It was a wondrous sight to behold last Monday, as Sunny Sun shone down upon our Kindy with golden autumn light, and the mistlings danced upon Great Grandma Koonyum. The children came running through our kindy gate with glowing smiles and happy hearts. We are all grateful to be back together in our beautiful Kindy.
Our play spaces are busy, inside and out, with children joyful to be once again in each other's company. There is much work to be done and many willing helpers. 

We have been lucky to have Birthday Week this week, celebrating three birthdays and working together to make colourful birthday books with drawings and messages filled with our best love and care.

Our whole class is singing enthusiastically together, filling our room and our hearts with joy. If you happen to hear a happy song on the autumn breeze, it might well be the children and the birds from Birdsong Kindy!

Kat Barwick
Kindergarten Teacher

With the enormous challenge facing us from COVID–19, the Preschool team has been working hard to maintain relationships and connections with our families and their children. With an unknown end in sight, our main focus has been to support our families to establish and maintain a flexible and gentle daily rhythm at home. Predictability and consistency provide security, helping to hold the young child and create calm in a time of turmoil.
 
As a team, we had many long discussions on how we could continue delivery of our program to Preschool-aged children using an online model (a totally unheard of concept for us). We felt that each of the four Preschool groups needed to be offered a range of information and ideas, based on the activities we do with the children when they are physically present. Families have then been able to choose what works best for them at home.  
 
Packages were created and sent home, and support has been given to families via various online platforms. Some of the information and ideas we sent home included; the process of creating a story with or for their child; ideas for being out in nature with their child; art and craft ideas based on the seasonal impulse; an offering of the words of familiar songs and stories; recipes for activities such as baking 'crunchy buns'; as well as the process of following their child’s interests and developing projects and activities based on those interests.
 
The craft activities offered included making a pom-pom chicken, creating a gnome, making a necklace, painting a rolly polly pumpkin, as well as our beeswax favourites, Nibbler Mouse and Slip Slide Snail.
 
We look forward to seeing our Preschool friends soon and sharing everything that autumn has to offer.

Craig d'Arcy
Preschool Coordinator

Our Sunny Sunflowers were standing tall and bright in our Kindy garden to wave the children goodbye as they embarked on their at-home learning journey. But while our Kindy gardens are having a lovely autumn rest, the children have been busy little bees in their own homes.
 
It has been heart-warming to see so many photos of the children doing their Kindy work, and hearing stories of the wonderful family activities that are taking place.
 
Our Kindy stories have been focusing on pumpkins and harvesting the bounties of Mother Earth, noticing the changes in the colours of the leaves as they begin to fall from the trees, and the bright colours of Rainbow Glow as she shines across the sky after a dark and stormy day: Rainbow Glow shines oh so bright, she fills our hearts with love; A warm glow shines within us all when a rainbow shines above.
 
We have suggested that families create their own autumn celebration at home over the holiday weekend, and are looking forward to seeing some photos of family fun! Here are some ideas that Kindy teacher Jane Michaelis suggested in her ‘Autumn Reflections’ message that was sent to our families this week:
 
It is important to note that with young children, the preparation for the celebration is as important as the celebration itself.

• Find a good spot to make a seasonal table with your children, and keep it alive with new treasures found and added after daily walks in nature (or play in the backyard).
• Let your children help prepare a special meal with fruits and vegetables that are in season: pumpkin soup, pumpkin pie, pumpkin scones or muffins, apple crumble, apple cake, hot cross buns, corn on the cob, corn fritters, homemade bread etc.
• Decorate the family dining table with a special cloth and autumn leaves, flowers in season and seed pods.
• Light a candle and say a verse or sing a song before sharing your special family meal.
• Share seasonal stories, sing, dance, make music or play some games together as a family.
• Go on a seed pod/autumn leaf treasure hunt and make a family mandala out of the collection, or spend the afternoon getting creative and making things out of your treasures. You could sew together autumn leaves for a necklace, make seed pod boats to float, make autumn crowns for the whole family out of vines woven with leaves.
• Last but not least, don’t forget to go out before bedtime and look up at the stars. In autumn time they shine more brightly.

 
Look up, look up, look up to the stars
They shine very high
Their light with love
and if you’re very lucky
And if you’re very quiet
you might see a falling star…. a falling star tonight!
 
