Do Crocodiles eat Grandmas?

Making our mark

Car Jump

Last term we set up this ramp for the cars since they'd been a great interest in rolling things down the hill, plus a number of cars had been brought in. We soon added a jump and due to popularity kept it going over the days to follow, as the children worked to explore and master the skills involved. I noticed a lot of long periods of play by the children exploring the ramp as they perservered with the challenge.

Learning to Screen Print

The Farm At The End of the Road

Today we travelled by bus to Napier Municipal Theatre where we were entertained by an array of puppets and actors. We then went on to have lunch at the park on the Marine Parade before returning home.

Snow Ball fight

Despite no snow we decided it was cold enough to have a snowball fight.

Today Lochie asked if we could have another one and this time, Sam, Caleb E, Callum, Tom (wicked aim and great dodging, knows how to hold his shots till you've thrown), Lochie (more great aim and good moderation pulling shots really well), Ollie and Charlie had a go.

Dodging lead by Tom who was an expert and tempering your throw for younger friends especially when in too close became the important lessons of focus today. We stopped for the occasional stung cheek or ear, if needed had a cuddle and then decided to keep going or do something else. We kept at it for over an hour till our arms were sore and we were to tired.

In the afternoon we shifted to bat and ball.

Electric Learning

Watching the video below you can see why the research shows every $1 spent on Early Childhood is worth $13 spent later, when you see the learning that can take place with $15 dollars worth of batteries and around $80 of science kits.

The children here are learning to read circuit diagrams, solve problems, investigate, research, share their findings, observe, collaborate and find a life long love of learning.

Inspirational Art

Abi began with brushes and ended up with her hands adding more and more to her picture till it got a hole in it.

After a bit she started a new one and Abi shared with Charlotte all the lessons she had learned. A bit from each pot, six magnets so it won't fall off with the movement.

They decided they needed glitter, I got some with Meadow's help to keep filming, and then some different glitter when it turned out I got the wrong sort.

I then noticed I was not the only media presence as three more cameras arrived.

Abi meanwhile resumed her dance to the background music as she painted.

These photojournalists were equally inspired and soon started their own similar projects

PS sorry Wills, you needed some help with hanging that painting didn't you, thanks Michelle for covering me on that.

Pulleys

Following on from lifting the rocks I decided last week to try out my new learning around pulleys and was soon joined by lots of helpers. The idea seems to be if you pull up twice as much rope you only have to pull half as hard. (See links on previous post.) So I set up what I hoped would be an effective pulley, modelling the trial and error nature of the experiment as I tested different setups. Then it was all hands on board to hoist each other up.

It still needs some work, but I'd like to set it up so a child can lift something with the pulley they couldn't on their own. One problem might be is there a difference between lifting and holding the weight. Maybe gears and brakes might have to be used?

Down the mine

Jimmy and Ollie dug a hole, a huge hole and decided to put planks over it. When I suggested with more planks it would be like a cave they got very excited.

Jack joined us (tunnelling is something he's been exploring a lot in his sandpit at home) and he was soon working away down the mine, eventually coming out the other side.
For safety we made a rule no one down the mine with out a teacher present. To facilitate this Jack decided to board it up when the teachers weren't able to be there. A great idea.
We also said no walking or digging on the top while people were down the mine and discussed not undermining our roof planks. We worked out a communication come emergency breathing pipe for use by our miners.

Jimmy thought about climbing through but was amongst those who while they wanted to, weren't as keen when they saw the passage, so he concentrated on adding external features.

Mickey and Caleb W both gave it several crawl throughs.

I shared with them stories of how in the old days children had to crawl down tunnels like this and up chimneys as a job instead of going to kindergarten.

Moving rocks

Watch this video to get an idea of how much weight one man can move on his own, you'd be surprised.




You might also want to learn about pulleys
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T7tGosXM58&feature=related
or levers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Us2KfO_yrPA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PW7ztbwJKBk&feature=related
and screws, inclined planes, circular levers
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v1hjiOp6FEU

New 500pc ZOOB Set!

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LEGO

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ZOOB

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A Lego house

Last night James May's Toy story screened a lifesize house being made out of lego, it was so cool. So Sharon set up her laptop to the TV and we watched selected bits of it again on tv 3 on demand. "Wow, holy shoot, look at that!"
There was lots of great science, such as testing lego beams of different designs with weights till they collapsed, plus lots of inspired building.
It fitted in really well with the increasing interest and development of construction play we have had over the last few weeks.


If you want to watch it, T.V. three has it available until about the 21st of March 2010 for New Zealand viewers, you may want to check your broadband plan to make sure you have enough bandwidth to download it first.

Spinners

I watched Noah and Harry taking turns to load up the swing with barks "it's raining bark"

"The bark is coming down" ? was their chant as they took turns to drop bark in. They explained it to me and I pulled out my camera and they were kind enough to explain it again. Malachi was watching and decided he wanted a go to.

