Term 4 Week 2

Amazing Me
We revisited our learning from DVD1 this week...The group have been practicing Brain Gym - learning about the body and different functions; cutting and gluing (fine motor skills) the human body; and, piecing together the 3D model of the human organs! Well done to all the tamariki who have shared with us their independence and self-care at home by giving a go washing, drying and dressing them self - tu meke/awesome!! Next week we will be moving on to DVD2.

Nurtured By Nature Programme
Wow, this week was soooo much fun! We went to go dig the toilet (our morning ritual) and somehow managed to find LOTS of puddles and MUD to enjoy along the way, and didn't return to the shelter until almost 11am when we were drenched and exhausted from all the excitement...This was the first time the whole group had got wet and muddy so it was a new experience for us all! Christina posed a challenge at the Mud - the person who got the most muddiest would get a prize! Well, that was a good enough incentive for EVERYONE to try and get as muddy as possible, rolling and sliding through the mud - great to see such a competitive streak amongst the group!! It was too hard to choose just one person, so Christina said she would get a surprise for the group once we were back at Kindy. In the afternoon we shared a Slideshow of Photos from our day (thank you to Annabelle's Granny for capturing our day) and all the children had a piece of "Mud" Cake to commemorate the day's success!!

The Muddy Monsters @ Forest Kindy this week!!! 

Logan Wallace knee deep in a puddle with the "Spider" he found at Ivy Russell Reserve

Mackenzie, Christina and Samelliah playing in the mud!

Annabelle's Gran captures some special moments from our day in the bush this week!

The MTW Group enjoying some "Mud" Cake on Tuesday afternoon

We have had lots of fun in the Sun this week...A timely reminder to please put on Sunscreen before Kindy in the mornings and we will top up as necessary during the day. Also sunhats too please...Hopefully we will be needing them in the weeks to come!! With the finer weather we have also been in the sandpit and water play - please ensure you pack a full change of clothes each day. Thanks.

Enjoy the LOOOOONG weekend everyone - see you Tuesday!

Term 4 Week 1

Welcome back to the final term of 2013...Where has the year got to!! Great to see everyone back looking refreshed and eager to reconnect with their peers after some time away.

Programme Planning: "Acceptance of Others: Strategies and Skills for Initiating and Maintaining Responsive and Positive Relationships"..."HEY...CAN I PLAY?"
Check out our Planning Wall beside the sign in desk on our Term 4 Dispositional Planning Focus.

Amazing Me Programme:
Notices were placed in Parent Pockets regarding the "Amazing Me Programme" which has started this week and running for the entire term.
DVD1:
- Enhancing children's self esteem
- "Trying to do things for yourself can be fun"
- Naming of body parts using correct terms

New Area of Play: 

At the end of last term Jessica Irwin and Annabelle Chrystall would often convert our Hair Dressing Salon for playing Nurses...So imagine their surprise when we arrived back this week with our very own Medical Centre. A BIG thanks to the Winton Medical Centre for donating LOTS of materials for the children to use...This new area of play sits with our Amazing Me Programme also!

Nature Programme
We welcome Mackenzie Vaughan and Logan Wallace to the Nature Programme this Term. We also had Sally joining us for her first time - if you ask any of the group you will know how much fun she had encouraging the children to play in the mud puddles - even sitting in it herself!!

Kenny, Sally and Henry making "Grass angels" as they rub the mud off their wet weather gear!!

The Forest Kindy kids, teacher Sally, and parent helpers Laarni and Cath stopping to notice what is growing alongside the creek

Science Alive:
On Wednesday the group were invited to revisit our science concepts we learnt about from "Science in a Van" at the end of last term. "Reaction, mixture, separation"... We watched in anticipation as the ice slowly melted throughout the day and observed how adding droplets of dye at different stages resulted in different outcomes....In the morning when the ice was just out of the freezer the dye stuck to the outside and formed bubbles...As the day progressed and the ice melted we noticed the dye beginning the seep through the tiny cracks inside the blogs of ice - very cool!!

Mackenzie and Jasmin add droplets of dye on the the ice and observe what happens next!!

ERO Visit
We had Lee and Jane from the Education Review Office for our formal visit on Wednesday along with Pam Wilson Senior Teacher. We had a great day showcasing our amazing children and Kindergarten and look forward to their feedback.

Photography Competition "I wonder"
A BIG thank you to all our photographers who entered their works into the "I wonder" photography competition...We wait in anticipation to hear who our winning entry is!

New faces this week:
We welcome Tara Hamilton to our MTW Group, and Olivia Chrystall, Sam Cowie and Corran Mee to our TF Group this week!

We welcome Tara Hamilton...Trying out the whitebait patties on Wednesday morning!

Corran Mee is introduced to the outdoors by buddy Fletcher Scott

Olivia Chrystall enjoying the climbing logs in the sandpit today!

Sam Cowie gets to work on the digger!