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Issue 9, October 2016

Calender of Events

4 Year Old:

DATE EVENT Thursday 15 December Rosella end of year party 11:30-1:30

Friday 16 December Rosella end of year concert & morning tea 9:45-11:15 (A,B & half of C)

Friday 16 December Rosella end of year concert & afternoon tea 12:15-1:45 (D,E other half of C)

Friday 16 December Kinder break up party for families at Mooroolbark train park (early evening)

Monday 19 December Clean up day (3’s & 4’s group) Starting at 9am

3 Year Old:

Saturday 5 November WORKING BEE

Tuesday 13 December Pockets the Clown Incursion

Thursday 15 December Kookaburra break up concert & party day

Monday 19 December Clean up day (3’s & 4’s group) Starting at 9am

These and other important dates will be updated on the calendar above the sign-in table.

This Friday November 25th at 9am is the exclusive visit to

the Cadbury shop (factory) on Canterbury Road. There

are only 25 spots so please RSVP if you would like to

attend, to Mary Brockoff via placing a note in Bethany

Brockoff’s pigeon hole or via facebook.

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Committee Update

"RESULTS OF THE FAMILY SURVEY A big thank you to all the families who completed our annual, online survey. The very positive results are a credit to our wonderful teachers and educators, and the hard work of all our volunteers, especially those on the Committee of Management. Thank you!!! Some highlights of these great results are below. We also received wonderful praise (especially for the teachers), some insightful comments and useful advice for 2017. "My child enjoyed their time at Heathmont East Preschool” 96% strongly agreed or agreed "My child's interests and strengths are catered for at Heathmont East Preschool.” 92% strongly agree or agreed "Children at Heathmont East Preschool appear to be busy, settled and engaged. 92% strong agree or agree "Children are supported to make healthy food and drink choices and have opportunity for physical activity 100% strongly agree or agree "Children are guided to play safely, showing respect for both other children and the equipment.” 90% strongly agree or agree "There are sufficient resources and equipment set out, which invite children to play and explore.” 94% strongly agree or agree “Facilities at Heathmont East Preschool are clean, safe and well presented. 100% strongly agree or agree "Heathmont East Preschool encourages respect forthe environment.” 100% strongly agree or agree "The staff always display professionalism and appear to be well prepared for each session.” 96% strongly agree or agree "The staff create warm and nurturing relationships with children at Heathmont East Preschool.” 96% strongly agree or agree Some anonymous comments re “what do you like best" "Well done & keep up the good work. I am so happy my child is coming back next year. Can’t wait for another year.” "Beautiful outdoor play area and nurturing staff who care about the children and their developing minds"

Kind regards,

Bronwyn Hinz

Vice President

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BECKY’S CORNER OCTOBER 2016

On Tuesday 11 October we baked mini Banana Muffins. They were delicious, so here is the

recipe!

Banana Muffins (egg free)

1 ½ cups Flour (plain)

¾ cup sugar (we used caster)

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

¼ cup vegetable oil

3 medium mashed bananas

1 tsp vanilla extract

If you happen to be having a wardrobe clean

out, we really need size 3 pants, leggings

and socks for our spare clothes box here, in

case we need to change a child’s clothing.

A reminder too that the St Kilda Mums donation basket is in the parent room and this is also a

great way to recycle children’s clothes, shoes and toys that you no longer need/can use or pass

on. Please make sure items are clean and labelled boy/girl/age or size.

For more details, go to their web page.

Method

1. Mash the bananas until smooth

2. Add the oil, milk, & vanilla. Mix to

combine

3. Slowly add the dry ingredients,

mixing batter well

4. Spoon mixture into greased muffins

tins (our mixture made 33 mini

muffins)

5. Bake at 375° for 15-20 minutes

6. Cool in tins before turning out

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News from the Rosellas

Children are making their own caterpillars by stapling coloured circle

together to form the caterpillar’s body parts. Children were using their

maths skills and counting the circles and deciding how long their

caterpillars were going to be. Children drew the faces and added legs and

feelers if desired. The children learned from the information about

caterpillars before they started that when transforming and building their

chrysalis they hang upside down in the shape of a letter "J". Some children

wanted their caterpillar displayed in the foyer in this position. Children

also enjoyed the exploration table with interactive butterflies and cocoons

to view with magnify glasses.

