Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

I hope everyone has a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

All the children have a note in their book bags about things they can do over the holidays to maintain their progress in reading, writing and mathematics.

Have a great holiday, see you all next year.

Visit to Pixie Town

Here are some of the Kindle 2 children having their photo taken with Santa at Pixie Town. It looks like I am saying "Shhhh" but I was actually saying "Just a minute, let me get the other children for a photo"

What a fun visit, thank you to all the parents and grandparents who came to help us.

Our Topic for Term 4 is 'Floating and Sinking'



















We have been experimenting with a variety of objects






























We found out that some things float ......






























and some things sink .....

















Hmmmm, I wonder if there is anything the same about things that float and things that sink?

Discovery Time

 

Terrific Technology

Look at all the clever things we made for the school fair!

Writing Numbers

Here are some fun rhymes I got at a recent Maths Symposium to help children remember how to write numbers. I have been using them in the classroom.

0 - Make an oval, be a hero
That's the way to make a zero!

1 - Just a line and then you're done
That's the way to make a one!

2 - Around and across and then you're through
That's the way to make a two!

3 - Around the tree, around the tree
Number three looks like a B!

4 - Down and across and down some more
That's the way to make a four!

5 - Short neck, belly fat
Number five wears a hat!

6 - Around and around until it sticks
That's the way to make a six!

7 - Across the sky and down from heaven
That's the way to make a seven!

8 - Make an S and close the gate
That's the way to make an eight!

9 - First a circle, then a line
That's the way to make a nine!



Look at these Kindle 2 children busy working on their Maths Activities

Goodness me, it's Term Three

I can't believe it's Term Three already. Time flies when you're having fun.

What a cold miserable holiday break we had. I hope everyone kept warm and found some fun things to do. I read lots of library books (one of my favourite things to do) - it was great.

There is quite a lot of illness around at the moment so I hope the people who are away feel better soon. Those of us who are back at school are slowly getting back into the swing of things.

For the next two terms our Otago University College of Education Graduate student is Mr Hunt. He will be teaching in Kindle 2 on Mondays and Tuesdays. He will have a three week posting at the end of term and a four week posting in Term 4.

We have some new children visiting at the moment, they will be starting school in the next few weeks. How exciting!

School Holidays

Well June certainly was a busy month. Teachers wrote reports, parents and teachers met to talk about children's learning goals, Miss Prosee spent three weeks in Kindle 2 and we visited the Te Araiteuru Marae. We also had a Snow Day.

Mrs Dakers went to school on the Snow Day just in case any children arrived not knowing school was closed. James Dakers ( Mrs Dakers' son) took these photos of the playground.

It is now holiday time - all Kindle 2 children have taken home some books to read. Hopefully everyone is having a good rest and will be ready to start Term Three full of energy and enthusiasm.

Learning to make a choice

Just like last week, at Discovery Time today we were practising making choices about which activities we wanted to do (from the Key Competency: Managing Self). We also practised taking turns, sharing and being kind. The children (and teacher) used the microphone to talk about what they chose to do today. Press the green arrow to have a listen.

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Moving On

Today eight children from Kindle 2 moved to new classes. We will miss their smiling faces and helping hands. I know their new teachers and classmates will enjoy having them just as much as we did. We will still see them in the playground at play times and lunch times and at Discovery Time and assemblies. They will still be able to see what is happening in Kindle 2 by looking at the blog and coming to visit. Ka kite ano.

Discovery Time

Today at Discovery Time, we were practising 'Managing Ourselves' by choosing which activities to do. We were also taking turns, sharing and being kind. These are the things we chose to do:

The soccer ball - Rohan, Cameron, Joost, Zi shen, William & Viviane
Skype - Joost, Xing, Talia, Clara, Emily, Rohan, Connor, Cameron
Basketball - Ajay, Rohan, Cameron
Lego - William, Rohan, Joost, Cameron, Ajay
Playing with the Safari Set - Emily, Cameron, Rohan, Jordyn, Talia, Ajay
Making String Telephones - Connor, Cameron, Ajay, Clara
Using Musical Instruments - Cameron, Rohan, Connor, Talia, Emily, Xing
Making Snowflake Patterns - Clara, Emily, Viviane
Computers - Talia, Cameron, Rohan, Connor, Jordyn, William
Shopping - Viviane, Rohan, Joost
Skittles - Jordyn, Rohan, Ajay

