One of the children was playing in a cardboard box when I walked out with this odd piece of paper. I asked him what he thought it looked like and he wasn’t too sure. One of the girls that was playing nearby thought that it looked like an elephant’s trunk. I asked the children how they could make an elephant using the paper, and they decided to attach it to the box. Two of the girls worked together to tape the trunk onto the box. Next, I asked them how the elephant could see and it was decided that it needed eyes which were drawn on so expertly by one of the boys who then decided that the elephant needed a mouth! We weren’t so sure where elephants’ mouths are, so we found one of our plastic animals to find out and discovered that it is waaaaaay under the elephant’s trunk!

This activity has lead to us looking at where different animals live, what they look like, the different features that they have, and what they eat.

This sort of thing is so easy for you to do at home…and you’d be surprised at how many simple things at home can spark children’s interest.

Today, instead of using clay, Emma set up gloop made with cornflour and water.  This was another fun activity where the children got to pick it up and try to roll it around in their hands to form a ball before it turned to a liquid again.

Experimenting with clay and gloop has been so enjoyable this week!! It’s so simple, yet they learnt so much, such as:

• How different liquids can change in structure to become a solid through the heat and friction of their hands and then return to a liquid form when they stop rolling it around.
• New language skills through the use of different describing words. 
• The kids are also finding new ways to be creative.
• Developing their fine motor skills as the craft new creations.

Want to make gloop yourself? Check out the recipe below!

Gloop Recipe

Cornflour and water mixed together to make a liquid.  Add food colouring.  Make sure that the mixture isn’t too runny as it will not form into a ball when rolled around.

The staff have been teaching basic words in Māori through the use of books, song and dance. It’s amazing how fast the children have picked up colours, numbers and basic greetings in Māori. We have a book about fruit salad that the children love and can now name all the colours and names of the fruit in Māori!  We have also been writing up our daily menu and noticeboard in Te Reo as well.

We’ve had a lot of fun learning the parts of our body in Te Reo by singing “Heads, Shoulders, Knees and Toes” in Māori…”Mahunga, pakihiwi, puku, hope, waewae”. The boys have really enjoyed participating in the “haka” and put all their energy into stamping their feet to the beat. 

We are still looking at all cultures of the children at our centre and in a month’s time to round off this learning, we will be visiting a ‘Puna Reo’ and a local marae where the children will participate in haka lessons and try some different kai…yum!

On the deck we have set up the carpentry table. The kids have been enjoying using the hammers and saws to make new creations out of wood. It’s so interesting to watch them concentrating on what they are making and talking to each other about their creations. Some children really think outside the box and use whatever resources they can get their hands on…used bits of cork, bottle tops, paper, card, or material to nail on to the bits of wood. Once they had finished this part of the project, they were then given the choice to paint their objects.

The majority of children that we have in this centre are 2-3 years old. Through being able to participate at the carpentry table, the children are developing essential skills such as taking responsibility for their own health and safety and coping with the challenges of managing the different tools. None of the children hurt themselves in this activity as were shown how to hold the nail and how to use the hammer, this was very impressive!!

Each child is also developing their physical skills through the use of the different tools. These skills are things such as;

• Gaining and increasing motor and manipulative control – this is essential for children at this age as they are developing their muscles and co-ordination which will aid them with the muscles and skills needed for things like writing and drawing.
• They are also being creative and using their imagination. The children are also looking at what they are doing and having to plan their next idea. 

So don’t be too worried about letting your child get stuck into tasks that don’t seem ‘safe.’ If your child is taught the correct technique, don’t be surprised at what they’re capable of!

This has directed us to pinning the map on the wall with each country’s flag around it. The next step is sending a cardboard cutout of a person home with each child so that they can work with their parents to design an outfit from their own country/culture. By doing this, we are hoping to encourage parents to take part in their child’s learning about where they are from.

We are also trying to create a centre that is not just bi-cultural but also multi-cultural. Once we have looked at the different types of clothing from around the world, we then plan to get the children to sample foods from around the world – yum!!!  So next time you’re near a map, or something that relates to a culture other than yours, involve your child; ask them questions about why different people wear different clothes and eat different things; sample different foods – there’s so much on offer at your local supermarket and kids just love it!

We have a box of plastic animals and he loves to play with these everyday. In the box there are also a lot of dinosaurs and he has been particularly interested in the size of their mouths and feet. We have started to discuss what types of food these animals may eat and why some may have bigger feet and toe nails than others. We also have dinosaur cards which this child has used to match with the plastic dinosaurs. Throughout this activity, I was amazed to see how he matched them up as he looked at their feet, heads and tails to make comparisons.

Yesterday, I put all of the dinosaurs and crocodiles in the sandpit to see what he would do with them as he has been using the blocks inside to make different areas for them all to live. He has been to the zoo recently and this may be where he is getting the perception of how animals live in different fenced off areas. He eagerly got stuck into making hills and valleys for the dinosaurs to roam in, in the sandpit. I also gave him some big leaves to use, but he wasn’t too interested in that! Eventually, he put the crocodiles into the water trough as he told me that they live in the water and spent quite a bit of time swimming them around in there.

This child is learning through his play about the prehistoric era and how some animals have evolved throughout time. We have talked about the difference between carnivores and herbivores so he is also getting an understanding of what different animals eat. We have been looking at different books that have dinosaurs in them and trying to pronounce their names correctly. He is learning to look at the differences between a 3D object and what he sees on a card when trying to match the plastic dinosaurs up with pictures of dinosaurs.

