Little shell, little shell, tell me about the sea

Where have you been?

Where is your home?

Little shell, little shell that the waves brought to me…..”

We’ve been singing this song at the end of our morning “Ocean and Beach Circle” at Karri Kindergarten each day….. you might hear your child singing it at home.  After almost three weeks the children are settling well into our daily and weekly rhythms, especially those who have already attended Silver Birch Kindergarten in previous years, as our days flow in a similar way.  For those who are new, it may take a little longer to feel comfortable away from family in a new environment with a large group.  We warmly welcome our newcomers and their families; Eleanor and Sacha (K4), Donnie, Ruby and Charley (K5) and Daniela (K6), bringing our total to 20!  We wish each of you a positive, nurturing experience in our kindergarten and we are very happy you’re here!

A mixed age kindergarten (4-6 year olds) brings wonderful opportunities for the older children to learn to nurture the younger ones, and for the little ones to be inspired by the imaginative play of the older children.  As the year progresses, the K6 children will be given more responsibilities to assist with the running of the kindergarten, such as taking notes to the office, helping to cut fruit, pour water and clean up after morning tea.  These are all tasks which utilise their developing skills and help them to feel like valuable members of our kindergarten “family”.  In addition, the K6 children will do handwork each week.  They have been very excited to begin their first sewing project, a placemat stitched with wool and large needles on hessian.  As the “silver dolphin” (the needle) dives beneath the “waves” (the hessian), we watch in wonder as stitches appear in a line.  Then with a contrasting colour the dolphin glides “underneath the bridges” to fill the spaces between the stitches.  Our 30 minute handcraft session yesterday passed so quickly with the children engrossed in learning a new skill whilst the small group of K5 children enjoyed extra outside play with Merveena.

The children have all been enjoying outside play on these mild summer days, swinging on the swings, going for rides in the red wagon and making beautifully decorated cakes in the sandpit.

Here are some photos of our outside play.

Warm wishes,

Denise