The Three Little Pigs

 

Over the last couple of weeks the children have shown a strong interest in fairy tales. They have been bringing in stories from home to share and we have been digging out all the wonderful tales we can find at Kindergarten. These stories are something that a lot of the children are already familiar with as they read them at home with their families. Fairy tales capture children’s imagination and keep them in suspense as the good characters (the likes of Snow White, Little Red Riding Hood or Hansel and Gretel) deal with adversity and nasty situations only to come out on top. Fairy tales are known for their scary elements, which are all part of the moral values that they bring to the children’s attention. These tales benefit children because they promote hopes and dreams, enhance vocabulary and worldly knowledge, expand imagination and creativity.

“Do not discount fairy tales as a bad influence on your children. Do not be afraid of unleashing their imagination and letting them confront their darkest fears. By giving them heroes to identify with, you are letting those fears surface in a subtle manner, and allowing your child to find his courage and make moral choices vicariously-choices that will build his character and have influence on the rest of his life.” (Lakin)

One of the fairy tales that has become very popular amongst the children has been the ‘Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf.” The book has been read many times and we have also watched a Walt Disney Classic: Silly Symphony of the Three Little Pigs on YouTube. The book and the short cartoon have brought so much joy and delight to the children.

 

 

 

 

The children have been using their knowledge of the book and the cartoon to support their play as they revisit the story with their friends and teachers.

Kim had used the small toy pigs , a wolf puppet and small blocks during a group time to tell the story. William thought that this was great and absolutely loved watching the story being played out. The following day he found all these same props and set himself up on the mat.

“The pigs house blows down.” (William)

 

Alex and Jammin spent quite some time making their toy pigs houses just like in the story. They shared what they knew with each other and this fostered and helped sustain their game.

“You remember in the story the wolf asks if he can come in but the pigs say no, so the wolf tricks them and pretends to go home. He then comes back dressed as a sheep. Then the pigs don’t believe him and this makes the wolf mad. So he huffs and he puffs and blows the house down.” (Alex)

 

David and Pesiki were engaged in a similar game and they used their knowledge of the Three Little Pigs as a vehicle for their play.

“We are building a brick house so the wolf doesn’t find him!” (David)

Leah captured the interest of all these children when she was re-telling the story. The children who were listening were so engaged and their reactions (especially Jammin’s) were full of emotion.

 

 

 

“Children love to hear stories; a story told well can communicate morals and important lessons, or afford a medium for your children to explore feelings.” (Mork)

Makenzie, Leah and Jessie-May have been doing a lot of talking about how they would like to do a Three Little Pigs show. They had a meeting about this to discuss their plans and ideas. Clip-boards and pens were essential to this meeting as they allowed for the girls to take notes and draw plans. This was another way in which their knowledge of the story could be revisited and reflected upon.

“We are having a conversation meeting about our Three Little Pigs and the Big Bad Wolf show. We would like the teachers to tell the story and we will act it. We are going to have the story where all the pigs get safe in the brick house” (Jessie-May)

 

“The wolf is going to be dressed up like a man to trick the pigs. I am drawing an angry smile for the wolf because he is angry. I’m going to be the Big Bad Wolf in the show” (Makenzie)

 

“I liked it in the story when the wolf pulls the pigs tails. I’m trying to draw the fire thing that the wolf goes down. My wolf is growling at the Little Pigs.” (Leah)

 

“When Makenzie is the wolf she will grab on to the tails and then he falls backwards and bangs into the apple tree. It will be funny. Now I have to concentrate on my running because I am the stick pig and the wolf will be chasing us.” (Jessie-May)

These three also happily got up at group time to show the rest of the children how the Three Little Pigs sing and dance in the show.

“Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf, the big bad wolf, the big bad wolf. Who’s afraid of the big bad wolf. Traa Laa Laa La Laaaa”

Some of the children set up a small show using the props including the wolf puppet, toy pigs, some hay, sticks and blocks. Alex decided that he would read the story while the others acted it out with the props. Once again this was just another way that they children could recall their knowledge and share this with each other.

 

 

 

“The first little pig found a man selling straw so he built a straw house, and it was a fine straw house!” (Alex)

 

We are really looking forward to seeing where this interest in the Three Little Pigs is going, especially the show. The interest in fairy tales has created so many learning opportunities for the children , as well as so much joy and amusement.

 “If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales.”  (Einstein)

 

Zair

 

 

Spaces of inspiration and self-directed play

Tucked into one corner of our kindergarten is our jacaranda and mature pittosporum trees which provide both a shady haven in the summer heat, as well as offering many opportunities for the children to engage in self-directed challenges and play.

These beautiful trees have withstood the test of time and over the years have provided shade and a play area to generations of Whangarei children. In the last few years we have focussed on extending this tree space with the intent of creating a playscape which invites further participation and play. So with a little vision and forward thinking our tree area evolved from this…

to this!  