Ronald McDonald

On Thursday April 30th, we had a surprise visitor! We went to the hall at 9.10 am and Ronald Mc Donald walked in. While he was visiting he lost his red and white stripey sock. He took us on a journey to George Street Normal School to look for his sock. On the way he taught us lots about Road Safety. We sang the Seatbelt song and we heard the Stop, Look and Listen Song. Everyone was reminded to: Make it click; Watch out for sneaky driveways; Always walk on the house side of the footpath; Never play on footpaths, in driveways or on roads; Be careful at pedestrian crossings - Stop, Look and Listen. He finally found his sock, with the help of the children - it was stuck to his back. There was lots of audience participation during his visit. It was great entertainment with a very important message! At the end he gave us his stripey sock to keep, Thanks Ronald!

Welcome Back To School

What a fantastic day it was today. It seemed like Summer.

The children in Kindle 2 have settled back in really well. Now if only the teacher could get back into routine!

Our Grad College Teacher for this term is Anna Prosee.

Well done to the children who did some reading and writing over the holidays. It all helps!

The whole Junior Team gathered in Room 5A after play today for a 'Welcome Back to School' meeting. We talked about play areas, the value of the term, the importance of bringing a jacket to school this term, catching coughs and sneezes with a tissue or an elbow, the hand sanitisers and the importance of washing your hands - especially after going to the toilet.

I Like School

A Co-operative Story
by Kindle 2

"We like school" said the children in Kindle 2.

"I like the playground" said William, Cameron, Sanat, Talia, Rohan, Xing, Emily, Joost & Ajay.

"I like reading" said Emily, William, Sanat, Joost, Rohan, Xing, Ajay & Cameron.

"I like story writing" said Clara, Talia, Sanat, Rohan, Xing, Ajay, Cameron, Emily & William.

"I like Fun Friday" said Viviane, Emily, Sanat, Talia, Rohan, Xing, Ajay, Cameron, William & Jordyn.

"I like playing outside" said Ajay, Xing, Rohan, Cameron & Emily.

"I like drawing" said Xing, Emily, Sanat, Talia, Joost, Rohan, Jordyn, Ajay, William, Clara, Viviane & Cameron.

"I like computers" said Cameron, Joost, Talia, Sanat, Rohan, Xing, Ajay, William & Viviane.

"I like listening to the teacher" said Clara, Viviane, Emily, William, Talia, Rohan, Jordyn, Sanat, Cameron, Xing, Joost, Ajay & Zi shen.

"I like teaching the children in Kindle 2" said Mrs Dakers.

Discovery Time at School

Look how busy we were on the last Thursday before the school holidays. Kindle 1 and 2 worked together making, hammering, blowing bubbles, shopping and painting - to name but a few of the activities.

Last Week of Term One

The last week of Term One is here. Our Graduate students Miss Kerr and Mr Matheson have finished their first posting and on Friday they gave everyone a packet of stickers, including me. Their help has been very much appreciated over the past few weeks, we will miss them when they go back to university.

The Junior Team Teachers have a release day on Monday and will be working hard to plan the Term Two programme. Teachers are also working individually with each child so see how they are getting on with their reading.

Here are some pictures of the things Kindle Two children have been getting up to on the last two Fridays.





















































The Ministry of Education Early Childhood Curriculum Document - Te Whariki (1996) states on p.9: "Children learn through collaboration with adults and peers, through guided participation and observation of others, as well as through individual exploration and reflection."

