12th August 2022 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 1
Dear Parents, As Reggio inspired educators we aim to promote in each of our children an interest and curiosity based on inquiry based learning. Fundamental to our programme is learning through play along with Provocations and Investigations. This allows our children to explore and build on an area of interest, which extends their thinking and creativity. This Term a vast array of projects are already underway in our classrooms, from nature investigations, colour discoveries and space exploration to dinosaur research, author reviews and journeys around the world. Each provocation has been selected based on the individual interests of each class and our teachers have constructed a mind map of possibilities , constantly posing questions for our children to extend their thinking. What is a planet? What does a plant need to grow? What features did a dinosaur have? Working alongside the children our teachers act as facilitators. They are not seeking a scientific answer to these questions, but rather are guiding the children’s own inquiry by asking “What do you think?” It is not the answer which is important but rather the process that the child uses to find this answer. As adults it is easy for us to think that answers are important. Yet as teachers we know that having a correct answer is only half of the equation. To be effective learners, children must know HOW to approach a question. By guiding children to develop a range of different strategies to decode information we are placing in our children’s hands an invaluable tool. This will allow them to tackle problems and solve questions in a wide range of situations, both at school and in the real world, giving them true ownership over their learning Mrs Simone Cooke
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER Principal’s Message By
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER Principal’s Message Continued… 1st April 2022 REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER
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As partners in learning, we must not deny our children the opportunity to discover new knowledge for themselves by answering questions for them. Instead we provide them with the space, resources, inspiring learning environments and encouragement they need to explore. We listen, suggest, question and problem solve together. Inspiring them to be life long learners and inquirers. By tapping into our children’s innate curiosity and interest, our teachers here at Reddam aim to allow the children to explore through hands on investigations, working collaboratively with others, where each child is an equal participant, sharing their thoughts and knowledge with one another and extending each other’s thinking. As you walk from room to room, you will see this collaborative group work taking place, with each of the class provocations emerging from the children’s interests, which is as diverse as our beautiful children. As teachers we are in a privileged position of influencing young lives. This is a responsibility we here at Reddam do not take lightly. We are instilling in our children, not just the skills and knowledge they need to experience success in life, but their values,
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By understanding how everything is connected in the ocean and how we interact with it as humans, children will learn to care and protect the ocean because they will want it to be a better place – not just for the fish, but for them too.
Stage 4R
Discovering ocean zones
This week the children had the opportunity to work together to create an information board. This allowed children to work together to brainstorm ideas in order to construct a mindmap of why they think the sea is important. Talking respectfully with children, and having authentic conversations where children's ideas and thoughts are valued is the key to engaging children decision-making processes. Having a sense of agency in the early years is very much linked to each child's sense of belonging. A sense of belonging develops when a child has developed trust both in the adults around them and the environment. It was lovely to hear all the children's beautiful response throughout this weeks provocation. Here are some of our findings: “It is food for humans” Xavier “It gives us air” Damian “It helps with the weather” Betty “It gives us water” Ruaan “It keeps the animals safe” Georgia By Ms Lauren Doughton and Ms Emily Brazel
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This week the children began their exploration of the four ocean zones; Sunlight Zone, Twilight Zone, Midnight Zone and Abyss. Teachers were able to use these zones to encourage children to practise their literacy skills in a fun writing experience. The children were asked to first discuss the zones with their teachers, looking at the various animals and plants that may live in that zone before writing it on paper. This activity not only helps the children in their development of the correct tripod grip but encourages a greater understanding of the letter and sound recognition, and as well letter formation and word structure. It was lovely to see the children use their concentration and finemotor skills for this learning activity.
Exploring literacy through the ocean
Why is the sea important?
This week the children were invited to an experience which allowed them to extend on their literacy skills. Firstly each child was asked to choose a letter before informing their teacher of that letter and its sound. Once they had done this they were able to use the gems to recreate this letter on the sand board. This activity encouraged the children to practise their letter formation and as well letter and sound recognition.
Our Blue Planet
Writing with children provides numerous opportunities to develop children's emergent literacy capacities including making meaning/expressing ideas in texts, fine motor skills, concepts of print, phonological awareness, phonics, and creating and exploring texts.
