Reddam Early Learning School Newsletter Vol 22 Issues 18 by Reddam House Sydney

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER Principal’s Message

17th June 2022

By Mrs Simone Cooke

“When children interact with loose parts, they enter a world of “what if” that promotes the type of thinking that leads to problem solving and theoretical reasoning. Loose parts enhance children’s ability to think imaginatively and see solutions, and they bring a sense of adventure and excitement to children’s play” - Daly & Belonglovsky, 2015. Building, inventing, creating and experimenting with loose parts is integral to the Reggio Emilia approach to learning and how children learn through hands-on -discovery. From magnet exploration to milk bottle top threading, our children love nothing more than recycling materials into new purposes and engaging in open-ended discovery, where their imaginations can run wild! In creating sensory play activities our teachers will often source a variety of loose parts to enhance children’s thinking and encourage them to look at materials in different ways. The “Theory of Loose Parts” play, actually originated in the 1970’s and was introduced by the architect Simon Nicholson who introduced the belief that loose parts in our environment empowers creativity. Loose Parts can be anything from corks, buttons, timber cut offs, pebbles, sticks to cogs, bottle tops and string. They are materials that can be used in multiple ways and can be combined with other materials. Here at Reddam our teachers use loose parts in their classrooms to support the children’s learning, encouraging them to “think outside the square” and to use their creativity and imagination. In keeping with our Reggio Emilia Approach, our children learn to work collaboratively with the materials and each other, constructing and deconstructing together and learning the “processes” rather than the end product of learning. With this open-ended focus the children can explore and create to their hearts desire, building confidence and autonomy and experimenting with informal units to sequence, classify , group and measure by size, dimension and area. If you find any pinecones, pebbles, shells, buttons, corks etc that you would like to bring along to help inspire our children’s imagination and creativity they would be warmly received. REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Principal’s Message Continued… The sensory nature of loose parts makes it an appealing tool for young children to learn about textures, weights, patterns, shapes and the cause and effect that takes place when you rub, bang, tap or hit them together . When our children are engaged in loose parts play the agency of the child is apparent, as they are offered the opportunity for self- guided discovery where the possibilities are limited only by the imagination. Next time you find yourself with a child who proclaims to be ‘bored’, I would suggest going around your house and garden and collecting a range of loose parts and present them with the challenge of creating something for you. I think you will be amazed by the results!

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL The teachers at Reddam use loose parts in their classrooms to support the children’s 1st April 2022 STencourage LEONARDS NEWSLETTER learning, thinking and develop their an understanding of size, dimension and

area. When children play with loose parts they develop skills and confidence in their own abilities. They have an open mind to play and are responsible for their own work and ideas. Loose parts are all about the process not the end product. There is no specific outcome or result the emphasis is on the pleasure of doing.

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 4R

By Ms Emily Brazel

“Scientists discover the world that exists; engineers create the world that ever was” Children continue on with their engineering component of STEM. So far, the children have used their cognitive skills and as well their team work skills to learn about engineering, showing great initiative to ask questions to seek answers. This week the children will continue to work as a team, and as well as individually in order to gain a greater understanding of engineering and what is it involves. They were involved in a number of group activities this week in order to build on their teamwork skills. Small group activities are great for building healthy relationships in the classroom, regulating emotions and developing empathy. Children learn through observing how their peers problem solve or interact with each other. In mixed ability group children can practise leadership skills as well as teamwork. Our inventions This week the children were invited to participate in a individual project which allowed them to firstly come up with their own invention before putting their brain and body into action. This activity involved the children using their creative skills in order to build their own invention. Last week teachers asked parents to bring in recycling for the children to create with. Thank you to all the parents who helped make this experience come to life by bringing in various recyclable goods. Throughout this experience children were able to practise their fine-motor, scissor grip and cutting skills and concentration skills as they individually created their own invention. It was fantastic to hear all the beautiful conversations taking place throughout this experience. Once the children had created their own 3D invention they were asked to articulate independently what they had constructed. Here are some of their answers: Betty- “I invented an airport” Georgia- “Unicorn robot” Harry- “Robot” Damian- “A school” Our City As we continue on with our learning about engineering and all it involves this week, the children decided that it would be a great idea to create their own city, because as we all know, it is an engineer who brings buildings to life. We started off with a group discussion around buildings and structures, asking the children open-ended questions in order to gain an understanding of what they already know. We came to the conclusion that 'engineers solve problems with their inventions' such a building a bridge to cross the river- Luna. The children came up with a variety of structures and buildings that they thought would be suitable for their city. Once we had finished our discussion, the children set to work. The children gathered around the large butchers paper, using the visual stimuli in front of them before setting to work. It was lovely to hear them talking to their friends next to them about what they were creating in their city. This creative and imaginative group experience allowed the children to practise their fine-motor skills, tripod grip and hand-eye coordination. These are vital skills needed for kindergarten next year. Come and look at their beautiful city on the wall in the classroom! Our Robots This week the children were invited to practise their creativity and imagination skills in order create their own robots using variety of shapes. Before they began this individual experience the children participated in a class discussion about shapes and what shapes could be used for their own robot. Shape activities can help preschoolers develop problem-solving skills. Giving Preschoolers lots of practise with shapes helps them to solidify their understanding of twodimensional structures. That knowledge of shapes gives the children an advantage in many areas of learning. The children worked together to create a robot on the whiteboard before working independently at the table.

