Reddam Early Learning School Vol 23 Issue 2 Woollahra

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL

REDDAM EARLY LEARNING SCHOOL

WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER

WOOLLAHRA NEWSLETTER

Dee’s Message

Dear Parents and Caregivers,

The cheerful sounds of children permeated the ELS this week, as they happily went about their days. There was much to explore and many opportunities to create, while engaging with their classmates.

Fewer tears at drop-off time indicated that the children are settling into their routines and getting used to the environment – and for those who are still a bit hesitant, we know that it is only a matter of time before they happily embrace the exciting activities which await them each day, along with the supportive teachers and welcoming friends.

The most effective early learning experiences should take place against a backdrop of play. Some of this is structured and guided, while much of the best learning occurs during unstructured free play. This is one of the enormous benefits of the Reggio Emilia approach to early learning, in which the child is seen as inherently capable of self-discovery, and in which the teacher is a collaborator, rather than the font of all knowledge.

10 February 2023

There are, of course, countless ways in which children play. However, one which seems to have been around since children first realised the delight of play, is that of messing around in sand. Whether in the most remote village, where hardly any fancy educational resources are found, to the complex playgrounds in first-world nations, one area which always seems inundated with children is the sandpit (or if no such structure exists, just a pebble-strewn patch of bare earth).

Here in Sydney we have wonderful beaches to enjoy, and it goes without saying that they are an instant attraction for little people, who set to building all sorts of fantastic structures and to making up often-complex adventures using the sand and found objects on the beach. A recent article, which looks at the benefits of sand play for young children, reminds us that there are “clear associations between sand play and children’s physical, cognitive and social–emotional development.

This includes fine motor and gross motor skills, measurement, cooperative building, sharing and pretending.”

The best thing is that sand play doesn’t need complicated utensils to make it worthwhile. More often than not, the beach throws up all sorts of fascinating items to use; hands can be used for sculpting or for letting mud drip through the fingers; and a simple cup can become a scoop, mould or carrying implement. There is no end to the possibilities which exist when it comes to being creative on the beach.

Sand play is also a wonderful conversation starter, as the child can explain his or her creation. It also invites collaboration, as you might be invited to be part of the collection of items, or of the building of some fantastical construction. All in all, sand play is one of the most special places for discovery and creativity in a young child’s life.

Enjoy your weekend – hopefully with some collaborative sand play thrown in for good measure!

Dee Pitcairn

The Nest (1R)

Hannah Corrigan, Min Pattharasiritanarat,

Our first special days

Our first special days at school are an important part of discovering a happy world of new friendships, new spaces to explore, new ways to play and new songs to enjoy.

“Childhood is a time to be, to seek and make meaning of the world.” (EYLF, 2009).

We find that “Belonging” to our class brings a sense of security and indeed becomes our other family in which we can celebrate each day, as we grow confidence, skills, and bonds.

“Belonging is the basis for living a fulfilling life. Children feel they belong because of the relationships they have with their family, community, culture and place.” (EYLF, 2019)

Each child is supported in exploring their own interests and extending those in ways which bring big smiles and a sense of achievement.

The happiness of our group is also developed through modelling our ‘caring and sharing’ where kindness and empathy are always encouraged.

Our art and craft projects enable each child to enjoy doing and seeing, and to discover the wonder of creativity, while our classroom activities help each child find their own interests in play, inviting curiosity. Our outdoor time is a wonderful exploration of the natural environment and developing gross motor skills.

Our teachers follow each child and help them find a “Happy me”.

The intention of a provocation is to provide an invitation for children to explore and express themselves. This “Happy me” provocation is open-ended and will provide a means for expression, to expand thoughts, discussion, questions, interests, and creativity, and to provoke wonder and your imaginations desire to learn. Behind educators and families, physical spaces hold the potential to influence what and how children learn.

(ACECQA, Quality Area 3).

Chloe Grimes and Helena Zhang

The Nest (1R)

Fledglings (1E)

By Tatiana Botrel, Jane Teh, Vivianne Zeaiter and Joyce Matsui

Group Times

As the children are settling in more each day, we can now start to promote group times more often throughout our routine. At group times, the children can participate together in book readings, games, songs and more.

This week we started our morning circle with the children. At these times, we enjoy singing the “Tick-Tock” song, where we greet each of our Fledglings:

“Tick-tock, tick-Tock / The clock goes, TickTock / Tick tock, tick-tock / It’s time to say hello! / Hello (name of the child, going around the circle)”

After saying hello to everyone, the children are invited to use their counting fingers to find out how many Fledglings joined our group on that day. It is exciting to see the children pointing at their peers imitating the teacher’s actions.

