Our internet access at kinder is having problems, so apologies for the silence – it isn’t that things aren’t happening!
Mixing color is always a popular activity – this group has begun very early in the year to show interest in this – so we have followed it up with color mixing when we made our water shakers, and then after our very wet weekend, we offered rainy day color mixing – Jonty said that the clouds are in the sky covering up the sun, so it wasn’t so bright.
We usually offer colored water too, to stimulate interest in using the water painting – this week Mrs Bell had chosen a purple-pink and that started off a long game outside as Emma, Chloe and Imogen built a car and then painted it pink. After Emma and Chloe had been driving it for a little while the boys came along, Benjamin and William, and it became a house boat and the boys went fishing (using the green rockers as motor boats)and brought back buckets full of oysters and also fish (which only looked like stones to outsiders). So much language, negotiation about roles and play ideas, sharing of knowledge about the boats, and the fishing…
We are also beginning our focus on feelings – this is an important part of the kinder curriculum, to help childen to build an understanding of feelings and relationships, and to work on developing empathy and self-regulation.
Children come to kinder at many different points of development in what has been called “emotional literacy”, and they learn so much from others in their daily interactions…but we can all learn from the spontaneous kindness with which Elliott helped Mia apply her sunscreen, and the grace with which Mia accepted that help (no adults hinted, suggested or required this help be offered.)