“An environment is a living, changing system. It conditions how we feel, think, and behave; and it dramatically affects the quality of our lives” – Jim Greenman

Trees provide countless opportunities for engagement in both physical and imaginary play. I’m sure that we can all recall fond memories of playing in or around trees as children and whilst our society is ever progressive; ole' fashioned self-directed play in leafy spaces will always benefit our tamariki.

Included in Te Whāriki’s curriculum requirements for young children are:

-Opportunities for new and self-directed play

-Environments which provide resources and challenges to support children’s widening interests

-Challenges and opportunities which keep pace with children’s physical co-ordination and development

With the trees as the focal point of this playscape, we continue to add other resources to extend and encourage a rich repertoire of play experiences.  

Clusters of cabbage trees are perfect for tucking yourself away from busy play…

Bungy cords make excellent bridles for horses…

Huts and cubbies to share with friends are easily built from hay bales…

Wooden cookies or slices can be lined up and stacked…

And a single suspended stick can provide hours of physical challenge!

















Children are natural inquirers who are mindful of new learning opportunities and challenge. Following the lead of a peer, the first response of this small group was to lift their own body weight. As the play evolved, so did the physical challenge with each child imitating what they had seen; and then taking it one step further!

When children can engage in un-hurried, un-interrupted play, high levels of complexity and creative exploration unfold, our role as teachers is to stand back sometimes and be un-obtrusive, observant participants who are fully engaged and trustful of our children’s capabilities.

‘Nature is not only beautiful, calming, and inspiring, but it can also be a teacher…a cause for reaction…an interactive tool for both cognitive and physical development’ – Inspiring Spaces for Young Children

Kim

Sunflowers feel like the Sun

Over the last couple of weeks at Kindergarten we have been studying sunflowers. We have had some beautiful sunflowers growing in our flowerbed; these have been the inspiration for provoking a group of children’s initial interest.

Over these few weeks we have examined the sunflowers up close.










We have cut some sunflowers down, placed them in a vase inside, and have at times used a magnifying glass to draw our attention to all their finer details.

As the days have progressed we have shared our ideas on sunflowers with our friends and explored one of the sunflower paintings by Vincent van Gogh.

Many children have chosen to complete some observational drawings whilst others have sustained their interest and intrigue by simply looking, feeling and touching the sunflowers up close.

'Researching'

'Curiosity'

“Observational drawing invites children to look very closely at things and to notice all the details. In turn it encourages children to make more intricate drawings than they do from memory alone, often leading to joyful discoveries. It is part of the process of ‘learning to see’” (Kolbe, 2009)

As we began our observational drawings we used just black vivid pen on white paper (no colour). This intentional act enables children to think more deeply about what they are drawing; to really see the structure and "bones" of the sunflower, its lines and its form.  

When many of the children appeared to have finished their drawings, I gently encouraged them to look at the sunflower again ‘look and draw’. This simple prompt encouraged many children to notice just that little bit extra; for instance the delicate lines just visible on the petals, the prickly stalk, the pointed shape of the petals or the small seeds in the head of the flower that look like miniature flowers.

The details that have been added to the drawings through the children's careful observations are just wonderful.

'Remaining open to continuous learning'

Over these few weeks I have gradually invited the children back to re-visit their drawings, this time suggesting the possibility of adding some colour. Before we began though, we took a little more time to discuss and observe the sunflowers once more. 

I'm sure you'll agree that adding colour has truly brought these stunning pictures to life?

Such intricate and detailed work requires patience, persistence and as you can see lots of concentration.

Whilst working alongside the children, I have encouraged each of them to discuss their ideas and knowledge of sunflowers, as well as share their work with others. As everybody reflected on the sunflowers and talked openly, I wrote all their words down. I have now turned these thoughts into a poem; this has turned out to be a beautiful collaborative piece of art from many children, which demonstrates to all of us that there is more than one way to view a sunflower.

“As children listen to each other’s ideas and see each other’s work, they have opportunities to learn that there are different points of view. Through exploring a topic in different ways and from different perspectives, they expand their understandings” (Kolbe, 2007, p.111)

We hope you enjoy reading this.

Sunflowers feel like the sun

Sunflowers feel like the sun, yellow, spikey, high.

 Sometimes they are sad, sometimes they are happy.

Sunflowers look like a shower, prickly, lovely, pretty.

Sunflowers grow from seeds, yellow, black and green.

 Sunflowers are wow, so so wow.

Sunflowers smell yum, petals, tiny, huge.

Sunflowers grow so tall, like a light, sunny bright blooms.

Sunflowers have heads, inside are tiny tiny flowers.

Sunflowers are my favourite, sunflowers feel like the sun.

Christine