We then move on to pay our respects to the traditional owners of our land:

“Hello sky (wave at sky) / Hello land (touch the floor) / Hello friends (wave at their peers) / and hello I (place their hands on their heart) / Thank you to the Gadigal people for allowing us to learn and play on their land (the children say “thank you”.

One of the greatest benefits children can get from circle time is the opportunity to socialise. They get to learn more about themselves as they relate to their peers as well as to their teachers.

Throughout the year, we will extend group times with different tools and strategies, to keep the children’s attention and to extend their participation.

OUTCOME 1: Children have a strong sense of identity. Children learn to interact in relation to others with care, empathy and respect. OUTCOME 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world. Children develop a sense of connectedness to groups and communities. EYLF, 2022.

Fledglings (1E)

Stage 2

By Sarah Noone and Echo Jia

The children are exploring their sense of identity this year and through art we allow the children to express themselves. Each child is given a placemat with their image and name printed along with their dietary requirements (if any) and where to place their plates and cups.

The children are encouraged to decorate their placemats with a printing exercise. Using sponges, the children each has a turn to create their own placemat. Their sense of achievement is evident as they smile and concentrate on their work.

By showing that there is no one way to create art or no right and wrong ways to do it, children learn open-mindedness and a flexible mindset. The children are told throughout the exercise that this is their placemat, and that they will use it each day. They are encouraged to make it special for themselves.

By allowing free expression, art promotes mental health and well-being in children. As the children watch and talk to each other in the process of creating art, they also pick up sophisticated social skills such as sharing and cooperation. This has positive outcomes in other areas of school and home life as they chat about their process of printing using the sponges, with some children enjoying the opportunity of messy play while others wanted to wash their hands immediately.

As the children connect their printing to their placemats the children can see their finished piece daily, showing them the value in the artworks they complete each week.

The purpose of art experiences is to allow children to explore on their own, using materials in

their own ways. This enables the children to learn that their own abilities are valued, and children will begin to freely participate in the creation of art. Art is a great tool to use to promote children's learning.

1.1 Children feel safe, secure, and supported.

1.3 Children develop knowledgeable and confident self-identities.

Stage 3

By Susan Casey, Daniella Gosty, Emily Hunt and Fiona Liddell

The children in Spatial Atelier, 3M, have been incorporating our new Provocation, ‘Belonging’, in many aspects over the past few weeks. We have already been building a sense of belonging for the children since they joined the group. We have been building this through the daily circle games that we play, and as the children locate their placemats during both group time and morning tea-time. The group time mats were added to our routine last week, and the children used their picture cards as a reference. They were invited to find their newly made name mats for group time. This is another step that will become part of our daily routine.

The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia is a guide for early childhood educators who work with children from birth to five years. It helps educators develop early learning programs that are responsive to children’s ideas, interests, strengths, and abilities in the context of their families and communities. Children must grow healthy and strong in the early years. They must learn and build success for school and their life ahead.

The Framework outlines a vision and an education approach that promotes wellbeing and learning in a culturally responsive, safe and supported setting. It describes the early childhood years as a time of belonging, being, and becoming. Belonging is important for children when developing their own identity. Children’s relationships with others – their families, communities, friends, and educators – all help to develop a sense of belonging. Being is about children expressing themselves as individuals and developing their personality, culture, and learning. It is important for children to enjoy their childhood experiences and to build relationships and knowledge. Becoming is about the importance of children learning and growing in their childhood and allowing them to understand and build capacities, skills, and relationships to be active participants in society.

As such we have been exploring the story of the ‘The Rainbow Fish’.

‘The Rainbow Fish’, by Marcus Pfister, is a book about a unique fish with shimmering scales. Other fish admire him and request some of his scales because they want to share in his beauty. At first reluctant, Rainbow Fish eventually relents and finds he enjoys sharing his scales. It is an award-winning book about a beautiful fish who finds friendship and happiness when he learns to share. The book is best known for its morals about the value of being an individual and for the distinctive shiny foil scales of the Rainbow Fish.

Last week, we welcomed Jazz into our room. The children sat by and watched expectantly as she drew us the outline for our very own Rainbow Fish. Each morning, having listened to the story again, the children imparted to me what meaning they have gained from the story.

“Share shiney scales.” Sophie

“The Rainbow Fish tells me a song about slippery fish.” Frankie “He shares the sparkles with his friends.” Isabel

Stage 3

“He didn’t share his scales.” Annie

“Share your scales. Sharing is caring.” Halle

“Sharing is caring.” Coby

“The Rainbow Fish tells you don’t make a mess.” Lachlan

“Yesterday my mammy got me a big, big rainbow.” Krish

“He teach me a swim lesson.” Nate

Slowly and thoughtfully, we put it all together. Following this, the children took turns to use beautiful metallic shimmering paints to give the fish his rainbow stripes. The following morning, the children and I agreed that the ocean is a wonderful mixture of greens, blues with white capping the waves and so the children took turns using sponges and brushes to add the textured ocean.

