April 2018 Family News

​Hello everyone,

These past few months we have been working very hard together. the children progressing from strength to strength. Most children are loving to write and read which is happening, others are involving themselves in the creativity side. The children are going to prep next year and in line with this we have been concentrating on the children writing their names, letters, numbers, sitting still, listening, following rules, joining in and being valuable participants in the classroom. Regardless of the year ahead, if children are able to listen, sit and talk with one another that this is the best foundation for learning above all.

As you all are aware that your child is coming with a homework book to practice their name, letters, number with you. We really appreciate your support and effort you are putting in your child's learning journey.

We also welcome our yoga class teacher "Miss Tam "she takes yoga classes every Wednesday at 9:00am. All children get excited to sit down on their yoga mats, they are enjoying making different poses along with their peers.

We have lots of things going on in class, recently we had a "Dance along Manners show "A very special singing and dancing show covering all aspects of manners and friendship. They discussed 5 golden rules and 5 fabulous phrases: respect, please, thank you, sorry, excuse me and you are welcome.

We also had a visit from dentist "Dr.Eric" he gave a very useful message to kids to keep their teeth healthy, brushing their teeth twice, eating healthy food to keep teeth strong. He was very good with kids will for sure recommend him for kids he works at APERTURE DENTAL PRACTICE 3B, 528 COMPTON ROAD, SUNNY BANK HILL, QLD 4109 phone: 07 31889477

A very important message-- as Warrigal Road State School is where most of our children go to school, to gain further insights into what is expected of prep children and how to get them ready. it will be very informative as deputy principle "Karen" is visiting our childcare on 1 MAY at 5 pm to enhance knowledge on how to get our children ready for school, I request all parent of poppies to attend this session.

And please feel free to give your input and suggestions about the learning aspects of the poppies class environment and talk to the staff about your child's development, as your feedback is highly valuable for us in adding to your child's learning progress.

Jas and Rajneek, Aman will be back from holidays shortly!

• Sprouts Three
• Pips

Welcome Our Families!!

This year is already flying by. We have been learning so much in the room.

The children have been learning to develop their concentration skills at group time. Our favourite group experiences are singing and stories telling. These experiences support in development of communication and language along with stories and flash cards as well. We have also noticed that the children have developed a strong sense of belonging through the group time and further developing positive relationships with their peers. Especially, they loved holding their hands with peers and making circle together.

In the last few months, we have been busy doing many activities enhancing children's recognition of colours and counting numbers as well as building confidence and self-esteem. This month our focus will be on sensory experiences where the children can explore with their senses.

If you have anything you would like to contribute to this experience, please feel free to bring it in or discuss with us. We also have a few children beginning to toilet train at the moment. If you would like to start this process as you have begun at home, please feel free to come and talk to us. We are happy to work with you to help toilet train your child.

Miss Julia and Miss Sera

​Welcome to our April Family News, 

As some of our older Pips have moved onto the toddler room, we have a number of new babies join our program and they seem to be settling in comfortably and making themselves at home.

In Pips Room, our little friends are allowed ample amounts of independent play and free movement daily. Recently Pips love imaginary play.They are very enthusiastic about caring for their cuddly friends: teddy bears and puppies. Pips pretend to feed them, rock them, put them to bed and even post them in a mail box.Pips also enjoy crawling in and out of the tunnel on a daily basis.They wait patiently at the entrance, take turns and happy to see their friends come out the other side.Sometimes they roll balls, read books and crawl with puppies inside the tunnel.

Please do take the time to check out our wall just inside the door for your babies' learning stories. As Pips become more comfortable in their environment we are sure to get more group stories and add to the individual stories for your reading.

Coming up soon we will be busy with crafts, sensory activities and play, based on your baby's interest and needs.

The month of April marks the official start of Autumn. There is definite change in the weather and usually, the hot, steamy days have gone. Please pack some spare clothes, so we can warm up or keep cool in the change of the day.  Just a reminder to provide a blanket that's big enough to tucked in firmly onto the cot mattress or use a safe baby sleeping bag in accordance with our Sleeping Policy.

Thank you for the privilege to share in your little one's early years.If you have any queries or concerns about your baby, the room or our program, please feel free to contact Ms Dolly or Ms Sandra anytime.

Wishing all our Mothers a very Happy Mother's Day.

​This year with the new changes at piptree we are delighted to have the children of the second kindergarten room.We would like to take this opportunity to welcome all the families that have joined the Poppies 2 this year. Our room is with full of energy, having a bunch of lovely enthusiastic children. In the first couple of months we engaged in establishing our routines and getting to know each other.

The popular "Manners show" was the first show in February and the children loved it. Following the show we established our own rules for our room and it was a very good start for our kindergarten children.The show gave them some insight to respect each other and make new friends which is a very important skill they need in their school years ahead.

The children have been very cooperative at group time. They are eager to learn new things and listen to stories. We have been focusing on recognising our names and the letters our names are made up with. We also have been practising writing our name lately. We started Jolly phonics and we have just completed the first phase. With number recognition skills, the children are learning to count numbers using the number board. At the moment we are focusing on counting to ten, forward and backwards. Play is an important part of our learning and we sit as a group and play alphabet or number games. The children are also involving themselves in their creative side with drawing amazing pictures and using blocks to create their imaginary models. We also use natural materials such as shells, rocks and seeds in their play which help them to understand the importance of the natural world we live in.

