Spring is in the air and our Fairy Wrens have been delighted and fascinated by the wonders in our Preschool garden. The children, like the garden, have been bursting with life and blossoming!
Our Mother Mulberry tree has offered an abundance of delight as the children have observed her changes through the seasons. With the arrival of Spring she glowed, dressed in leafy green and gave so generously of her sweet juicy berries! Every day the children would be foraging under her leaves, climbing her strong branches and sharing in her delicious fruits. Many smiling little faces covered in purple mulberry juice! We gathered enough mulberries to make a yummy mulberry jam to enjoy with our crunchy buns.
We invited our parents to come and sing and dance with us in the garden and have icy fruity treats together under Mother Mulberry, for our Preschool Spring Festival. Coming together in seasonal celebration is such a wonderful time for the children, families and teachers. It is a simple and sweet joy-filled occasion and time to connect together in community.
The children were excited to see their felt butterflies ready to fly. They worked hard on their first wet felt project that involved engaging their will forces to continuously roll the fleece until it felted. They also enjoyed sanding their sticks until smooth. It was lovely to see some of the children helping their young friends with the felting and sanding when their hands grew tired!
We came back from our spring break to see our silkworms had spun silky cocoons and some are now emerging as soft white moths fluttering their wings. The children are so fascinated with the cycle and it is such a blessing for them to witness. We now also have other caterpillars munching and crunching and growing bigger and bigger and oh, we shall see what these will be!
Another surprise this term was to find our Lady Nectarine tree abundant with fruit ready to harvest! Many of the children were so happy to help with gently harvesting the fruit. And tasting the nectarines too!
So much play and exploring, curious discovery and learning happens everyday in Preschool. In all these moments and experiences, the children are developing themselves as confident and involved learners, building their sense of identity, belonging and wellbeing, and connecting and contributing to their world (all part of the learning outcomes in the Early Years Learning Framework).
It is a delight to see the children so happy and engaged in their learning while naturally playing and laughing together with their friends in our beautiful Preschool garden.
Danni Noad
Preschool Teacher