Once the paint had dried, all of the children were invited to give our Rainbow Fish his very own individual shimmering and shiny scales. This collaborative work helps the children to connect as a group and work together.

This week the children finished their final piece final piece of art connected to our investigation into the saga of the Rainbow Fish. The children were excited to create their very own shining, shimmering scale for their Rainbow Fish by decorating a half of a paper plate. They had the choice of using the powder paints which we have used previously, or the same metallic poster paint sticks we used on our collaborative fish. The children were then invited to decorate their fish using sparkles. These shining scales will be on display in the classroom from next week.

This week the children were excited to discover a new game on the shelves: Zingo!. In the afternoons, during our time of reflection on our day, the children were paired up, to play Bingo, sharing their card with their partner as our game only has 5 cards. It’s not just bingo. It’s Zingo!, a matching game that encourages pre-readers and early readers alike to match the pictures and words to their challenge cards. The Zingo! Zinger dispenses tiles and fun as young minds quickly race to be the first player with a full card and yell “ZINGO!” With two levels of play, this matching game builds language skills through fast-paced play.

Stage 4

By Jane Pledger, Sandra Carberry, Nina Bergel,Yuliya Ginis, Christina Mandalidis and Cassandra Latham

Connecting to Country

Each morning, in our Yarning Circle, we acknowledge First Nations People and Country by following the children’s lead. Playing a daily Acknowledgement of Country is important because it encourages children to engage with diversity and respect. (EYLF Outcome 1: Children Have a Strong Sense of Identity and Outcome 2: Children are connected with and Contribute to their World)

"Yarning circles are a timeless way of learning. Ever since people first walked the earth, we have been sitting down together and sharing stories. Many groups have developed different approaches to yarning circles all of which are valuable because they are based on human processes of caring and communicating."

We honour our Indigenous people; we honour the culture and love of the land, stories, and songs. We celebrate the heritage and the future of the first Australians. We have come from many places, and we all like different things, but we are all Australians. We are grateful to live here.

In keeping with this important learning, we read Dreamtime stories, play games, complete puzzles, create art masterpieces, sing songs and dance.

The children had the opportunity to paint on rocks as well as on the recycling paper roll that they called the didgeridoo. The children requested to have “all of the colours of the rainbow.” Oil and acrylic paints were on offer with a variety of brushes, sticks and cotton buds. The Aboriginal art and music played on

the iPad. We listened to Geoffrey Gurrumul Yunupingu, an Australian musician and observed the Indigenous artist JUDY WATSON NAPANGARDI creating her artwork.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MKCJd7KN64

https://www.youtube.com/watch? v=gua8MI1Hlm0

The children were overheard commenting about the Indigenous artist JUDY WATSON NAPANGARDI: "She is amazing” and “I like her painting”.

Inspired by Aboriginal art in the books ‘You and Me Murrawee’ by Kerri Hashmi, ‘Day Break’ by Amy McQuire, ‘The Rainbow Serpent’ by Dick Roughsey and ‘Why I love Australia’ by Bronwyn Bancroft, the children created beautiful paintings and told their own stories.

Phoebe: "Once upon a time there was a boy. He saw a snake. The boy got scared and run home. The snake didn't bite him. The end.”

Leanne: "The koala and her dad lived in Australia. She went out into the garden to eat the carrot. And she saw her daddy and her mummy. The end.”

Thomas: "Once upon a time there was a wolf, and he was going for a walk in the grass. His babies for still asleep. And he fell into the water. The end.”

Sarah: "There was a little girl Snow White. She went to the beach, and she found lots of shells and then she stuck to the bottom of the ocean.”

Emily: "There was a red tree. The koala ate red leaves. Then she found a green tree with lots of other trees, and she ate all the tree leaves.”

Valentine: "There was a little girl Goldilocks, and she was playing in the garden. She told her mum to go to the forest and then she smelled something yummy. The end.”

Hunter: "There was a monkey. Then another monkey comes, and they played with each other. The end.”

Lucas: "There was a moon in the sky. The moon said I want the star to teach me how to start rolling. And the star came back and said I will teach you and I will carry something to you. And the moon said Thank you star. The end.”

Hannah: "There was a giant strawberry. The giant strawberry played in the big playground with all the giant strawberry friends. The end. “

Music

This term we are getting to know our friends in Stages 3 & 4 – so to help with this I wrote a new introduction song, “Hello My Name Is”. The song is in a ‘call and response’ style, with the children taking turns at standing up and introducing themselves; while the other children respond and giving us the chance to learn about our favourite things.

