volume 1 issue 17 friday the 14th of june 2013 · reddam house early learning school newsletter...

Reddam House Early Learning School Newsletter Volume 1 Issue 17 Friday the 14th of June 2013

IN THIS ISSUE : Virginia’s Message Dates for your Diary Library News News From the Rooms Edible Magic Dancearama Mighty Mites

Volume 1 Issue 17 Friday the 14th of June 2013

A Picture is Worth a Thousand Words Being the Head of Early Learning is such a joyous role as I get to enjoy many magical moments with your children. Last Friday’s excursion to the College of Fine Arts in Paddington to view the interactive hologram exhibition by Paula Dawson was one of those magical moments. From the bus journey to exploring the exhibition the children were amazing! But enough of my words I am going to let the pictures speak for themselves.

Magic is in the Air Jane Pledger and Kristina Rocchi are busy preparing for Vacation Care. There will be magic, puppet shows and plenty of drama. Jane has asked if families can look around their houses and ask friends and family for puppet making materials and “dress-ups”. Jane is especially looking for hats. Please bring in your “treasures” and give them to your child’s core teacher. Have a wonderful weekend with your children. Virginia Aghan Head of Early Learning


Friday 21st June Term 2 ends Monday 24th June Vacation Care commences Friday 12th July Vacation Care ends Monday 15th July School Closed - All staff Seminar Tuesday 16th July Term 3 Students K-12/ELS Commences

Page 1 Virginia’s Message Page 2 Dates for your Diary/Library News Page 3 Stage 1 Page 4 Stage 1: Photo Gallery Page 5 Stage 1: Photo Gallery Continued... Page 6 Stage 2a Page 7 Stage 2a: Photo Gallery Page 8 Stage 2b Page 9 Stage 2b: Photo Gallery Page 10 Stage 3 Page 11 Stage 3: Photo Gallery Page 12 Stage 4 Page 13 Stage 4: Photo Gallery Page 14 Dancearama Page 15 Mighty Mites Page 16: Edible Magic: Photo Gallery

Contents

Library News

What fun we have had this week using some new interactive iBooks and iPad apps in conjunction with books. Stage 2b has been learning about safaris and the animals they would see. So we have read many great books about all kinds of safari animals – giraffes, monkeys, elephants, warthogs, zebras, lions and tigers but by far, the most popular with the children seems to be the hippopotamuses and rhinos! Jungle Drums by Graeme Base and Just the Right Stripes by Nigel Gray were a big hit with our Stage 2b children as we tapped out the beat of the drums and we tried (in vain) to count the number of stripes on the little zebra. To complement these books, I discovered an app called Goodnight Safari which has various animals returning to their families and going to sleep, at the tap of a finger; well… several taps actually! Lions, giraffes, zebras, monkeys, elephants and hippopotamuses all have a task to complete with the help of the children before moving on to the next page. Not only did the children ‘help’ the animals, they also identified each one and knew the noises they make. I love the interac-tive elements within the app and I love even more, the squeals of delight from our little learners as they clam-our to interact with it.

Happy reading, Michelle Stanford School Librarian

Dates for your Diary


During the week the children have been strengthening their muscle tone by threading pipe cleaners through coloured penne pasta to make beautiful bracelets. This was a great exercise for our hand and eye coordination as well as fine-motor skills. Hand-eye coordination is the ability of the vision system to coordinate the information received through the eyes to control, guide, and direct the hands in the accomplishment of a given task, such as handwriting or catching a ball. Hand-eye coordination uses the eyes to direct attention and the hands to execute a task. Vision is the process of understanding what the eyes see. It involves more than simple visual acuity (ability to distinguish fine details). Vision also involves fixation and eye movement abilities, accommodation (focusing), convergence (eye aiming), binocularity (eye teaming), and the control of hand-eye coordination. Most hand movements require visual input to be carried out effectively.

