REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER
Dee’s Message
24 June 2022
Dear Parents and Caregivers, If one were to search online for the term ‘learning’, a wide variety of definitions would pop up. Words such as “change”, “understanding”, “experience”, “skills”, “knowledge” and “values” are just some of those which appear – and all of these have relevance, given what we know of learning from our own personal experiences. In an early learning environment such as ours we are constantly looking for ways to engage the children in the learning experience. We also strive to stay up to date with new educational developments, all for the benefit of the children. Our intention is to ensure that the children arrive each day to a happy, nurturing space and that the activities in which they take part are enriching, purposeful and enjoyable.
Emilia approach, which we use in the ELS. Over the years since it was first introduced in a school in the small village of Reggio Emilia in Italy, it has been broadly embraced in early learning classes. As schools have moved from a teacher-centred approach to a child-centred one, so Reggio Emilia has been seen as an effective philosophy of how to go about things in the class. One of the central tenets of the approach is how the “image of the child” is viewed. In Reggio Emilia’s pioneering visionary, Loris Malaguzzi’s words, the child should be seen “as rich in potential, strong, powerful, competent, and connected to adults and other children.” There is much to this definition which resonates with what we do each day in the ELS.
One philosophy of education with international appeal is that of the Reggio REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER
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Through the enticing ‘Provocations’ introduced by the teachers each term, the children are encouraged to explore their potential wherever their interests take them. The Provocations are merely a springboard from which to launch their innate abilities and talents, and we hope that as they do so they discover more and more about themselves, the world, and about those with whom they share their lives. The teachers and children thus become collaborators in the process of learning. As Loris Malaguzzi wisely observed: “Learning and teaching should not stand on opposite banks and just watch the river flow by; instead, they should embark together on a journey down the water. Through an active, reciprocal exchange, teaching can strengthen learning bow to learn.” The Reggio Emilia approach also speaks of the “100 Languages” which children have. This recognises the many different ways in which children learn and express themselves. It honours their uniqueness and individuality, rather than trying to pigeonhole them into certain ways of learning and development. This has a wonderful synergy with the Reddam House philosophy of placing each child at the centre of the learning experience, and what a joy it is to see them flourish as they find their voices, broaden their knowledge and interests, and experience life in all its richness. Have a happy weekend! Dee Pitcairn Principal
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The Nest (1R)
Kiri Winders, Helena Zhang, Fiona Liddell and Min Pattarasiritanarat
Winter Wonderland Winter is upon us: cold dark mornings followed by piercing blue skies during the day then the sun setting in the early evening. The cold temperature has been a topic of discussion in the mornings, as the children arrive with cold cheeks and hands. This has inspired us to create some activities to learn about the winter! Inside the sensory tubs, the teachers created a snow extravaganza using various resources. These included the following: shaving foam, artificial snow, blue and white tinsel pom poms, neon glitter and a couple of whisks. In one tray were the dry resources for the snow, whereas in the opposite was the shaving foam. The children were invited to investigate and explore the two set-ups either using their hands or handheld whisks. It was so interesting to observe the children explore this activity, as some were totally fascinated and eager to dive in whereas others were hesitant as it was something quite new to their experience. Theodore was eager and delved into the shaving foam with the whisk and then began beating the foam like an egg. He was fascinated by the texture and watched the neon glitter disappear in the foam. After a while, he then transferred his interest to the artificial dry snow before making the decision to mix them together. His last exploration with the shaving foam included him gathering a large amount in his hands, then clapping them together and laughing as he watched small amounts of the foam splatter around the environment and on him.
