Joschua’s self portrait 

Joschua this morning at the start of mat time you were a little upset, so I took you out onto the deck and sat with you on the couch and explained that in order to help you, you needed to take some big breaths and try and stop crying so I could understand what you were saying. So together we started doing Tanemahuta breathing, taking big breaths in and big breaths out. Joschua I have discovered that this technique really helps you to refocus and bring a sense of calm and you are able to regain a sense of composure quite quickly. Joschua you were then able to tell me that you were upset because your Mum had left and that you wanted to do a picture but didn’t know where to find the paper. Joschua I explained that this was a problem easily fixed and that after mat time I could help you to look for the equipment you needed to create a picture, I also mentioned that it’s a good idea to come and talk to one of the teachers before you get upset so we can help solve the problem together. I could see that this reassurance made you feel much better and you were happy to return to the mat with me. Joschua after mat time I came and found you and suggested you might like to come and do your picture out on the deck where I was working with a small group of children who were creating self-portraits using some new pallet paints and the mirror. Joschua you were happy to join the group and began looking at yourself in the mirror as you were doing this I challenged you to look for details that you could incorporate into your picture, looking at eye brows, eye lashes and ears. Joschua you got straight to work creating an amazing picture full of detail with the vivid pen, every now and again checking your reflection in the mirror. Once it was time to paint I was delighted to see just how precise your painting was, taking great care to only colour certain areas and again checking your reflection, telling me that you needed orange for your shirt, that you were wearing a jacket today that needed to be black and that your eyes are blue. Joschua once you were happy with the end product I reminded you that it is really important to name your work to which you replied, you needed to go and get your name pebble. Joschua I love the way that you incorporate your creativity into your name by drawing a little happy face in the letter ‘O’, it always makes me smile whenever I see it. Keep up the great work Joschua I look forward to seeing your next creation. Written for Joschua by Cassandra, 10 May 2017

Isaac this morning you were excited to share with me that you’d had a dream last night and you were bursting at the seams to tell me all about it. You told me…”In my dream there was a car and it got stuck in the mud and there was a logging truck and it towed it out. When the truck towed the car out it did a wheelie and a skid!” Isaac I could see that this dream had quite an impact on you so suggested that perhaps you might like to create a picture about it. Isaac you thought this was a good idea and got straight to work. Once you had finished I encouraged you to label your work with your name. Isaac as you were creating your art work I wondered if I could encourage you to include more detail into your work by studying a picture of a logging truck. Once you had completed your work I asked you if you would like me to find a picture of a logging truck so you could have another go at recreating your dream. Isaac you thought this was a great idea and together we looked at different images on my computer until you found one that had the closest resemblance to the one in your dream. Isaac you went and retrieved the picture from the photo copier and got straight to work, as you began to draw I suggested we look at all the different parts that made up the logging truck such as the wheels, the front grill, the side mirrors, the logs and the trailer. Isaac I could see that you were really studying the picture and thinking about how you could recreate the image onto your paper. As you drew the front grill on the truck you paused to count how many lines it had on it and then counted the lines that you were making onto your picture. Once you were happy with the truck you then moved your focus to the car, asking if we could look for a blue car like the one in your dream. Isaac I was really impressed with the way you embraced the challenge I put to you, taking your time to study the pictures and having a go at capturing more detail in your art work. I loved the way that you were so expressive when describing your dream and through this expression I was able to visualise for myself what your dream may have been like. This creative experience has helped you to retell your story to others, showing me that you have fabulous confidence in expressing your thoughts and ideas to others. You really captured our imagination and had the whole table waiting to hear what came next. Thanks for sharing Isaac, I look forward to hearing what you dream about next. Written for Isaac by Cassandra, 15 May 2017

Toni shared in the thinking room at Nature Discovery that her sister had brought a story home from school about a massage circle, so I suggested that maybe she might like to talk us through what to do and make a massage circle at the Sharda Center. Toni was excited to be retelling this experience and stepped up into a leadership position, directing her friends and leading the techniques she was sharing. It was lovely to share this moment with her mum who was parent helping today.

I said to Toni that it would be great to get a copy of the story so that we could share this experience with the wider group back at kindergarten. Later that day Toni and her mum came back to kindergarten after session with the book they had borrowed at school, I was able to take a copy of it and Toni was able to share this experience with everyone a few days later.

It was really rewarding to be able to extend Toni's interest in this book and her massage experience, encouraging her leadership skills and seeing her embrace the opportunities to extend her learning experience. I was also able to show Toni that I valued her contribution to the groups learning experience and show her that even adults are still learning new skills.

Today Hannah was exploring the kinetic sand which I had set up with small sticks to encourage letter exploration. Hannah decided she wanted to write her name in the sand, some of the letters were getting a bit mixed up and the formation wasn't quite right so I went and got our letter land sheet on how to form the correct letters. I talked Hannah through each letter noticing a great difference from her first attempt, she really responded to the names the letters are given Harry hat man for H and so on. Toni had noticed what we were doing and came and joined in, Hannah began exploring the letters with the characters she liked in particular the Z (zebra) and M(munching mike) Hannah is really interested in anything to do with horses. With my support this activity allowed Hannah and Toni to support each other in their learning, sharing knowledge and problem solving together. There were many discussions between the girls about letter formation and the names of the characters, they were able to refer to the letter land sheet for guidance and support. By providing this sheet I was able to support and extend Hannah's interest in letter formation in a supportive environment she also discovered her interest was share by her friend Toni.