life's little interruptions

I thought I'd take a moment for reflection...

Today I began a super-duper new time management plan.
It looked really nice!
It had well thought out times listed on the left with lots of very important daily tasks listed next to these.
I even scheduled in time for a cuppa and to write in my reflective journal.

It is currently 3.48pm and I can tell you that I am 4.5 hours behind my schedule.

4.5 hours...really? Yes.

Why?

It's all well and good to write down a plan for your day but there's something that overrides the most elegantly written plans...it's called LIFE!!!

My very neat list didn't take into account that each of our pre-school children had lots to talk about when they arrived and I had the pleasure of listening to them and seeing the excitement on their faces. My organised list didn't take into account that the beautiful family members of our children have so much to tell us about their children; so much that we need to know to make the children's time at pre-school so much more rich. The list certainly didn't factor in calls to council to discuss the septic system or the calls to our financial support team to discuss fees. There was no time scheduled to look at Matilda's wonderful hand picture and hang this in the office or to play the daily game of "guess what's on my sandwich".

The one thing in all of our lives that takes precious time is connecting with others. Be it for fun or for organisation, connecting to others is such an important part of life and something I believe that we should all treasure.

During the school holidays I, like others around the world, cried with sadness at the news of the bombing in Boston. I felt the very strong need to reach out to the important people in my life and tell them how much I love them.

No matter what is happening in our lives, warm human contact is vital for us to feel connected and safe.

Pre-school will always be a place where this warmth and contact will come first for all children and adults.

Maybe I need to re-write my daily schedule...with some nice big empty spaces!


Becc xxx

Why do we have a "play based" program at pre-school?

At times we receive questions about the play-based program that is presented at our pre-school. The term play-based is so familiar to us as early childhood professionals, however we can see that this may be misunderstood by many people.

When we talk about play, we are talking about a vital aspect of childhood that is the basis for learning and development.

 Consider the simple activity of using play-dough with a range of cooking items such as rolling pins, patty cases, baking dishes, rolling cutters and glitter shakers. Imagine yourself playing here. What skills and concepts are being used and developed while you do this?

Physical:

You are using your large muscles to push, pull and roll the dough. Your fine muscles are engaged as you grip the rolling pin, separate the dough, pinch pieces and roll small balls.
You are using static balance to remain on your chair.
Your hand-eye coordination is engaged as you work with your dough and your tools.

Cognition:

As you play you are considering many things...how much dough fits into a patty case? How long can I roll my dough? Why did my snake break as I rolled it? Is this ball larger than my last one? How many cakes do I need to make so that everyone can have one? how do I get the glitter to sprinkle onto my cake? Do I have as much play-dough as my friend?
You are using skills such as problem solving, measuring, comparing, estimating, 1:1 corresponding counting and trial and error.
You are developing your understandings of  length, mass, volume, number, subtraction,size, shape, colour, addition, subtraction, division.

Social:

You are sharing space, play-dough and tools with the people at your table. You may be observing your friends or interacting with them. You are using pro-social skills such as turn taking, manners, altruism and perspective taking. You are using your self-help skills by selecting your experience and playing independently.

Language:

As you play you may be using your expressive language skills by talking with friends, describing your play, engaging in dramatic play, asking questions, sharing ideas and smiling.
Your receptive language is working as you listen to the ideas and conversation of others, answering questions, participating in conversation and observing others.

Emotions:

You may be experiencing a range of emotions such as happiness, enjoyment, anticipation, frustration, sadness, surprise or contentment. you are developing relationships with others. You are able to express your feelings and begin to manage your feelings.

And this is just one activity.

Now imagine the entire program that children have the opportunity to participate in and the rich array of opportunities that children have to use and develop their skills and build on their understandings.

Our play-based learning program is well planned by educators. The environment and the experiences within this are selected and arranged to provide each child with the opportunity to develop holistically and to be supported and nurtured while they play. Our play-based program aims to help each child to develop their independence, their self-esteem, their self-concept and their resilience.

Every now and then, take some time to watch your child when they are engaged in play. think about what it is that their play is helping them to develop. You will see that your child is such a capable and resourceful person and that play is helping them to be this way.

Sustainability:The Start of our Journey

Sustainability and a proactive approach to environmental responsibility are something that we are made aware of in all aspects of media. Many of us in our own lives have developed practises to help protect our environment such as recycling our home waste, conserving water, replacing light bulbs, reducing plastic bag use and a range of other methods.
Here at pre-school we understand that the messages and practises that we share with the children will greatly influence their ideas about sustainable life practises. We would like to consolidate our efforts this year and create a culture of community based practise in both being sustainable and helping the children see this as a way of life.
The National Quality Standards that we work towards overview our aims:

Quality Area 3: Physical Environment

Standard 3.3

The service takes an active role in caring for its environment and contributes to a sustainable future.

Element 3.3.1: Sustainable practises are embedded in service operations.

Element 3.3.2: Children are supported to become environmentally responsible and show respect for the environment.

 

 

It is so important to us that the practises we develop are ongoing. We aim to work through our service as a whole and work with our staff team, families and children to embed sustainability throughout our practise.

 

But this is a very big task! We want to do it all...but we need to start somewhere! Here are the first tasks to prompt great things!

 

Step One

Conduct an audit on our practises so that we can see all of the things that we are already doing. It can be easy to forget the many practises that already occur on a daily basis.

 

Step Two

Look at our operational practises to ensure that this is a whole service venture and includes the behind-the-scenes areas!

 

Step Three

Start a sustainability conversation with all stakeholders in our pre-school: the children, their families, our educators, our management team, the local community and our council.

 

I'm excited to have a plan and to be able to share this journey.

 

We'd love to hear your ideas of how to live a sustainable life!

 

Becc xx

New Year, New Possibilities

I found this beautiful picture on the internet. It really sums up the feeling that we have at pre-school each day!

 

Welcome back to a new year!

I have always loved the start of a new year. I love the freshness. I love the possibilities and the opportunity to build on what has happened in the past twelve months.

I hope that we can use this year to share information and conversations together. I invite you to comment here so that we can learn together!

To start our new year of regular blogging I would like to share what has been happening at pre-school this week!

• We've been welcoming our beautiful new pet, Twinkle the Spiny Leaf Insect, to our pre-school family. She has truly captured the heart of the children. They have made up a special song about her and sing this quietly at her home! Yesterday one of our children used our collage materials to create a very special picture using leaves and beautiful papers. He carried this so very carefully across the room and placed it next to Twinkle's home. "It's a present for Twinkle",he told us. "She can look at it and then she'll be happy".
• Sam has been helping us to learn and use more Maori words. Note to self: if you mix up the Maori words for "hat" and "bottom" the children will laugh hysterically at you and you'll lose all hope of calm!!
• We have planted cucumber and capsicum plants that were specially grown from seed for us by a very kind grandparent. They were so carefully surrounded by straw and watered in by our wonderful gardeners.
• Lynda and the children worked as a team to make a very tall scarecrow to protect our new plants. A child-initiated conversation during this resulted in the scarecrow being a girl.
• We realised that we have a "pet" magpie who seems to enjoy the company of the children. The Friday children named the magpie Mango!
• Buzz and Woody, our beautiful guinea pigs, have settled well into their new home. What a wonderful opportunity to have the children and educators working together to construct this. It was certainly a challenge with the limited instructions that came with it!!

I would love to know how your first weeks of pre-school have been.

Have a wonderful day!

Becc