Date: 29/-08 – 02/09/2016
Monday
AM: Sarah -Kia time
Link to current topic – Our World. I’ve been noticing some of the children are becoming not too keen at sitting down at kai times to eat the delicious food that their parents/whanau have provided and also having some fruit from the shared plate. Some hot lunches are going half eaten/uneaten and yoghurts only having a spoonful and being shoved away! So it’s time to remind the children about how important food is for their bodies, to help them grow and that it is very beneficial to sit and eat at the kai times during the day. Some of the parents are also showing a little concern for the uneaten or wasted food, being in communication with why this is etc…
Lesson Planned
I have a fun book about a child who doesn’t eat her lunch and some make believe animals eat it instead. she gets a very hungry tummy and when it’s dinner time she eats it all up, yay! We will talk about what the children see/think about that happens at the kai times at preschool, morning tea, lunch time, yoghurt time. What are the expectations, how much food should the eat, trying the food before saying they don’t like it, letting their parents know if there’s a food item they don’t like etc. Having clear communication between the children and teachers in relation to kai time and eating their healthy food to help them grow. I also have another book that shows counting by making a salad and pretending the ingredients are animals!
Description of Learning – What did the children show interest in?
I started with the book and the children were fascinated by it! Probably because it was showing animals that they like/talk about during their play. Then we went into talking about the routines and expectations of kai times. Including what happens before during and after at morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea/yoghurt time. the children were very confident to answer the questions and share what they knew about with kai times. When I got the clock it was awesome to see how the children took this on board and really thought about how to read the time on the clock, knowing when they could leave the kai table etc.
PM: Zinzi – My family
We will talk about who all are in our family and what different families from the world looks like. Afterwards if we have time we will make our own family tree or draw describing who all are part of their family.
Lesson Planned
I will have my ipad to show them the different types of families around the world, how they live and share their house with everyone. I also have book about the littler children around the world. What their routines are compared to ours routine in NZ.
Description of Learning – What did the children show interest in?
This was such an exciting group time. The children really enjoyed see different types of families around the world. How they live together. Some families have their grandparents, uncle and aunties and their children all live in a big house. Some children have two dads or two mums and some only have one. They all talked about their families with each other and share who all lives with them. We also got to look at the different type of homes around the world through my Ipad. The children also got to see the book about the different children in the world, how they got to school and how they live in their homes with their families.
Tuesday
AM: Angela – New Zealand Flag
I hope the children will learn about our New Zealand flag and why it looks the way that it does.
Lesson Planned
I will use my NZ flag, and paper for the older group to colour in their own flags as well as a big piece of paper for the younger group to paint our NZ flag.
Description of Learning – What did the children show interest in?
The children showed interest in the flag today and were able to tell me about the colours on the flag. We talked about what the stars and Union Jack meant and had fun painting and colouring our own flags. We then all sang the New Zealand National Anthem together and some of the children said that they had heard and sang it before.
PM: Zinzi – Solar System
What is a solar system? What does it look like? Children will get to learn about the different kinds of planets. Afterwards we get to colour in our solar system.
Lesson Planned
I will have my iPad ready for the children to see the different type of planets and how they are different from each other. I will also have the solar system colouring page ready for the children to colour in.
Description of Learning – What did the children show interest in?
This was a very chilled afternoon. Both older and younger group of children enjoyed learning about the different planets in our solar system. They learned that the sun is the center of our solar system. We also were able to see and notice how the planet sizes are different from each other. One of the children notice that Jupiter is the biggest plant in our solar system. They also called out the colours of each plant and I was able to explain why they were that colour. For example Mars is red because its got the rust dust in the atmosphere. When I pointed at planet Earth one of the children said, “Its Earth”. They also were able to recognize the blue colour is water and the green and brown is land. Great observations.
Wednesday
AM: Christine – “Let’s Play”
Link to current planning “Our world”. We will look at how children play around the world and how similar or different their games from us. We will also look at the different things and resources they use in their play.
Lesson Planned
I have a book with awesome images of children’s play. We will also try to play some of these games- need to look at resources that I could use in the classroom. Younger children- activity tracing our hands. we will also create a world using our cut out hands (if we still have time).
Description of Learning – What did the children show interest in?
The children showed interest in the images of children’s play. The children noticed some few similarities which was striking to them. The hula hoop, the swing, jump rope were the games that they could relate to. I could hear some children say “I play that outside”. It was great to see children’s participation in our discussions and the marble game that we played.