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 4R

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 4R

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 4E

By Ms Sarah Ross

The Life Cycle of a Frog Frogs start their life as an egg then go through a nymph stage before becoming a fully developed adult. This development takes between three to four weeks and during this time the frog goes through three stages of growth; tadpole, froglet, and frog. The children began their exploration by examining some specimens of frogs preserved in resin in each of their growth stages. As a class we read about the changes that occur in the frog at each stage. Stage Four were amazed at how different frogs look when they are young compared to adults. Frog Pond Play To extend upon the children interest in frogs the children read about where frogs like to live and were invited to engage in a dramatic play experience where they could collaborate on their knowledge about frogs while also building frog habitats such as; ponds, rivers, and trees. Cooperative dramatic play is a great way for Stage Four children to develop; their social skills, ability to resolve conflicts, and creativity. As Stage Four played they designed habitats and worked together to create beautiful pieces of transient art using loose parts and toy frogs. In addition, the children shared what they know about the frog life cycle. What do you know about frogs and their life cycle? “There’s a frog and a egg and a tadpole” – Ethan A “Tadpoles are babies” – Charlotte “Froglets have tails, hands, and feet” – Flynn “Frogs lay eggs” – Aiden “Tadpoles turn into frogs” – Helena “Tadpoles come out of the egg” – Kai “They like to swim in the water” – Dylan “Frogs live in the river” – Mihira Tiddalik the Frog Stage Four explored the importance of the concept of sharing while viewing the beautiful Indigenous Dream Time story Tiddalik. The story follows the actions of a frog called Tiddalik who wakes up one day extremely thirsty. Tiddalik drinks all the fresh water he can find and when the other animals wake they find no water left and become very thirsty and upset. The Stage Four children were saddened to see how one animal being greedy lead to many others missing out. Practicing sharing teaches children about compromise and fairness and at this age the Stage Four children have a very strong sense of justice and often look to solve problems on their own. To support this, the children engaged in a discussion about the story in the context of our classroom and why it is important to share the resources at school and how we can do it in a safe and fair manner.

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 4E

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 4E

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 4D

By Ms Emily Chacon & Ms Vivian Yin

How Does it Work? This week was our final week in engineering and the children have had a wonderful time exploring all areas of creating and building. Engineering helps children to encompass modern skills. The children have learned a variety of different problem-solving skills that they needed to work together on, each using their individual knowledge to think critically and creatively whilst also communicating clearly and concisely. Throughout the week the children used various recycling materials to engineer amazing creations: Radha – robot

Clementine – cleaner machine

Darcy – boat

Nicholas – rocket

Yonnie – robot that takes photos

Lucinda – robot

Lucy – robot

Ariana – cleaning machine

Grace – boat

Yvette – container

Emma – water bottle

Tahlia – rocket

Louise – robot

Emily – machine

Paige – robot

During this experience the children are further exploring and developing their creativity skills. On our tangram table the children used various shapes in different sizes to create a robot. Tangram assists children in learning geometric terms and develops stronger problem-solving abilities. They can also be used to further develop problem-solving and logical thinking skills, visual-spatial awareness, creativity and many mathematical concepts such as congruency, symmetry, area, perimeter, and geometry. Our LEGO marble maze engaged the children in a great motor planning experience. A simple maze like this works on visual planning, fine motor skills, and hand-eye coordination. The children had to use patience and small movements to move the marble through the LEGO maze! In our group time the children engaged in an engineering and teamwork experience. A plastic cup was connected to a rubber band and several pieces of string. Each child had to pull the strings and work together to pick up the cup and move it from one square to the other. By working as a team, children develop important life skills like problem solving, listening, leadership, and creative thinking. Nurturing teamwork skills also develops higher levels of self-confidence, self-esteem, empathy, and compassion. Next week we are beginning our discovery into technology. We are very excited to see what this unit brings!

