Niina Marni to all our wonderful children and their lovely families. Welcome to our weekly blog.
Learning Intention 1:
To support children’s expression of ideas and identity through mark-making and art experiences.
Why?
Mark making simply refers to the creation of different patterns, lines, textures, and shapes.
Mark-making is not just about early writing; it is a sensory and physical experience which can be enjoyed by all ages and abilities.
As well as early writing, mark-making can develop into mathematical representation and creative expression.
Making marks enables children to develop their hand eye co-ordination and fine motor skills through practicing to hold a tool, deciding what grip suits them best, which hand feels most natural and through making small, controlled movements using the tool.
By giving children, the opportunity to explore different mediums of mark making, it engages them in sensory play and allows them to discover exciting new materials.
Throughout the week the children have been engaging in making various different types of marks using paint, colouring pencils and natural material such as sticks, leaves, sprigs and flowers. Children were provided the opportunity to work both horizontally and vertically while making their marks, through collaborative painting and drawing. It was wonderful to see the enjoyment children derived by these experiences while also enhancing their hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills.
Learning Intention 2:
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.
The Sign of the Cross is a prayer to God.
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.
As Ash Wednesday this week marks the beginning of the Season of Lent, we have been reflecting on what Shrove Tuesday, Ash Wednesday and Lent means. We made pancakes on Shrove Tuesday and enjoyed them during our morning tea time. On Ash Wednesday, the children decorated a cross and held it respectfully during prayer time. The children noticed that the cloth on the prayer table was purple this time and not green. So we discussed that the colour purple was symbolic of Jesus’ sacrifice and victory and thus being used during Lent. We also discussed that the season of Lent lasts for 40 days and that during this time Christians engage in prayers, fasting and helping people in need. Children agreed that these are thumbs up choices and said they will try to be extra kind to their friends and family during this time.
It has been lovely to see some children doing prayer time while outside as well.
Literacy Intentions – Build connections to picture books
To achieve the Literacy intention, this week we set up a story/rhyme table with five little ducks. It was well-received by the children; they loved reciting the rhyme, counting the ducks on the book and acting it out. These experiences not only developed their oral language skills, but also mathematical knowledge, social skills and creativity. We also continued to visit the library for story time, read books while in preschool and expose children to the phonics sounds through the Jolly phonics songs (this week – ‘a’).
Community walks
Some Specs of Gold
Learning Trajectories
Continue our community walks to instil a sense of belonging in children
Continue to provide mark-making opportunities
To spark children’s curiosity with open-ended questions about their observations and experiences to start an inquiry project together with them
Hope you all have a wonderful and relaxing long weekend. We look forward to seeing you all next week.