Term 3 Week 9

Where do Stories Live? Sand- light box story creations

This week we continue to build on our question, 'Where do Stories Live?' Through this question and the Maori purakau (legends) we have been exploring the Maori view of the story of creation and our own story telling through sand on the light box. This has provided a fabulous opportunity for the tamariki to share their imagination with each other as they have told and re-told stories. This has also supported the children to express themselves through another medium as they felt the gritty texture of the sand while creating pictures and designs using different parts of their hands and fingers. Here are some of their ataahua creations.

Growing at Kindy

Growing plants continues to influence and provoke our learning at Kindy this week. We have indeed enjoyed a few beautiful and sunny days here at Kindy which has supported a lot more growth in our little garden this week. The children have been great advocates for the plants this week as they have became their guardians, sure eco warriors as they check on the plants soil, growth and ensure they are watered.  

Tino pai what fabulous, caring tamariki we have here at Winton Kindy!! 

Pirate Day

Arrrrrgggghhhh!!!

Ahoy maties!! Today was an awesome Pirate Adventure as the children turned up in full costume ready to 'man the decks' here at Kindy!! Again, "Where do stories Live?" provoked by our majestic sailing ship...many tall tales, and pretend pirates filled our day!

"International Talk Like a Pirate Day (ITLAPD, September 19) is a parodic holiday created in 1995 by John Baur (Ol' Chumbucket) and Mark Summers (Cap'n Slappy), of Albany, Oregon,^[1] U.S., who proclaimed September 19 each year as the day when everyone in the world should talk like a pirate.^[2] For example, an observer of this holiday would greet friends not with "Hello, my friend!" but with "Ahoy, matey!" or "Ahoy, me hearty!". The holiday, and its observance, springs from a romanticised view of the  o Golden Age of Piracy." (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Talk_Like_a_Pirate_Day)

As you can see we had many pirate themed adventures including sailing the Kindy Pirate Ships both inside and out, walking the plank, making pirate hats, getting our faces painted, and watching the classic movie - 'Peter Pan'.

Thanks for the fab day guys!!!
 

See you next next term Limehills Volunteer Army!

A big thank you to Ethan, Brook, Tim, Harry and Josh who have shared almost every Friday morning with us here at Winton Kindy!! They have played a great part of our Friday group; sharing their expertise, imagination, kindness and connecting our children in shared experiences through their play and contributions to our programme!! Have a fabulous break, we can't wait to see you all again next term!!

Forest Kindy

Wow what a wonderful day we had at Forest Kindy this week!!

The sun blessed us with it's presence which enticed the children towards the stream to cool off. Here there was lots of jumping, splashing and of course fishing!!

The children also found the 'Wolf's' house. They knew it was the Wolf's house as there was Wolf foot prints, the children were kind enough to leave some treats for the 'Very Hungry Wolf' to eat!!

I wonder what the Wolf will be up to next week???

Celebration Of Learning

We will be having our 'Celebration of Learning' evening tonight 5pm - 7pm where the kaiako will have a chance to share a more in-depth look at what and how the tamariki have been learning this Term under our over arching current group planning 'Ecological Identity'.

A shared finger-food dinner will be had and the tamariki will also get the chance to perform their Polyfest performance with everyone!! A big thank-you to all who are involved and coming along, this is a great opportunity to celebrate your child's learning :)

Winton Spring Flower Show
Families who would like to enter their Hobbit Holes and other crafts/baking/flowers are encouraged to get involved in this Annual Event at the Winton Memorial Hall. Programmes are available at Winton Mitre10 to find out more details. Entries are due Thursday 28th and the show will be open to the public Friday 29th  and Saturday 30th September.