More Highland

Highland dancing continues to be requested, and there's lots of "I'm going to be at dancing tomorrow," with mums telling us our dancers count the sleeps between lessons.

Eden, Katy, Billie, Abigail, Harriet, Charlotte and more.

We watched some pipe bands on youtube the other day to learn about how the music is made. We also had a go a marching, did you know Sharon used to be a marching girl, and so was her mum.

We must watch the dancers on Greenwood Community Kindergarten's Blog with our dancers, what will they think?

Balloon Magic

Aidan brought in his boys book from home to try out some of the experiments he's been telling us about. Like this one were a statically charged balloon causes water to bend towards it. We looked it up, read it and tried it out. Since every one wanted balloons I got out some left over water bombs, but oh no it stuck to my nose!

After a lot of work we got them sticking to Aidan, it was really hard, they just didn't want to stick to him. Unlike me who just had to blow one up to get stuck.

We even tried balloon catch.

I love the kind sharing at the start of this video and the fun we had with balloons.

Aidan and his friends showed great problem solving as they changed his clothes and tried different solutions to get them to stick.

water bomb day

Harriet decided yesterday it would be a good idea to throw water bombs at the teachers, and asked us all to bring a change of clothes today. Then today she turned up with 250 waterbombs!
I helped her make a sign for the back gate and Sharon made one for the front gate warning all who entered (including as it happened Dave M our new education manager (senior teacher) [who proved very sneaky with water bombs and a good catcher ] welcome Dave and Brett from the association board,) to beware of water bombs.

First step was to fill all of Harriet's 250 balloons and 200 of the 400 I'd brought along for the teacher supply. This was a great exercise in the virtue of patience as everyone had to wait their turn for balloons and no one was allowed to throw them till they'd all been filled. While it was hard to wait, everyone managed really well.So we filled up our buckets. "How many do you need?" "How many have you got now?" "How many more will you need to make X?" Lots of maths involved and peer tutoring as we moved from three in a bucket to ten or more as those with great math's skills like Tom stretched the boundaries of possibility for their friends.

Tom "I've got eight, can I have ten like Joel, I need two more please," and later asking for thirteen. Harriet's were all different colours and often they were different shapes, so colour and shape got a good look in too.Joel got his all out to count.

Becky made a nest with her's just like her mother duck at home.Then we got started.Oh oh, Adrianne and Sharon forgot their change of clothes, but Adele picked them up some rain ponchos from the $2 shop.
Just as well, as Jack sneaked in and pinched our stash of teacher balloons, and my idea to use the kindergarten umbrella. But watch out Jack Adrianne's sneaking up behind you!
We all got wet, especially Jack.

Watch out Sharon! We had the odd tears, Ben "Adrianne burst my balloon, on me!"

Good helping, Adrianne "David can you fill another baloon for Ben please, I broke the wrong one."

Lots of fun "you just keep patting that balloon on Adrianne's back Ben it'll burst eventually."

Lots of laughs, Ben "It burst."

Then we practised the virtue of cleanliness picking up all the tiny pieces of balloon.

We'll have to do this again. Thanks Harriet was a great day you gave us.

Just the bomb.

Josh found a green balloon, stuck it on the tap and started to fill it up. I helped him fill it fuller then tied off the end and watched to see what he would do with it.

He bounced it, tasted it, kicked it, chased it and threw it. Eventually it rolled down the hill and then it burst. We'd had so much fun I got him another one. As we filled it we were joined by others, fortunately I'd anticipated this and had a handful of balloons to pass around, but before we could finished filling them, "Lunch time" happened. We finished off our balloons, stashed them in the water trough and went in for lunch.

Then, as the children finished lunch, I headed off for my own break wondering what the balloons would get up too?

Wow did they ever get up to a lot. Jo must have wondered what was going on as the children, one by one, came in to ask her for a balloon till every one had one. Sharon helped fill them, getting soaked in the process.

When I got back the balloons were all over the place, being poured on, splashed with, fitted through holes, walked, kicked, thrown and dropped.

Being rolled up planks, down planks, along the ground, down slides and down hills.

Some water balloons were bigger than others.Sharon got very excited! We were all having great fun.

Some were stashed in bags to take home, some placed on carseats, some carefully and lovingly dried.

James asked his mum first if he could take his in the car (as did many others). She said yes and he was allowed. Janine stopped and wound down her window on the way down the hill "It has burst in the car," she told us with a wry smile, "it went everywhere." Good thing it was a hot day.

Harriet has told us (teachers too) that we all need to bring a change of clothes tomorrow for a massive water bomb fight, oh, oh, sounds like fun, I'd better go to the supermarket and stock up.