Nina Marni beautiful little learners and their amazing families, Welcome to our weekly blog.
| Learning Intention 1: To support children’s emotional wellbeing as they begin their transition process into preschool in the new year. Why? As children approach the transition into to preschool, they may be experiencing certain feelings such as fear, uncertainty and nervousness.· Being aware of children’s developmental milestones, particularly emotional and social development, helps educators understand what to expect at different ages and stages in children’s lives.· The importance of a positive transition into the preschool experience has been consistently emphasised in research around the world. A large body of evidence suggests a successful transition helps improve children’s educational and social outcomes |
| Learning Intention 2: To deepen our understanding of the advent season and celebrate the cultural tradition of Christmas Why–throughout each year we celebrate many cultural traditions of our families to nurture each child’s identity and promote a sense of belonging- -Liturgical advent is a joyous season of preparation. The word itself derives from the Latin word meaning “coming.” During these four weeks, we prepare our hearts for the coming of Jesus, with prayer and mindfulness. Celebrating Advent is a meaningful way to prepare our hearts for Christmas-Christmas is a time of celebration, which is meaningful to many children within our community |
Learning Intention 3: Sacred symbols are special and important.Why? Doctrinal Insights from the Catholic Tradition that support this Enduring Understanding include:Sacred symbols remind us that God is close to us, and with us.In my Catholic learning environment, I can see many sacred symbols.Candle flames remind us that God is with us.The Bible reminds us of God’s love for us through special stories.The Cross reminds us of Jesus.Water is used for special blessingsSacred symbols are used in my school/ELC and in church celebrations, prayer and liturgy. (CCC1145)Other faith traditions also have sacred symbols The Sign of the Cross is a prayer to God.Doctrinal and Content Elaborations:Doctrinal Insights from the Catholic Tradition that support this Enduring Understanding include:The Sign of the Cross is a prayer with actions and words.The words remind us that God is called Father, Son and Holy Spirit.The actions represent the symbol of the Cross, and that prayer involves our head, heart and body. |
This week children began the week with prayer in preparation for the upcoming season of advent. December 1st commence’s the season of advent. Advent commemorates a period of preparation for Christmas where it’s a time to reflect in spiritual prayer on the birth of baby Jesus. Children used sacred symbols of the nativity to place on the prayer tray, and holding the cross to voice their thanksgiving to Jesus.
Literacy Intentions (our hopes for their learning)
- General sound discrimination and rhyme awareness.
- Matching Rhyming words orally.
- Reading picture books regularly. Children will enjoy a joyful connection to picture books.
- Continue using mark-making tools, such as crayons, texts, pencils, paint, chalk, sand (as they create texts during this process).
Children will build symbolic functioning, sharing something about the marks
Teacher’s read picture books to children. Children have been their own authors of their stories and have been creating and building an understanding of the writer’s workshop by extending and expanding their knowledge around our greater learning community rolling out into the MUDLA.
This week the children have familiarised themselves with the daily routine chart by being consistent and committed. They are now fully aware and are able to understand what to expect next or what’s to follow, when it’s the end of a specific learning experience. Having a flow chart present in their learning space provides children with a guideline or a time frame for their learning topics. This helps children transition smoothly into their next learning experience.
Community visits around the Holy Family Catholic School have been consistent and frequent as children have been provided with endless opportunities to visit these iconic spaces such as the playground, the MUDLA and the fruit and vegetable gardens.
Some specs of gold for this week
hope you all have a relaxing weekend.