This term is certainly proving to be another busy one, with the weeks once again flying by. The koala group have settled back into the program and routines and we are seeing differing interests emerging. This term the Koala children are enjoying their weekly yoga sessions with Kathryn, and this has worked nicely alongside the introduction of the “Alert Program” in providing children with differing tools and strategies to help connect and become more in tune with their bodies and manage their emotions in effective ways. Over the last few weeks we have had several excursions and incursions, the children ventured to Parktone Primary School last Wednesday, and we also welcomed Bunning’s to Elonera for a craft activity with the children. Late in August we will also be heading to the Parkdale Library. These incursions and excursions allow the children to connect with differing community groups and also support various learning areas.
On Thursday the 3rd of August the children went on an exploration walk at Bush Kinder. Prior to this we had completed a shorter walk that the children really enjoyed and responded to. Therefore we wanted to extend upon this by changing the length of the walk and the location that this would occur at. We began the morning with drop off at the visitor centre, here the children had an opportunity to have another exploration of some of the wildlife at the park through the displays. Once all of the children arrived we set off. The children have become accustomed to the routine of walking when at bush kinder. We use the analogy of a sandwich to ensure that the children are safe. We know that we Jo and Ellie are the bread with Jo at the front and Ellie at the back. Then the children are the ingredients in the middle of the sandwich and we don’t leave the sandwich when we are walking. This is supporting the children to demonstrate spatial awareness and orient themselves in differing environments so that they are safe. The children have shown that they are competent in being safe in this environment and have been able to recognise the guidelines in place to ensure their safety. Jo led the children on the walk. Along the way the children were able to observe differing scenery and wildlife to what we have seen on our BK days. This supported the children to be curious and express wonder and interest in the environment. At times throughout the walk the children noticed areas that they wanted to explore further and one of these spots had an amazing tree log that the children were all able to climb on. Here the children showed that they were able to combine gross and fine motor movement as they climbed and jumped. The children were also taking considered risks within this environment unfamiliar with the surroundings. The children also showed cooperation and collaboration with one another enjoying this experience as a whole group. The children were able to engage in a shared play experience and it supported our sense of belonging as a group. The children walked for an extended period of time, and it was an enjoyable experience with the children showing confidence in their physical development. We will continue to progress the walks to longer lengths of time over the next few weeks, so that we can explore other areas of the park with the children.
At the beginning of term we introduced the children to the famous artist Vincent Van Gogh who was well known for his many paintings, one of these being the “Starry Night”. Each child was able to create their own Starry Night on a foil background, using cotton tips to paint and replicate the swirly patterns created by Van Gogh. Over the term we have provided the children with differing mediums for their artworks and this was another way of extending their use of resources to foster their creativity. The Arts as a learning area can support children in many ways and works toward “the development of the whole child” (Woodruff, Bolen & Thomas 2014, p. 3). The Victorian Early Years Learning framework highlights that we need to support children to use the creative arts such as drawing, painting, sculpture, drama, dance to express ideas and make meaning. Therefore providing children with experiences where they can explore differing art mediums can allow us to support this. To support children’s social skills and collaboration we then created a group “Starry Night” that children were able to work at over a period of time. The children used strips of paper to act like a collage and worked together in smaller groups to create another masterpiece. This artwork also encouraged children to persist and the process of progression as it was something that took several sessions to complete. Over the next few weeks we hope to look at differing artists and explore other mediums with the children.