Children were lucky enough to have our own caterpillars to observe and view the

transformation as they begin their journey through metamorphosis(transformation) into a

butterfly. We also viewed this transformation on the lap top which gave us information and

answered our questions. We have also been reading information books like "The Very Hungry

Caterpillar" story and feeding Andrea's puppet taking it in turns. Children have learned various

caterpillar and butterfly songs and poems. Finally on Thurs 3rd Nov our first Butterfly emerged.

Life cycle of a Caterpillar.

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Marten is doing some shopping with Alex in the 'Pet Shop'.

Children are very interested in pets and animals and also enjoyed

the shopping concept. Children like to re-enact activities they see

their family members take part in.

Children made a leaf by decorating a

biscuit with green icing and using a

knife to spread the icing and placing a

caterpillar on the leaf.

Callum, Miller, William, Thomas and Toby are always coming

up with ideas and extensions on their play. Here they have

built a house with the blocks and used the doll house furniture

along with materials from box construction. Together they

shared their ideas and worked collaboratively. Well done!!

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Children have put themselves into the play

as dogs. They have owners who have taken

them to puppy school.

To further extend our campfire interest, children are

exploring charcoal drawing the coals from our fire pit. The

children were asked "what colour do you think the coals

are"? Haylee replied "white", "no black" said Toby.

Children learnt that the coals were very soft and broke

apart whilst they were drawing. They also learnt you

could make many different shades depending on the

pressure and by smudging the charcoal.

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We have been exploring the life cycle of "Frogs’ . Children enjoyed the hands

on frog tadpole exploration with lily pads and logs. We are also watching

some real tadpoles transform through their cycle, courtesy of one of our 3

year old families. When the tadpoles grow front and back legs they are called

froglets, and as their tails get shorter they become frogs and jump out of the

water. We are going to return our frogs to where they originally came from.

Children asked for the 'Post Box' and were very

interested in writing letters to post. Jasper

initiated this but soon many children were

interested. We practiced writing ‘To’ on the front

of the envelope and ‘From’ on the back. Children

independently found their friend’s names to copy

on to the front of the envelope or the words

‘Mum’ or ‘Dad’ were frequently used.

Building with blocks is very popular both indoors and outdoors.

Children are making wonderful teams and working together on a

desired project with a common outcome. I have even heard

children making comment on the wonderful teamwork.

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Some children were lucky enough to see the chickens

hatching from their eggs. First they were in the incubator

which was set at 37.7 degrees to keep them warm and after

they hatched and dried out by fluffing up they were moved

into the brooder with food and water. They were able to

fend for themselves and they were only one day old!

We had a visit from ‘Wild Action. We saw

Reptiles like a frill necked lizard, a green tree

frog, a small python and a larger python, a

turtle and a crocodile. The children were able

to see these creatures up close, touch them to

feel the texture of their skin and some

individuals were able to hold or touch an

animal all by themselves. This connection

between the children and animals is

important for creating caring and interest in

these creatures. Our children will be the

‘Wildlife warriors’ of the future and will play a

vital role in the continued existence of some

of these creatures, which are already

endangered, including the Quokka, which

came to kinder on this day for the first time.

Some of these reptiles also hatch from eggs,

which children wanted to explore in more

detail. "What else hatches from an egg"?

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Miller shared "Patchy" the dog's birthday with

everyone. Some children made cakes whilst other

children made presents - 'fetch sticks'. Children sang

happy birthday to "Patch" and he opened his presents.

Miller said "Patch was 2 years old".

Many thanks to Lee’s Mum Leanne who

offered her amazing face painting skills to the

children recently, which also happened to be

Halloween. Tigers and Spider webs with

Spiders were very popular. We also had a

skeleton, a ghost and a Fireman Sam.

Whatever the children asked for Leanne was

able to patiently reproduce.

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Our water project

Can you help?

We are looking for three wire baskets to stack.

Funnels and tubing and a clam shell pool.

