Nina Marni Preschool families and a happy and blessed Easter to you all!
Learning Intention 2:
To support children’s engagement, development and self-regulation through strengthening their sensory processing capabilities.
Why:
- Continuing on from the previous learning intention about positive education – sensory processing supports children to self-regulate and ground themselves.
- Sensory engagement provides children with positive sensory input which in turn can support self-regulation.
- Sensory processing is a foundational building block for learning.
- Our senses collect information from the world around us, as well as our interactions within it. This information is then processed in our brain, forming the basis of our learning, wellbeing and secure interactions with others.
- The brain and body need an abundance of sensory-motor experiences in the first years of life in order to strengthen this partnership and to provide children with lifelong sensory processing capabilities.
We endevoured to use music and movement and as catalyst for our sensory engagements. Whole group time songs such as ‘Tooty Ta’, ‘Snake Song’, ‘Banana & Meatballs’ & the Dinosaur Stomp’ are just some of our favourites. We also have provided time throughout our day for children to participate with dance outside of whole group experiences, acknowledging that group times can be somewhat overwhelming for some of our learners. The addition of fabric, and some Disney instrumental music created some engaging and mindful moments for children to slowly move their bodies and reset.
Community Visits
What better way to gain some sensory input than exploring our wider natural environment. Educators and teachers have noticed recently that children have been communicating in various ways that they are seeking some physical challenge. In response to this, we have been taking small groups to the playground.
Sustainability
A simple walk through school grounds provided us with such rich learning. As we climbed over the rocks surrounding the billabongs, Harry took it up himself to pick up some rubbish and place it in the bin. ‘Which bin?’ he asked. This opened valuable dialogue about recycling and caring for the natural world and the role we have in protecting it.
Deepening our connection to the natural world, we wandered over to the vegetable gardens. We shared discussions around food production and caring for living beings, fostering a love and respect for God’s word
Learning Intention 1:
To encourage children’s expression of ideas and identity through collaborative visual art/making experiences and mark making.
Why:
- Educators have recently noticed and reflected on children’s interest in box making and mark making and discussed how this supports literacy development and identity expression
- 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 and visual art, it engages them in sensory play and allows them to discover new exciting materials.
- This helps to enhance a child’s critical thinking, brain development and language development, which gives them the ability to build towards more complex learning tasks in the future.
- Cutting and pasting activities for kindergarten children have many benefits. For example, cutting and pasting can help the development of fine motor skills. They can cut images, shapes and drawings and paste them into various shapes.
- Cutting and pasting activities can also be used as creative channels for children’s self-expression.
- Cutting and pasting is an important first skill to master in order for children to then be able to design, ideate and successfully create artwork and objects.
- Cutting and pasting is a necessary skill for many school based activities and will support school preparedness for childre
Holy Week
Many experiences and discussions we shared this week, in acknowledgement of Holy Week
A discussion was shared on Tuesday about the meaning behind easter.
What is easter?/why do we have easter?
Liam: without easter there’s no Christmas
Harry: Easter eggs!
Jason: we get holidays
Alistair: I get some chocolate
On Wednesday, after reading a book about the Easter story we asked the question… What happened on Easter?
Thomas: God went on a holiday
Owen: He died
Jack: we give presents
Some of the key points we learnt together from our discussions:
-the egg symbolises the cycle of life and acknowledges that Jesus was re-born
Egg Making
Inquiry Project: Animal Facts
Throughout term we have conducted an inquiry into Living beings and their habitats. This originated from our noticing that Strawberry (Our long neck turtle) needed a new home. Following the wonderings, ideas and suggestions posed by our learners, we were lead in many directions. The inquiry process involved observation, investigation, research and finally summarising. In the final stage of our process (summarising), children were invited to share their knowledge of the 3 animals that we focussed our research. During group times, we drew upon our knew knowledge of the structure of information texts, and developed our own text called ‘Animal Facts’
Agency
Reflective of our image of child, we provided real-life materials (porcelain tea-set ) in our dramatic play corner. As expected, each child showcased the competencies as they engaged with the tea set in such a gentle and responsible manner.
Trajectories
-re-imagining our spaces for next term. Discussions around children’s interests and wants.
-embedding community walks as part our our daily rituals
-physical challenges: obstacle courses, physical games
-shared reading of our new text ‘Animal Habitats’
-Bookmaking: selecting mentor texts for our term 2 spotlight