Ka Kite Ano

I would like to say a big thank you and farewell to you all as I take a year off to spend with my new-to-be baby girl!! Thank you all for bringing your wonderful children to Winton Kindy they are all sooooo special and have helped me to grow as a teacher, I will miss them and you all very much!!!!!
 - Elle

This will be the last blog of the term so the kaiako and I would like to wish you all a happy and safe break and we will see you again next term!!!
 End of term 3: Friday 29th September 2017
Beginning of Term 4: Monday 16th October 2017

We are lucky enough to have kaiako Antonia Murphy join our teaching team next term while Elle is on Maternity Leave :)

'If you have kids - however you vote - doing nothing is not an option.  They are far too precious to have their future left to chance.    Get out & vote for the future of our children!'

Ka kite ano
Your Teaching Team; Judy, Christina & Elle

Term 3 Week 8

Te Wiki o Te Reo Maori ... Maori Language Week
'Maui Catches The Sun' a very familiar Maori legend that children have been able to recall & retell through the use of our magnetic props.  Masks & mask-making have also been props that we have created this week ... we'll share a group animated Maori legend next week using the masks!

 

 

Can you guess who our masked warriors are?

We've also watched many interactive Maori legends on YouTube this week ... this Sand Art clip, has especially intrigued EVERYONE!  Check out the link below to view ...                                                      Sand Art - Creation Maori Legend

Forest Kindy
A BIG 'ecological' welcome to Annabelle Rae who joined the Forest Kindy gang this week! 

 
Our Forest Kindy kids will be able to show & share all The Wolf saga/tales with Annabelle.  The Wolf continues to intrigue EVERYONE @ Ivy Russell Reserve.  Imagination plus ... What is imagination we ask ourselves? - A creative ability to form images, ideas & sensations in the mind! Ah ... well we have all been wondering - what does the wolf look like? How kind it was for everyone to share & leave the 'Wolf' some kai, especially as he (or she) snuck into various backpacks & nibbled some sandwiches last week! I wonder if he/she will be able to sniff out these 'kind' treats?  

Again a great week.  Remember to pop your name down on our Celebration of Learning Evening RSVP - our evening is next Fri 22 Sept 5-7pm.

An amazing week of sport!  Well done to the Silver Ferns (netball) this week who played the England Roses & by winning, won the Taini Jamison Cup.  The Silver Ferns are now preparing for the Constellation Cup against Australia.  Awesome work girls!  GO the All BLACKS who take on the Springboks on Saturday!  And GO the SOUTHLAND STAGS who play Auckland tonight in a Mitre10 Cup game!

Ka kite ano
The Teaching Team - Nga Kaiako

Term 3 Week 7

Where do Ecological Stories live? The Big Hungry Wolf of Ivy Russell Reserve

"Oh no, the Wolf's eaten my sandwich"
"Mine too!"
And me!"

On Tuesday morning, the Forest Kindy gang set about enjoying their lunch in the sunshine at Ivy Russell Reserve, when all of a sudden, Isla let out a wail! "Someone has been in my lunch box!" Luiza noticed a note strategically placed in the Shelter...And Liam noticed his lunchbox was no longer inside his backpack...What's going on here??

Rachel read the note..."Thank you for the yummy sandwiches, I was so very hungry. Did you like my art by the stream? Your Friend, Wolf"

So...the Wolf had been at the Shelter whilst we played at the Monster Truck Track with Kyle on his last Forest Kindy Day! How did we feel about this? You could probably hear Isla's tears turn to bursts of laughter as she realised that the Wolf, was not bad, nor a thief, but simply grateful for a bite to eat of our delicious lunch...and he was sooo very thankful to his "friends".

Arriving back at Kindy, the news quickly spread. Plans were made for our next encounter and tall tales told. "I'm going to take a note and ask if he is a boy or girl!" Isla decided. "I'm going to make him his own sandwich," Holly said sympathetically.

And now we wait for our next day at the Reserve. Perhaps you too will hear his gentle howls through the wind as you pass by... "Whoooooo"...."Whooooo"...




Where do Ecological Stories live? Ryleigh and the Magic Beanstalk

"Please bring a jar, we have magic beans!"

