Lockleys Childcare & Early Learning Centre

Preschool had the opportunity to listen and watch the story ‘ THE HEARTBEAT OF THE LAND’ by Cathy Freeman. During the story children reflected on the questions on : why is the land sick? How do we know the land is sick? What did Cathy do to make the land happy? How do we know the land is happy?
Children’s responses:
Leo: The land is sick because it is very hot and the river is frozen ( dried).
Saraya: because there are no leaves on the trees.
Alfie: because it is very hot and there is lava.
Kirra: we know the land is sick because the girl is sad.
Teddy and Leo: She is happy because she planted seeds.
Layla: My brother is sick and he is at home.
Leo: When we breathe the trees make wind.
Anika: I can see the land is happy because we have so many trees now.
Alfie: and it is not hot anymore.
We learnt that Cathy loves to run. We reflect on what we like to do? And what we can do to make the land happy. The children enthusiastically shared their ideas. We will research what plants and veggies we can grow in our garden, “ and make the land happy “ as exclaimed the children.

In the past three weeks preschool has researched the work of artist ‘Andy Goldsworthy’ The children watched a video to observe and learn how the artist used natural materials in an natural environment. What techniques and processes were used to implement the artwork? Our preschool artists observed, interpreted, adapted and created their own artwork. The artwork was presented as symbols, metaphors and beautiful stories. It was a delight to watch the children develop resilience and empathy as created beautiful patterns and stories. Some of our artists made representations of their artwork. Here is the amazing work of our artists demonstrating their knowledge of the elements and principles of visual arts such as form, shape , colour, composition, balance and space.

Pre kindy children made presents for their mummy’s for this Mother’s Day, HAPPY MOTHERS DAY to all the amazing mums.

This morning some preschoolers brought beautiful autumn leaves, shells and other natural resources from their garden, the beach and other natural environments. The children engaged in an art game where they manipulated the different materials. The children have surprised us with the prior knowledge of their aesthetic choices, pattern skills and knowledge of visual arts. Watch our artists working with their materials, collaborating and exploring different techniques of classification and arrangements.

This morning preschool was surprised to see Stripy Sparkle hatched out of its cocoon (monarch butterfly). Two monarch caterpillars were brought in by Teddy from his garden. Preschool has been very fortunate to witness the lifecycle of a butterfly. Our other butterfly called Fire Rosey is still sleeping in the cocoon. The children were delighted to see the butterfly fly away. They excitedly said, “it has beautiful wings…” Harriett, ”I think the butterfly will fly to England and meet with the other butterflies.” Larkin, “I think the butterfly will land on my nose.”

Our pre kindy children are using their cognitive skills to show how much they know about numeracy in a variety of different ways. Counting on the resources in front of them, or playing a rhythmic beat to count along with. Every play space brings new ideas and our children’s imaginations interact with each other in countless ways to create new learnings.

In Preschool recently we have been learning about all kinds of bugs. Larkin made the great suggestion to make a Bug Hotel! We researched how to make a Bug Hotel using technology and exploring a book before we got to work. We collected sticks, bark, rocks and dirt from the garden and filled recycled materials such as paper towel rolls, boxes, and food containers. We filled a big cardboard box and added some colour using paint. Nicholas invited the first bug guest, a millipede! We’ve placed our Bug Hotel in the Fairy Garden outside, take a look and see if you can spot any guests!

Frequent practice of lockdowns ensure our children and educators are prepared for any occurence. Today we responded to a mock hailstorm.

Pre kindy studio has been exploring blocks on the light table and looking at how the blocks are turning bright when we put on the light. Zoe, Patrick and Millie created buildings for dragonflies to fly high and grasshoppers to hop over. They counted beetles legs, it was so fun seeing children creating their own stories.

Preschool has been investigating properties of magnet tiles. This sparked theories that magnets stick to magnets. To test the theory, a provocation of different materials was set up for children to explore and experiment. Nayel discovered that “ if the pipe has lines… you can twist it on another pipe”. Alfie added, “ when you twist it, it fixes together “. Harriet and Teddy made butterfly wings with the big magnets. Darcy, Alfie and Teddy tested the properties of the different materials with magnets. Teddy declared; “ I need metal for this magnet”. Alfie” I know the pipe is not metal”. Harriett “ I already know that, because it is plastic”. Thomas used the pipe and chain to investigate if the chain can go through and come out on the other side. Thomas discovered” the pipe is closed on this end, it cannot come outside”. The open ended provocation has given children the opportunity to discover the properties of materials and how they can be used.