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 4D

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 4D

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 3/4

By Ms Riina Andrew

Little Red Riding Hood This week the class delved into the fairy tale of Little Red Riding Hood.

This is a

favourite amongst all the children. Firstly, we read the story book and discussed the outcome of the story. Lucas said ‘I have that book at home and I really love it! I can bring it in to school to share with everyone’. So later in the week we enjoyed a different version of the same story. As the children have been very interested in role play and dramatic experiences, I decided to create some story characters and attach them to paddle pop sticks. Each child then had the opportunity to choose a character and act out their part of the story. This encouraged each child to put their own spin on the story and we ended up with a few new endings! We also took turns of being the narrator of the role play experiences and each child had the opportunity to tell the story in their own way and have the characters act out the scenes as they so wished. We also participated in a collage experience this week and created our own Little Red Riding Hood. Each child was given a visual prompt of Little Red Riding Hood and asked to create their own artwork. Using the style of progressive art, each child was first asked to use red paint to create a figure of Little Red Riding Hood using paint brushes. We then added red cellophane to the paint to give the picture a 3D effect and some depth. Finally, we used black markers to draw legs and feet on our creation. The final experience was an activity where Little Red Riding Hood had to follow a path to her grandmother’s house.

Each child placed small stones on a map,

leading the way for Little Red Riding Hood to follow. We then had the opportunity to count the number of stones that we used to create the path. This experience was fostered by the previous provocation of coding, as the children had to hypnotise the best route to take using our previously learnt skills of positional language. A great week had by all!

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 3/4

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 3/4

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 3E

By Ms Bianca Lazar

“When the moon hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's amore!” - Dean Martin Bentornati a tutti! As we conclude our last week in Italy, Stage 3 children were very busy creating their own chef hats, threading coloured pasta, painting with spaghetti and constructing The Leaning Tower of Pisa! As a spontaneous art activity, children were asked to pose as they were holding the iconic Pisa tower and stick both their picture and the tower they individually cut out onto white paper. Afterwards, children painted the Italian flag using an art sponge and water colours. Any Italian lesson has to include the mention of Italian food; this being a huge part of Italian culture. If there’s one thing preschooler’s understand, it’s food, and they are likely to be familiar with many Italian foods already such as pizza and pasta. Throughout the week, we made our very own pizza! Miss Bianca set up different ingredients such as pineapple, ham, cheese and salami into plastic containers. Children were invited to use the tongs to select their pizza toppings independently. Next stop..EGYPT!

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 3E

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 3E

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 2/3 & 3R

By Ms Gabriela Guimaraes

The Importance of Outdoor Play in Winter With the chill of winter settling in, it is timely to discuss the importance of outdoor play. During the cooler months, it is common for children to be restricted to indoor play at home, and only permitted to play outdoors when it is warm and sunny. Many parents fear that their children will not “like” being outside in the cold, or that they will get sick from being outside in the cold fresh air. For this reason, it is particularly important that children enjoy outdoor activities at school. Playing outside in winter present many opportunities for exploration and learning. Therefore, outdoor play should be embraced in all types of weather, as it is crucial for children’s ongoing development. Why Outdoor Winter Play is Important During the summer months, we helped the children to become familiar with bright green foliage, flowers in bloom, and a warm climate. With the change in season, the children were introduced to different characteristics in their environment, such as brown grass, and fallen leaves. These developments provide our children with new experiences and opportunities, such as learning about the seasons, and the life cycles of plants. Through outdoor play in the winter, the children also learn to see their environment through a different lens, and progress from being unconscious to conscious observers of their environment. The physical health benefits of outdoor play Playing outdoors in winter promotes physical development and well-being. This is because outdoor play encourages the use of the whole body by offering a safe space to run, jump, and exercise key muscle groups. Through activities such as riding tricycles, swinging, and running, the children increase their large muscle use. This increase in physical activity supports our children’s gross motor development and overall health. It is important that we keep our children active in the cooler months so that they continue to build emerging skills that are crucial to their physical development. The emotional benefits of outdoor play Outdoor activities also promote emotional health benefits, such as self-confidence, and the ability to assess risks. By encouraging outdoor play in the winter, our children learn to identify hazards, such as slippery surfaces, and moderate their behaviour to ensure their safety. The social benefits of outdoor play Finally, playing outdoors with others encourages social development and collaboration. This is because play teaches children how to work together in groups, which includes learning to share, negotiate, and solve conflict. Social outdoor play also provides children the opportunity to exercise and stretch their imaginations. In winter, the physical changes to the outdoor environment provide children with new opportunities for socio-dramatic play, and winter-themed games. Children who are encouraged to explore through play are also more likely to learn new skills and overcome challenges, which promotes self-confidence, resilience, and self-advocacy. The development of these social skills are highly important to the development of healthy social relationships, communication skills, and a strong sense of self. REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 2/3 & 3R