with gentle support they still declined the offer to explore. Our aim is to listen and respect the children’s decisions and we will continue to invite and offer experiences they may not choose initially; however, after a period they may decide they would like to try a particular sensory experience. (Outcome 1.1 and 5) The children also created a piece of artwork that represents this cold season using specific colours including blue, white and silver as well as various resources. It will be created using several stages and they will continue to contribute to the image over the coming week. The first stage of the process is to create the background using various shades of blue, as it is a cool colour. Each child was individually invited to partake in this experience, then they were given to option of choosing which blues they would like to select for their painting. Using sponges with handles, they wrapped their hands around for a secure grip before dipping it in the chosen colour, before transferring it to the paper. Krishna decided to dab his sponge then lift it from the paper, before considering where he would place it next. He continued this method numerous times before examining the sponge texture with his hands. Then he decided to move the sponge in a side-to-side motion, whilst maintaining contact with the paper. Once they were finished, we placed the paint to dry. As the children create this winter themed painting, they will be revisiting the initial piece of paper which is supporting sustainability and helping look after their environment. (EYLF Outcome 2 and 5.1)
Initially Joshua was unsure about whether he would like to participate in this experience. He observed from afar for a period before making his way to the tray and cautiously placing the tip of his finger in the foam. Then his confidence grew which supported him to continue to probe the winter scenario. Some of the children were apprehensive about touching either one or both trays and even REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER
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The Nest (1R) Outdoor play With the sun in the sky but a bite in the air, the children were eager to rug up as snug as a bug and explore the outdoor area and equipment. The children crawled through the tunnel, which required them to wait patiently for their friend to reach the end or, in a few scenarios, navigate their way around one another in the enclosed space. As the children climb up and down from the various levels, they are risk assessing their own play whilst developing a sense of their own capabilities. This was also demonstrated as they attempted to walk across the wobbly bridge. Olivia was apprehensive and requested assistance from the adult. Ethan initially needed support, then the more times he made the crossing, he adapted his approach as his confidence grew. By the last time, he was able to stand up and walk across using the ropes as a support. Being outside supports the children’s health and wellbeing as the fresh air has wonderful benefits including reducing the spread of infection, lungs breathing in fresh air, allowing them to burn energy and supporting them in developing a positive understanding for all year-round exercise. Furthermore, being surrounded by fresh air refreshes their minds and allows them to connect with the outdoor environment. (EYLF Outcome 3)
both played the keyboard to ‘Twinkle Twinkle’. Ethan took the role of the conductor when he announced, “Ready!” after the introduction of the ‘Wheels on the Bus’ which is usually the wording teacher Nick uses. Next, Krishna became the singer as he happily sang along to ‘Wheels on the Bus’ and during the instrumental introduction he made the doo-doo sound. Kira and Olivia undertook the roles of the musician, as they explored the various instruments. This was Lilla’s first experience, so she observed, just like an audience member would do at a concert. When it was time to pack away, the children helped and began placing the instruments in the box. Olivia held a maraca and was slowly placing it in the box, when suddenly she recognised that the maraca didn’t belong in the box, so she scanned the room and found the bag where it belonged. She carefully weaved her way across the room and placed it in the bag. Music provides the children the opportunity to be an active participant, or they can enjoy the experience by listening and observing what is happening around them. (EYLF Outcome 1, 4.1 and 5.1)
As we are aware, the children adore music in the Nest room, and we recognise sheer importance and benefits it has for their overall development. When teacher Nick visits for his sessions, he brings an array of instruments including maracas. The teachers gathered a selection of percussion instruments and made them readily available to the children. Throughout the music lesson they spend time exploring the instruments and creating sounds. The children are actively engaged, demonstrating their sense of security during this. Harlow was bopping along to music and became a keyboardist as she and Nick REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER
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The Nest (1R) Within the classroom we have various items that the children can build with including blocks and bricks. They were offered an alternative resource to build or stack with, namely paper cups consisting of two different sizes. They had been set up in various ways before the children arrived and they were intrigued by them. Olivia quickly and carefully deconstructed the model and began placing the smaller cups inside one another. Leo placed a smaller cup on the rim of the larger cup; however, it immediately fell off as he released the cup from his grasp. Not deterred by this result, he laughed and then attempted again. The exact same motion happened numerous times over. This sequence became a game to Leo as he anticipated the cup to fall, and he would laugh instantly. This inspired Atlas to repeat the same game that Leo had created. Through this experience the children were learning to be persistent whilst developing their resilience as the cup was unstable and continued to fall. Throughout their lives, children will be met with challenges, and they will require these skills to support them in succeeding. Furthermore, cup building/ stacking has many benefits for cognitive development and targets specific areas of the body and the brain to increase intelligence, problem solving skills and critical thinking. (EYLF Outcome 4.1)
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Fledglings (1E)
By Tatiana Botrel, Jane Teh, Marina Moliboga and Nadia Breus
Bear books
Name election
The Early Years Learning Framework (2009) states that literacy is the capacity, confidence, and disposition to use language in all its forms. Literacy incorporates a range of modes of communication including music, movement, dance, storytelling, visual arts, media and drama, as well as talking, listening, viewing, reading and writing.
This week we got the result of our election to choose the name of our teddy bear mascot. At group time, we placed all the envelopes with the wooden sticks that represented the votes. The children enjoyed counting the pop sticks, to discover the winning name.
Extending the children’s interest in bears, at group time we have been reading lots of books about bears. There are two books that stood out this week: “We’re going on a bear hunt” by Michal Rosen and “The very noisy bear” by Nick Bland. The children enjoyed these reading times as we got them to interact with the characters of the books, while looking at the illustrations on the pages, or pretending to go through the adventure together, for example, asking the children to swim in the “deep cold river” or wear their gumboots to cross the mud; or in the Nick Bland book, the children had turns to play the same music instruments as the noisy bear.