Yes, you heard right - we have our own secret supply of Magic Beans right here at Winton Kindy!

Want to find out more?

Bring along a glass jar and we'll share a little magic with you!





Where do Ecological Stories live? Tumanako, star of the DOC Albatross Cam February 2017 - present

Spring is upon us, and with the new Season, comes the next chapter in the life cycle of the Royal Albatross, Tumanako, of the Otago Peninsula. We are watching and waiting as Tumanako stretches it's wings, getting ready to take flight for the first time any day now. And we will be able to track the migration, as the Albatross navigate their way for the next 4-10 years before returning home. What would life be like for Tumanako? How will they now where to go? Lots of questions and discussion as we ponder over this exciting next part of the journey!


Where do Stories live? Winton Public Library!
A big thanks to Luke, Raewyn and Carmel from the Winton Public Library for joining us every second Thursday to share stories during Te Wananga Time/Discussion Time. And thank you to all our fabulous family members who spend time, often on arrival in the morning, sharing stories and books with small groups of children before departing. The children just love using their imagination and story telling with friends and family - alongside building early literacy and language, creativity, and communication skills - all in a day's learning here at Winton Kindy!

Term 3, Week 6

Daffodil Day

Thank you to everyone who took part in Daffodil Day here at Kindy!

We had some beautiful yellow children, and some delicious yellow kai shared. During these days we  took time to reflect on what Daffodil Day represents.
This year our donations will be gifted to the Scobie family as Jackson's Mum is currently under chemotherapy treatment and is awaiting surgery.

Your donations were very appreciated, you are so kind!!  

Colourful Daffodils

This week the children have also noticed the changes in our garden as we head into Spring. Outside over the past few weeks the children have been keeping a close eye on the new growth, and this week we spotted some daffodils!! Christina thought these beautiful flowers would provide the perfect opportunity for a bit of science. Gus Tisdall carefully picked some of the daffodils  and placed them in jars with different coloured water (the same as an experiment we did in Term 1). This investigation has provoked the children to think about plant growth and survival as they saw the changes in the flowers each day. Wow what beautifully coloured flowers!!

Pungaawerere

After a discussion with our Discovery Time children we came to the conclusion that it was time to release our pungaawerere (spider) back into nature. Our pungaawerere has provided the children with  opportunities to strengthen their knowledge of spiders, webs, their environments, and other insects. This journey has grown nga tamariki ecological identity and reiterated the importance of insects in our environment. 

Our Spider was released on Wednesday by the fire pit where it was originally found all those weeks ago.

Ka kite pungaawerere, we will all look out for you.

Tūmanako

The Royal Albatross that we have been closely watching over this year is still foraging around its nest at its home on the Otago Peninsula. Jodie White, April's Mum has shared with us some very important information. Our albatross will soon be migrating as it takes flight with it's Mum and Dad this September. You can check out the royal albatross cam at :

http://www.doc.govt.nz/nature/native-animals/birds/birds-a-z/albatrosses/royal-albatross-toroa/royal-cam/  

This is very exciting news as we have watched the chick grow from an egg to this beautiful huge black and white bird!!

Forest Kindy

This week we had two new members join our Forest Kindy team; Liam and Ashar!! Welcome tamariki!!!

At Ivy Russel Reserve the children had a wonderful time exploring the 'Monster Track Hills' after a fresh rain fall. This made the perfect opportunity for mud hill slides and feeling the texture of the sticky, squishy mud between their fingers!

Happy Fathers Day Dads!!

With Fathers Day this Sunday the children have been busy exploring their creative side as they each created a special gift to give to a special male role model this Sunday!! It was awesome working with the children to make these as they strengthened their fine motor and literacy skills as they created their very own drawings and wrote some special words for Dad!! Tino Pai tamariki, thank you all for trying so hard, the cards all look amazing!!

Enjoy this Sunday Dads!!

Your Winton Kindy Teaching Team :)