Exploring the outdoor

My home centre is located in a very unique environment with huge paddocks and great open spaces.  We are very fortunate to be able to access the open spaces and take advantage of it.  We have a goat, two sheeps and the latest addition are four alpacas.  Each room owns one and ours is called Pacman.  He is dark brown in colour and stood out from the rest.

We walked together as a group, reminding children about safety and staying together by holding a friend's hand.  The children were having a sports race as they were running, hopping and jumping.  This was indeed great for gross motor development and confidence building in their development skills. Te Whariki, Exploration Strand states, "Children gain confidence in and control of their bodies" (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 86). There were trees and bushes and the children created tunnel to crawl through and played hide and seek.

We then visited the alpacas.  The children were calling out to Pacman and interestingly Pacman seem to response and ran towards us followed by the others. According to Mindes, 2006, "Social studies is the exploration of people's interactions in and with their social and physical environment" (p. 107).  Children really enjoyed themselves and had so much fun as they had the freedom to explore the outdoor.  Greenfield, 2007, suggests "Children want to be outside and therefore optimal outdoor environments are essential and being outside is essential. (p. 29).



Pikelets for everyone!

4 October 2010

Today, I was on activity duty and I asked the children what they would like to do?  Child L replied, "Make pikelets."  Child A said, "Ya pikelets!"  So, I decided to make pikelets since the children were interested in it.  I took out the recipe book from the cupboard and invited the children to participate in the cooking activity.  Several children sat around the activity table and waited for me.  I read the recipe aloud and was looking for the ingredients which consisted of plain flour, sugar, baking powder, eggs and milk.  The eggs and milk were in the fridge.  We need the measuring cups, a mixing bowl, fork, and also margarine for cooking.  I lined up the cups according to their sizes and explained to the children about weight and volume.  Child L was very excited and yell out, "I like pikelets, yum yum!"

I pluged in the pan and warned the children not to touch it as it was hot and also explained to them about safety issues. Five children  sat around the table and I guided them to take turn and to pour in the ingredients into the mixture. Te Whariki, Communication Strand states, "Children develop responsive and reciprocal skills, such as turn-taking and offering" (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 74). As we were doing that we werecounting the number of cups of flour, sugar and milk.  Once the mixture was done, I did the cooking as the children watched and passed comments.  Some of them were that one is bubbling and it's ready. according to Smorti, 1999, "Process cooking is a technological activity or system, developed, used and adapted by early childhood services to meet children's needs. (p. 6). It took some time for me to cook the pikelets and once they were done, all the children ate them for their morning tea. This was indeed a very exciting and great learning experience for all.

Ambulance visit

We are currently interested in transport and emergency vehicles.  In order to foster on these interest we invited child M's mother to visit us in her ambulance.  M's mother is a paramedic who works for St John ambulance.  We are very fortunate that she accepted our invite and came today in an ambulance for us to explore.  The children were sitting on the mat while she showed them her huge first aid pack. All the children were very curious about the ambulance and the contents of the first aid bag. She opened her pack and explained to us what they are and what they are for. Several children had the opportunity to have their arm bandaged or put into a sling. She asked the children whether anyone had been in an ambulance.  A couple of children put their hands up and answered, "Yes!".

We then went outside and were allowed to climb into the ambulance. It was very nice of M's mother to speak in a very friendly manner to the children.  She even gave them some soft toys to cuddle and made them really comfortable. We now know that ambulances are not scary at all but they are to help us when we are in need of help. Te Whariki, Wellbeing Strand, goal 2 states, "Children experience an environment where their emotional wellbeing is nurtured" (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 50).

Soon, it was time for us to say good bye and she sounded the siren on her way down the driveway.  We also know that whenever we hear the siren, we should give way for the ambulance to pass. The children have a very fantastic and exciting learning experience.

Fire truck adventure

The children in my centre have been interested and forcusing on transport. We thought it would be a good idea to introduce them some of the emergency vehicles. Child B's dad is a fireman and we decided to ask him to come with the fire truck. We are very fortunate that he agreed. Today much to everyone's excitement the fire engine turned up in our driveway with B's dad and three other firemen inside. The children and treachers all rushed outside to have a look. Some of us were really excited about the new experience while serveral were not quite so sure.

B's dad tought us about fire safety and why we need smoke alarms in our homes and in our centre. This is to ensure that when the alarm goes on we know we can escape to a safe area. He asked the children, "Do you know where is your assembly point?" B immediately answered, "The sandpit!" B's dad said but remember it will be the letter box when we are at home. The firemen then opened the doors of the fire engine and we were allowed to climb inside and have a sit on the big back seat.

After we all had our turn, we lined up and watched as B's dad put on all the special fireman gear which included a helmet, jacket, pants and boots all made put of specail fire proof material. He then put on his BA or breathing apparatus which helps him to breathe in buildings that are on fire and covered with smoke. He sounded funny with his mask on and we encouraged the children to give him a hug while he was all dressed up.

As the firemen said good bye and drove off, they waved to us and put on the siren and lights for us. What a great experience! This link to Te Whariki, Belonging Strand states, "Children and their families experience an environment where connecting links with the families and the wider world are affirmed and extended" (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 56).