Term 2 Week 2

Mothers Day Crafts

This week has been filled with mothers day crafts as the children have been kept busy making and creating cards, frames, necklaces, videos and some reflective discussions on why their Mum is special.
These experiences have created great opportunities for the children to reflect on how special their Mum is to them, how their Mum makes them feel and all the wonderful things they get to do with Mum. We have also posted a special message on Facebook with our Thursday afternoon group which I'm sure has put a smile on a few Mums faces. We hope all of our Mums (and Dads who take on Mums job) enjoy their day :)
Here are some pics of what they have been up to.

Bright Sparks Road Show 

We had 'Bright Sparks Day' on Wednesday where everyone was invited to come along in their brightest gear. We were super lucky to have a few visitors from Constable Marty, Constable Brook, Dot (Family Co-ordinator for Kindergarten South), Plunket representatives, and of course Road Safety Southland. Here are the three different stations the children explored and what they taught us:

1.   The Seat Belt sled. This is a device that children will sit on in a booster seat of course. They will be strapped in. The seat gains some speed by being raised up then drops down so they will feel the impact of a sudden stop and how the seatbelt helps them to remain safe in their seat. We will have some of The Steel players join us this year! 2.   The Drive Way Back-Over Kit: This is highly effective resource highlights the danger of children playing in driveways. Life sized cut-outs of children are placed behind a vehicle. Adults sit in the car and attempt to identify where the children are. This resource reinforces that children are highly vulnerable and are at risk of death or serious injury in the family driveway. **It was a shock to all to find out how difficult it was to see the children behind the car!! 3.   Do the Zebra: Using a road crossing mat children will practice safely crossing a ‘road’. This activity will reinforce the concepts of holding hands as well as the process of STOP-LOOK-LISTEN-DECIDE

  

Forest Kindy

The weather 'played ball' for us throughout our first day back to Forest Kindy for Term 2!!

This week the children were sustained in their explorations, re-visiting their favourite spots like the Monster Truck Track and the Creek. During their visit on Tuesday they also had a job to do..... collecting sticks for our Mothers Day crafts back at Kindy!! A big warm welcome to Mason who had his first Forest Kindy experience on Tuesday with Dad! Thanks to all who came along I heard it was a fabulous morning!!

An ecological lens: How to conserve water-use in the sandpit?

We always love our Friday visits from our Limehills School Volunteer Army Students: Harry, Ethan, Brooke & Tim! This Week they have been posed an important question "How can we conserve water in our sandpit?" Water is a taonga (treasure), something to be cared for. The boys really love with Harry, Tim and Ethan arrive and begin to dig and sculpt river beds in the sandpit with us and so this is why our regular Friday visitors have been asked to lead this investigation with the children as they learn about conservation and test different ideas on water use and collection. Here are some thoughts and research they have come up with so far...

An ecological investigation: Avocado Stones

Another ecological investigation has began to take place at Kindy. Our kaiako all love avocados, and with a few avocado stones around, we have become interested in trying to sprout one!! With the knowledge and wisdom of Anna & Jack Howard we have began their research. This investigation did not go  unnoticed, as Rimon's and Conrad's curiosity took over as they came over to see what Jack and Christina were doing. Jack was so excited about sharing his knowledge and skills with avocado stones, he has even started to create a poster to accompany the seed!! 

Now all we have to do is wait........ 

Kia Ora Koutou,
Have a fabulous week, and have a wonderful day on Sunday Mums!! Enjoy!!