Well hello again everybody, April was a hive
of activity for our Minischoolers with Easter crafts and activities right
through the school holidays. Vacation care is a very important part of our
preschool as an unbroken momentum of learning & fun throughout the year, we
can continue with all our fun activities all year round, throughout every
season. This also helps our working parents (we have some exciting news about
after school care for working families later on in this column).
Easter activities were all about celebrating
new life, we got to handle some baby chicks and experience this first hand.
Then there were the Easter crafts and activities, our fluffy bunnies seemed to
multiply overnight. We loved painting a gazillion egg cartons over the holidays
and were even prouder to see our useable artworks for sale in Foodland and P&R
groceries. Did you see them, the children reported back when they saw their own
on the shelf. There were Easter bunny and egg plays, dances and songs to sing….
Then came the CHOCOLATE. Cooking from cookbooks we made bunny pops and guava
eggs and Teddy even showed us how he learned to make Rocky Road at big school.
And that rascally bunny that hid us some eggs to find was very tricky.
The siblings who joined us in the school
holidays also enjoyed being the wise older children and developed great skills
by running fun games for their brothers, sisters and their friends.
I know that vacation care brings out the best
in my own children and rather than competing with children their own age in the
playground, they can be a leader by inventing imaginative and innovative game
and activities.
We celebrated 2 birthdays in April of our
oldest child Bailey who turned 5 and our youngest child Toby who turned 3.
Happy Birthday boys! Birthdays are important to us and celebrated by all the
minischoolers getting involved in making a card together and organising a
party, cooking & activities for their friend. We even had a fairy bread
making course at the lions park on the way to the airport, farewelling some of
our friends off on their holiday.
Next in April came Anzac day and its
importance, we used our Anzac biscuit recipe and told tales of life nearly 100
years ago compared to now, finishing our last vacation care day off by making
some red poppies for remembrance.
While we began the preschool year with a back
to basic approach reviewing and introducing concepts such as numbers and time,
phonics and letters, colours, shapes and sizes, we are now moving on to more
advanced learning styles (still taught in a fun & interesting way aimed at
pre-schoolers).
We now are building skills and identifying
areas of need through planning and checklists. We also acknowledge the need for
non-academic skills such as turn taking, sitting in your own space and
listening during group time for a healthy transition to big school.
Some of our full time pre-schoolers have
already filled 2 scrapbooks full of their work samples and show improvement in
all key learning areas everyday because they want to, not because they have to.
Our most exciting news though is that we have
been approved to move into our new premises, with a few little working bees
over the next few weekends at our new premises (Shangri-la on the corner of
Shortridge road) and at our half way preschool on Potts farm road, we will be
on track to big bigger and brighter than ever.
With our moves comes a new chapter as we open
up as an after school care centre from 3-5 pm on school days. A walking bus or
minibus pick up will be arranged for parents who are interested in having their
5-12 year olds cared for in a safe & fun environment. They will learn
organisation, preparing & cooking skills as they prepare their own
afternoon tea as a daily activity. We will also work around the schools active
after school program for those who already participate in this.
The benefit of an afterschool care centre is
that working parents can have job hours that extend beyond 2:50pm without fear
of young school children being without care.
Our heads are already filled with all the
fantastic areas we can build in our amazing garden space such as a dinosaur garden,
fairy grotto and pirate cove as well as an outdoor mud kitchen and out of this
world playground…. But more of that next time! In our May newsletter we will
advise everyone of our OPEN DAY so you can come and see for yourselves.
We finish off this newsletter as we are
preparing to surprise our mummies with an envelope of goodies made with love
from their pre-schoolers.
As we celebrate all things ‘mum’ this week,
we congratulate Minischool mum Jess on the quick arrival of baby Harrison. We
know that Bailey will be a wonderful big brother.
As a mother of preschool and primary children
myself, I am so lucky and blessed to work and spend so much time with them. I
appreciate being spoiled with love by all the children and hope you do too.
HAPPY MOTHER’S DAY!
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