Light and Dark
We have been using light boxes, torches, mirrors, Christmas Tree lights to explore ‘light and dark’.
Wallowing and immersing themselves in shadow play, children have been keen to share experiences in creating delightful shapes and special effects with all the light sources.
We have closed curtains and cocooned ourselves in darkness so that we can experience the full effect of the sharp, bright light from the light box or torch.
This ignited curiosity has supported children to ‘regulate’ their emotions through shared noticing or independent immersion in light play.
And there has been talk and commentary, noticing and gesturing that has meant children have made connections between experiences at home and experiences here in Nursery 3.
This ‘scientific enquiry’ is part of our Curriculum Promises – “I use all my senses to engage in scientific enquiry”.
Creative Construction
Nursery 3 has lots of loose parts (bought from scrap store) that are supporting the children to be creative with open-ended materials – this is allowing them the fullest opportunity to be playful, explorative and uniquely creative.
Block play and loose parts are some of the most fundamental and essential materials here at Nursery, as children show us their creative thinking in very concrete ways.
Some of the children have been so very absorbed with the materials, changing and transforming the shapes, tessellating and balancing and fitting them together – rotating, sliding and combining the shapes to create structures full of symmetry and other mathematical concepts and ideas.
Mathematics is everywhere!
Belonging and Contributing
Our daily routine and interactions are really focused on helping children develop their social interactions and reciprocity.
We have been learning to share experiences and collaborate with other children, with adults modelling how to take turns in conversations, share resources and build relationships around shared fascinations and interests.
Placing and arranging and counting together has been a great opportunity to model interactions and enjoy sharing fascinations and interests.
Ona and Sarah, Claire and Ayan, Natascia and Lisa have supported children to playfully communicate and talk about their passion and interest, whether in number, writing and mark making, painting or constructing.
“I can belong and contribute to a group” is another of our Curriculum Promises and is really focused on helping children confidently build skills in interactions, notice what others are doing and want to participate in shared, group experiences.
We have been modelling empathy, negotiation, compromise, and positive assertion in play and interactions.