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REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 6 Stage 4R
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REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 8 “The metal toys are magnetic” - Winnie “Metal sticks to magnets” - Flynn “The south and north pole match” - Ethan D “Magnets stick together” - Kai “The south and north pole stick together” - Yuno “Metal is magnetic” - Zavier
Stage 4E By
The purpose of science is to create new understandings of our world, technologies, and ways of being and at its core science is a form of creation. Combining art with science creates unexpected moments of discovery for children as they mix colours and materials they come to understand scientific concepts and rules. Introducing art as a way to study science allows children to learn that creativity is an integral part of science as it involves imagination, curiosity and inquiry.
The Stage Four children gathered together to reflect upon what they have learnt about magnets during our science investigation. Afterwards, the children recorded their ideas in their scrap books alongside their magnet paintings. Some of the children’s recordings included; Erupting fizzy drink! To complete our science journey Stage Four engaged in a fun chemical reaction experiment with coke and mentos lollies. The children formulated a hypothesis prior to the experiment and were amazed to see the drink explode upwards. Afterwards, we explored why and how the reaction occurred. Next week we look forward to exploring all things technology! Ms Sarah Ross
“The greatest scientists are artists as well” – Albert Einstein
Magnetic reflections
Throughout the past couple of weeks Stage Four have been experimenting with colours, water, oils and much more! There has been lots of excitement as each child has created something unique or discovered an unexpected reaction or result. It has been lovely to see Stage Four practice their social and emotional skills as they have worked together and alongside each other to create and explore. What is density? Stage Four explored the concept of density through investigating an informational text and engaging in a hands-on experience with coloured water and olive oil. From our reading the children discovered that density relates to how much space an object or a substance takes up and can vary depending on its volume and mass. In addition, we discovered that that liquids with more density would sink and liquids with less would float. To test this theory each child was invited to practice dropping coloured water into olive oil in clear jars. The children were amazed to see the brightly coloured droplets sink to the bottom and declared that water has more density than olive oil as it sunk to the bottom and the oil floated on top!
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REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 10 Stage 4E
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As you may know, the children have been extremely interested in Harry Potter. We have begun exchanging and making the little people that Coles has been giving out. If anyone has any extra figurines at home, please bring them in for a ‘swap’. The children
Stage 4D By Ms Emily Chacon 12
Deep Blue
This week we continued learning about the 4 layers of the ocean, the sunlit zone, twilight zone, midnight zone and the abyss. As we searched through each zone we discovered the reasons why each one is darker and what creatures live in each. As we have been exploring the creatures of the deep, I asked the children what they wanted to make. Everyone was very keen on creating their own jellyfish. Using paper bowls as the body, the children painted their bells and picked out their tentacles. Once ready, Miss Emily assisted the children in attaching them to the body. When everyone was finished, Miss Emily hung them from the roof! They look amazing swaying and shining in the wind. Our table activities reflected our learning and engaged the children in fine motor experiences. The children were encouraged to use wooden tongs to pick out the animals caught in the line. Developmentally, this activity promotes hand-eye coordination, fine motor skills and helps to establish hand preference. The children also enjoyed calling out the name of each animal as they pulled them out.
The ocean covers 70% of the surface of our planet and is home to 94% of all life on earth. Over the term we have been exploring and researching the importance of keeping our wonderful ocean safe and healthy.
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of an educational book, we found some interesting pictures of crystals. This discovery led to questions about their formation and the class wished to satisfy their curiosity surrounding the way crystals are formed. We sourced some crystal forming powder and started an experiment of our own and starting growing our own crystals. Over the course of a week, the crystals formed in the special liquid and we used tweezers to carefully remove the crystals from the container and place them onto a display tray. "They are very special” commented Valentina. Sammy agreed with this comment.
Stage 3/4
By Ms Riina Andrew
This week, we continued our provocation surrounding rocks, gems and minerals. We spent most of our time last week investigating the types rocks and classifying them but this week we extended our knowledge towards the subject of crystals. The crystal interest was established last week upon the discovery of different types of gems and precious stones.
Crystals and Gems
Taking this interest one step further, the class was then offered an art and craft experience of a process variety. To start off this activity, we first drew a crystal while using the crystals that we had grown ourselves as inspiration. We then used water colour paints to paint over the top of our drawing to give it some wonderful colour. Finally, we cut out our crystal paintings and pasted them onto paper to make special displays for our classroom wall. News items Please continue to send your child to school with their favourite rock/crystal/ gem from home. We have enjoyed some fantastic items over the past week and really enjoy sharing these with our peers.
