Kornmehl

Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl

Our Olympic journey has continued this week with great enthusiasm and involvement form everyone. All three groups are immersed in Olympic glory!

Our teaching intent when learning about the Olympics include:

To further a develop a strong sense of identity and pride to be Australian.
To learn about other countries and this special global sporting event.
To learn the meaning of the Australian colours Green and Gold.
To learn about the history of the different sports, for example, Greek Ancient Games.

Some of the strategies we used to achieve these goals include:

Group discussions about this sporting event, where it is happening, how often, the colours, the different flags for each country.
Reinforce the idea of effort and participation as opposed to winning.
Read stories to reinforce being proud to be Australian, for example, Give me a Home Among the Gum Trees.
Engage in the creative arts to explore the colours of Australia. Discuss why the Australians picked Green and Gold.
Engage in sport experiences that are represented in the Olympics: running, jumping the hurdles and throwing at a target.

We have continued discussing what we have all been watching from the Olympics:

Mili: I have been watching the swimming where the girls had their feet not in the water, it looks like they are dancing.
Zach: Swimming and surfing where they fell off a big wave.
Arlo: Swimming, surfing and sailing.
Bronte: I like watching the swimming.
Josh: I have been watching the bow and arrows.
Abby: Gymnastics, they do really cool stuff and when they landed it was a really good land and I also watched the swimming.
Finn: Sailing, surfing, shooting and the archery where they use the bow and arrows
Adam: I have watched the archery and the swimming.
Daniel: I like the surfing and I have watched all of the Olympics.

Further wonderings:

Abby: Why do they take so long to come out?
Zach: What happens when they win a semi-final?
Finn: They have to compete in the big final.
Arlo: Yes, and that’s when they can win a medal.

The Dolphins talked about the significance of the colours Green and Gold, the colours our Olympic teams don when representing Australia. We wondered about why these colours were chosen. We learnt it is connected to the Wattle Tree, it’s beautiful colours and its significance to the Aboriginal People. The children drew beautiful representations of the Wattle Tree.

Medal tally

The children did some research to find out how many medals Australia has won so far. This has been added to each day on a visual table, that the children can easily see and count how many of each medal Australia has won. In a small group, the children had to problem solve: “If on Friday Australia had eleven gold medals and today, they have 14, how many more medals do we need to add to the tally?” We used concrete materials to help the children solve the problem.

Drawing running…

We looked at printed pictures of athletes running in various positions and challenged the children to draw an athlete in a running position. We used a wooden moveable mannequin to help demonstrate the running action and movements of the body to the children. We invited the children to make their thinking visible through visual representations. They drew from observation and memory. They paid close attention to drawing the limbs and how the different body parts connect. We were super proud of the children’s efforts and work!

We followed through by challenging the children to also draw athletes in motion jumping over the hurdles. We looked at some photos of athletes jumping hurdles, as well as some photographs of the children jumping hurdles. Again, we used the wooden mannequin to portray this action and invited the children to draw from close observation and memory. It was a delight to watch their skills and confidence develop. We hope you enjoy their pictures included in this newsletter.

Mini Olympics

On Monday we held a Mini Olympics in the Kornmehl garden.

We started with a few warm-ups to prepare the athletes. A number of sporting stations were set up including: hurdles, long jump, cross country and discus (bean bag throwing).

Once the sports were demonstrated to the athletes the games began. It was a morning of excitement as they cheered each other on. The children were up for a challenge, for example starting with a lower-level hurdle and progressing to a higher one.

Before engaging in the sport, we asked the children what long jump consisted of:

Arlo: It’s when you have to do a veeeery long jump.
Alice: It’s when you have to do jumps. You have to try to jump the longest.
Zach: And you get the gold medal.
Adam: You mean you break the record.
Josh: It’s a contest when you have to jump really long, the longest.
Leah: It’s a jump that you have to jump long.

We all gathered around the sandpit and asked the children to find a “marker” (a stick, a spade, a seed) to mark the length of their jump. The children loved this challenge and participated with enthusiasm and a good team spirit.

We followed up with hurdles, cross country and discuss (bean bag toss).

The Seashells made some medals outside. They used paint, crayons and glitter to make gold, silver and bronze medals. They walked round the whole day proudly showing off their medals.

A visit from a real Olympian

On Tuesday, we were treated to a very special surprise. We learnt that Sam (Semir Pepic), one of our security guards, is a former Judo Olympian. He competed for Czechoslovakia in the 1996 Olympics, and for Australia in the 2004 and 2008 Olympics. Sam brought in his uniforms, books and medals to show the children. He shared some of his experiences as a Judo athlete with us. The children were fascinated (as well as the teachers) to see the uniform Sam wore at the Olympics and to hear some of the explanations of this amazing martial art. We watched a YouTube clip of Sam fighting in one of his matches. It was a delight to welcome Sam into the Pre-school to share his Olympic journey with us all. We are always so humbled by the wonderful community connections we discover in our Emanuel family. Thank you, Sam!

Breakfast and Pyjama Day

What a fabulous and much anticipated morning we all had. The weather was just right for snuggling up and keeping warm in our pyjamas. The children and teachers were excited and looked fabulous in their pyjamas. Each group had a turn in the Dream room and on the deck for breakfast. We started the day on our beds hugging a special soft toy, playing with our torches, and making patterns on the ceiling, while listening to relaxing music. We watched two Aboriginal Dreamtime stories on the big screen: “Tiddalick the frog” and “How the moon was made”. This proved to be a big hit! This was followed by sharing two very special shadow books on the overhead projector: “The game of light” and “The game of shadows”.

Finally, we were woken up with fairy dust by our fairy teachers, who invited us to a very special and delicious Kornmehl breakfast. The breakfast consisted of cereal, followed by each child making their own bread sandwich, fruit, muffins and a glass of milo. We all had a lot of fun and a most enjoyable morning.

Jeans for Genes Day

On Friday, we collected tzedakah for Jeans for Genes Day. Each year, Australians unite by wearing their favourite jeans and denim outfits and donating money to support genetic research. Every dollar raised on the day helps scientists at the Children’s Medical Research Institute discover treatments and cures, to give every child the opportunity to live a long and healthy life. We were very happy to be able to support another worthwhile charity and for our youngest Kornmehl citizens to know that, even though they are so little, they can still help to make a difference in the world.