Holy Family Catholic School Early Learning Preschool Blog (Term -3/Week – 2)

Nina Marni, all our little learners and awesome families,

Welcome to our third term & week two preschool blog.

We warmly welcome all new and existing families to our weekly blog as we share some learning experiences from this week.

Learning Intention 1:
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.
o Candle flames remind us that God is with us.
o The Bible reminds us of God’s love for us through special stories.
o The Cross reminds us of Jesus.
o Water is used for special blessings
• Sacred 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.

ILP’S: All Children

Each morning children engage in making the sign of the cross, singing the prayer song and saying a little prayer to God our Father. Children join their hands and engage in song and prayer respectfully.

Learning Intention 2:
To identify positive feelings and what makes us feel good

Why?
• Positive emotions help build psychological and emotional resilience, allowing you to better handle life’s challenges
• Experiencing positive emotions, such as joy, gratitude, and contentment, contributes to a more satisfying and fulfilling life
• Positive emotions can enhance social connections, leading to deeper and more meaningful relationships
• When we take the time to feel and understand our emotions, it can often lead to a more insightful outlook on life, better relationships, and improved physical health

ILPs – All children

• Discussing with children the different feelings they might have at different times
• Identifying what feelings could be positive and why – ‘You can feel happy, silly, calm, safe, relaxed, proud, or excited. What other types of feelings would you consider to be “good” feelings?’
• Initiating discussions on what makes us feel good – S’ometimes special things can make you feel good, like a vacation or birthday party. Little everyday things can make you feel good, too, like playing with family member, friend, or pet, or when someone shares toys and games with you.’
• Encouraging each child to draw a picture to be collated into a class book and used for future planning

Learning Intention 3:
To promote linguistic diversity and respect by embedding Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander perspectives into our day-to-day practices

Why?
• Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples are the longest surviving Indigenous culture in the world and the custodians of this land
• Their knowledge systems, traditions, ceremonies, lore and culture have survived for over 60,000 years.
• Relationships and continual connections to Country and community are at the heart of who they are and the contributions of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people – past and present – should be acknowledged and valued in children’s learning.
• Children learn the value of diversity and to respect people from

ILPs – All children (specially SG)

• Recognising that our circle time is similar to the Kaurna symbol of people sitting people and recreating it with children (circle and symbols of a ‘person’ drawn on the flip side of children’s wooden name disks)
• Continuing to sing our daily Acknowledgement of Country song at morning group times
• Learning Kaurna greetings and responses (Niina Marni – Marni’ai/ Yaku marni’ai)

Literacy and numeracy intentions
Literacy

• To encourage language development, creativity and self-expression by engaging with an Aboriginal Story Table
• To support letter recognisition and formation through threading activities

Why?
• Literacy incorporates a range of modes of communication including music, movement, dance, storytelling, visual arts, media and drama, as well as talking, signing, reading and writing.
• Engaging with a story table provides a hands-on, engaging way for children to explore stories, fostering creativity, imagination, and a deeper understanding of narrative structure
• It encourages social skills like sharing, cooperation, and turn-taking, especially when playing

Numeracy

• To be able to identify and create patterns using a variety of natural and human-made objects

Why?

• Pattern recognition involves identifying and predicting what comes next, which is a crucial skill for solving problems in various contexts.
• Analyzing patterns helps children develop logical reasoning and the ability to think critically about relationships between elements.
• Understanding patterns teaches children to anticipate what comes next, which is essential for understanding the order of events, narratives, and daily routines.

• Identifying initial letters of children’s names – if your name starts with ‘s’ you can…
• Supporting children identify patterns in their surrounding environments
• Singing the phonics songs