11 th September 2015 - Newsletter The outdoor classroom The beauty of outdoor teaching and learning is that you do not always need to follow a strict planning structure. Curiosity was triggered by a group of NTNU students collecting samples from the lake. Before long, the children were ready to carry out their own research! At Birralee, we observe children interacting with the environment, supporting and facilitating the kind of self-directed learning that helps children to understand and respect nature, the environment and the interdependence of humans, animals, plants, and lifecycles. Page 1 of 6
Birralee International Kindergarten Bispegate 9C, 7012, Trondheim www.birraleekindergarten.no T: +47 73870263 Dear Parents, What a wonderful community we are building together! Your involvement in the Kindergarten s life contributes greatly to all aspects of your child s wellbeing and education. On behalf of all the Kindergarten staff, I would like to thank you to those parents who this week have so generously donated their time and resources to bring Science alive in the classroom and to those who have taken part to Owls and Arctic Fox trip to Lian. Lucy McDonnell (Kindergarten Leader) I care for my Upcoming Events September 15 Dot Day. September 16 Rabalderdanse group activities with the whole Kindergarten. September 17 Owls and Arctic Fox trip to Rockheim museum. Arctic Fox class had a wonderful week with a wonderful trip to Lian together with the Owls' class and a great visit on Friday from Rafael's mum. Mrs Rolim kindly offered to come and give us a wonderful demonstration on how to care for our hearts. She taught us how our hearts are a strong and very important muscle that pumps the blood through our bodies and even gave each child a chance to hear their own hearts with a super cool stethoscope! She then made a model of a heart from a water bottle, a balloon and two straws so we could see how "blood" is pumped by our hearts. We also learned how to keep our hearts happy by eating properly, exercising regularly and having fun with friends and family. At the end, she gave all the children beautiful t-shirts! Thank you so much again, Mrs Rolim for the wonderful experience you gave the Arctic Fox class! Page 2 of 6
We see you!!! - This week s curriculum in Polar Bears This week in the Polar Bear Class we have been talking about our eyes and the sense SIGHT. We have made patterns with blocks and other items in the classroom, studied and drawn them in our math investigation books. We have looked for details in pictures, and had a lot of fun with the game "I spy with my little eye..." We have talked about that even though our eyes are fabulous, there`s a lot of tools we can use to see better. Some needs glasses to see at all, but we can also use different tools like magnifying glasses, periscopes, binoculars and microscopes to see even more of the world around us. We have learned that our eyes are important for keeping balance. We have tried balancing on one foot and walking on a line, and experienced how hard it was with our eyes closed. We have even tried to balance on the line with strong glasses on! That was a funny and strange experience. Finally, we have read the books "Brown bear, brown bear what do you see" and "Baby bear, baby bear what do you see" by Bill Martin Jr. and Eric Carle. Afterwards we made our own versions, featuring the plastic animals in our classroom. Photos all by the polar bears! The results can be viewed on parents evening. Isn`t that a little treat to look forward to? - Mrs Raunsgard Polar Bears Nedre Leirfoss bringing expressive arts and imagination into outdoor learning. Friday we had a lovely trip to Nedre Leirfoss. It s a beautiful area with lots of interesting things, children can look at and play with. There are two fun swings, sticks and lumber to balance on, ducks and seagulls to look at and lots of fun places to hide when we played a round of Hide n Seek. On the way there we walked past the old power plant and it really looks like a castle. Maybe a king and a queen and a princess live there? (Photos on our website s Media Page) - Mrs Raunsgard Parents Evening September 17 th Music Room 4 th Floor 18.00 19.00 Owls Class at Dronning Mauds Birralee International Kindergarten works in partnership with Dronning Mauds College. Dronning Mauds is the leading Early Years teacher training institution in Sør Trondelag and one o the most prestigious colleges specialising in Early Childhood Education and Care in Norway. For the second concurring year now, our children are invited to participate as an audience to performaces put together by students there. On this occasion, the children were also given the opportunity to use the props and instruments and take part in the action. Page 3 of 6
