From the Director of Early Learning
Dear Families,
This week is a very special time for the team at the ELC. The ELC Christmas Picnic is one of the rare times that our entire community gathers together to celebrate our amazing children. The Friends of ELC are busily organising the catering for what is sure to be an amazing event!
We will be selling a number of items including sausages in bread, cupcakes, water and Zooper Doopers. We will also be operating a bar, which will be offering champagne, beer and wine.
To make this event as easy as possible for families we encourage you to bring your picnic rugs!
We ask that families arrive at 5pm – the concert begins at 5.45pm, so please make sure you are seated on the lawns ready for this by 5.40pm. We will gather the children to their areas at 5.30pm.
Don’t forget to tell your extended family members that they are welcome!
Dress for Children
Please dress your child in their party clothes. This is a special occasion and whilst there are no costumes, we think that their special ‘going out’ clothes make this event extra special. Feel free to add your Christmas colours or additions to the outfits if you like.
Supervision of Children
During the concert the children will be supervised by the educators. At other times parents will be responsible for their own children.
Raffle
We are having a special Christmas Raffle so please bring along a few gold coins. There will be great prizes to win including a laptop and vouchers.
We look forward to seeing you all on Friday night!
Kind regards,
Kate Mount
Vacation Care
Could parents please complete their Vacation Care bookings forms ASAP to assist with staffing requirements. If you read the attached form, you will notice that we will be providing the service right up to Christmas and reopening again on Monday January 9. This is to provide our working families with as much support as possible. Miss Redmond and Miss Kay have been organising the program in preparation for this special time at ELC, and it’s sure to be plenty of fun!
Christmas Giving Tree
The gift of giving to others at Christmas is one that we truly value. This year the Friends of ELC are organising the Giving Tree for new toys and food items to be donated. We ask that you please do not wrap these items.
Visit our piazza to view this magical tree!
ELC Dates for the Diary
- Reception Transition Visit for girls attending St Peter’s Girls’ School: Monday 14 November
- Reception Transition Visit for girls attending St Peter’s Girls’ School: Monday 21 November
- Hat Ceremony: Monday 5 December, 8.30am
- Final ELC Day: Friday 9 December
- Vacation Care commences: Monday 12 December
News from the Stonyfell Room
It’s beginning to look a lot like Christmas!
We are edging closer and closer to the end of the year in the Stonyfell Room and we have been working hard to prepare for our end of year Christmas Celebration. The children have been enjoying practicing their songs and embracing the Christmas spirit!
Christmas is a special time in the ELC as we enjoy many aspects to celebrating this time of the year, especially decorating our play rooms.
This year in the Stonyfell Room the educators have decided to tie Christmas into our Unit of Inquiry. Over the past two terms the educators and children have been exploring and using recycled materials. We have been empowered to transform everyday unwanted items in to something new. The educators decided to offer a provocation to the children:
We are not going to buy any Christmas decorations this year for the Stonyfell Room, we are going to make them instead.
This provocation has been a wonderful motivation for us to be creative and use our imagination, as well as being able to reuse many resources that may have otherwise been thrown out. We have been working together to transform paintings and artwork into paper chains and garlands. We are currently redecorating a range of boxes to turn into a Christmas tree for the room!
This process has allowed the children to collaborate together, problem solve and be creative. Alongside making our decorations we are building a deeper understanding of the meaning behind Christmas. It may have been simpler to go out and buy decorations, however this doesn’t teach our children to be grateful and develop gratitude.
We will be continuing this process throughout the rest of the term and we hope you are enjoying watching our room transform in preparation for Christmas.
Laura Reiters
News from the Bell Yett Room
This term as part of our inquiry, People can create systems to learn together, the children have been investigating systems in our ELC, including homes and communities. We have been developing the children’s understanding that systems can have a positive impact on our planet and that we can take responsible action by sharing our systems with others. We have been intentional about our learning environment ensuring the teaching and learning strategies we use promote children’s thinking capacities.
“The learning discoveries included the recognition that systems thinking helped children become self-regulated learners capable of taking on different perspectives and making connections as they actively engaged in the learning process.”
Developing Very Young Systems Thinkers – Waters Foundation
Through our Morning Meetings we have been introducing the concept of a system and familiar systems that we use to help us in our everyday lives. We have been inviting the children to engage in systems, record them and share it with others.
Last week we put the provocation to the children, ‘what is a system?’
