An update from Fiona, Pre-Kindy & After Kindy Care - October 2026
Learning to notice and care for our environment
At Chapel Hill Kindy, we value opportunities to teach children to care for the Country we walk on. This helps build a reciprocal relationship with the land and encourages environmental responsibility. Children learn that people, plants, animals and water are all connected, beginning a journey of cultural respect.
Some of the First Nations knowledge shared with the children helps them learn about biodiversity and become active participants in caring for their immediate environment.
We have been looking closely at the trees around Kindy, noticing the new signs beside some of the plants and becoming more aware of the birds and lizards that frequent our yard.
Our Peace Pavilion provides a shady place to sit and talk, as well as a wonderful vantage point over the playground. From here, we can listen to lizards scuttling through the fallen leaves, watch birds flying overhead and hear their calls. The water dragons have also been active nearby, and we have spotted several lizards basking in the sun.
Two slithery friends that appeared on the paved area of the lower playground gave the children an unusual opportunity to watch what looked like a carpet python dance from a safe distance. We later learned that the two male pythons were wrestling for the attention of a female nearby.
While it wasn’t everyone’s favourite part of the day, it allowed the children to observe, ask questions and develop respect for the animals that share our environment.
Observing seasonal changes
The dry and hot conditions have encouraged the group to develop their observational skills outdoors. We have noticed trees dropping their leaves, listened to the crunch underfoot, watched the changing colours of the bark and observed purple flowers emerging on jacarandas around the neighbourhood.
The children have also followed the changes in our silkworms. They created small clay silkworms, painted paper mulberry leaves and explored shades of purple using paints and crayons to match the jacarandas. We investigated how straight lines can represent trunks and branches, while rounded or bell-like shapes can become flowers.
Many of our books and songs have connected with this learning. During music time, scarves became falling leaves through expressive movement and dance.
Learning to observe helps children process their environment, notice subtle differences, make predictions and develop scientific reasoning. It also encourages them to slow their bodies down and listen.
Curiosity, conversation and problem-solving
Term Four gives us an opportunity to build on this curiosity and develop the children’s cooperative learning skills as they prepare for next year. The group is becoming more attuned to listening, responding and participating in deeper conversations and shared problem-solving.
Our discussions about trees led us to consider what they provide for wildlife. We read a story about a badger who was so busy tidying the forest that he failed to notice he had disturbed the homes of other creatures. We also read about koalas and what they eat, and laughed at one koala’s preference for ice cream!
Museum loans introduced us to animals that live in trees, as well as those that make their homes underneath them. Through these discussions, the children are absorbing new vocabulary and sentence structures while building confidence and independence.
We also encourage curiosity and adaptability through simple additions to the program. The children blend colours in playdough, add bubbles to water play, explore small-world play, construct different levels and heights with manipulative equipment, and play board games involving questions and answers.
Next week, we will use some of our home-grown cherry tomatoes and basil to make pizza sauce. The children were thrilled to see that their watering and care in the vegetable patch are producing results.
After Kindy Care
After Kindy Care experiences have also focused on observation and listening. The children unwrapped magnetic letters hidden inside scrunched-up aluminium foil, explored letter sounds and identified letters from their names.
They played a colour coordination game in which a colour was assigned to each limb, then listened to a sequence and moved the corresponding parts of their bodies. The rain drum also provided an opportunity to listen to and copy number patterns to make a tune.
Many children are talking about starting Prep next year. This term, we are using games that build on their current knowledge, affirm their capabilities and support a confident transition.