We are lucky to have a free yoga lesson every Wednesday by a qualified yoga teacher. The children learn so much connecting their bodies, to stories and music. It also gives them some discipline to follow the teacher while doing the yoga movements. The dentist's visit was a highlight this week. The children very interactively participated and learnt about dental care.

We are happy to say that the homework books have been sent home and please help your child to do the tasks. We noticed that some children forget to bring their hats. This is a sun smart centre and every child needs a hat to play outdoors. Thank you for your cooperation and leaving your beautiful children with us in care.

 Welcome to Blossoms room to new parents and children.

Over the past month we have been working on group activities to extend social skills and friendships.This has been working very well and most children are forming friendships already.It is indeed very exciting to see them make new friends and learn new skills.

We have also been focusing on colours,shapes,Alphabet and Number Recognition through a variety of activities eg.Songs,Painting,Collage,Flash cards,playdough,Matching letters to our names,Writing activities.

I believe children's learning happens most effectively when they are engaged and interested in what they are doing,that is why we observe them to identify their interests and developmental needs,which helps in planning meaningful activities for them.I would welcome any feedback and ideas that you as a parent may help in the development of your child.

In the coming weeks we will be focusing on teaching children about dental health and hygiene as well as Recycling. We have a Tooth booth show on 23rd May to enhance their learning.

Thanks Heaps Rina and Eve.

 Have a look at what we have done in the past few months!

• NEW Arrival of the HAPE TOYS.
• 
  Children always like exploring new things. Those new HAPE learning resources kept them really motivated! They formed their own learning groups everyday, participating in the activities they are interested in. I heard them singing the song The Wheels On the Bus cheerfully and many interesting conversations about going to a zoo, a beach, a shopping center,and so on, while they were playing with the wheel set. They learnt turn taking and sharing, problem solving skills. One of their favourite toys is the shape screw set. To play with this learning equipment, children need to use their thinking skills such as classifying and sorting. Once they have learnt from trial and error ,they can transfer the knowledge from one situation to another.
• SENSORY ACTIVITIES: shaving cream play and waking through trays filled with sand, rice and beans . Sensory activities are important. They facilitate exploration and naturally encourage children to use scientific processes while they
  play,creat,investigate and explore.
• Cooking experience, such as making banana & sultana muffins and banana & pear ice blocks. There are many benefits of cooking with kids. It's fun and impressive, as the children are involved in preparing and cooking process, they use all their senses to learn and they enjoy tasting the food they made. It's a great opportunity to teach children about heathy food as well.
  
• Practicing self-help skills, such as self serving fruits by using the tongs at afternoon tea time; packing and stacking the bowls and drink bottles then wiping the hands and face after meals; applying sunscreen before outdoor play. Practicing self-help skills are essential, it helps children to develop their independence and gaining their confidence.
  
• At the moment, I'm using parent input to gain more understanding of every child. Thanks for the lovely information every family provided. Those inputs really refreshed my mind, I'm integrating the experience every parent mentioned into weekly programs. We talked about Disney Carton Characters based on Daniel's Movie world trip, we had a sports day based on Oliver's weekend story, soon we are going to talk about Australian animals, farm animals and wild animals based on Ashish, William and Aliya's weekend stories, and so on. At group time, their weekend stories are shared with whole group as well, so that we get to know one another and their families in an interesting way.
  
• BUDS One
• Amanda and Ivy

 Buds Two Family Newsletter

Hello and welcome again. Firstly we would like to welcome new children in our Buds 2 room including Israel and Oscar. We look forward to getting to know you and your families and hope you all enjoy your time with us in the new room.

For children's gross motor skills, we are organising indoor games including basketball, parachute play and balancing on planks. On 11^th April we organised indoor basketball game. All the children participated in the game. It showed great teamwork with all children. Children learnt to develop social skills and turn taking skills. To teach children about hygiene, we keep teaching children to brush their teeth and washing their hands before eating and after toileting. During group time, we demonstrated to children how to brush their teeth properly.

We celebrated Chinese New Year in mid-February and Easter in end of March. We organised lot of art and collage activities to improve children's fine motor skills. We are also improving children's pre-writing skills and teaching self help skills. Most of the children are now toilet trained and others are learning toileting. Children are able to self-serve their food into their plates and eat without any support.

For children's cognitive development, we are focusing on colour shapes and alphabet learning. Some of the children started recognising the first letter of their name from the magnetic letters and from the pictures on the poster. We are also focusing on children's sensory skills. We made play dough inside the room and children were given the opportunity to select colour of their choice. We also had a goop play inside the room.

Another activity that we arranged was strawberry planting activity on 18^th April in our room to increase children's awareness on the environment and also to improves their sensory skills. Children planted mini strawberry plants in the pots. All the children scooped the dirt, placed seed in the pots and then watered the plants. It helped to improve their fine motor skills and their senses including smell, touch, sight, taste and hearing.

The coming events are Mother's Day and we are organising afternoon tea for all the parents on 11^th May 2018. Lastly, we ask all the parents to come forward with your ideas and input. Please also provide sunscreen and hats to their children.

Until next time.

Bhupinder and Chamini.  Denise is still recovering well since her shoulder injury, we should see her smiling face shortly.