In the Pikanini room, we remain intentional about singing songs with actions and reading familiar books. The children were asked if they could imitate animal sounds, and this proved to be fun; they really enjoyed it. These songs not only build language skills but also encourage positive behaviour, making learning enjoyable and interactive. The integration of music into our sessions has proven to be a valuable tool in capturing children’s attention and enhancing their participation. Sensory play is one of our activities that helps with both physical and social development. This activity keeps the children engaged as they work in groups to explore the senses of touch, hearing, sight, taste, and smell.

 The children are observed for developmental skills, and their progress is shared with families, who also contribute by giving us feedback on their child. Communication with parents has been a priority. By sharing information about our activities and the progress of their children, we foster a collaborative relationship that supports learning both at home and in our program. Construction is another activity provided to the children, where they are observed acting out roles and characters.

Visiting the garden has been an interesting activity. The children are observed for their interest, such as looking for snails, looking at the worm farm, and observing caterpillars. They watch when they are moving slowly, making it easy to catch, and they do interesting things. We encourage the children to handle animals gently and show them how to cup animals in both hands, avoiding squeezing. We try to teach our toddlers respect for habitats, including looking, picking, and not taking too many from one area. This is one of the best times the children enjoy by exploring a different environment.

We have been introducing sustainability to toddlers. We role model how to put leftover scraps and recycled materials into different, colour-coded bins.

In November, we conducted an evacuation and lockdown drill. Children had been practising holding onto the coloured doughnuts during the evacuation drill, which went smoothly.

We are all enjoying our Christmas arts and crafts, making special gifts for our families, reading lots of stories and singing our favourite songs, which we will be singing with our family at our Christmas party! Much joy and festivities are happening in December, and we are enjoying every moment of them.

Mrs Gwen Laqere
Pikanini 1 Room Curriculum Leader