PINJARRA EARLY YEARS PRE-SCHOOL NEWSLETTER
July - September 2011
Red Room Newsletter
The Red Room children have been very busy over the past few months with many special days such as pyjama day and a range of special visitors. Pyjama Day proved to be a fun and relaxed day. Most of the children remembered to wear their pyjamas and for a special treat we decided to watch a movie, "Toy Story 3", which was enjoyed by the children.
Naidoc week involved informing the children about Aboriginal culture within Australia. We discussed with the children who Aboriginal people are and why they are important to our culture. To further develop their understanding of Aboriginal culture we explored different stories, painting similar artworks and also offered the children similar musical instruments. We feel it is important to acknowledge the many cultures within the centre.
Recently we have had a visit from Nurse Noelene who discussed with the children why they might go to hospital and who they might see at the hospital. After her visit the Red Room children have been very interested in 'Paul' our skeleton and his different body parts. They have been comparing images of the Human Body and matching them to the bones on the skeleton and other pictures in books. The children have been very intrigued with this topic which has encouraged their sense of enquiry and investigation as they ask questions and research to find out more information.
Board games are another interest which have been keeping the children busy. The Red Room children have been working cooperatively to set up the game and have been setting and discussing the rules of the games. If you have any board games at home that you feel Red Room would enjoy, please bring them in.
Science week was very exciting for the children as we performed a range of experiments and discussed the different areas of science including; chemistry, biology, physics and geology. We would like to thank Annette, Coco's Mum from Yellow Room for taking the time to come and speak to the children about science. Annette informed the children where our poo goes and what happens to it, explaining sewerage, pipes and recycling water. We would also like to thank Kate, Sam's mum for conducting a science experiment with the children about separating colours.
For your information, Emma and Janna will be travelling overseas at the beginning of September 2011. During this time Jayel will be returning to work to cover shifts as well as Kate, an unfamiliar face but a great addition to the team. Jennifer will also be away for 7 weeks when Emma returns, this will mean that Emma will float between Red Room and the office.
Blue Room Newsletter
It has been a busy first half of the year in blue room and time is flying. The children have grown and developed so much over this time and it is exciting to see what the rest of the year will bring.
We have been endeavouring to develop blue room into an active community of learners which means a lot of our activities are based upon the children's own interests and ideas from their home lives. Recently we have been looking at the story "The Gruffalo" which our friend Luke brought in from home to show everyone. This grew into a large group interest and several creative projects focusing on the Gruffalo, such as the large painted Gruffalo on our wall that you may have noticed. It has been a wonderful literacy experience for the children.
News is going well and it is something the children look forward to each week when their turn comes around. Please as much as possible try to discourage your child from bringing in toys for news. We would really like to encourage the children to bring in photos or memorabilia from an outing or family event or everyday event to discuss at news time. In this way the children are encouraged to share their family lives and recall past events.
Just a reminder about considering our "Wish List" which was sent out a few weeks ago. Although we have ample resources at Pinjarra, the children become very proud of something that they have contributed and shared with their friends in Blue Room.
Also, Please let us know if your child will be away for the day.
That's it for now!
Many Thanks,
Susan, Krystal and Saige
Yellow Room Newsletter
The months are flying by so quickly and it is hard to believe we are already in the second part of the year. The children in Yellow Room are really growing up so fast, and are becoming more independent by the day. We welcome Ellie (from Green Room) and Jian and Logan who have just started in Yellow Room with us. We are so glad to see them all settling in so nicely.
Throughout July, the children have been exploring the concept of air, mainly through the use of pinwheels. The initial interest came from Hannah and Tom, who noticed that the mat was moving when it was placed on top of the air vent in Yellow Room.Through exploring air in different ways (using the pinwheels, balloons and straws), the children were able to build on their theories during spontaneous experiences as well as through hands on intentional teaching, providing them with a balance of exploration on their own, as well as a teacher directed approach that extended their thinking. Through this, we have seen how the children's knowledge and theories have developed, both in detail and in understanding. By the end of our exploration, they were using their previous experiences to influence their thoughts and ideas, showing how they were able to make connections to further understand the world around them.We have developed a display folder of all our air related experiences, if you would like to have a look at what we have done. It is usually kept on the Yellow Room sign in table, but if not then please ask Carly to show it to you.