“It is something that you do.” Elsie
“It’s when you have an idea.” Molly
“It’s when you wash your hands and wash the soap off and dry them.” Audrey
“Morning Meeting and saying hello to the friends.” Lila
“Recycling is a system.” Hannah
“We make play dough with Miss Boccaccio, and that’s a system.” Kyan
Through our art lessons with Ms Casson the children have developed a fabulous iMovie about the system of recycling. We look forward to sharing that and many other systems with you between now and the end of the term through our ePortfolios.
Nell Tierney and Leanne Williams
News from Ferguson Room
Last week saw an exciting twist to our inquiry on systems. As we were exploring the routine of ELC and about to read ‘Pete the Cat: Rocking in my school shoes’, we were struck by the first page that described Pete and his belongings ready for school:
“I bring a bag”
“And a lunchbox”
Children began comparing what Pete had ready for school and what they bring to ELC. One child noticed something important:
“Where’s his drink bottle?”
We then switched our attention to what might be in Pete’s bag. We decided to look in our own bags to see what each of us brings to ELC. As we were exploring the bags, we discovered a problem!
“My mum forgot my hat!”
“My dad didn’t pack my drink bottle today!”
We wondered how we could help everyone remember what to bring to ELC.
Perhaps we needed a system when we get ready for ELC in the mornings?
“We could write a letter”
“Or make a card”
“Or a sign”
As children make more understandings about systems, we see them moving towards change – as some children have begun showing action towards this important part of their day:
“I packed spare clothes today”
“Oh dear, I don’t’ have a bag, just like before”
“I’ve got my hat today”
Children have been using these new understandings to make changes in their communication with others and are becoming more responsible for their belongings. We asked the children, who is responsible for getting yourself ready in the mornings?
Watch this space for something exciting to come home that will help create a system to remember what to pack each day. We hope that it helps build the same agency at home as we promote here at ELC.
Pam Foden
News from the Hallett Room
This term the Hallett Room numeracy focus has been on ‘patterns’. Patterns are extremely
important in developing early algebraic thinking and reasoning, “General mathematical processes of representation, symbolisation, abstraction, generalisation and proof rely on initial pattern recognition and application in a variety of forms” (Bobis, Mulligan and Lowrie 2009).
Patterns are everywhere and are in many forms, so they are an accessible topic for our Hallett Room children. The children started with defining what a pattern is.
“A pattern is different things, then the same thing then different things then the same thing.” Sophie
“A pattern is zig zag, stripes, then zig zag then stripes.” Charlotte
“You can have patterns on shoes like I have because I have a rainbow and that is a pattern.” Tilly
“There are patterns everywhere, all around the world. Even skin. See spot, skin, spot, skin.” Isabelle
“You can make patterns with marshmallows on sticks, my sister did that.” Sophia
Following this discussion, we have been exploring patterns in a variety of ways; colour, shape patterns, artistic patterns, simple and more complex patterns. In small groups the children have demonstrated their understanding of patterns and the educators have challenged them to extend their understandings further. The children have begun to notice patterns around them, including in their food, on their clothes, in nature and in their man-made environment as well.
Last week, to help the children make links to their learning at home I gave them a ‘home work’ task. The task is to find patterns at home, take a photo of the pattern and email in 1-3 photos to me at scroston-melling@stpetersgirls.sa.edu.au.
The idea for the children is to then be able to share the patterns that they have found and to explain their understanding of the patterns to their peers. Explanation and justification can develop more sophisticated mathematical processes of generalisation and proof in later years (Perry and Dockett in Bobis, Mulligan and Lowrie 2009).
In the next few weeks we will also explore patterns in music using percussion instruments and in dance. Learning about patterns through a variety of ways helps children to develop a deeper understanding of pattern concepts.
Isabelle was right, “patterns are everywhere, all around the world.”
Sarah Croston-Melling
Hallett Room Shared Lunch
To farewell the Hallett children moving off to school next year, we would like to invite the Hallett children and their parents or carers for a shared lunch. The children will sing a few of their favourite songs and then we will have our lunch under the verandah and in the ELC garden. Please bring a plate of food to share – it can be savoury or sweet. We especially love to try savoury food from around the world!
**Please note, no nuts.**
Where: Hallett Room, ELC
When: Friday December 2, 2016
Time: 11:30-12:30pm
Bring: A plate of food to share
Magic Moment
