Friend Street Kindergarten

We have a new sign.

With help from a number of parents and grandparents we went for a community walk. Inspired by the Reggio Emilia concept of a Walk of Thoughts the children became active researchers and observers of their local community. Along the way, they noticed gardens, trees, flowers, homes, signs, numbers on the letter boxes, birds, birds nest and many other interesting features of the neighbourhood. Most importantly, they shared their thoughts, questions, and observations with one another.
Experiences like this help children develop a sense of belonging, community awareness, and confidence as active participants in the world around them. It was wonderful to see the children engaging so thoughtfully with their surroundings and taking pride in sharing their community with their friends.

It started with a seed...What started as a simple conversation about seeds collected in the yard quickly grew into an exciting inquiry project at kinder! With some quiet wondering questions from the educators the children became obsessed with finding seeds from their morning tea, lunch boxes, and kitchens at home. They have shown such enthusiasm and curiosity that almost every day someone arrived at kinder with a new seed to add to our collection. This lead to planting seeds to see what we could grow, drawing and creating labels so we knew which seed had been planted where and being patient waiting to see what will grow.
This was a powerful and meaningful learning experience across literacy, numeracy, STEM, sustainability, and socially all driven by the children. If we had said "today we will learn about growing seeds" the learning would have lasted a session or two instead the term they have been investigating. From little things big things grow.

This term we have continued our learning about Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander cultures through stories, art, and meaningful conversations. The children were introduced to the concept of a Yarning Circle, where we practised listening respectfully to one another, taking turns to speak, and sharing our ideas and experiences.
The children showed great interest in several Dreaming stories, particularly How the Birds Got Their Colours. Inspired by the story, they created some amazing drawings and artworks, carefully representing the colourful birds and events from the story. Through these experiences, the children developed their creativity, listening skills, cultural understanding, and appreciation for the rich storytelling traditions of Australia's First Nations Peoples.

Everything we do at kinder presents a learning opportunity for the children. Including getting ready for our Open Day last weekend where the children helped make the signs and prepare the bags that visiting families took home. Families donated jam jars which we filled with batches of playdough made by the children. Each portion of playdough was scented with either Rosemary or Lemon Myrtle (an indigenous plant) leaves grown in our garden which the children cut, crushed and rolled into the playdough. We hope our visiting families enjoy the playdough.

Our Street Library and Pantry is open and what a day we had! Paul Hamer had the honour of removing the paper chain our children made to mark the official opening. Our kinder children will be growing items in our new vegetable patches and sharing them with our community along with the herbs in the herb bowl below the library. We invite the community to swap books and share their excess fruit, vegetables, jams etc. Many thanks to our wonderful volunteer parents who made the completion of this project possible and the North East Link Community Fund for the grant.

Looking for a warm and welcoming community kindergarten for your child?

Join us at our Open Day this Saturday from 10am–12pm and discover what makes our kindergarten so special! Meet our wonderful educators and families, explore our large indoor and outdoor learning spaces, and learn more about our play-based 3 and 4-year-old programs.

Our experienced staff provide a nurturing environment where children can grow, learn, build confidence, and make lasting friendships.

We’d love to meet you and your family!

Find out more at
https://www.friendstkindergarten.com.au
Applications for 2027 are open now https://www.wpsa.com.au/enrolments

This week is National Volunteer Week and we do sincerely wish to thank all the families who volunteer their time, skills, and energy to support our kindergarten community. From participating on committee, to helping with working bees, fundraising and special events to assisting with everyday activities, their contributions make a significant difference to the children’s learning environment. As a community kindergarten, parent involvement is an important part of what makes our kinder so special. We are incredibly grateful for their generosity and commitment, which help our kindergarten continue to thrive.

One week to go until our Open day and official opening of the community book swap and pantry. We can't wait to share our wonderful kindergarten and our community project with you all.