Welcome friends and families of the Kindy 1 classroom. Today we had great fun continuing to explore NAIDOC week, testing ourselves with different physical challenges and also exploring Australian animals with songs and an animal hunt in the playground.
At group time we read a story called “The Red Beast” about how we can feel angry sometimes and what we can do to solve our problems when we get angry. The children had some great suggestions and examples that we were able to discuss as a class. Self-regulation and emotional control are crucial skills heading into prep and help set children up for success in any future endeavour.
Throughout the morning we had some free time using the different construction materials and taking turns sitting in a group to sing the Australian animal finger family song. The children were familiar with most of the animals but they were still learning some new ones. We matched the props to the pictures that we were going to use for our animal hunt to prepare the children for what they were going to find.
The children took turns hunting in pairs around the playground to try and find all of the animals. It proved a tricky task and no group managed to find all of them so they must have been well hidden. This was a great activity for learning about Australian animals and the importance and balance of nature.
Mr Dan arrived for his Arakan martial arts lesson with a partner to help go through more drills with the children. They were active getting both trying to hit and kick the moving pads. It was a great physical challenge for balance and striking a moving object.
Other activities we enjoyed today included:
- Soccer shootouts
- Practicing long jump on the tall ramps
- Digging big cities in the sandpit
- Playing pretend camping games
In the afternoon we plan to have some quiet time with books, puzzles and construction games before moving on to some board games and card games. These games provide great literacy and numeracy opportunities as well as social opportunities to ensure fair play and cooperation for the rules of the game and turn taking.
Thanks for joining us today, have a great evening!
Mr Andrew and Miss Danica