Dear Family and Friends,
Welcome to our weekly highlights for week 16.
This week’s group time was dominated by learning about ANZAC day. By building young children’s understandings about the traditions, facts and folklore of ANZAC Day, the many real life stories of sacrifices and heroism of everyday Australians will not be lost, but be handed down to our future generations.
Research in education tells us that children learn best when they are highly interested, active and help make decisions about their learning. Young children have a fascination with all things to do with the past. By learning through hands-on, sensory and real-life experiences about ANZAC Day, young children will have an opportunity to understand the importance of this national day, and its role in building peace in communities today.
We created an ANZAC interest area which comprised of photos of ANZAC’s from Miss Natalie and Renee’s family, uniforms and medals to assist the children connect with the ANZAC spirit.
We read books about ANZAC’s, Veterans and how the Poppy Flower became a symbol, watched videos and listened to the last post. We learnt Gallipoli is in Turkey and not Australia. To further assist with our learning, we made Poppy Flowers as a craft activity, ANZAC biscuits as an extension of our interest in cooking, smell rosemary and its significance.
With all that learning and processing of new information the children enjoyed the opportunity to participate in outdoor play. They must have been motivated by the heroics of our ANZACs as they were more daring on the monkey bars, hanging upside down. Using our coloured shapes as an extension of hopscotch trying to jump further and further apart, causing the shapes to slide. Despite the risk, there were no accidents. So their risk assessment was correct, which was pleasing and even more pleasing is they were able to identify correctly all the shape names and colours.
Our budding car enthusiasts managed to entertain themselves with our cars, garages and carpark activity area. Conversations always revolve around the speed of the cars and why these specific feature makes this car faster than that car. The conversation was just a little too complicated for me.
Our connector discs found a new application. The children wanted to create a fence for a garden to plant Poppy to sell…..but I’m not sure the money raised was intended to help the veterans.
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