Old lady who swallowed a fly

Kiri's Voice:
There was an old lady who swallowed a fly.... do you know why?
The children today enjoyed a fun story and puppet show that I had brought in from home. The children were great at practicing patience, waiting for their turn, as well as learning to deal with disappointment if they didn't get their chosen animal. The children were using memory to recall which animal was going to be next and recalling which animals had been swallowed before, and they didn't complain once about my singing! What a great bunch of helpers they were for me and very attentive too. Kiri Fraser.
Pai ki ahau ki te whakarongo koutou tamariki. I like the way you all listened children.


David's Voice:
I was really impressed by Kiri's impromptu mat time. The children were able to come and go as they needed, and I noticed when children moved away (after all sitting still is the hardest balancing skill ) they were still very aware of the story and returned to it as soon as it restarted.

Informal free choice versus formal compulsory mattimes are something a lot of earlychildhood settings are currently thinking about.

Kiri must have sung the story twenty times, as new children joined in and others asked for it again and again, her group getting larger and larger. She managed the many and varied demands very well.

As we watched the video together and it was fascinating to see all the different ways the children had of participating in the story, each at a level they were comfortable with and it's not always necessary to sit up straight to be actively participating. I noticed Aidan dropping the old lady book on his head while he waited for the story to get organised, then sitting up ready to join in again as soon as it started.

I noticed how the children joining the mat would often stand on the outside observing the social rules of the group, figuring out how they could fit in. Often they innovated how they would participate, as when Lachie found his own puppet or Emma and Gina got chairs to become an audience. They also experienced negotiating and compromise as they weren't always able to get what they wanted straight away.

There was also sequencing, a math's skill.

As well as the, maths, music and social side of things there was also problem solving as the children figured out how to fit the puppets into the old lady.
Great story Kiri.