We have well and truly started our Kindergarten year! The children have been at school for two weeks and we have done so much already. I have been observing the children as they play and have watched as they drew ideas from each other, creating wonderful imaginative worlds. One particular boy loves everything to do with sea creatures. So much so that when I asked him what he would like to be when he grew up he said, “a sea monster!” I was thinking how important it is to wait and see the things that captivate children and run with that!
We started by looking at sea creatures on clips on the internet and then I found our supply of sea creatures. The children decided they needed a sea so we hunted around for blue fabric and shiny blue material. I had purchased some blue dance shiny material, so that was hung up to create a space for the children to fun with their ideas. A spare plastic clam shell and an old blue sea doona and the children were off and running!
The imagination space has grown and developed over the last few days with puppet shows. We added some fiction books about sea creatures and placed some cushions in the corner for the children to discover new creatures that live in the sea. Next week we plan on adding pens and paper for children to draw their own sea creatures. Sparklebox have a set of sea creature flashcards which we plan on adding to the space. I will keep you posted as the play develops!
Well… the play has moved outside and we have filled water trolleys with water of course! We added some fish to the water and some fishing lines. It always amazes me how different children are in their play. One boy was pushing the fish through the water saying, “this is my banana fish” another boy said, ” no I think it is a Parana fish and it is going to shred you to pieces!”
It is fascinating to see where play goes with children. I am so convinced that if you follow children’s lead the play becomes so rich and meaningful! As the days have progressed there has been talk about mythical creatures such as the Kraken! One little boy loves talking about this creature and the other day he was saying that these creatures crush pirate ships…. Very soon after this a passion for all things pirates developed with quite a few of the other children. Girls and boys alike. They started making maps in the writing corner and going off and searching for treasure. I raised the legs on two of our tables, took off whatever I had put there!! and covered the table with some brown cloth (yes, the versatile cloth from our cave last term!). I found some old jewellery from the dress ups (some the children had discovered already). I put some pirate signs around. I think I found them on Teacher’s pet. They are very authentic, with calligraphic lettering and signs with crinkly edges (which were a nightmare to cut!). As the children came in to school they spotted the space and dived under! They have started making their own signs, asking me to write things like “beware of the pirates” . They stuck their signs all over the doors! It looks great! We made some “ye old pirate map paper’ with the old tea bag trick and they were off and running. I will try and hunt down the signs I found and add them to this post.I will add some photos as well.
Teachers Quiver Full 