Kara Mallory
Hummingbee Kindy Teacher
​

​With all the welcome rain, at Playgroup this term, we have been trying to grow Salvias from cuttings - potting up some Cats' Whiskers which have developed a strong, healthy root system; placing the cuttings ever so carefully in little pots and tucking them skillfully into their cozy beds. We are growing some purple Salvias in mind of attracting some native bees, like the beautiful Teddy Bear Bee and Blue Banded Bee (pictured above). We are hoping to create some bee hotels which I am sure will bring many new stories to our Playgroup.

This term, we have had a few indoor days, leading to some interesting and creative play. The children enjoyed setting up the train track and discussing what needed to be built next in order for the train to roll on. At one stage, I think just about every toy had been taken off the shelves and used to create a new imaginative story.

Packing up our play and putting all the toys back in their rightful places often takes more time and encouragement! Our packing away song ‘The Little Dusty Gnome’ is very helpful as the children already know what is coming. With the adults modelling the careful return of all our toys to their homes, the children learn through imitation how to help put our Playgroup back in order. Shells, seeds and rocks all have their own special places. Sorting these items into the appropriate baskets is an early step towards mathematics.

During one wet outdoor play, some of the children were fascinated to find that catching raindrops in different sized pots made different sounds. What a wonderful wet-weather discovery! Steeped in wonder, these precious early years of learning will carry these children through their lives. 

Carina Halliday
Playgroup Coordinator

​We have had a lovely start to the year as the children settle into our Preschool rhythm. We welcome our new families and welcome back those who are returning to Little Shearwater!

New friendships are developing and established friendships are being strengthened, with very harmonious play both inside and outside. The children have been enjoying sand play and sailing on our boat, the Friendship, caring for the dollies, constructing train tracks and puzzles, playing dress-ups, floor play with blocks and story props, as well as drawing, looking at books, and caring for our Preschool environment by helping with jobs and packing away.

During our circle time we have been hearing stories and singing songs about the Rainbow Horses and all their friends, who live on Farmer Ben’s Farm, as well as Dipple and Dopple the little raindrops. The children are enthusiastically joining in with the songs and gestures, and absorbed in the stories. It is such a delight to see their joyful engagement and to see how the stories and songs flow on into their play.

We have been very fortunate to have some new indoor furniture made over the holidays. Also, you will notice in our outdoor space that we have new shade over our fort, a mud kitchen, new shade sails and some additions to our boat. We also replenished the sand in both sandpits. Our gardens continue to grow and provide a beautiful natural space for the children's play.

Our Preschool team and other staff across the School have contributed to all of these improvements. A big thank you to Alex and his team from Bare Hands Carpentry, for dealing with the sweltering heat to accomplish some of the large construction work. 

Our group leaders for this year are Gabe, Susan, Suze and Karen. Our assistants include Antoinette, Maria, Jess and Eryn. Other support staff are Elendel, Julie and Danni. Maria is our new Preschool team member who will be assisting Gabe at the start of the week.

Our aim is to walk alongside families on this journey. On behalf of the whole staff team, we are looking forward to sharing a wonderful year together.

Craig d'Arcy
Preschool Coordinator

​Birdsong and Hummingbee Kindergartens were buzzing with excitement last week, as the children and their parents enjoyed getting to know each other and their new Kindy environment, during our orientation week.
​The lovingly prepared spaces were filled with a mood of warmth and happiness as the children enthusiastically helped to fluff and puff the wool for their rest time pillows, and mums and dads leant their hands to some embroidery. Songs were shared and a lovely puppet story told. It  was wonderful to see the children recreating their own puppet show stories during their free play time, proof of the power of imitation!

In Kindergarten, the children are active 'doers' and over the coming weeks and months they will have the opportunity to participate in meaningful will-strengthening tasks such as cleaning, cooking, gardening, and woodwork.

The many artistic experiences offered, including painting, drawing, craft work, beeswax modelling, circle games, music, songs and stories, will all help to nurture and enhance the children’s own innate imagination. Creative free play both inside the Kindy rooms and outside in the playground will provide plenty of opportunities for developing social skills and individual expression.

All of these activities form strong daily, weekly, and seasonal rhythms helping the children to feel secure and participate with joy and a growing sense of confidence in themselves and the world around them.
 
We warmly welcome all our Kindergarten families and are very much looking forward to sharing a wonder-filled year with you all!
 
Jane Michaelis
Early Childhood Coordinator

This term, in Hummingbee Kindy, we have been busy boat-builders. We began by each making our own sanding block for smoothing our hulls, cabins, masts and paddles. Next we dyed our sails to catch the breeze and, finally, we painted the hulls. Today, with much excitement, we headed down to the Brunswick River, to launch our fleet. 
 
