Kornmehl
Terry Aizen – Director of Kornmehl
Clean up Australia Schools Day
On Friday last week the children ventured out of the Kornmehl garden to collect rubbish on the school campus for Clean-up Australia day. The Seashells were committed litter warriors and took their job very seriously. They collected four baskets of rubbish from just outside the Pre-school gate leading up to Emanuel School and under the new decking. On their return to Pre-school, we used this collection to teach the children about recycling and what rubbish goes in which bin i.e. paper in the blue bin, general rubbish in the red bin and garden/nature waste in the green bin. The Starfish ventured into Peace Park and they too cleaned up the spaces in and around Peace Park. What great leaders of the future to take care of our country and keep it clean!
Purim
Over the last few days we have introduced the story of Purim to the children. This has been done using a range of three-dimensional props. We have kept the story very simple focusing on the fact that there was a bad man who wanted to chase all the Jewish people away and that he ended up being chased away. The heroine of the story is the lovely Queen Esther. Through the telling of the story the children are exposed to some new concepts: the fact that they are Jewish, that they are part of a community and that there is a cyclical nature to Judaism as Purim is celebrated each year at the same time.
The festival of Purim is such a bright, happy and colourful one, full of different sensory experiences. The shaking of the rashanim, the creation of brightly coloured masks and the dressing up in colourful clothes as well as the sweet and tasty Hamentashen.
The classrooms has been a hive of activity as the children have immersed themselves in the creative activities on offer. There has been a lovely, festive atmosphere in the rooms as the children delight in trying on different silly wigs and masks as well as making good use of the shakers to create some noise… all in preparation for our Purim parade next week on Tuesday. We are all very excited to celebrate this happy festival together.
Open Day
The Pre-school held its Open Day on Wednesday morning. We had forty attendees who were all interested to find out what makes Kornmehl special and why they should send their children to our Pre-school. During the morning a number of people shared with me how impressed they were with the spaces, learning areas – both indoor and outdoors, the length of time the educators have been at the school, the happy engaged children they could see and most of all the warmth they could feel as they entered the doors. We all enjoyed showcasing our Pre-school to the prospective families.
Play-based learning
The following article was featured in the conversation.com and provides interesting information about play-based research, that lines itself closely with our philosophy at Kornmehl.
“Research shows that play based learning enhances children’s academic and developmental learning outcomes. Children are naturally motivated to play. A play-based program builds on this motivation, using play as a context for learning. In this context, children can explore, experiment, discover and solve problems in imaginative and playful ways. It involves both child-initiated and educator-supported learning. The educator encourages children’s learning and inquiry through interactions that aim to stretch their thinking to higher levels e.g. while children are playing with blocks, an educator can pose questions that encourage problem solving, prediction and hypothesising. They can also bring the child’s awareness towards mathematics, science and literacy concepts, allowing them to engage with such concepts through hands-on learning.
Play-based early years programs are focused on teaching and learning. In such programs, play can be in the form of free play (activity that is spontaneous and directed by the child), and guided play (also child-directed, but the educator is involved in the activity as a co-player) with intentional teaching. Both have benefits for children’s learning. To capitalise on these benefits, an optimum play-based program will provide opportunities for both free play and guided play.
Educators take an active role in guiding children’s interactions in the play. Children are supported in developing social skills such as cooperation, sharing and responding to ideas, negotiating, and resolving conflicts.
Educators can also use children’s motivation and interests to explore concepts and ideas. In this way, children acquire and practice important academic skills and learning in a playful context. For example, research indicates the increased complexity of language and learning processes used by children in play-based programs is linked to important literacy skills. Research shows play-based programs for young children can provide a strong basis for later success at school. They support the development of socially competent learners, able to face challenges and create solutions.
To read the full article please click here