The group were interested in the labelling of these precious stones and the colours that they emulated. Annabelle S said that she loved crystals and wanted some of her own. This then sparked more interest from the group as a whole and a meeting was held to discuss with the class where their current knowledge was surrounding this subject and where they wanted to take their Uponlearning.inspection
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Housekeeping With the warmer weather approaching please ensure your child brings their hat to school each day. REDDAM is a SUNSAFE School and will reinforce a “NO HAT, NO PLAY” rule during the summer months. Please ensure your child’s hat and other clothing is clearly labelled with their name, to assist with the identification of their personal items. By Ms Brooke Fox
INGREDIENTS 2 cups of plain flour 1 cup of salt 2 tablespoons of cream of tartar 2 table spoons of oil 2 cups of hot water Vanilla essence (any favourite scent, lavender is lovely) Food colouring (not essential) METHOD 1.Add all dry ingredients to a large mixing bowl 2.Mix in oil, food colouring and hot water 3.Knead until soft (add more flour if to sticky) Keeps in an airtight container in the fridge for 2-3 weeks
Stage 3E
Please continue to encourage your child to sign-in each morning as routine is helpful for pre-schoolers to settle into their day. Early literacy starts with name identification and the practice of letter tracing. Remember if you are pushed for time or a specialist class is occurring, please ask staff for assistance.
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“The senses, being the explorers of the world, open the way to knowledge” - Maria Montessori.
During our literacy sessions, children were shown a variety of cue cards with the senses. Children were asked to revisit the learning that took place in the morning, Miss Brooke asked the children what they smelt, felt, seen, heard, and tasted.
Sign In Table
This week Stage 3E ignited their senses. Each table activity involved the senses, as exploring nature is best done through smelling, feeling, seeing, hearing, and tasting.
To support children’s natural curiosity, a table was offered with various items found in nature such as flowers, leaves, shells, gems, feathers and magnify glasses to closely examine each object. Attention to conversations around where the objects are found supported children’s thinking and communication skills. On another learning table, children where offered a selection of small flowers and tongs, bicarb of soda, vinegar, and pipettes, to produce potions and bubbles, the use of both tongs and pipettes builds finger strength an important characteristic of development to many life skills. Playdough is always popular with pre-schoolers and provides learning in many areas. A engaging activity on days when you can’t think of how to entertain. There are many recipes with items you already have in your kitchen pantry. Try this Best playdough recipe
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL Stage 3E
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 23 Stage 3E
by reading several books about the desert and the kinds of animals that we can find in the desert, the children looked at flash cards of desert animals. I added some cards from the rainforest week and the children sorted where each animal belonged depending on where it lives. During our sort, we discussed the physical characteristics of each animal that helped us decide where it should live. On our Sensory table we explore all the different aspects of the desert. Sensory trays are not only a wonderful way to entertain our children, but a great way to incorporate sensory stimulation! Sensory bins engage at least one, if not several, of the five senses: sight, sound, touch, smell or taste. This week’s sensory bin incorporated sight, sound and touch!
On another learning station the children were invited to count and add flowers on cactuses according to the teachers instructions. This was a really fun game to put together for our desert week. I cut out a cactus shape from a half sheet of felt. Based on the number cards we had the children had to count buttons of the same number to add to the cactus. It was a great desert activity that reinforced skills in counting and one to one Incorrespondence.theartatelierthe
This week we went to the desert, it’s been dry and hot and the children loved it. Cactuses, camels and sand made the perfect scenario to our desert
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Weexploration.started
children were invited on a collage activity based on the song “Don’t sit on the cactus”. One of the families brought a couple cacti in for us to check out. If you’re really careful you can touch the cactus. Just don’t sit on it! No one was hurt investigating the cactus. After looking at the cactus plants, we made cactus art with oval shapes. After gluing them on the paper, the children used forks to paint to dip in gold paint to make the pokey spines on the cactus. Ms Gabriela Guimaraes
Desert
Stage 2/3 & 3R By
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REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL Stage 2/3 & 3R
REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 27 Stage 2/3 & 3R
“I don’t hurt turtles, I give cuddles” - Luke “He put turtle in the water, good choice” - Liam “They do mean things and I say ‘stop it!’” - Travis “Say ‘stop’ and say ‘sorry’ when they fight the turtle” - James
In the art atelier the children made their own ornate turtle shells just like Otohime, the turtle from the story. First they painted paper plates with glue and paints of their choosing, then carefully applied pieces of colourful paper and cardboard. Through trial and error they found that if they dumped a handful of pieces at once, they would not be able to stick to the surface! Through this task we asked them to practice mindfulness by taking their time and thinking carefully about where they placed each piece. The results are a beautiful array of multicoloured turtles fit for the palace of the Dragon King! Ms Madeleine Grant
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Fairytales and Folklore from Japan
This week we continued our exploration of the rich literary world of classic fables, fairytales and folklore. For centuries children have been captivated by the magical worlds and timeless stories told through fairytales, but fairytales are so much more than just children’s stories. They offer a link to the past, to our cultures, and provide a wealth of shared knowledge as they are passed down, retold and reinterpreted time and time again. These stories are often allegories, outlining the morals valued by the society and instructing us on how we should act.