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 2/3 & 3R

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 2R

By Ms Madeleine Grant

The Deep Dark Woods This week our journey through nature took us out of the jungles and into lush green forests and woodlands. We explored how these environments were similar, being dense and green and full of trees, but also how they were different. We talked about examples of forests in well known literature and songs, and asked the children to share what they already knew about these beautiful corners of the Earth. We talked about the animals that live in forests, such as mice, foxes, owls, snakes (and maybe a gruffalo or two!), and the natural objects found here such as pinecones, acorns, logs and branches. It was from here that we devised our learning activities for the week, keeping the focus on the delicate beauty of natural found objects. We set up a nature discovery table filled with pinecones, banksia pods, twigs, leaves and pieces of wood, and gave the children magnifying glasses and free rein to explore however they saw fit. They were especially intrigued by the structure of the pinecones, using their fingers to move the scales and peering in with their magnifying glasses to get a look at what was inside. Gemma found that the dried banksia pods had some seeds trapped inside, which rattled when she shook them. Dylan J found his own way of playing, balancing a large pinecone on his magnifying glass and holding it out like an egg-and-spoon race! For our art project we used small branches of dried leaves to make abstract paintings inspired by the green forest canopies. We gave them a selection of twigs to use as their paintbrushes, some with long pine needles, some with small flowers and gum nuts, and others with larger bunches of leaves. They dipped the branches into shades of green paint, and used them to splatter the paint across the page! Some used long, gentle strokes to leave smooth streaks of colour, others sprinkled the leaves over the paper to make colourful scatterings. Next week we will be continuing our exploration of forests, by looking back on our past topics of insects and worms to see how these creatures contribute to making a healthy ecosystem, as well as moving towards our final topics of mountain ranges and snow.

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 2R: Title

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 2R: Title

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 1E

By Ms Justine Heydra

Igniting curiosity though S.T.E.M. “With my hands…. I explore, I seek answers, I gain understanding and I remember.” As part of our S.T.E.M provocation this week the children further explored building and construction. They also enjoyed some messy play and created a very colourful art piece using white pastel with bright food colouring. For our first sensory inspired activity the children worked on the building skills by creating towers with wooden blocks. They used shaving cream as cement, which incorporated an element of messy play. This activity was great as the children love playing with blocks and with the shaving cream it was a great blend of sensory building and fine-motor skills development. The activity also encouraged engineering and construction and allowed the children to practice skills such as scooping the shaving cream and spreading it onto the blocks. Using shaving cream encouraged creativity and stimulated the children’s senses. It also engaged the children in critical thinking as they had to decide where to place the blocks in order to build something. Our second sensory activity was orange and purple glitter jelly. This activity was great for texture exploration and messy play. The children loved the texture , scooping the jelly up and sprinkling it from their fingers. Some children needed a little encouragement to fully explore and play with the jelly, as the texture was different and something they may not have explored with before. However, by exploring with different textures children can further develop their understanding of the world around them. They can touch, interpret and engage and in turn, they learn to communicate and share their experiences of their exploration. We focused on language development as we named the colours and discussed how the jelly felt using various describing words. The children enjoyed this activity and had so much fun playing with the jelly. For our creative art activity the children used a combination of pastels and food colouring with watercolour paper. They were each asked to draw on the watercolour paper using a white or grey coloured pastel. Once they completed the first process we used bright food colouring and wiped it over the pastel to create a beautiful and bright art piece. The children enjoyed this creative process and were amazed to see their white drawing come to life after we added the food colouring. Wishing you all a great and safe weekend.