For example, when children are learning to draw, they follow the position of the hand holding the pencil visually as they make lines on the paper. Fine motor skills are involved in the control of these small muscle movements. Fine-motor coordination involves the ability to control the small muscles of the body and is usually defined as the ability to coordinate the action of the eyes and hands together in performing precise manipulative movements (eye-hand coordination). Monika’s Story of the Week “This week I found Saskia stroking Evelyn's hair and pretending to feed her toy food with a spoon. The next day Amelie was reading a book to Scarlet and constantly putting her arm around her, stroking her hair and patting her on the back. Both incidents prove how our own behaviours, as an adult can impact on the childrens’ and how easily the children are influenced by what goes on around them”. Song and Dance of the Week Ring-a-ring o' roses, A pocket full of posies, A-tishoo! A-tishoo!

We all fall down. The cows are in the meadow (sing while you are still down), eating (get your child to name a food, for example: carrots) we all stand up. Book of the Week Our book of the week is Dear Zoo by Rob Campbell. This delightful interactive tale is about a youngster looking for the perfect pet, the children can lift the flaps to see the animals the zoo has sent and decide whether this the perfect pet. Have a wonderful weekend with your precious children. Stage 1 Team, Petra Wright, Siobhan Brantes, Emma Vanos and Monika Ranjitkar

Stage 1: Exercising our Eyes and Hands


Stage 1: Photo Gallery - Eye Hand Coordination


I attended a Challah Baking event last Wednesday and brought in a Challah I baked to share with the children at morning tea. Some of the children knew what the special bread was called and Joshua, Micah, Chloe and Ruby all said that they sometimes have Challah on Shabbat at their home or at someone else’s house. The conversation leading from the sharing of the Challah allowed some of the children to explain the practices that happen in their families during Shabbat. ‘It is important for educators to view culture and the context of family as central to children’s sense of being and belonging and to success in lifelong learning’. The sharing of the Challot enabled ‘Cultural Competence’ to be promoted within the environment and the children were able to celebrate the benefits of diversity and understand and honour difference (EYLF, 2009). Colour my World The rainbow puzzle in the room has been a starting point to singing and drawing activities that relate to colour. We have been sorting coloured counters, constructing the rainbow puzzle and the colour circle puzzle. We have begun to match and create patterns and shapes with assorted colour shapes and threading beads. The rainbow puzzle has been used to stimulate the drawing of rainbows. We have focused on the primary colours - red, blue, yellow and the secondary colours of green, purple and orange. Miss Stanford has read to us, The Deep Blue Sea, a book of colours by Audrey Wood which has made us look more closely at the colours in our world. Reminder Wet Sleeves: We have been practising pulling up our sleeves before we wash our hands now that winter is here and we are wearing long sleeves, but sometimes we forget and we end up with wet sleeves. Please check that your child has a complete change of clothes in their bag each day. Have a wonderful weekend with your children. Why not go on a colour adventure and see how many colours you can find on your journey. Stage 2a Team, Daniella Gosty, Polina Rodov

Stage 2a: Polina shares her Culture


Stage 2a: Photo Gallery - Our Colourful World


Stage 2b: The Importance of Sensory Play

Social Skills and Sense of Self At the age of 2 years, the children are still exploring the world through sensory play. Apart from the fun factor related to this kind of activity, according to Christiane Snyder (HighScope, Volume 25, No. 5) the benefits of sensory play include cognitive development, social skills, sense of self, physical skills, emotional development and communication skills. This week in the Stage 2b newsletter we will talk a little bit about social skills and sense of self. Social Skills: Working closely together at the sand or water table gives infants and toddlers opportunities to observe how peers handle materials, to try out the ideas of others, share their own ideas and discoveries, and build relationships. Sense of Self: As they directly experience things themselves, children explore and communicate preferences, making sense of the world around them. When caregivers acknowledge and accept their preferences, children learn that their feelings and decisions are valid. This week the children explored sensory play, through finger paint made of corn flour. The children enjoyed feeling the paste in between their fingers and in the palm of their hands. A few children even tried to feel it on their faces! We also explored sensory play while in the playground, feeling the different textures of the trees and leaves. Arts and Crafts in the Jungle The children have been very interested in big cats so this week we spent some time talking about leopards and tigers. Observing the photos of these two animals, the children were encouraged to see the differences between them. We all concluded that tigers have stripes and leopards have spots on their bodies. Using roller brushes and black paint the children chose what animal they wanted to make on their orange paper. The results were amazing and the children were very proud of their creations. Happy Birthday We would like to wish a very big happy birthday to Sofia Leibman who turned 2 years of age. We had a big party with balloons and cupcakes to celebrate this special moment. Stage 2b Team, Tatiana Botrel, Karla Cabezas and Yana Bekman