Stage 2R By
On the tables we recreated Ryūgū-jō using a mix of our ocean resources and colourful embellishments. In the middle was a giant turtle which the children took turns caring for before allowing it to swim through the undersea kingdom. The children were fascinated by the seashells and starfish, as well as the rainbow pipe cleaner spirals and foam hearts and coloured glass. During group times we retold the story, and throughout the week the children began filling in details that they remembered as the story became familiar to them. We used the story to provoke discussion on the topic of good and poor choices. We asked the children to identify the different choices made by the characters and whether they were good or poor choices. The children were then asked what they would do if they were in Urashima Tarō’s place, and saw someone making poor choices and hurting others. It is wonderful to see how well their language skills are developing, as they consolidate their thoughts into words and begin to construct proper sentences.
For this weeks focus fairytale Miss Sara introduced us to the story of Urashima Tarō, a kind fisherman who one day sees a group of boys tormenting a small turtle. He rescues the turtle and takes it back to the safety of the sea. The next day as he is fishing he is greeted by a larger turtle who thanks him for his good deed, and takes him to Ryūgū-jō, the beautiful undersea palace of the Dragon King.
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REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | ST LEONARDS NEWSLETTER 31 Stage 2R
Our first sensory activity was based on developing fine-motor skills, hand-eye coordination , sharing and language development. We filled up our black tuff tray with dog bowls, various sized scoops and we added cereal resembling dog food. The aim of this activity was for the children to scoop up the food and place it into the dog bowls in order to feed our classroom puppies. This activity was done in small groups to promote social interaction while learning and playing. The children all loved this activity and it was great to see them sharing and taking turns. Our second activity involved counting and hand-eye coordination. The children were asked to pick up some bones and feed it to our puppies that we created on a large box, with an opening for their mouth. The children were amazed that the bones would disappear and many looked into the mouths to see where the bones had gone. As the children placed the bones into the puppy’s mouth we counted how many they gave the puppy. This activity was both an individual task and some children wanted to complete the task with a friend. Our third activity tied in nicely with the band aid activity they did last week during our doctors’ provocation. The children each had the opportunity to place bright red band aids on our animal paw prints. We also continued to practice our counting skills, by counting the band aids as the children placed them on the paws. For our creative process this week, the children really enjoyed doing their syringe art. The children created a great art piece by using a plastic syringe, food colour and watercolour paper. We practiced our colours and used our finger muscles to manoeuvre the syringes. The children absolutely loved this activity and had so much fun during their creative process.
Stage 1E By
During our provocation group times we enjoyed learning and singing a new song “Bingo’s going to the vet” and we read a great interactive book called “ My puppy called Maisy”. The children enjoyed following the adventures of Maisy and her owner and loved learning their new song.
This week in stage 1E we continued our “Community Helpers” provocation and focused on the occupation Veterinarian. The children enjoyed a range of hands-on sensory activities and loved our dramatic play area.
- Linda Bender
Wishing you all a lovely weekend and we look forward to learning all about food and chefs next week. Ms Justine Heydra
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Animals remind us that all beings who walk, stand, swim, crawl, or fly are radiant, mysterious, and unique expressions of the Source. Every species, every culture, has its own genius.”
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Stage 1R
By Ms Amanda Felton
to our parents- Could we ask that all items are labeled. As items tend to go for walks or take a trip outside the school.