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 1E

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 1E

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 1R

By Ms Amanda Felton

Exploring shapes and colours in their environment builds children’s foundational skills and allows them to build their vocabulary and recognise, labels and categorise the world in which they live. Our little ones start to recognise that a round roll is different from a square piece of bread. By sorting and classifying, the children begin the process of ordering objects based on their attributes. From an early age our children start associating colours with safety; green means go, whilst red means stop! It is not usually until a child turns at least 18 months of age that they truly start to order based on similarities and differences, between textures, sizes and shapes, and not until they are around three that they can name their colours and shapes fully. Teaching colours is best achieved through playful, everyday experiences. Pointing out shapes and colours such as a round wheel on a bike or a square window frame exposes children to recognising shapes and colours are all around them. The shape sorters, large puzzle pieces and playdough cutters in a range of shapes can be used to provide children with important repetition that helps to reinforce these concepts and in turn builds confidence and interest in exploration and discovery.

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Stage 1R

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Drama

By Ms Laura Hudson

This week in Drama it was all about Partner work and Camping. I began the lesson explaining that in Drama we can work on our own, as a team and in pairs. In Stage 3 and 4 I asked the children if they had ever felt alone or scared when they had to read out loud, go on the stage or sing a song. I explained that you will never be alone in acting. There will always be the audience, another actor on stage or offstage with you. We then discussed scene partners and how it takes two people to have a conversation. Stage 2,3 and 4 started with the “Sticky Game” Warm up. Stage 2 Did this all together and Stage 3 and 4 I split into pairs. I got all the children to stand back-to-back with their partner. I then told the children to walk around the room together as if there was honey or glue or their backs, so they had to stick and stay together. They were not allowed to split, separate or come off their partner. We repeated this with different body parts including- hands, elbow, knees, heads etc. The next part of the lesson was all about Focus and Mirror. Stage 2 and 3 Copied my actions. I chose one child to copy and we all copied their moves. Amelia was rocking side to side whilst twiddling her hands, so we all started doing that, Benjamin laid on the floor, so we all decided to lay on the floor as well. I also got the children to hold hands with one other person and explained that it is partner work, rather than doing it all together. After we learnt about partners, we went on a camping adventure. We sang the famous song “Kookaburra sits in an old gum tree”. We did the actions of flying and laughing. I then got the children to copy me again laughing and doing silly faces. We went over different emotions. We then sat around the campfire and explored 3 different songs from different countries. We visited “My Bonnie” In Scotland and Finished roasting marshmallows at Kumbaya.

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Drama In Stage 3 and 4 I divided the group up in partners making sure each person worked with a different partner. I tapped one person on the shoulder, and they were the “Leader” and the other person was the “Follower”. When I call out action the Leaders have to move very slowly while the followers pretend, they are in a mirror and copy their exact moves. When I called out “Switch” the children had to swap roles and the Followers had a turn being leaders. I reminded the student to copy every little detail, including what hand they move, are they smiling, how fast or slow are they moving, are all fingers straight, is their knee bent? Sumer and Hayley performed there’s for us and we watched as the audience giving them a big clap once they had finished. The Babies, Stage 1 and 2 continued on the camping adventure. I brought in a camp torch, and everyone had a turn turning it on and off. We also sang different campfire songs including “Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree”. We explored different animals we might see when camping and became these animals by using our bodies. We then sang the song “Alice is a Camel”. The children crawled around being camels and horses. Frankie hopped like a kangaroo and Leo flew like a Kookaburra. We even had a visit from my new family member, my Guinea Pig. All the children are getting much more confident and comfortable with different animal puppets. Well, done! What a fun, action packed week of drama. I wonder what we will learn next week.

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER

Piano

By Mr Alan Tang

The week had been an exciting week for the children at Reddam ELS. Stage 3 and 4 were taught a sophisticated song named "Rocketship", which required identification of keys C, D, E, F and G. Combined with complex correlation of the right hand fingers in order to play it. It is a lovely song from oxford piano's method which was proven to help develop musicality and motor skills in the students. A number of students were also revised on "Ode to Joy". Stage 2 revised on the "potato's song" to build up finger's strength and they were also singing along to the "Monday, Tuesday's song" with the piano in conjunction with their class lessons. Stage 2 and younger were introduced to fast and slow tempo and also participated with finger exercises on the piano. This week has been a productive week at Reddam ELS. Thank you.