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REDDAMHOUSE

Amy’s Message By Amy Goodlace, Head of Early Learning

Dear Families,

At the beginning of the third term we had a

wonderful staff development day. We brought in

a training company to work with the team and

we successfully identified each other’s strengths,

weaknesses and what makes our team successful.

It was a very enriching day for all the staff that

attended.

To follow up on that successful day, we decided

to meet as a whole team once a month to

continue working on our strategies to ensure

excellence in our Early Learning School.

Our first whole staff meeting was on Wednesday

evening. There were collaborations and

discussions over a meal from 6:00 till 7:30PM that

evening.

I want to thank the wonderful team of educators

that we have at Reddam Early Learning School for

their dedication to the school and our children.

I am immensely proud to be leading such a team

of dedicated staff that were willing to stay after

hours to collaborate.

In our meeting this month we spoke about the

values that we as a school encourage in our

children:

Kind Hearts

Good Manners

Gentle Hands

Quiet voices

Respect

Walking feet

These values will be introduced to the children in

their daily experiences at school and we will start

a reward programme which I will introduce to the

families within the next few weeks.

I would also like to thank the families that have so

kindly spent time at school to read stories to the

children or participate in the provocations that

the children are exploring.

Wishing you a wonderful weekend!

Kind regards,

Amy

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The Nest What A Wonderful World Takes Off! By Tatiana Botrel, Tori Gordon, and Gabriella Guimaraes

During our explorations around the world this

week The Nest children went on a trip around

Australia and Argentina.

In Australia the children made their own

boomerangs using cardboard paper and our

famous dot makers. We have also played

along with some animals native to Australia

such as the kangaroo, the platypus, the

wombat, the crocodile and the kookaburra. To

make this journey even more special we made

some lamington cake for afternoon tea. Our

little ones had lots of fun covering the sponge

cake with our chocolate sauce and then rolling

it on desiccated coconut.

In Argentina, we learned some cool soccer

tricks from Lia (Luke C.’s mummy). Messi, her

favourite soccer player from Argentina

inspired her to come and visit us in The Nest. In

Argentina we also had some time to dance the

Tango and share a rose with our friends. On

behalf of all of The Nest group I would like to

say a big thank you to Lia for giving us some of

her time. I am sure Luke was very happy to

have his mummy in our classroom… and so

were we!

Our journey around the world is only starting

and next week our aeroplane might be landing

somewhere around China, Russia and Ukraine.

Watch this space to follow our adventures

around the world.

Music of the week

“Kookaburra sits on the old gum tree,

Merry Merry king of the bush is he.

Laugh, Kookaburra, laugh, Kookaburra,

Gay your life must be!”

Book of the week

“If you are happy and you know it” by

P. Crumble.

This book uses a traditional nursery rhyme to

introduce the children to some of the most

common animals native to Australia. A really

fun way to learn what some characteristics of

these animals for example “If you are an

echidna and you know it, spike you hair” or “If

you are a wombat and you know it, dig a

hole”.

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The Nest Photo Gallery

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Stage 1 Everyday Patterns By Polina Rodov, Karla Cabezs and Michele Santos

We started this week by investigating patterns

that can be noticed all around us. Our morning

circle was a fantastic starting point where we

observed a pattern in the way the children were

sitting girl, boy, girl, boy, etc. We pointed out that

the order in how the children were positioned

created a pattern in itself. The children found this

interesting and at the same time quite amusing.

We went around in the circle repetitively saying

‘Girl, boy, girl, boy’, until we finally came to a

pause as there were two boys sitting next to

each other. I explained that this is where the

pattern stops as we have more boys in our group

and would need more girls to continue the

pattern. We then counted how many boys and

girls we had.

Our next observation was about patterns on our

clothing. We concluded that there were many

different patterns amongst us, calling out any

type of pattern that we could see on the clothes

that the children were wearing. Stripes, spots and

stars were the most evident patterns we could

see. We then took a further step by grouping all

the stripes together and counting how many

there were. A pattern that particularly caught

our eye was on a beautiful jacket. I brought over

some images of animals that we have been

looking at and held them near the jacket. I asked

the children which of the animals does the

pattern on the jacket resemble? Immediately the

response was leopard. We will be creating our

own leopard print patterns next week.

Creativity with patterns

We experimented with a different painting

technique to see if we could achieve any sort of

pattern effect. We dipped small wooden reels,

each of which had a pattern on them such as a

wave, dot or zigzag and then rolled the reel on

to some paper. We were pleased to discover

that the pattern actually worked and we could

see the repetitive shapes on our page. Some of

the children then decided to create finger

patterns as they realised that their fingers already

had paint on them from holding the reels. It was

a very enjoyable creative experience.

Threading a pattern

Our main focus was threading shapes on to shoe

strings and creating a shape and colour patterns.

Together with practicing our fine-motor

capabilities and precision with the intricate

threading, the children were able to choose the

shapes they wanted to use to create a basic

pattern using two shapes. We explained to the

children that in order to create a pattern there

needs to be repetition in the order of the shapes

we are threading and the colours we are using.

