Hello families and friends of the Kindergarten class, hopefully you have all been having a fantastic week like we have been. I have noticed a real maturity shining through in a lot of the children lately. We have had some amazing group times, group activities and the children have done really well learning to settle down into quiet time after lunch. A big part of this has been giving them responsibilities such as helping to keep the classroom tidy, choosing their own activities and giving them more opportunities to help others (e.g. pouring their water, helping each other pack toys away).
Today was a very busy morning, we started out with a cool story called “Don’t forget the cheese, Pa. It had lots of great lessons like appreciating your elders, learning about different foods and also some tips on road safety. It was a great talking point for all the children to share what they call their grandparents and what they like to do with them. With the current situation across the country it is important to appreciate who we have around us and make the most of time we have with them.
Afterwards we practiced our letter recognition skills and cutting skills as we made a collage of our own names. We focussed on using the correct cutting grip and moving the scissors around the letters. There is a wide range of cutting skills in the classroom at the moment but it is great to see everyone improving and giving things a try. It was a little trickier than we had planned but I think the children enjoyed cutting the magazines and making a fun mess!
The next big activity we did was to mix together the cake for Genevieve’s birthday tomorrow. We talked about the ingredients, were you get them from and how much of each we needed in the mixture. Everyone had a turn helping out and we even got a small taste of the mixture before we baked it. I would love to have more opportunities to bake or cook foods as the children have really enjoyed these in the last couple of days (making playdough mixtures yesterday as well).
Just before lunch we had a little bit of outside time to practice some more group games. I love the children’s excited nature when the games start to get a little competitive as well. To play fair but play to the best of your ability is a great attribute to instil in children. After releasing some energy it was time for lunch, it was a delicious fish curry with turmeric rice and the children really enjoyed this meal. The children have been doing well at extending their food preferences and exposing them to new foods as much as possible will have great benefits.
In the afternoon we will have some a music session with tapping sticks and dancing and afterwards some number games before heading outdoors to release some more energy.
Thanks for reading our blog today and enjoy your Thursday.
Mr Andrew and Miss Gabi
Charlotte, Wyatt and Eva sounding out the letters on the sign to figure out what it says