The name with the most votes from children and families was “Bobo”. Bobo Bear will take turns to visit the children’s houses from next week and we will keep a diary to share all the different experiences lived by Bobo. Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world. Children develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities and an understanding of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active community participation. EYLF, 2009.
Throughout our routine we can observe the children playing with the teddy bears and re -telling the “Bear Hunt” story, gathering in small groups to have fun together, while crossing the river. Zoe enjoys saying aloud the places where the bear goes “thick oozy mud”, while Charlie likes announcing to everyone “It’s a bear”, and he runs away with his peers to escape the bear. Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators. Children engage with a range of texts and gain meaning from these texts. EYLF, 2009.
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Fledglings (1E)
By Tatiana Botrel, Jane Teh, Marina Moliboga and Nadia Breus
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Stage 2
By Daniella Gosty, Sarah Noone, Roberta Sokame
Developing Road Safety Awareness Young children are very curious and keen to explore and learn about their surroundings, and yet they are still developing their ability to judge the speed and distance of moving vehicles, as well as their understanding of sound and direction and what they mean. This term, the children have participated in a project about places they go and visit which inspired an opportunity for learning to be safe when travelling on the road as pedestrians and passengers. Road safety is an important education for all children. Not only will they learn about safety awareness and concept when crossing the road, but it will help them understand the consequences of their own actions if they are not safe when crossing busy areas with traffic. The children were engaged in different activities to support and shape their understanding of and attitudes towards road safety. We read stories and investigated posters that inspired rich discussions, learned road safety songs and we also practised being safe pedestrians and passengers. We followed this up by the children creating their own safe road collage. Through these experiences, children developed the important concepts of: • Always holding a grown-up’s hand. When a grown-up’s hand is not available, hold a pram. • Always cross the road with a grown-up. • Always stop and uses senses before crossing roads and near driveways. • Always wear your helmet when riding your bike or wheeled toy. • Always buckle up safely. • Always stay buckled up. • Always get in and out of the ‘Safety Door’ •
Children demonstrated their understanding by their following responses. Hudson explained what each traffic light means, while Theodore explained that the “green man is for him to cross the road”. He also repeated and imitated the actions of “stop, look and listen”. Sophie talked about “walking on the crossing”. She also repeated and imitated the actions of “stop, look and listen”. Saskia said you “hold mummy’s hand and yellow means slow down, red stop and green go”. Cosmo told us you “wait at the light, green man for people and green circle for cars”. Claire said you “hold mummy’s hand and wait for green colour” while Luis said the “cars in the driveways, they hit you”. Martin explained green as “Go, go, go”. Halle said that you “hold mummy’s hand when walking to park”. Talia told us that “daddy put my seatbelt in the car” Jackson said he “holds mummy and daddy hands”. Milo said “red mean stop, yellow slowdown and green mean go”. And Aurelia said “hold mummy hand and red stop when light is red”. Lily-Mei said she “holds mummy’s hand and walks on the crossing”. James said “I hold my mummy’s hand and press the light to cross” footpath and Leonie reminded us “you stop at crossing and look”. Learning Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world. From birth, children live and learn with others in families, early childhood settings and local communities. Participating in their communities strengthens children’s sense of identity and wellbeing. Learning Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing, opportunities for children to learn about health and safety for themselves and others.
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Stage 2
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Stage 3
By Susan Casey, Hannah Corrigan, Emily Hunt and Echo Jia
Mindful Me This week, the children enjoyed exploring yoga poses using fun names to describe each pose, such as the chair, boat and tree pose. Yoga helps improve children’s emotional regulation through being present in the moment while relaxing and gaining a peaceful state of mind. Going through a variety of yoga poses helps children learn about their bodies and the movements they can do as well as strengthening their growing bodies and improving their flexibility. The children practised these yoga poses and created their own yoga cards using these photos and the children’s drawings. Having shown such excitement, we are sure the children would love to teach you at home. Doing it outside, allows the fresh air to awaken our thinking and stimulate our energy. Emily: “Downward dog” Avalon: “A flower” Coen: “Plank” Hunter: “Superman” Sergio: “A Tree” Esther “Crow” Phoebe “Warrior” Matilda: “TV Watcher” Marley: “Downward dog” Arthur: Warrior Max: “Superman” Gabriel: “The Crow” Cheng: “Plank” Mia: “Tall tree”
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Stage 3
By Susan Casey, Hannah Corrigan, Emily Hunt and Echo Jia
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Stage 4
By Jane Pledger, Sandra Carberry, Nina Bergel,Yuliya Ginis and Christina Mandalidis
Oh the place you’ll go The children enjoyed this term’s provocation 'Oh the places you’ll go” as they had the opportunity to learn about other countries and cultures. Throughout the term, we used our imagination to travel to other countries. We looked at books, watched documentaries and learnt from 'Show and Tells' the children brought to school.
