"It's one of those things you stand on to see how tall you are"

"Its one of those things you stand on to see how tall you are". Those were Kate's words when I inquired about her creation. I was intrigued and wanted to know more. Kate explained that it was a present for her sister Bree. I wondered how her creation was going to work. Kate continued to explain ... "You know, it's like when you go to the vet and dogs and people stand on them to see how tall they are". Kate then paused to consider her explanation. I could see that something was bothering her; the scratching of the head was a bit of a hint. I waited as Kate processed her thoughts, checking her own working theories. Then, the connection was made. "No," she said, "it's to see how heavy you are." Kate had been able to use her past experiences to create her scales, and connect her thoughts to describe what they were used for. Art, maths and literacy coming together with strong real life experiences. Bree is so lucky to have you for her sister!

A little bit about our Skype project

http://youtu.be/TRG2-acWkMQ

Amber reading

Making our own BINGO game to promote discussion

Name writing

Writing one's name is arguably the most meaningful of all experiences young children have with print. It creates identity, a sense of self as distinct from others and as a means of classifying self and others into groups. Children are more likely to learn other words with letters that are in their names, thus, a child's name seems to present a vehicle for learning about each child's growth in literacy (Haney, 2002)

Levi's party invitations

Literacy

Naming is a key to identity ... and a start to literacy

Your name is VERY important

Emma writing

Monkey bars and literacy

A new language, the language of earthquakes

Literacy is linking history and emotion

Role play ... experimenting with life

The literacy of cricket

Building literacy by making up your own games

Building language through imagination and sharing with a friend

Using prior knowledge and experience to fire imagination

Building strength and coordination

"You don't learn to sit still by sitting still. It is essential to have balance and core muscle strength." Gill Connell

A story can take many forms

Building hand strength, arm strength and coordination

Providing provocations and extending vocabulary

Bella's crocodile

Building literacy

Building, confidence, self belief, balance, coordination, hand strength and core body strength

I start with that

Using the tools of literacy

Maths or literacy

Maths or literacy? That is the question. One of the wonderful aspects of our national curriculum Te Whariki is that recognition of the interwoven nature of learning. Heath and Willson used their negotiation skills to create their own rules and organise their own game. All important skills for literacy.

Building a confident self

literacy hint of the week

Literacy is knowing your whakapapa

Literacy at Botany Downs Kindergarten

Literacy in ECE

Dylan makes his own sandwich

I'm on my way to literacy

A story about a story

Messages come in many ways

The value of monkey bars

There are other ways to write

Rocky demonstrates his number literacy

The importance of prior knowledge

Learning the concepts of up and down - vital for letter formation

Our alphabet name book

Using literacy related technology

Josh reads a story to our turtle Franklin

I've been busy

Building literacy

What children learn from books