Stage 2b: Photo Gallery - Sensory Exploration


This week the camping activities continued in the Stage 3 classroom. While outdoors the children have been gathering together underneath the slippery dip to sit around their pretend campfire. During group time we posed this question to the children – “What would we need to make our own campfire?” The children turned on their thinking brains and they had the following conversation: James: “We need sticks for a fire.” Zac: “We need leaves. Leaves will make the fire go faster.” Phoenix: “We need big sticks so the fire doesn’t go out.” James: “We need dry leaves. Wet leaves will make the fire go out.” Riley: “We need rocks.” Parker: “We can put the rocks around the outside of the fire.” Elvy: “We need a camping lighter.” Scarlett : “Or matches.” After this discussion the children found some baskets to take outside with them and they gathered all the sticks, leaves and rocks they needed to make their very own campfire. The children transferred their very full baskets to the art room where they used lots of glue and cardboard to make a campfire. The children waited patiently for the glue to dry as they knew when it dried that we would be able to sit around it, sing our camping songs, and most importantly roast some delicious marshmallows. The afternoon finally arrived when we could set up the campfire in the classroom. This was a great opportunity to discuss with the children the importance of being safe around fires, heaters, candles, etc. After the fire safety discussion, each child had the opportunity to sit by the campfire to roast a marshmallow. Everyone very patiently waited their turn and very carefully held the marshmallow over the flame. As each child ate theirs they remarked on its sweetness and its stickiness. The children have also been busy building special ‘tree-houses’ in the Australian bush for the animals that live there. They have been using beautiful wooden logs as well as sparkly precious rocks to build magnificent places for the animals to live. This has given the children the opportunity to use their imaginations and encourage constructive thinking. Special Occasions We would like to wish Sophie Vandine-Mendoza a very happy fourth birthday. Thank you for sharing those delicious cupcakes with the class. Finally, we would like to congratulate Thomas Suomalainen and his parents, on the birth of their very special boy Charlie. We would also like to congratulate Alexander Kime and his parents on the birth of their beautiful boy Orlando. The Stage 3 Team, Anita Martin, Jane Pledger and Melanie Elderton

Stage 3: Camping At Reddam


Stage 3: Photo Gallery - Bush Awareness


Sadness is often an emotion that we label as “not okay”. Significant adults in children’s lives can help children learn the place of sadness in their emotional vocabulary.

All emotions, even sadness, has a positive intention and even as adults asking, “what is the positive intention behind this feeling?” can bring about remarkable purpose and relief. Using this insight with children can help form empowering beliefs for life.

As part of our programme of educating the heart, the focus has been to:

Identify sad feelings in ourselves and others Use self-regulation tools to comfort our sad feelings Demonstrate compassionate and caring actions towards our friends who may be feeling sad

Everyone feels sad sometimes. In ourselves, exploring the purpose of our sadness in a given moment, and how the sadness can lead to a more emotional desired state by being okay to deal with what is behind the feelings is a skill for life.

Demonstrating the effect of compassion by asking, “Are you okay?” and “Can I help?” has brought out the best in the children because it notices and appreciates that while we cannot fix another person’s sadness, showing awareness and kindness is comforting.

There are ways we can support ourselves in moments of sadness, like by going to the Kimochi corner to feel comfort, finding a comfort object, talking to a friend or teacher to share our sad feelings. These actions help in moving through the sadness and finding out through self-discovery what the best intention is behind the sadness.

Our Kimochi friend Cloud is the perfect tool as Cloud has two faces. When he is sad he is very, very, sad and when he is happy, he is very, very happy. As Cloud expresses his feelings it gives the children an understanding of how our emotions do change, empowering us and our friends in ways to help each other and ourselves.