We would like to make a recycle water park.

If you can help please let staff know and

bring your items in ASAP.

Thank you Andrea, Pam, Joyce, Mary-ann and Becky.

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News from the Kookaburra’s

This term we are studying lifecycles. The children have been

fascinated with the story of The Very Hungry Caterpillar this year

so over the holidays we purchased a caterpillar kit. Over the

course of the first week the caterpillars became fatter & fatter &

fatter & eventually turn into chrysalis. We have watched a video

on how the caterpillars change into a butterfly and the children

excitedly watched each day to see the transformation.

Unfortunately, the unseasonal cool weather delayed the process

but at the time of writing we have had 4 beautiful Monarch

butterflies hatch. We will be releasing them into our garden next week when the weather conditions

are suitable. This has been a unique & exciting experience for our children (and community), one

which we hope we can repeat in future years.

While we were waiting for the transformation we spent a lot of time reading

The Very Hungry Caterpillar story, acting the story out using puppets and

even making our own story using playdough. We have decorated biscuits as

leaves and added caterpillar lollies and done

butterfly prints. For those who aren’t aware,

butterfly prints occur by placing a few blobs of

paint onto a page, fold it in half, and rub the

page which spreads the paint underneath.

When you open the paper back up there is a

new picture that often looks like a butterfly &

is a mirror image on both sides of the page.

Children love this experience & to see the

astonished looks on their faces when they

open their page is priceless. It takes many children several goes to work out

what has happened, teaching them cause & consequence and discovery.

Plus, it adds a sensory experience with the feel of the paint between the

paper.

By co-incidence we also have some tadpoles

that were donated by Patricks family. So far the

tadpoles have just gotten fatter & changed shape, but unlike the

caterpillar they don’t turn into butterflies. The larger one has just

started to grow tiny legs. Eventually his tail will drop off & he will

become a frog. (NB: It is illegal to remove tadpoles from their natural

environment unless they are on private property. In this case the

tadpoles can be removed on condition they will be returned to the

same place. Our tadpoles come from Patrick’s Nana’s property & will

be returned there as frogs).

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We have had our chicken hatching at kinder too. Unfortunately, the chickens

didn’t hatch on our kinder days but the children did get to see an egg that had

a crack in it & one chicken that had been born only a couple of hours earlier.

When they were a little bigger they got to pat them too. Most children were

amazed how soft they were & even more amazed when they saw how

quickly they grew. By the time you have read this the chickens will have gone

to their new homes at Patrick’s & Felix’s (Rosella’s) houses.

The children are becoming so grown up now & ready for their next step into

4-year-old kinder. To help with this transition we are mixing up our program

a bit, asking the children to make more choices for themselves and we

have asked next year’s teachers to pop in from time to time to say ‘Hi” so

they are not complete strangers to the children next year. We are also

talking a lot about saying ‘Hello’ and making eye contact, asking to play

with others & why sometimes people may prefer to play by themselves.

These concepts are very difficult for some children to understand, and

while other children aren’t intentionally mean, sometimes their use of

language makes it seem that they are. Remember, children still don’t have

a large vocabulary & they are still building resilience (see ‘For the Parents’

in last month’s newsletter).

Now that the children are learning how to take turns and

consider others we have begun to introduce some board

games. So far we have played Snap with the children & The

Snail Race which has turned into a favourite. Playing board

games increases resilience (you don’t win every time), and also

teaches mathematical concepts.

In the garden, we have been planting sunflower seeds & tomatoes with

the children. There are a few children that love gardening but other’s

come & go depending what other games are being played in the

playground. All the children love watering the plants though so I can

see that water play is going to be popular as the weather improves.

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Other popular activities have been digging for treasure in the sand pit,

group & individual projects surrounding spring and threading bottle tops to

add to our outdoor curtain (hand-eye co-ordination & fine motor skills

practice). Pasting at the easels has inspired some children who rarely do

pastings to join in the activity. Of course, the swings, digging in the mud pit

and fire fighters continue to be popular with the children (imaginative play

& fine motor development). We have also enjoyed blowing & chasing

bubbles (speech & gross motor development), cooking (maths concepts &

gross motor), matching patterns with blocks (maths concepts) and so

much more!

