we sat down at mat-time and made our very own daffodils to take home, they are the best type of flower...no water necessary.

Gifted to the children today also were their very own daffodil bulb to take home and nurture. Who knows, next year you may even have your very own daffodil to care for.

Another big thanks for the gold coin donation, a total of $31 was raised for the Cancer Society...Cheers!!

Have a great weekend everybody!! Let's hope the sun keeps shining it's little heart out.

Kylie and Judy.

P.S. For all our afternoon families...we look forward to seeing you all here at 1:15 on Monday afternoon with their gumboots, jackets and something for afternoon tea. The bus will be leaving at 1:30pm SHARP. Parents if you could toilet your child on arrival, we would really appreciate it to ensure we head off and make the most of the trip. Thanks all, Kylie

It's Bath Time....

As part of our All about me programme that we are running for the morning group this term, we have been talking lots about getting ourselves dressed and making sure we keep our bodies nice and clean. The children have really taken this on board and share with us with pride when they have managed to get dressed 'all by myself!!'

To extend this further, Judy invited Aimee and Riley (Dylan Diack's Mum and baby brother) into the Kindergarten to share Riley's bath time with us. The children were in awe....and Riley just loved all the attention from the children!! Something tells me Riley quite likes his bath time. He very patiently waited while Mum gave him a wash, and then many of the Kindergarten children lined up for a turn to help wash Riley too. What a cool dude he is, not even a grizzle!!

Many of the chidlren shared that they hadn't seen a baby being bathed before and Bryant wanted to know if Riley liked to dive under the water like he did in his bath at home? Maybe in a few more years Bryant.

A big thank you again to Aimee and Riley and also to Dylan for sharing Mum and that super cool baby brother of yours.

This week our morning group All About Me video has focused on how cool everybodies family is, and also how very different they can be. The sock family have also made an appearance, what a big family they are. We would love if you and your child could bring along some photos of your family to add to our Kindergarten family tree and also on 'old' sock from home so we can make some of our own sock characters too. Thanks muchly!!

Kylie and Judy