Hoop skills

Posted on March 27, 2011 by Louise under Early Learning, Emergent Curriculum, Games & Activities, movement & physical learning

We have a very keen hoop spinner and twirler at kinder this year – Rupert loves to move hoops! (Last week he showed me how he spins two on his arm at once!)

On Thursday we put out lots of hoops and a small group got interested in having a go – but it’s harder than it looks. Maybe Rupert could show them how or explain? “First swing it backwards and forwards and then well…. I’ll do it” so he showed them.

Ethan, Makenzie, James and Kaleb were keen, but it was hard.

Rupert explained – “No I’ll do it first – you got to go really fast’.

the others kept on practising – we realised that it must have taken Rupert lots of practice to get so good at it!

At the end of outside time we played the group hoop game – excellent for motor planning – moving a hoop around the group without anyone dropping their neighbours’ hands!

Tricky – a truly cooperative activity –

and fun!

Mr Frog jumped out of the sand one day

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Louise under Emergent Curriculum, The Natural Environment

Dustin found a frog in the hole he had dug in the sandpit yesterday and lots of people had a hold.

He was very jumpy!

This was a good opportunity for some observational drawing – we discovered that frogs don’t have necks!

We noticed that while Billy was studying the frog, the frog was studying Billy!

And with such a special visitor, we just had to do a bit of froggy jumping.

getting our brains into gear

Posted on March 7, 2011 by Louise under movement & physical learning

We start each session off with some Brain Gym – exercises for our brains. We are learning a number of different movement patterns that involve coordination and planning – and we are starting to put them together into a sequence to get our brains and bodies into gear for learning.

Unrolling our ears is a favourite…

Putting our fingertips together sounds easy….

We forget who thought of trying to put our fingertips together with our eyes closed – but we love the challenge!

All children benefit from this activity, it really does help them to concentrate and focus, and they enjoy the sequencing and the mastery they have already developed over some tricky movements.

“spare bits”

Posted on March 3, 2011 by Louise under Creativity & Imagination, Early Learning, Emergent Curriculum

We bought a couple of little soccer goal sets from the local cheap shop, but found them very useful in the sandpit – not for playing soccer of course….

but for buildings (this was James’ house);

for pipes to put together (and to develop hand strength and dexterity)

and then to bury;

a garden (these children love gardens!);

and who could resist turning a couple of bits

into …

a loud speaker?

We need some more of these soccer goal sets – maybe we’ll even use them for soccer one day!

They must love the sun…

Posted on March 1, 2011 by Louise under Early Learning, Emergent Curriculum, Enquiry & Discovery, The Natural Environment

said Ruby about why sunflowers are called their name. The sunflower plant that grew in our dry creek bed over summer has flowered! It grew all by itself but we have watered it every day since we came back to kinder.