Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another amazing day in the Kindergarten. We have been having such a great day so far engaging in a variety of play experiences both child initiated, from the children’s interests and special activities that Miss Emma has planned.
This morning after our delicious morning tea we came inside to join together on the group mat where we sung our good morning songs Hello to the children of the world and tena koe,which are definitely the children’s favourites. Miss Emma then introduced us to a new concept, where she asked us all if anyone knew what the word rhyming meant or if we knew any rhyming words. Phoenix was very eager to comment “Big, pig”, well done Phoenix. Miss Emma then talked to us that rhyming is when words sound the same just like big, pig, and cat, bat. Miss Emma then asked if we could think of any other words that rhyme with cat and bat, together we came up with hat, rat and mat. We then listened to a really cool rhyming song which was sung like a rap called Mr Woodlands rhyming words. I think this is going to become a favourite in the room and is such a fun way for the children to learn rhyme. To finish of group time and to transition us off into our morning activities Miss Emma clapped our names, encouraging us to say our names back as we clapped. The children did such a great job at copying this and was a great opportunity for the children to use their listening skills, and repeat back a pattern.
This morning the children were very settled and engaged in a variety of experiences. As the children had such a wonderful time yesterday afternoon planting some of our Woolworths discovery garden plants, we revisited this experience planting the remainder of our plants. This was a wonderful opportunity for the children who have done this before to take a leadership role by demonstrating to their peers what to do. It was just lovely to see how enthusiastic the children were towards this activity as they talked about what plants we were planting, eagerly awaiting to find out what they would be planting, along with supporting their peers. Through planting our plants the children will be able to take responsibility for their plants by nurturing to help them grow by watering them and us finding a suitable place together where we can put our plants to grow.
With Miss Emma the children had the opportunity to have some special one on one time as we played a special abecedarian learning game called rhyming. As the children engaged in this experience with Miss Emma, they pointed too and identified the rhyming words that had an “at” sound. Once the children had become familiar with these words and the rhyming sound “at” Miss Emma called out a series of words encouraging the children to listen out for the word and sound that did not match. As their was differing abilities in the group Miss Emma used different strategies to support the children to hear the sound that did not fit. This included repetition, emphasizing the sound and word that did not fit and also using the pictures as a cue to help the children whom are visual learners. Rhyming is such an important skill for children to learn as it supports children in hearing rhyme patterns, words that sound the same and those words that do not fit. Through recognising rhyme children are working out how words are put together and is also useful for children to recognise individual sounds that will be helpful when they are learning to read, and spell words.
At the art table today the children had the opportunity to express their creativity as they used a picture of some beautiful flowers to inspire their painting today. The children also had the opportunity to freely express their imagination and creativity through painting using their decision making skills to decide what they would like to paint.
Other play that occurred during the morning was shop play. The children are continuing to show an interest in engaging in this imaginative play with their peers. This type of play is a great opportunity for children to develop their social skills as they interact with their peers, use their language schools, explore fairness, engage in turn taking and most importantly have fun.
At our group time before lunch the children had the opportunity to share what experiences they enjoyed today. It was great to hear all the children willing to share their favourite moments from the morning.
Elliott- “Playing in the shop. I liked the rubber band game and the rhyming game.
Jaxon- “Playing in home corner with Levii, Graysen and Elliott.
Levii- “Playing with the grocery store and planting too.
Harper- “Painting, I painted a flower.”
Wynter- “Rhyming words. Play with Hamilton.”
Graysen- “Playing with Jaxon and Levii in home corner and dressing up.”
Phoenix- “Playing with my friend Astrid.”
Astrid “Playing with my friend Phoenix, painting and shops.”
Austin- “The game with you, painting my Daddy at the beach.”
Hamilton- “Playing cars, planting and playing the game.”
Thank you for sharing everyone. Astrid also had some show and tell of a special shell that she had found at Kindy. To transition us from group time to lunch we read one of our favourite stories Wombat stew, where Miss Emma pointed out some of the rhyming words in the story. This would be a great activity you could do at home with your child when you read at home, identifying rhyming words in the book, to help further consolidate your child’s learning. If you have any books at home with rhyme in them we would love to have them brought into Kindy to share with the children.
Just a few reminders
- Kindy photos this Thursday and Friday from 8:30am.
- The Ditto keep safe adventure show is this Thursday at 9:30am. (Please make sure your child has arrived by 9:15am, so they have time to settle in before the show.
- We have had another case of Head lice in the Kindergarten room. It would be great if you could all check your children’s hair and treat them if necessary. Thank you for your support with this.
Have a lovely afternoon
Miss Emma and Miss Nikki