For example yellow circle, orange square, yellow

circle, orange square and so on. We

demonstrated a specific example so that the

children could get a visual understanding.

Patterning is a difficult concept to grasp at this

age, however the children are doing remarkably

well and showing their thinking process.

Dramatic Play Interest

The little wooden dolls house with a selection of

furniture sparked an interest amongst many of

the children to engage in dramatic play and

interact socially. Lots of conversations could be

heard about what was happening in the house.

Avery – “She is having a shower”, while holding

the little doll in one hand and the piece of

furniture in the other. ‘This is a kitchen”, Gabriel

explained to Charlie, showing him the kitchen

cabinet. Elle and Maxwell both enjoyed sitting

their little people on the chairs and couches. It

was really nice listening to the children’s

interactions and language progression.

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Stage 1 Photo Gallery

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Stage 1 Photo Gallery Continued…

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Stage 2 Blasting Into Space By Daniela Gosty, Susan Casey, Vanessa Copper, Lois Maand, Monica Ranjitkar

If you have heard your child counting

5,4,3,2,1- blast off then it is because we

have been blasting off all day at school.

We blast off to the bathroom to wash our

hands, we blast off to eat, we blast off to

play. Blasting off is so much fun as you just

never know where you may be going and

what may be waiting for you when you get

there.

The children in Group 2 have been

exploring space through the large floor

puzzles. They have been learning to work

co-operatively together taking turns to

connect the pieces and using the picture

as a guide. We have some very good

puzzlers in our group and our friends are all

developing skills to their own level.

The children have also been talking about

the day sky. “What makes the sky so

bright?” We talked about how the sun

warms our bodies and our world. We have

noticed the different type of clouds, the

fluffy white clouds and the dark storm

clouds. We have observed the different

objects we see in the sky. We never know

where they may lead us to next week.

The children in Group 1 have continued

their focus on the stars and they have been

looking at the amazing colours from the

milky way and beyond in the galaxy. This

has been our focus for the upcoming wall

display. The children can often be heard

spontaneously singing “Twinkle Twinkle Little

Star” and “Star light, Star bright”.

The art room is slowly transforming into

another world as the children have been

working on the Night Sky pin display. We

started with a white sheet of paper that we

roller painted black and then attached it to

the window. The children are then given a

thin piece of wire (supervised of course!)

and they push it through to reveal the light.

The effect represents the twinkle of the stars.

It has also created a lot of discussion as the

children look through the holes and can see

the big school playground.

All the children have loved learning new

songs at group time, and one of the most

requested has been “5 green men”

“5 green men in a flying saucer,

Flew around the earth one day.

They looked left and right

But they didn’t like the sight.

So one man flew away…

Woooooshhhhh.”

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Stage 2 Photo Gallery

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Stage 2 Photo Gallery Continued …

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Stage 2 Photo Gallery Continued …

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Stage 3 Fractured Fairytales By Anita Martin, Cheryl Freeman, Christina Mandalidis and Hannah McCooey

This week the children delved into the world of

fractured fairy tales through their current

avenue of interest – The Three Little Pigs. A

fractured fairy tale is designed to be

humorous where the author changes the

story, altering characters and settings. They

use familiar stories and give them a twist,

which in turn can enrich children’s

understanding of story settings, points of view,

and plots.

The children have previously read various

editions of the Three Little Pigs where the story

changes slightly for example, the pigs get

eaten by the wolf, the wolf joins the pigs for

tea, or the wolf burns his tail on a pot of

boiling water. However during the past

couple of weeks the children have been

introduced to a variety of fractured fairy tales

such as ‘The Three Horrid Pigs,’ ‘The Three Little

Wolves and the Big Bad Pig,’ and ‘The True

Story of the Three Little Pigs.’ The children

have loved reading each of these and have

been requesting them to be read every time

they come into the classroom.

Some masks have also been added to the

classroom, which in turn has enabled the

children to act out the story. They have

enjoyed taking this activity outdoors to the

brick house (the castle) as the little pigs have

lots of space to run away from the wolf.

The children have been enjoying engaging in

creative experiences at the atelier table

where they have had the opportunity to draw

and decorate the three little pig’s houses.

They were also very excited to get into the

kitchen to make some delicious ‘Piggy’

cupcakes.

Finally, we would like to say thank you to all of

the children who have remembered to bring

in their favourite books to share with the class.

We would also like to thank the wonderful

parents who have taken some time out of

their busy day to come to read to the

children. This has been a great opportunity

for the children as they have been able to

demonstrate to our special guests their great

listening and concentration skills during these

times.

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Stage 3 Gallery

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Stage 3 Gallery Continued ...

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Stage 4 The Wonder Of the Bush By Kristina Rocchi, Jane Pledger, Deanne Jacobs, Debbie Zerbst and Kirsty Gilford

The wonder of nature is all around us, we just need

to stop, breath and immerse ourselves within it for

a couple of hours a week to really appreciate its

value.