Addressing sadness from a place of discovering what’s behind it also empowers children to be responsible for their emotions without seeking to blame others. This is a life skill and a virtue because it creates a wonderful sense of personal accountability for our reactions and emotions. Stage 4 Team, Deanne Jacobs, Cheryl Freeman, Debbie Zerbst and Kelly Nance

Stage 4: Educating the Heart


Stage 2: Taking turns to Perform Used the magic hat to begin the drama, whereby Mr. Mouse appeared and explained what he

would like the children to focus on. Discussed the importance of performing facing the audience and the role of the audiences. The children took it in turns to perform a short story using facial expressions and body gestures,

as well as dancing with some of the props. Stage 3: The Three Little Pigs After reading the story, the children recapped and discussed what a fairy-tale is. Spoke about pigs and why they roll in mud, what food they eat and what food we get from them. The children used their body to create the letter P. Discussed what emotions are used in the story and applying them when acting out the story. Used the microphone to speak like the pigs and wolf (expressing emotions). All the children helped retell the story either by being one of the characters or helping with the

sound effects. Played a concentration and listening game, whereby the mother pig had to try and find her baby

pig, listening for the oink sound (made by only one child, whilst the others were quiet). For more information about Dancearama, contact Laura: 0431 1361 77/[email protected]


This week in Mighty Mites… The Stage 2’s: Increased their strength and cardiovascular fitness while they exercised to a choreographed routine to music. Discussed the importance of stretching after exercise and learnt how to perform the Tree Pose (shown below). Developed their aim and kick skills through a game of basic soccer! The Stage 3’s: Developed their weave, aim and kick skills through a game of basic soccer. Spoke about another physical activity Mighty Mite loves, rollerskating/rollerblading! Continued building their SkelyMite skeleton. Today they learnt about the bones in their hands, phalanges.

This week in Mighty Mites we really got our hearts pumping through an upbeat exercise routine to one of our favourite songs! Not only did we need to focus on the various steps and what came next but we also developed our strength through alternating between different positions and planes (on our backs on the ground, upright moves, jumping moves, crawling moves, etc). For more information visit: www.mightymites.com.au or call us on (02) 9460 1100

http://www.mightymites.com.au/


At the request of the children, I had agreed to share a new bread recipe. In the Edible Magic Kitchen we have explored dough that bring to life savory and sweet in a number of ways. Whether it's a nod to our past with Irish Soda Bread or the celebration of the multiculturalism that is Australia, by learning the art of hand made pasta, the children have come to expect foods to look a particular way. Imagine their surprise when I showed them the paper thin, cracker-like Lavash Bread! "That's not bread!” exclaimed one mini-cook. "Actually, in some parts of the world, this was once the bread of choice." CS "Hmmmm...” was the general reply. The simple act of making this 'bread' and then tasting the delicious end result casually challenged our little people's understanding of what they thought they knew to be bread. "I know," stated one Stage 3 enthusiast, "bread comes in all shapes and sizes..." "Quite right," I thought. CS From the mouths of babes. EDIBLE MAGIC LAVASH BREAD Preparation Time: 15 minutes + 40 minutes prove Cooking Time: 12-15 minutes Servings: 18 Lavash crackers Skill Level: Easy INGREDIENTS 1 cup of organic wholemeal flour

½ a cup of organic plain flour 2 free range eggs

2/3 cup of warm water

1 tablespoon of canola oil 1 tablespoon of honey

½ a teaspoon of sea salt GARNISH 2 tablespoons of poppy seeds

2 tablespoons of sesame seeds

sea salt (to taste)

olive oil spray

water spray METHOD 1. Pre-heat oven to 200 degrees. Line baking sheet with baking paper and spray with olive oil and set aside. 2. In a jug, lightly beat the eggs, oil and honey together. In a large bowl, mix the flour and salt together. Make a well in the middle and with a fork, mix in the egg/oil mixture, it will appear lumpy. 3. Slowly add just enough warm water until the dough comes together. Flour flat surface and knead dough for approximately 8 to 10 minutes. Dough should be satiny and not sticky. Cover with clean tea towel and allow to rest for 40 minutes. 4. Cut dough in half and divide each half into 9 pieces. Roll out onto floured sur-face, paper thin. Place on prepared baking tray and spray the Lavash with wa-ter. Sprinkle with seeds and salt. Place in oven and bake for 12-15 minutes, until

golden. Remove from oven and tray immediately. Allow to cool.

Edible Magic: You say potato, I say...

volume 1 issue 17 friday the 14th of june 2013 · reddam house early learning school newsletter...

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