PM: Kim – Making good choices
I’d like to talk with the children and make a poster of their ideas of how we can make good choices, and also rules outside, both for safety and kindness
Lesson Planned
I know what to suggest , but i’d like to get the ideas from the kids too. I’m intending to write these on a large piece of paper as we brainstorm/discuss
Description of Learning – What did the children show interest in?
Children were able to outline some of the rules that we have at preschool. The older children were able to verbally tell me and the younger children nodded when they heard what was being said. They asked lots of questions about why the sand stays in the sandpit (outside rule) and the bark in the bark area, which was good. We were able to discuss this a bit further.
Thursday
AM: Bobbie – My learning journey (Profile books)
Linked to our current topic of “Our world” /Belonging at Fundies I would like to really highlight where the profile books are in our preschool, what they have in them, and read some of the stories aloud to highlight the successful learning journey the children have at Fundies.s.
Lesson Planned
I will challenge the children to find their own profile books (will need to check in advance that these are all there) and will ask them if they are happy for me to read some of their stories aloud. I will talk about what they enjoy seeing stories on, if they check Educa, and may be able to show them what Educa looks like.
Description of Learning – What did the children show interest in?
Older group really enjoyed this and were so enthusiastic, sat in groups of 2-3 and shared their stories and pictures. Younger group flicked through and got fascinated by certain things, maybe that they could recall being interested in. With both groups we talked about where to find the books, what the books were for (capturing their learning), that it was also on the computer and that they could look at their own book whenever they liked. We discussed the covers – name, photo, border. I then asked some of the children if I could share their most recent stories, most were able to remember details from the story and what they had done.
PM: Sarah – Garden animals
Link to current topic – Our world. The children like to explore the outdoors and sometimes happen upon a creature or two! I have a book from the library that shows some garden animals that can be found….you just got to look really closely!
Lesson Planned
I will share the book with the children, it is an intro reader book so I can point to each word as I read, to encourage their literacy and concentration skills. We will have an open discussion about what bugs the children have seen in their garden or outside at preschool, what’s their favourite, what happened when/if they touched the bug, did they show a friend too? We will then create a paper butterfly with coloured pencils and that the children can make flutter by attaching it to a stick.
Description of Learning – What did the children show interest in?
The children liked the book & watched as I pointed to each word. I explained why I was doing this too. The children had seen a monarch butterfly & a couple of worms in the fund yes garden that day so we were able to chat about that. The children were interested in my description of what the snail does with its eyes & boys when feeling threatened. After the book we made butterflies & the children just loved fluttering around with them. We say a simple butterfly song that I had made up, lots of fun!
Friday
AM: Kim – How did you grow so tall?
Link to current planning ” Our World” and also that I have to do the nutrition story for September for the Healthy Heart award. I hope the children will learn that it’s ok to be different sizes..some of us are bigger..some of us all small..but we are all friends. I also hope that the discussion on ” how did we grow so tall” will bring out a focus on healthy food..if not I intend to steer the conversation this way 
Lesson Planned
I’m going to bring in a tape measure and scales and record the children’s heights and weights. I’d like to have a discussion on how people are different shapes and sizes and what we can eat to make our bodies grow strong and healthy.
Description of Learning – What did the children show interest in?
Everybody wanted a turn of being measured ! The tape measure and scales held a lot of interest even before group time when several children noticed there was something unusual on the kitchen bench.They all came eagerly to group time to have a turn with ” Kim’s things from her house” I was absolutely delighted that I didn’t need to steer the conversation towards healthy choice..every child (except for a couple of very little 2 year olds who didn’t answer the question at all) all had answers for me, about what helped them grow..and every single answer was healthy! There is a display on the wall of their answers, colouring in and heights and weights… the height and weights are a little approximate due to wiggling,and about 30 impatient children wanting to all have their turn at the same time.. but in general the heights are weights are close (ish). There will be a group story on EDUCA
PM: Christine – What Country am I from? Changed to “Fathers Day” -Relevant Occasion
Current planning We will talk about the different traditional costume’s of some countries. Why are they significant and why is it important to their culture. What is New Zealand’s traditional costume? We will talk about one of the most celebrated occasion in New Zealand. What is special about their Dads and what are the things you to together with your Dads.
Lesson Planned
I have an idea of some traditional costume’s in Asia. Borrowed costumes from parents. Activity- paper dolls costume matching. I have a book that i’d like to read to the children about Dads. Planned activity: Print out poem and children’s hand prints.
Description of Learning – What did the children show interest in?
This group time was awesome, most children shared their experiences and the things they do with their Dads on weekends. There was a lot participation and discussions at the podium about Fathers Day. The children were really proud of their hand print activity, they even remembered to take it home as a present for their Dads.