As discussed in many of the Parent Teacher interviews this year, the next half of the year will have a large focus on getting the children ready for Blue Room and Red Room in 2012. We have slowly been increasing our group times, sometimes up to 45 minutes a day, and the children are doing extremely well with this. The stories we have been reading are more complex, and they have taken a particular liking to the stories "Monkey Puzzle," "The Gruffalo" and "Zog," all written by Julia Donaldson, as well as "The Three Little Pigs" which we read almost every day. Along with the story, we have introduced a YouTube video of the story, which the children absolutely love. Most of them know all the words by heart and love to comment at all the different things they see while we watch it. We have been having more discussions within our group times, talking about different events and having the children stand up to share something with their friends. Audrey, Zara and Ellie have all shared stories and photographs from their recent holidays, which was very exciting to hear about. This will be great preparation for next year when the children participate in "News Time."
Letters and name recognition is something we are focusing on at the moment, and the children are becoming more confident in identifying the first letter of their name, both by seeing it written and also by hearing it. We have been transitioning the children to lunch and to play outside by calling out a letter of the alphabet, and asking them to stand up if that letter is the first letter of their name. The children are getting much better at this, and are learning not only the starting letter of their own name, but also the starting letters of their friend's names too. Before we go outside in the afternoon we have been placing all the children's hats on the mat, and giving each child an opportunity to find their own hat, by looking at the names on them. We will continue doing this every day in order to make the children more familiar with their names, and we hope that within the next month we can change their lunch time placemats over to having just their names rather than having their photos.
We have developed a weekly helper chart, providing each of the children with an opportunity to be a Yellow Room helper, with important responsibilities that include helping to get the food trolley, handing out wipes to their friends, and then collecting all the fruit cups at morning and afternoon tea. This has not only ensured that all children have an opportunity to help, but has also taught the children about turn taking and having greater responsibility in being a part of Yellow Room. As well as this, we are continually encouraging the children to be independent; pulling down their own pants at toileting times, taking off their own jumpers and placing them in the jumper box, blowing and wiping their own noses, and putting on their own sunscreen in the mirror.
Thank you to all the parents who continue to keep us involved with their children's interests and experiences at home, and for continually supporting us and our program, and all the things we are doing with the children. We really appreciate it, and love to see you taking such an active role in your children's learning.
Carly, Cara and Jess
The last few months have been very busy and exciting as we welcome Amelia, Audrey and Sophia who have just started up here, coming from babies centre. We would like to say congratulations to all the parents who have just had their beautiful new little ones. Including Henry's parents who have had Isabelle, Thomas' parents who have had Niamh and Sacha's parents who have just had Ashley.
Throughout these last few months we have really seen the children grow. The children are becoming more focused on activities for longer periods of time. We have placed chairs around some of the tables within the room, so that the children can sit and really focus on the activity at hand. We have been able to extend the daily group times, as they are proving to be able to listen for longer periods of time. The children have shown a great deal of interest in a few activities, which has allowed us to do many fun experiences on counting, colours, and shape recognition.
We have been encouraging children to expand on their self help skills in different ways, including being able to take their own shoes off and back on again. We have been supporting them through this learning process by aiding them to undo their laces, but allowing them to complete the last part of the process.
We would like to remind parents that they can bring in their own nappy cream that we can keep here for their child. It will just need to be labelled with your child's name so we know it's theirs. As we are continuing to sit your children on the toilets, to practice toileting, we would appreciate if you could please bring an extra change of clothes, just in case.
We would love for you to bring in photos of fun experiences that your child has done on the weekend or a holiday that you have just been on, so that they can share the experience with other children.
Thanks,
Maddie, Zara and Saige