Zoe showed us a picture in a book of the place in Sicily where her Granddad is from. Ren brought in traditional Japanese clothing. Gabriel gave us a taste of France sharing delicious Madelaine with the class. Frankie brought in a fantastic book for our provocation: it told us what animals live on every continent. We got the big world felt map out and the children placed the felt animals on the right continents according to Frankie’s book.
as announcements and visual aids for their holiday presentation, a kind of ‘advanced Show and Tell’ in preparation for Kindergarten. Teaching children to make posters isn't just an artsy endeavour. Although the design is a primary part, the children also need to understand what to include on the display, what to say and how to organise their messages. You can admire the children's artwork displayed in the Stage Four Piazza and also in your child's classroom. We wish all our families a wonderful weekend.
Children from a young age need to be culturally aware. Learning about other cultures, languages, religions, and holidays aside from their own will help children learn that others may be very different from them. It is important for children to appreciate cultural differences. In addition to being aware of the fact that their peers may be different, it’s also important for children to learn about some of the unique and amazing attributes that come from other cultures and ways of life. Over the past few weeks, the children have been working on their big project: a poster of their favourite holiday or adventure. First, the children cut out a selection of photos their parents had sent me. There was a lot of chatting and lovely conversations about each other's holidays while the children were practising their cutting skills. Every day, we found some time to either add photos or write about the children's pictures. The children created their posters REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER
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Stage 4
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Early Learning School Drama This week in Drama we learnt the importance of teamwork. We began by discussing how to work as a group. Next, I explained that everyone has a role to play in Drama class or in a play. Each role is just as important. Stage 3 and 4 started with a game called "Huggy Bear". The children walked around the room and I called out Huggy bear and a number. The children then needed to find and hug that number of people. e.g., ‘2’ you need to find partner or ‘5’ you need to find and hug four friends. The next exercise was all about teamwork and using our bodies to create shapes. In groups the children had to make a letter from the alphabet. Alfie, William, Wren and Skype showed us how to make the letter M!
Stage 2 also went to Jupiter we found out that it spins the quickest, so we all spun around and Sophia was really fast. We got into our rocket ships and found a new planet. Hallie named it Jellybean planet because it was wobbly like Jelly! We got back into our spaceship and went around the room making a different sound for our launch pad. Everyone had a turn and together we made the soundspace for our rocket ship! What a fun lesson learning about groups and space. Everyone had such a good time. I wonder where we will go next week.
Now that we had explored our bodies, it was time to discover sounds as a team! I got the children to make a large machine using their bodies. I then asked Lily to make a sound, then Annabelle made a sound, then Hunter. We created layers and layers of sounds to make a machine! In Stage 1 and 2 we learnt about the sky, stars and planets. We sang the famous song "Twinkle Twinkle Little Star" and followed along with the actions. I brought in some stars for everyone to look at. Ethan really enjoyed holding and squishing the star.
Next, I turned into a flight attendant and gave out circular mats for our launch pads. Alfie loved pressing the mat. We went flying through space and discovered different planets. Mercury was very hot, so we jumped all over it. Darcy jumped so high! We even had some lava pom poms for Mars. We tried to touch them, but they were too hot! Neptune was dark so we played peek a boo and made cold, cold noises. REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER
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Early Learning School Sport Our sports sessions this week started with an imaginative spin on ‘stuck in the mud’. We called it ‘spaceman’. In this game, rather than crawling through legs to be freed after being tagged, the children had to freeze when tagged and wait until one of their friends came and put an imaginary space helmet on them. The children really enjoyed this change and could be heard saying ‘space helmet’ to their friends as they freed them.
to be caught they need to aim it towards their friend's chest and also not throw it too hard.