Children need opportunities to:

• display curiosity
• co-operate
• be creative
• learn new skills
• use their imaginations
• observe
• explore new possibilities
• learn how to ask
• follow interests
• develop ideas
• pose questions
• talk
• listen
• play
• be challenged
• experiment
• negotiate
• find solutions
• interpret instructions
• persevere
• cope with frustration
• be organised
• succeed
• develop confidence
• concentrate
• experience diversity
• complete tasks
• discover strengths
• perform
• share ideas
• help others
• include others
• plan
• construct
• discover
• take pride in achievements
• take turns
• participate
• contibute
• think
• use language symbols and text
• manage themselves
• relate to others
• reflect on learning
  

"Teachers need opportunities to:

• observe children in a range of different situations
• spend time with children 1:1
• meet children's individual needs
• model and extend oral language
• meet curriculum requirements
• provide fun learning experiences"1

1 Brenda Martin and Gay Hay(2008) Discovery Time: Developing Key Competencies through activity-based, child-directed learning. Wellington, Page Break Ltd p.8

Our Fun Friday Choice Time provides the perfect environment for these things to happen. It also helps to make the transition from an Early Childhood Education setting to School much smoother.

A Busy Time

What a busy time we have had over the last 2 weeks or so! Since the last blog entry we have finished our swimming block - Thanks very much to the parents who gave up their time to transport us to and from swimming in their cars. It ensured that the children did not get too tired. The children gained in confidence and competence over the 8 day block.

During the last two days of swimming there were Learning Commitment interviews after school. These gave the children, parents and teacher a chance to think about strengths and possible goals for the first part of the year. I enjoyed talking first to the children about their strengths and then to the parents about strengths and goals and finally with the children again to discuss the goals set with the help of parents. (Was that as confusing to read as it seemed to be when I wrote it??)



On Friday March 13th we had fun making puppy masks and inventing games with balloons. It was great! Do you recognise any of the puppies in the picture?


Last week we were back into normal classroom routines. We also had College teachers watching us do Mathematics. Another group came to talk to us about what we know about numbers. They will be back on April 9th to teach us something about numbers, based on what we already know.

It was fun going to Chipmunks on Sunday and seeing lots of Kindle 2 children at a going away party for Kaya. She is going to Tonga for a holiday and then back to Japan. We hope to keep in touch with her by Skype and through this blog. That big slide was very tempting, I really wanted to have a turn.

This week we had a holiday on Monday for Otago Anniversary Day. Our College teachers, Miss Kerr and Mr Matheson will be with us every day for two weeks. We also have some Japanese visitors in the school. They are from the Gifu area. They will be visiting classrooms and teaching us a little bit of Japanese.

Today all of the Kindle 2 children were given a note about the blog. Now families will be able to access it and read about what we are doing. We have already had our first comment from a parent - Thank You.

Fantastic Friday

This morning we went swimming at DNI Pool. It was Day 4 of our swimming lessons. All of the children have improved over the past 4 days and we have 4 days of swimming next week.

After play today, we made gingerbread men, as a finale to the Maths Measurement Unit from nzmaths. We were helped by Marie, who brought her little oven for us to use and by a parent who was visiting Kindle 2 and knows more about baking than Mrs Dakers!

During our Fantastic Friday Choices - some children made paintings, others used the computers. Some children played snakes and ladders, or with the toy cars and car mats, some children created things with the dough. The focus was on Responsibility (tidying up), taking turns, sharing and asking to join in. There were some very tired children at the Junior Team Assembly presented by Room 4 in the Hall this afternoon.

Measurement: Length

In Kindle 2 we have been learning about Length.


These are the bridges we made for our Gingerbread people to get over the river.
Which bridge is the longest?
Which bridge is the shortest?


Today we made clothes for our Gingerbread people.

Which Gingerbread person has the longest hair?
Which one has the shortest hair?
What colour is the shortest skirt?
What colour is the longest skirt?

Art Gallery Art

On Monday 16 February 2009, Kindle 2 went to the Art Gallery on a bus. We looked at some paintings. For some of the paintings we looked at, John covered something up and we had to try and remember what it was. We went up to the Art Gallery classroom and watched a movie. We drew a picture of ourselves and painted it with dye. Next, we drew pictures of our favourite things onto our Art Gallery backgrounds. We read some books while John glued our pictures of ourselves onto the background. We came back to school on the bus.


These are the fabulous art works we made at the Art Gallery.