Earlier in the term, we expressed our gratitude for our brave fire fighters by baking them a batch of crunchy buns, and a lovingly made book of drawings with messages composed by each child. We received this letter of thanks from the firies this week…
 
To all the dear kids at Hummingbee Kindergarten,
Thank you for all the beautiful pictures and support.
Everyone enjoyed the crunchy buns. They gave us all the energy we needed to fight the fires.
We are looking now forward to holidays and camping with our friends and family.
Lots of love and a big thank you from the whole crew at Mullum RFS.
Ryan, Neville, Mark, Leah, Chris, Alex, Sasha, Josh, Phill, Ron, Phil, John, James and Paul
 
During playtime, our Portuguese-speaking children have been teaching their friends some clapping games in Portuguese; the monkey bars continue to provide challenges and we've been working hard on our garden - fixing pavers and paths, weeding and harvesting.
 
We enjoyed a beautiful festival with our families, sharing with them the story of Dripple and Dropple and their journey from Mother Cushion Cloud, down to help Bella Billabong find her way to Mother Ocean, where they met many friends. Following our delicious feast we headed off for a treasure hunt in our garden, each child hunting for the little clay bird-feeder they had made, which was filled with kindy treasures for them to carry with them across to Class 1.

We had a lovely time meeting our new Class 1 teacher, Maria, a few weeks ago and the children are so looking forward to all they will learn with her next year. 
 
We wish all of our children and their families a restful and relaxed holiday and a smooth transition to Primary School. Thank you all for our beautiful year together.

Joanne and the Hummingbee Team

“The preschool years (the years before formal schooling) are the most important of all in the education of the child... It is absolutely essential that before we begin to think, before we so much as begin to set our thinking in motion, we experience the condition of wonder.”   - Rudolf Steiner

In our busy lives, we need to allow time to breathe. These are the moments in which we can discover wonder.  At Playgroup, we encourage an environment where the children can play uninterrupted and unhurried for long intervals of the day. Sand and water play (below) give children many opportunities to learn to interact with each other socially, while stimulating imagination, inspiration and intuition.

PICS from top left: The children saw a pair of water dragons (one big and one very little) scurrying for safety under the house and now they are sitting and waiting patiently for them to come out. We also have two resident green tree frogs at Playgroup, which are often found in the fish tank. The children delight in finding their little hiding places; Humphry has made a fresh tea and is giving Annabella a cup to taste; the girls are taking some time out for a cuppa and a chat; Rex, River and Winter are enacting our puppet show of the day; we always welcome grandmothers for a visit, bringing their wisdom and generous sense of time.

Warmly,
Carina Halliday
Playgroup Coordinator

After so much careful and clever work, with each child finger knitting, then weaving, their own beautiful turtle shells, we are now learning to work as a team as we feed our turtles, making them full and strong. We have even had some parents come to help, and join us for a turtle game and morning circle.

We are also working together to make felt for our blossom babies’ soft, leaf beds, and carefully stitching our own little baby’s flower suit and leaf hat.

Play has been full of enthusiasm and adventure and is a joy to watch. There are cubbies filled with mice, blue tongue lizards and puppies. There are well-stocked shops with intricate alarm systems. There are boats sailing across the waves to Golden Island, and planes flying over land and sea to visit family and friends. Outside, there are complex and challenging obstacle courses, designed and built by the children. We are learning how to be kind and fair leaders, and to be happy and helpful team members.

In the weeks to come, we will begin our transition stories and songs as we get ready for the children's big journey into Class 1. There are just a few more things to learn in Kindy before then, and we are looking forward to sharing the rest of the term together.

Kat Barwick
Birdsong Kindergarten

We have arrived back after the holidays full of enthusiasm and ready for new growth in Term 4, just like our beautiful garden which has been rejuvenated by its two-week rest. The children have arrived ready to work together and have fun with their friends and teachers.
 
It’s a busy transitional time in Preschool as some of our children start looking towards Kindergarten, and we  begin to get to know the new children and families who are joining us next year.
 
We find that during this time, the children settle into being held through the daily rhythm and routine, and appreciate a strong sense of belonging to their group. They enjoy being with their friends and engaging in the activities that reflect our own particular place and time at Preschool.

Craig d'Arcy
Preschool Coordinator