Hello, hello my name is X

“Good Morning X”

Tell us what’s your favourite X “X”

Now you’ve met me say goodbye

“Goodbye X”

For our next friend to say hi

With our scarves following the lyrics, we selected our favourite colour and sang “Hokey Pokey” to help us learn our left and rights. Our scales we sang ascending and descending on 'MA' and 'DA', helping strengthen our articulators.

Using our scarves we followed the pitch as it moved up and down, while Stage 4 tried to demonstrate the pitch moving by walking forward and backwards. With our maracas we sang "Walking Walking", following the movements of the song - this week adding 'dancing' and 'backwards'.

We revised our rhythm animals before adding them into our marching song 'Ants Go Marching'.

In Stage 2 we opened with our new "Hello My Name Is", just asking a few friends to stand up and introduce themselves.

were sung on the simple 'MA' sound. We used our scarves in "Wheels on the Bus", helping encourage the actions, and maracas in "ABCs" to help with coordination and rhythm.

Castanets are fantastic to help fine motor movement. They are tricky at first, but great once the children get familiar with them. We used our castanets to sing along with "Twinkle Twinkle" and click to the beat.

We used out rhythms animals to click out our rhythms this weeks, before also marching around the room to "Ants Go Marching".

Down in The Nest, we settled into the lesson with some easy action-movement songs. "Open Shut Them" and "Wheels on the Bus", again using our scarves.

We used our two maracas to shake along with our other sing-a-longs "ABCs"; "Mary Had a Little Lamb"; and even got everyone walking around for "Ants Go Marching". Using our castanets we tried to get our fine motor moving with our fingers to "Twinkle Twinkle".

Both S2 and The Fledglings used our scarves in "Hokey Pokey" while we tried to learn our left from right. Our warm up scales and counting

Dance and Drama

It was lovely to be back teaching drama this week. It was great to see some new faces as well as some familiar faces. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Miss Laura and I have been teaching drama for over 10 years at the Woollahra campus.

This week was all about getting to know the children and for them to feel comfortable in the class, as well as learning some basic routines. We started the lesson with our hello song, to welcome everyone and warm up our voices and bodies. This is how we start the class every week!

Next, we learned what drama and acting are. We discussed what types of acting people do. We spoke about people in movies and on television.

In Stage 1 we learned about drama and bears. I brought along a box that had a handle, which I wound up as they watched. The next time I went around the circle they all got to touch the bear. They discovered how soft the bear’s ears are. Some of the children liked to pat the bear and others gave the bear a hi 5. Some were a little shy and just looked at the bear. The third time round they had to pretend to be the bear. They put their hands on their head and pushed themselves down (so they were bent down). Then, when I counted 123 and clapped, they popped out of the box.

We then explored bears’ paws and roars. We used our bodies to explore big, medium, and baby bears. We made our bodies big and added in loud stomping for big bear and softer and smaller for baby bear. We also sang ‘rock a bye a bear’ and finished with our puppet friend, Peter Rabbit.

they want to be actors today? Actors must practise and play games to practise being good actors. Actors must be good at pretending. We started by playing a game called the floor is! We pretended that the floor was lava and too hot to walk on, or that it was slippery and cold like ice. Zoe in Stage 2 ran really fast when the floor was hot, so she didn't burn her feet. We also turned the floor into a giant trampoline and sprung into the air. Mackenzie in Stage 4 showed us how high she could jump on the springy floor.

Next, we learnt how to be an audience and what to do if someone takes a bow. Jack in Stage 4 said “Clap”, so that’s what we did. Frankie in Stage 3 said “Watch” and Claudia in Stage 4 said “Listen”. The children then learnt how to do a bow and practised performing and taking a bow. They took it in turns to be the audience and the performer.

Next we had a visit from Peter the Rabbit – a very friendly rabbit. The children took turns telling Peter their names and what they had for breakfast.

It was a week filled with action and drama. We had lots of fun and can't wait till next week.

In Stages 2, 3 and 4 I asked the children, do

Sport

This week was our first lesson of the year for our Stage 3 and 4 students. My name is Yoni Charlupski and I am the Sports teacher for this year in the ELC. The overall aim of our program is to provide fundamental foundation movements and build confidence through the various stages of learning.

The aim of the Week One lesson was to lay the foundations for the term ahead. We spent time running through active listening and sharing of equipment, whilst playing games.

We played a game of “Gotcha” and “Flip It”. The boys and girls were excellent listeners in a game that required attention and team work. Over the next few weeks we will introduce various levels of locomotor and non-locomotor activities to slowly increase confidence.

Reddam Early Learning

would like to wish a very happy birthday to Romy Rabot who celebrated their special day this week

We hope you have a fabulous day!