So you see, there are so many ways to extend your child’s learning – just look out for what’s grabbing their attention!

This week our new book order turned up at our childcare centre. The children were so excited, and helped unpack each book. When the box was empty, one of the teachers sat down with the children and explained to them how we look after the books. Then came the fun part of choosing a book each. We had a diverse range of books from tigers and dinosaurs to stories about how children in other parts of the world live.

As the children were looking through the books, it was interesting to hear their comments. One book has a picture of a crocodile in it and one of the children related that back to our recent trip to Butterfly Creek and seeing the crocodiles there. We then read the book about dinosaurs and had fun trying to pronounce the names of some of them and talked about what dinosaurs eat. This led to lots of little dinosaurs stomping around our centre! 

We are lucky at our centre to have one of the local librarians drop in to visit every now and then. When she comes, she brings a number of books and always talks to the children about using a library card. The children love listening to her read different stories to them.

Sometimes it’s easy to forget about books in this technological age…reading books is a great way to introduce children to different forms of literacy and to develop their imagination. And it doesn’t have to be costly; your local library is a great place to source great books at zero cost. So talk to your child about they books they’re reading and what they’d like to read; read to them, or better yet, have your child read to you!

This is the first excursion that our centre has been on and as teachers we could see the importance of the children getting out of the centre to have different experiences. At Butterfly Creek the children got to see butterflies from different countries and learnt that not all butterflies are orange and black Monarchs.

Then we moved on to see the crocodiles… This was the most memorable part of the trip for most of our children as they got to watch as the crocodiles were being fed. The Croc Keeper also talked about where crocs were from and explained how they live in the water and catch food. We then had lunch and then went for a ride on the train.

Since our visit, the children have talked non stop about the trip and especially the crocodiles. They have been drawing pictures of the butterflies and of some of the other things that we saw at Butterfly Creek. We are now in the process of making a book about our trip with the children with all the photos that we had taken. The children are involved in this through the use of their drawings and through them telling their story of what they saw which is being recorded in the book.

So next time you’re teaching your child something, or notice an area that they’re really interested in, have a think about how opening your child up to a different environment can help. It could be an excursion somewhere, like an aquarium, to the beach, or simply take them outside to show what habitats in trees.

As part of our “about ourselves” focus in our childcare centre, we decided to get the children to bathe the baby dolls. The children absolutely loved this; they could put the babies’ hair under the tap in the sink (just like at the hair salon!) to wash out all the soap. The children then talked about how to wash their babies’ bodies and how to care for babies.

What’s more, having our children look after baby dolls has also helped them establish connections to the Māori culture, with the children using Te Reo to name body parts as well as in English. This was achieved through one of our teachers drawing around one of the children and then attaching Māori names for the different body parts on to the body. This has been extended through the song “head, shoulders, knees and toes’ sung in Māori. We are now hearing through the children’s play the use of Māori names for body parts.

We noticed that the intrigue and learning goes on throughout the day in our preschool – the children had been in the family corner earlier in the day talking about their ‘sick’ babies. This led to a discussion of what the children would do if they were sick, and most of them replied that they would go to the doctor or the hospital. 

What may seem like ‘play’ and ‘make believe,’ actually holds many benefits for the children;

• They’re making connections to the outside world through their imaginative play and improving their communication skills through opening up discussions with other children. 
• The children are learning about the different body parts of the babies, the correct names for them and the differences between boys and girls. 
• The children are learning Te Reo Māori as they learn to associate Māori names with different body parts.
• Confidence to talk about sometimes embarrassing things
• Confidence to learn through exploration, e.g. what’s the best way to wash bodies?

So next time your child wants to play with dolls, have a think about what learning can take place. Can you bring in aspects of your own culture to help broaden their understanding? What questions does your child have? Don’t forget…

Pretending is practice for relationships

Pretending is practice for communication

Pretending is practice for life

At our preschool, we’re focusing on teaching children self-help skills. There are so many simple, everyday things that we can teach children, such as:

• Having a specific place at home for your child’s bag and artwork etc., so when they get home they know where to put things.
• Supporting your child’s independent eating – teach them how to serve themselves from a plate and to feed themselves using cutlery.
• Encouraging children to put on their own shoes and clothing.
• Encouraging children to bring toys from home and to take responsibility to look after it.

Yesterday, I watched as a 2 year old tried to remove his jumper. He had taken it off his head and over his back, but his arms were still stuck. Instead of running over to help him, I talked him through how to take it off. The look of happiness once he had achieved this was priceless and all the teachers and children that were around clapped and cheered for him!

At our childcare centre, every child has a locker and when they arrive in the morning, they have to find their name tag and then place it on to their locker. Reciprocal learning (learning off each other) is supported, with the 4 year olds at our centre being encouraged to help the younger children with washing their hands at meal times, helping the younger ones put their shoes and other items into their bags and generally being good role models to them throughout the day.

Through these tasks, our children are learning valuable skills;

• Independence and competence in various tasks as the children learn how to do things for themselves.
• Early literacy skills, such as word and letter recognition when finding their name tags in the mornings.
• Confidence is gained in themselves through learning different self-help strategies throughout the day. This is also enabling them to gain an understanding of what they can achieve.

Children love to be able to do things for themselves and being challenged at something new. So next time you feel the need to rush over and do something for them, pause and have a think how you could teach them to do it for themselves. Don’t forget though, be patient as it may take some time and of course, lots of praise will always make the end result that much sweeter!