I am extremely proud of the Kookaburra group & their ability to remember routines, particularly

packing up inside and after snack putting all their belongings in their bags & remembering to push in

their chairs. Even when they aren’t confident, they will try most experiences. They have come a long

way since February.

Pam & Becky

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Advanced notice: Every year we have a clean-up day where toys are washed & put away ready for

the following year & tables & chairs are scrubbed clean. This year’s clean-up day will be a joint day

with the Rosella group & will occur on Monday 19th of December. More details will come closer to

the day.

# There has been a slight change to our Xmas performer for the 13th of

December. Unfortunately, Crumpette the clown is unable to make it on the day,

but instead we have her husband Pockets coming.

# Please remember to continue to bring any unwanted clothes or linen for the St Kilda mum’s

charity. They take children’s clothes from sizes 0-10 years. If you have clothes outside that range

still bring it & place it in the Diabetes Collection bin.

# If you have any questions regarding your child’s development please contact me anytime on the

Kookaburra email address (below) or speak to me before or after sessions to arrange a time to

meet with me.

# If your child is going to be away for any reason please call us on 97294762 or email

kookaburras@heathmontheastpreschool.org.au

For the parents … Getting ready for next year

Whether your child is moving to 4-year-old kinder next year or school, it is the next big step in their lives. While 4yo kinder is held at the same place, the sessions are much longer & the children will have new staff to get to know.

To help the transition we are talking about it in a positive way, introducing them to the staff when we see them, and starting to change our program a bit to help the children cope with the change. Going to school is the same – go to the transitions, look around the school, talk positively. We encourage older children to wear their school uniform to show it off.

Information is power, even to children

Some Tips for parents-

. remain positive

. if going to school introduce your child to their teacher as soon as it’s known

. never let your child overhear any negative feelings you have about friendship groups or teachers. Remember one child’s experience with a teacher will not be the same to all children.

. Children are far more adaptable than we give them credit for. If they are sad that they don’t see ‘their best friend’ from last year, have play dates after session/class or on weekends. You will find that children meet & make new friends quickly

. ensure your child has adequate rest. Their day is much longer than they are used too so it is sometimes suggested that you don’t do after school activities until Term2 to give them time to adjust.

. Make sure your child can open their own lunch box & knows how to find their bag. This can be extremely distressing for a child

. Ensure your child understands that teachers are there to help them & it’s ok to ask for help.

The most important thing is communication. If you have concerns talk to your child’s teacher.

Pam

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Happy Birthday to …

Rosellas Kookaburras

October October

William who turned 5 Joshua who turned 4 on 15th

Felix who turned 5 Patrick who turned 4 on 29th

THANKYOU!

Bron (Lenny’s Mum) for resourcing the ‘Sorry, Sorry’ book and ‘Welcome to Country’ book for

kinder during her recent conference in Darwin.

To Lisa(Isaac’s Mum) for donating peg caterpillar resources including pegs and pompoms,

which she helped the children to make.

To Ruth(Sophie’s Mum) for acknowledging ‘Teachers Day’ with a beautiful bunch of flowers

and chocolate for all the Rosella Staff members.

David (Zoe Poulter’s dad) for supplying us 1 large cable drum. We will hopefully find some

time to transform it over the holidays.

Pauline Barnes (Jacob’s mum) for the donation of the lovely red cushions now located in the

book corner

Zoie (Clay’s mum) for the donation of spare clothes and for the large bag of toys that

included bells, a cash register & cars & trucks

Becky’s friend who donated the large dolls house, trains & cars, puzzles & some fire fighter

accessories.

The Fundraising team for funding the purchase of the Caterpillar kit. Seeing them transform

into butterflies has been an amazing experience for the kinder community and the children

have loved it.

ALLERGY/ANAPHYLAXIS: This year we

have a child in the Rosella group who is anaphylactic

to PEANUTS. NUTS must not be brought to kinder.

Reminder: Please call the kinder on

97294762 if you are going to be away for a

session.

We have an answering machine so you can

leave a message at any time of the day or the

night.