Hornsby Heights Preschool Kindergarten

End of 2022! 💫

The last few months were very busy for us here at Hornsby Heights, as we had our preschool graduation and our Christmas concert, complete with a visit from Santa himself! 🎄☺️
As we start another year here at Hornsby Heights Preschool, we would like to look back on the end of last year and send a big Congratulations to all of our Kangaroos who have graduated last year, going on to Kindy this year!! We have loved having you all with us, and we send you all best wishes for your next school adventure! ❤️

🖌 Art Studies! 🖌

Last month at preschool, we engaged in Art Studies! We engage in some sort of art everyday at preschool, but we decided to focus on some famous artists for two weeks - this allowed the children to explore different artists and their mediums! We enjoyed exploring different styles of art, such as splat painting, still life drawings and abstract art.
The children really enjoyed these experiences, and used famous artworks as a guide to make their own masterpieces! Check out our artworks inspired by artists such as Monet, Matisse, Jackson Po***ck, Piet Mondrian and Wassily Kandinsky.

🌱 Spring at Hornsby Heights! 🌱

For the last few weeks, we have enjoyed exploring the Season of spring! We have explored our natural environment at preschool, where we are so lucky to have such beautiful plants, flowers and trees to explore right in our back garden. Our garden is also home to lots of insects, birds and bugs so we are constantly exploring and observing our natural environments!
We have enjoyed growing potatoes, mung beans and even having silkworms in the classroom - this has allowed the children to explore life cycles and natural processes throughout the season of Spring.

📕📙 Our trip to Hornsby Library! 📙📕

Last Thursday we all set off on the bus together for a trip to Hornsby Library!The children loved riding the bus and walking through Hornsby mall, before settling down at the library.

We were greeted by the librarian Deborah, who sat us down in the story room and read us a story. We read “Not your bed, Fred!” with Deborah before enjoying some singing together. We sang songs such as “Wheels on the Bus” “Incy, Wincy Spider” and “Open Shut them” before reading another story, “When dragons are dreaming.”

After our stories and some more songs, we were able to explore the children’s corner! We spent about 40 minutes exploring and choosing some books for quiet reading, before we took off back to the bus. We were able to do a long loop of Hornsby, taking the bus up Somerville road. This prompted lots of discussions about where we live and where our peers live! We enjoyed singing together on the bus until we reached preschool.

🌍 ✨ Space! 🪐 🌙

Earlier this month we enjoyed learning all about Space!! We explored the eight planets of the solar system, as well as exploring space travel, space equipment and the life of astronauts!
We enjoyed exploring these topics through a range of experiences, such as crafts, group discussions and lots of research! I was really impressed with how much our Joeys and Kangaroos learnt over the two weeks, with the children leading lots of discussions about space and the many planets, stars and galaxies of our universe! ✨

👩🏻‍⚕️🧑🏼‍🏫 Occupations! 👮🏽‍♀️👷🏼‍♀️

Last month, we enjoyed learning about different occupations! We spent two weeks exploring all different occupations, including doctors, teachers, farmers and drivers! We were lucky enough to have many incursions from lots of our wonderful parents over the 2 weeks - including a visit from the Federal Police, a nurse and a landscaper!

We explored different occupations through group discussions and research, as well as lots of stories, puzzles and craft! The children really enjoyed reflecting on what they had learnt by sharing what they might like to be when they are older.

🐟 Our dioramas! 🐟

As part of our “Under the Sea” program, we have been constructing “Under the Sea” Dioramas for the last 2 weeks. Over these two weeks, all of the children have had a turn to either paint some boxes, add in some sand, make some seaweed or make some creatures for our sea landscapes. We have finally finished the construction process today, putting everything together!

We are so proud of all of the Joeys and Kangaroos for their efforts during the creation process of our dioramas - everyone has had a turn to contribute to this craft project and it has turned out wonderfully! 🦞

🐙 Under the Sea! 🐬

For the last two weeks, we have loved learning about life under the sea! We have enjoyed exploring different sea creatures, their habitats and how they live. We have explored sea creatures and their habitats through various experiences, including group discussions and research, music and movement and lots of craft!! 🐠

We have explored the depths of the ocean, learning about sea creatures that live near the surface as well as engaging in some deep sea exploration.. we even did some deep sea diving together during our grouptime! The children have loved making their own sea scapes and have engaged in lots of group drawing to share their knowledge of sea creatures together. Check out some of our amazing experiences below!

🦖 Dinosaurs!! 🦖

We are currently learning about Dinosaurs! We have really enjoyed exploring all things dinosaurs for the last 2 weeks, engaging in lots of exciting activities! We have really enjoyed learning more about different dinosaurs, their features and their movements. We have done lots of dinosaur themed craft over the last 2 weeks, which has been great for developing fine motor skills and visual awareness.

We have enjoyed lots of group discussions and research about different dinosaurs, learning about each dinosaur in depth. The Kangaroos put all of our dinosaur knowledge together to make a mixed up dinosaur, with features from some of our favourite dinosaurs - the Triceratops, Stegosaurus and Brontosaurus! This has been a very popular program and we have loved extending on our knowledge with dramatic play - making our own dinosaur claws, dinosaur teeth and even a dinosaur cave!

🏠 Homes and Habitats! 🏠

Over the last few weeks we have been learning about Homes and Habitats, exploring different types of homes and dwellings such as apartments, houses, igloos and more! We have also enjoyed exploring animal habitats, exploring aquariums, jungles, farms and forests. We enjoyed exploring these topics through a range of experiences, including making our own house using cardboard boxes! We also enjoyed experiences such as drawing, craft, group discussions and dramatic play.

🌿 Exploring Aboriginal Perspectives! 🌿

We have been exploring Aboriginal perspectives as part of our preschool program for the last two weeks. We have explored this topic through lots of group discussions & research, craft and creative experiences. As we embed Aboriginal perspectives through our Daily routines, the children have a good understanding of Aboriginal culture through engaging in our Daily singing and acknowledgment of country.

We decided to extend on this knowledge together by learning more about the 6 Dharawal seasons, making our own calendar! This has been one of our special ongoing projects for the last 2 weeks. We have also enjoyed engaging with Aboriginal authors, illustrators and Aboriginal symbols - using these as provocations for our own artworks! This is a great way to respectfully explore Aboriginal perspectives and develop our connection to community.