The Babies enjoyed their specialist classes has come back with a hit! As the Babies absolutely loved every minute taking part in yoga, drama, My Gym and not to forget the music lessons. Lots of smiles and very enthusiastic Babies all keen to be involved or Aspectators.friendlyreminder
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The Lion in the Wild We off on an safari looking for lions as we explore the savanna. We find them in the sand dunes, prowling around looking for food…. The Babies really enjoyed this experience and had a lot of fun looking at the lions and taking them on an adventure around the classroom. Lots touching and feeling and of course good sharing. We also got creative and drew their fur a yellowy- orange colour. Each of the Babies made lines across the paper to represent the fur of the lion.
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1. Breathe - I asked the children to take 3 deep breaths in and out and imagine they were sailing in the ocean. What could they smell?
This week in drama the theme was Under the Sea and Pirates. Upstairs in Stage 3, 3/4 and 4 we began our lesson by discussing Pirates. Pirates love treasure so we did an exercise called "What's in the treasure". We imagined that a big treasure chest was in the middle and each child had a turn opening it and discovering a treasure. Lucas found a fire truck and Amelia found her favourite dress.
Stage 3/4 played a game of ‘Pirate says’ just like ‘Simon say’s’ Miss Kat was the captain and ordered everyone to do silly things including- Looking for mere-people, hoist the sail, row the boat etc. Alayah was very clever and stayed still when Miss Kat didn't say pirate says.
Next was a brain dance. This is a drama technique to warm up different parts of our imagination and bodies. Each child sat down and closed their eyes.
2. Tactile- We got out the sunscreen and massaged it all over our bodies.
Drama By Ms Laura Hudson
In Stage 3 we warmed up our body and voice through a song "If your happy and you know it". However we changed the words to Pirate and used pirate actions. E.g., If you're a pirate and you know it say "Argh", scrub the deck, dig for treasure. Joseph showed us his best pirate sound "Arghhhh".
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Downstairs in Stage 1, 2 and 2/3 we went on a holiday to the beach. First, we had to pack our bags, we decided to go somewhere warm, and we had to fly there. We sat on the floor and did aeroplane arms to arrive at the beach. Miss Kat had some yellow and blue material, and they represented the sand and the beach. I asked them to walk around the sand with me. Then we stopped and pretended to feel the sand. In Stage 1 Matthew picked up the sand and Felix decided to make a sandcastle. It was getting hot, so it was time to have a dip in the sea, we put on our swimmers and goggles. Everyone dipped one foot in then the other we pretended it was cold, but we jumped in and went for a swim. Our blue material was the ocean, and the children went underneath it and pretended to swim. In Stage 2/3 we finished with under the sea song and discovered lots of sea animals. Liv showed us her crab walk and Ronan showed us his shark Fin. Mimi showed us how to stand on a surfboard to our popular "Surfing in the USA" song and Nathan found lots of Whatseashells.awonderful week of drama. Well done everyone!
By Ms Brooke DeSilva
This was my second week of teaching yoga to the students at Reddam and it was a great time getting to know them better! This week the theme in our classes was friendship. We read a book called ‘Together We Can’ by Caryl Hart and worked on our partner yoga poses. After reading the book, we started with some seated poses where we held hands to encourage our partner to reach into their forward folds. We then did standing balancing poses where we used stability of our friends hands to help us stay upright on one leg...and then congratulated each other with a high five in flamingo pose! We did partner frog leaps and invited some friendly competition to see who could jump the highest. All were very impressive and Yoga
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Piano By Mr Alan Tang
The children in Stage 4 and 3/4 kept revising on "Baby Shark" which is a song that they learnt last week. This song had complex rhythm and timing which was extremely good for the developing brains. The rhythmic patterns were hard for adults unless they are musically trained. The children being familiar with the melody definitely helped the learning process a lot more.
Stage 3 had looked into a complex fingers exercise song named "Up the Hills", it helped the children to build up strength on their ring and pinky fingers. Stage 1 and 2 enjoyed an interactive mini concert and they were entertained with a Broadway classic "New York, New York". It was so great to see the responsiveness and reactions of the children when they were enjoying their music lessons. :)
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It has been a really productive piano lesson at Reddam ELS in week 2 of Term 3, 2022.
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REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL
45 My Gym