For the skills section this week the children worked through an array of stations, each one with a different focus. Some of the standouts in terms of enjoyment were the ‘taco balance’, ‘ice cream’ and ‘ice skater’. In ‘taco balance’ the children had to create a ‘taco’ out of a ping pong ball and a silicone marker and step along a bucket path while holding their ‘taco’ nice and tight so that the ‘filling’ didn’t fall out. The children did a great job of manipulating their centre of gravity to maintain balance in this activity as well as dividing their attention between balancing and holding the ‘taco’ together. In the ‘ice cream’ station they had to balance a foam ball on top of a cone to make it look like an ice cream cone. The children loved selecting a particular flavour of ice cream which corresponded with the colour of the ball. They then had to step on silicone markers spaced at irregular intervals while making sure that the ‘ice cream’ didn’t fall out of its ‘cone’. The ‘ice skater’ station required the children to step on two sliders and use these to go around a cone and back. In order to facilitate this locomotion, the children had to ensure that they applied both download and forward pressure to make sure that they were propelled towards their goal. For most of the children this was a new skill and they showed excellent balance and hip stability. At the end of the session, we passed the ball around. The children are not only practising their gross motor skills here but also their ability to work as a team. They are becoming aware that in order for their pass REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER
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Early Learning School Music When you listen to your favourite song, naturally people will want to tap or move their body along to the beat. That’s because an element of music is kinesic, which means it is expressed and understood through non-verbal communication; and it is also learnt through actions and movement of the body. Stage 3 and 4 started our warm-up with 'Hokey Pokey', warming up our motor movements and left-to-rights. Moving onto our scales, we warmed up our voices and exercised our articulators on 'LA', 'MA-MOO' and 'TE TE-TU TU'. With our voices warm, we sang through the 'Good Morning Song', then, using our maracas, we stomped, shook and danced while 'Going To The Zoo'. Putting our maracas down, each stage sang through their songs for the term - 'Here Comes The Sun' and 'Colours of the Wind' before exploring pitch. Pitch in music identifies the quality of sound and the rate at which it vibrates – so how high or low that sound is. A 'high', 'middle' and 'low' pitch was played on the keyboard, and then the children had to shake their maracas either high, in front, or below them to demonstrate they could hear the difference in pitch. To help prevent any peeking, the children were asked to turn around and face away from the piano to ensure they were using their ears.
on ‘DA’ this week instead of ‘MA’. We sang through the ‘Good Morning Song’ at various tempi, clapping and moving along with the beat of the music before picking up our castanets to fire up our fine motor movements. With our castanets we clicked along with ‘Twinkle Twinkle’ before revising our rhythm animals from the last few weeks – ‘DOG’, ‘CAT’ and ‘SPIDER’. This week we added in ‘BUMBLE BEE’ – we buzzed like bees and then clicked out the triplets as best as we could. With our castanets, we marched and clicked around the room to ‘Ants Go Marching’ to our various animals; also including our freezing and going as fast as we can on the spot. Keeping up with our castanets, we sang and danced through our usual ‘ABCs’ with freezing, while encouraging the children in Stage 2 to swap hands to ensure both sides are getting their workout. Putting our instruments away, Stage 2 started playing ‘The Floor is Lava’, which tested their listening and also comprehension on timing as the children tried to step the beat of the metronome. The Fledglings have been doing some great work with following movements and instructions – like in ‘The Sunflower Song’ – so I tested them this week with the movements to ‘Do Re Mi’. We started with our ears, stretched up tall and slowly fell to the floor; and then jumped up to point at ‘ME’.
We then played 'The Floor is Lava', which is a great exercise to help reinforce timing, but it also forces our listening ears to be on so we can step to the beat of the metronome. Using the notes we've been learning, we first stepped across the lava on crotchets at 50 beats per minute, before reviewing our semibreve and its value. We then jumped on each stone to cross the lava by holding semibreves at 72 beats per minute. In The Fledglings and Stage 2 we began the lesson with our warm-up scales, but instead REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL | WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER
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Early Learning School Music To end the lesson, Stage 2 took it in turns to play on the xylophone and find our colours. The Fledglings all sat in a lovely circle around the mat and had some free play while sharing with their friends. Down in The Nest I sang to the children as they made their way from morning tea to the mat, readying themselves for music. Once we were all settled, we sang the ‘Good Morning Song’ and then also picked out castanets up for ‘twinkle twinkle’ – except we use both hands in the nest as we’re still learning to find our fingers.
standing up and shaking our shaker. We also sat in a circle on the floor and had some free play with the xylophones trying to do our best not to take all of the blocks out of their cases!
Singing through our other sing-a-longs of ‘Wheels on the Bus’ and Olivia’s favourite ‘Bah Bah’, we kept our castanets to march around to ‘The Ants Go Marching’. It’s really great to see now many of the babies have the confidence to get involved and now get moving. Using our maracas, we continued to practise our movements for ‘The Sunflower Song’ with lying down,
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Reddam Early Learning would like to wish a very happy birthday to
Valentine Pitsis, Jaden Tseng-Ling and Finley MacDonald who celebrate their special day this week
We hope you have a fabulous day!
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