An update from Fiona, Pre-Kindy & After Kindy Care - August 2026
Picnics, planting and imaginative play
The Pre-Kindy and After Kindy Care children have been working on several projects this month. Some have been completing group projects for the upcoming Art Show, while others have been playing games involving matching, number recognition, visual tracking and tracing, and following verbal instructions to build a construction.
These short afternoon experiences provide opportunities for children to strengthen their skills and for educators to gain further insight into their development.
The After Kindy Care children are developing strong skills in sharing and turn-taking, expressing their feelings and participating in experiences that are inclusive and adaptable to the needs of younger children. After a full day in Blue Group, they also need time to reset and rest. Many are tired after an afternoon of Bush Kindy, so Tuesdays are a little slower, with opportunities to read, draw and use materials individually or in a small group before connecting with Mabi Group.
A teddy bears’ picnic
This month, we held a teddy bears’ picnic after the children looked through our visual photo diary and remembered Book Week in Term Two. They talked about their favourite books and noticed photos in which soft toys had listened to us reading.
From there, we decided to bring our teddies or favourite toys to Kindy to play with us. We made teddy craft, prepared honey sandwiches and fruit sticks, played “pin the nose on the bear” and danced with our toys.
A calming daily ritual
One of our daily rituals is settling for group time with the tranquil sound of the rain stick and lavender rain spray on our feet or ankles. We had been waiting for the lavender plant in our veggie pod to flower so we could make our own bottles to take home.
When the plant wasn’t yet producing flowers, a friend kindly trimmed her lavender garden for us. Each child crushed flowers and water using a mortar and pestle, then decanted the mixture into a spray bottle to take home.
Rituals are a grounding way for children to connect with their group and the kindergarten. They help children calm down, focus and foster bonds of trust and warm, open relationships.
Growing and sharing
Our veggie pod will soon have tomatoes ready for the community cupboard. While we wait for them to grow, the children have decorated small recycled pots and planted succulents.
It has been lovely to see how these have been received by our community, with children excitedly noticing when their pot has been taken from the cupboard. We hope to make more items to share over the coming weeks.
Camping and small-world play
Following our campfire day, we introduced table activities related to camping, campfires and the bush. Small-world play gives children a safe space to build their imaginations, practise social skills and try new vocabulary while acting out stories.
We observed new friendships developing as the children designed small-world campfire environments using paddle pop sticks, red and orange crepe paper, rocks, bush animals and people. Tents and camping chairs were also added to the playground alongside the firepit.
The children played imaginative games for extended periods, using the firepit to cook “Wombat Stew”, telling stories and building upon one another’s ideas.
Small-world play continued this week with bird finger puppets, nests and eggs following the exciting discovery of a partially made nest that had blown into the yard during strong winds.
Museum discoveries
Museum loans continue to provide a wide range of learning opportunities, and we are grateful to the families who donate their time to collect and exchange these resources each fortnight.
The butterfly displays inspired dancing with butterfly wings, bright paintings and further investigation of insects and garden creatures. We also checked on our case moth caterpillar, which we had watched bury itself in the dirt before the July holidays, and used clay to represent some of the animals we discussed.
A loan featuring turtles and a small crocodile also prompted stories, songs and cutting activities.
Creating for the Art Show
One of our group projects for the upcoming Art Show includes a large sewn piece. The children coloured plain hessian with paint, using rollers and squirt bottles to represent ocean colours.
The following day, a sewing machine was brought in and the children enjoyed using it to attach a variety of blue fabrics. We are excited for families to see the finished display at the Art Show.
Ballet Expression
We were also fortunate to have a parent visit and teach the group ballet. The children have always enjoyed music and movement, and it was wonderful to extend this interest.
Familiar songs and storytelling were used for the warm-up, dance activities and movement games. Many children continued dancing for 45 minutes. We are very appreciative of the talents and generosity of our parent community.
Learning through cooking
The children have worked on a small Father’s Day gift, measuring and stirring a range of spices to create a dry rub for barbecued foods to share with their dads and families.
This gave each child an opportunity to count and distinguish between measurements such as teaspoons, tablespoons and half-cups. We also sang one of our favourite fingerplays, Five Fat Sausages, as many children thought their dads might like to sprinkle the rub on sausages at home.
Exploring science and seasonal knowledge
For Science Week, we explored the wonder of science through discussions about First Nations understandings of the seasons.
A visual prompt of flowering wattle inspired beautiful still-life artwork. We then played a game exploring how flowering wattle can be used as an environmental indicator of seasonal changes, including fishing conditions.
The children chose coloured paper fish from water represented by blue fabric, first observing where the wattle was growing beside the creek or riverbed. We also discussed some of the properties and uses of wattle leaves, which we will continue exploring through hands-on experiments.
