Prep | Kindergarten News

English

As part of our literacy programme, students in Kindergarten have continued to develop their phonemic knowledge and understanding by learning new sounds, as well as writing and reading words and sentences. The sounds we have explored are m, s, t, a , p , i, f, r, o, c, d, h, e, n, g, l, k, u, b and j. Each sound has an accompanying character and action to support students in their recognition and application. Additionally, students have been taught several high frequency words known as ‘Tricky words’ to support them with increased fluency during reading and writing.

Readers do so much more than decode a series of words or recount a sequence of events. Experienced readers make predictions and inferences in their heads. They also make connections to themselves, others and the world around them. We have been exploring quality picture books with rich vocabulary to continue to develop our comprehension skills. The two most recent stories

Unit of Inquiry – Who We Are

During the last two weeks of Term Two, we have been looking at the line of inquiry ‘keeping myself and others safe’ as part of our Who We Are Unit of Inquiry. This has allowed for some very important life lessons to occur that we hope will help your son to be safe throughout his life.

We have learnt about the different emergency services, including how to call 000 for help if there is an emergency. We discussed a range of different scenarios and learnt the difference between an emergency (when you must call 000) and a ______ (where you don’t need to call 000). The boys practiced ringing 000 and taking turns as the operator and the person calling for help. They also were tasked with homework to support this lesson – talking to their parents about their address and phone number so that they can give these details to emergency services if needed.

Another key lesson included car safety. The boys learnt about the importance of staying in their carseat and making safe choices in and around cars. Some of their key takeaways included:

• “If your car is going very slow, you need to have a seat belt on” – Jayden
• “Wear your seatbelt at all times in the car” – Jeremy
• “If you are in the car line in the morning, never take your seatbelt off until the door is open, and the car is off” – Milan
• “When you are in the car, don’t touch your seatbelt” – Jacob
• “Remind mum to buckle you” – Cameron
• “Get out of the door on the side where the cars aren’t at – the path side one, not the roadside one” – Jeremy 
• “Everytime the car is stopped, and you get out, go out the safety door” – Milan
• “Hold your mum or dads’ hand, because a car might bump into you because you can’t be seen” – Jacob

Please encourage your son to keep having these conversations at home about keeping himself and others safe, particularly when travelling in the car. We look forward to seeing lots of Kindergarten boys buckled in safely in the kiss and ride car line. 

STEAM/Unit of Inquiry

During STEAM Kindergarten have been investigating different materials as a part of their UOI topic “The properties of materials determine a product’s purpose.”

To further develop the boy’s understanding of materials we conducted various experiments before creating sturdy shelters for our toy friends.

First an investigation was conducted with the STEAM hamster who was left outside in an open box for a full week. The boys created predictions of what might happen to the hamster and looked over him in the kindergarten playground.

“I predict that the hamster will get wet from the rain.”

“I predict the hamster will be struck by lightning.”

“I predict it will get so dirty.”

At the conclusion of this experiment, we determined that the hamster became very dirty and even a little bit wet from the morning dew. These observations assisted in the development of our own shelter designs. Utilising recycled materials, the boys all constructed their own creative shelters, before taking them outside and testing their durability. Could the shelter protect their toy from the sun, rain and wind? Was it waterproof? Strong? Comfortable?

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Mandarin

Kindergarten boys have continued to explore animal words and life cycles through songs and stories. They learn to recite familiar rhymes in Mandarin using prompt cards related to animal sounds. The boys are able to apply pictographic clues to read numbers in Hanzi and advanced learners progressively develop their reading skills in recognising Chinese words without visual guides. They have fun designing their butterfly origami and inquiring into different colours and types of paper which are linked with the learned vocabulary and Term 2 UOI.   

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Maths

During Mathematics, we have been exploring the concept of one-half. Through play and hands-on investigations our learners have had many opportunities to talk about their understandings and share their thinking. The boys are now able to communicate using the following language: whole, part, equal parts, half, halves.

On the holidays, allow your child to further their mathematical thinking by participating in real life experiences exploring skills and concepts covered in Maths.

In the kitchen: Having your child help you in the kitchen not only offers the benefit of an extra pair of hands but also involves maths. This could involve measuring and cutting fruit and vegetables in half.

On a road trip: Road trips provide interesting opportunities to practice maths.  Making words from the letters on number plates, reading maps and understanding road signs. 

Going shopping: Grocery shopping provides wonderful opportunities to, among other things, practice estimating cost, writing a shopping list and using the scales to weigh produce. 

Container Collection

As part of our Mathematics Measurement unit next term, we are collecting a variety of empty containers. If you have any of the following containers could you, please wash them and send them to school with your son:

• Empty boxes e.g. cereal boxes, tissue boxes, snack boxes
• Empty and clean plastic containers e.g. ice cream/ yoghurt/ margarine containers
• Empty and clean plastic bottles e.g. soft drink/ milk/ water/ juice bottles

Support your son in the holidays

During the holidays, there are lots of activities that you can do with your son to support his learning. We know that learning doesn’t just happen in the classroom, in fact, one of your sons’ main teachers in life is you! One of the most important things that you can do is to spend quality family time together – this is essential for your son’s wellbeing and sense of self. Take some time together without electronic devices to really focus on your relationship while you play and have fun.

Please continue reading with your son every day, this is will _____

Some other activities that we suggest are:

• Cooking together and talking about how recipes work, ingredients and measurement
• Play board games and card games 
• Visit a new park or playground
• Write a story or make a book together 
• Make playdough from scratch 
• Get creative – get out some paint, coloured pencils and paper and let your son’s imagination run free
• Write a letter to a family member or friend
• Meet up with a classmate for a playdate
• Have a dance party at home – put on some music and enjoy having a boogie together
• Have a movie day – blankets, popcorn and a movie
• Go for a walk and play ‘I spy’ looking for initial sounds in the environment (e.g. I spy something starting with ‘c’, it is a car)
• Visit a beach and make a beautiful sandcastle
• Go to your local library
• Reflect at the end of the day as a family about three things you are grateful for 
• Create a holiday journal and encourage your son to write something everyday

We hope you have a wonderful holiday, and we look forward to seeing you for wonderful learning next Semester.

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