In Stage 4 we are fortunate to visit the Bush once

a week for our Bush connection program. Even

though we visit the same area of Cooper nature

reserve each week, every experience is different

and profound. The children return from the bush

with many questions and interests. Below are a

collection of photographs of our last two visits to

the bush and comments from children.

The large rock face which we climb was named

“spider rock “ last week by Claudia due to the

large collection of webs that had appeared.

This sparked an interest in animal homes, we

explored the bush to see if we could see other

animal homes.

“Spider webs are so cool.” Coby said as he lifted

up the body of a dead spider he found.

“I think it is the skin of a spider, it drops its skin off

like a snake.” Luke

“We will have to find out if that’s true.” Robert.

One morning we even discovered steam coming

off the picnic table as the sun shone on the wood.

Where was the water going? Why was steam

coming from the wood? A collection of girls were

fascinated by this and hypothesised with their

friends what might happen.

“Lets smell the wood to see if it’s burning” said

Margaret.

“Maybe its oil on the top not water.” Said Alyssa.

Then Margaret glasses steamed up during the

smelling of the picnic table,

“Oh no more steam!!! Where is this stuff coming

from.’ Margret said laughing

Raphael noticed that creature had lots of legs

and asked what is was?

On returning from the bush we looked inside our

bug encyclopaedia to find out it was a centipede

with one hundred legs….. we laughed together

and said we wouldn’t want to go on a shoe

shopping trip with the centipede..hehe

We discovered animal droppings, but had no

idea what animal would do these kind of poos?

More research needed on this one in the science

room.

Josie commented that there were buds growing,

new flowers starting to grow. And we really think

there is a smell of spring in the air.

Outcome 4 of the Early Learning Years framework

talk about children being connected to the world

around them. On our arrival to the bush each

week we sit together and breath the fresh air and

touch the ground with our hands whilst closing our

eyes. We feel our roots grow through our feet and

c o n n e c t w i t h t h e s o i l , w e a r e

connected………………….thank you nature.

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Stage 4

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Stage 4 Continued…

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Mighty Mites Gross Motor Skills

By Simon Joseph

The Stage 1’s:

Warmed up their bodies as they stretched

and moved to the Mighty Mites song and

dance

Developed their crawling skills as they

crawled through the caterpillar tunnel and

went right the way through to the end

Were encouraged to catch the chime ball

by using their eyes to watch the ball, their

ears to listen to the bell inside the ball, and

their hands to grasp the ball

The Stage 2’s:

Improved their cardiovascular fitness and

strength through a routine to some upbeat

Mighty Mites music!

Lengthened their muscles and improved

their muscle tone and flexibility through our

Mighty Mites yoga cards of the day- see

Downward Dog Pose illustrated below

Spoke about some of the healthy snacks

Mighty Mite could eat that will provide him

with lots of energy to be active

The Stage 3’s:

Developed their bouncing skills along with

their basket scoring skills for basketball!

Learnt how they use their Deltoid muscles

to throw the ball into the basket!

Developed their partner work for

basketball- throwing to a partner and

bouncing to a partner

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Dancearama Camping & Storytelling

By Laura Hudson

Stage 2

Discussed what items we might take

on a camping trip, looking at what

Laura (the explorer) had packed in her

backpack

Worked as a team to do a whole class

improvisation, setting up camp and

going on an adventure (walking

through the forest, crossing a bridge,

fishing etc. etc.)

The ribbons acted as a great tool for a

fishing rod. Whilst fishing they had to

use facial expressions and gestures to

show what they had caught (big fish,

heavy fish or an old boot)

As the sun went down we gathered

sticks for the camp fire, toasting our

mash mellows whilst singing a couple

of songs including some rhyming

words

Finished the drama improvisation by

the children going to sleep in their

tents, telling an interactive story using

the puppets

Stage 3

The children helped tell an interactive

story using characters from Nursery

Rhymes they knew

Discussed what character means

The story linked a number of Fairy tales

together allowing the children to

explore emotions as well as use their

senses working as a team to help Bella

and the other characters in the story.

Played follow the leader as their

characters

Retold Little Miss Muffet, the children

finished the rhyme by saying where

they think Miss Muffet ran to and why

the spider scared her tried curds and

way

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Physical Education Fundamental Movements

By Spencer Clifton

Our warm up this week involved

switching between fast paced running

and agility style movements including

skipping, side gallop and the newly learnt

backwards shuffle.

This week we utilized our running and

rapid direction changes in a game of 'Tip'

where hoops were used as safe zones.

We mixed it up this week, incorporating

the good old fashion bull rush game into

our sports session. Many parents I speak

to have fond memories of this schoolyard

favourite, however playing for the first

time does test spatial awareness and

allows the children to begin to develop

speed control.

The students enjoyed above arm

resistance training using a large

parachute. We made waves and learnt

about controlled lifting, which facilitated

coordinated teamwork. Communication

skills allowed the children to participate in

the best part of the giant parachute

game - the 'trapping ourselves

underneath the parachute part' which all

classes achieved successfully on their first

attempt.