Archeological Excavations in St.Olav s Square - From Mrs. Psillakis Knowledge and Understanding of the World starts with questions and a good dose of curiosity Who are these people and why are they digging St. Olav s square? Have you got a dinosaur? one of the children asked.... Next stop: Museum's square. But why a museum's square? I never heard about that before. So, if you would like to know about that and a bit more, save the date Sep. the 22nd. Because next sightseeing tour will be very interesting!! Mrs. Psillakis Fire Drill and Brannvern Uka In view of Brannvern Uka and the joint Kindergarten/School Fire Drill practice that will take place on Wednesday 16 th September at 9.00AM, the Kindergarten performed several fire drill practices to teach children how to cope and stay safe in case of fire. We do ask all parents to follow our staff s instructions PROMPTLY in the eventuality of the Fire Alarm going off at dropping off/picking up time be that a Fire Drill practice or a real emergency. Page 4 of 6
Our Topic (weeks 34-41) Ourselves: what makes each of us similar and different? In Week 37 Kindergarten will answer the question: What can we use our sense of hearing for? Area of the Curriculum Learning Experiences Personal, Social and Emotional Development + Knowledge and Understanding of the World Go on a listening walk inside and outside. Explore collections of objects which make sounds compare and use them as a stimulus to make our own sounds. Investigate and match pairs of sound pots. Play number lotto and other games were chn need to listen to instructions. Fire Drill Practice and Safety Awareness Expressive Arts and Design Communication, Language and Literacy (including Phonics) Make and explore ink blot paintings (preparation for Dot Day 15 th September). Make musical instruments. Try drawing and painting to music. Use Peace at Last story to which chn can add percussion for sound effects. Polar Bears ( Letters and Sounds Phase 1 ) To develop awareness of sound and rhythm. To distinguish between sounds and to remember patterns of sound. To talk about sounds we make with our bodies and what the sounds mean. Arctic Fox and Owls (Letters and sounds Phase 2) Revise Group 1 s,a,t,p,i,n,c,k,e,m,d,ck and work with Group 3: g,o,u,l,f,d,b -beginning to blend and segment words with these letters. To know the difference between a letter and sound. Mathematical Development Counting/Understanding Number Comparing and ordering Physical development Outdoors Moving around space showing different emotions. Playing Musical statues. Play Club: Visit to Museum s Square former ice rink that hosted Norway s championships in the late 19 th century. Go for a sound walk using technology to record sounds along the way, then create an interactive sounds display. Page 5 of 6
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DET VIKTIGSTE STEDET Å HA BRANNØVELSE, ER HJEMME Det handler om din og din families trygghet. Bli derfor med på Nasjonal brannøvelse i september. Meld deg på gratis og bli med i trekningen av fine premier! HA BRANNØVELSE hjemme! #BRANNVERNUKA Her er en enkel oppskrift på hva en brannøvelse kan gå ut på: Hele familien bør være forberedt på hva som skal gjøres i tilfelle brann. Sett dere ned og lag en plan i fellesskap. Avtal et møtested utenfor boligen. Dette er viktig for at dere skal ha full oversikt over at alle har kommet seg i trygghet. Test alternative rømningsveier som for eksempel brannstiger og lignende, slik at dere vet at de fungerer og kan brukes av alle. Test alle røykvarslere med testknappen. Sjekk at brannslokkeutstyret er lett tilgjengelig og klart til bruk. Evaluer øvelsen etter gjennomføring. Oppdager dere at ting ikke fungerer som dere hadde tenkt, er det viktig å justere planen og rette eventuelle feil. Meld deg på her: www.brannvernuka.no UTFØRT Vi støtter opp om Nasjonal brannøvelse, og oppfordrer alle ansatte til å bli med! Birralee International Kindergarten Trondheim Bispegate 9C, 7012 Trondheim, Norway