Australia Project - Story: Ernie Dances To The Didgeridoo

This story tells the tale of a boy called Ernie who goes to live in a remote part of Australia where the lifestyle and people are very different to what he is used to.  He has a great time making new friends and learning new things.  The children at UPUERE did, too!  Each time we read the story we would follow up with a game or activity from the pages of the book.

• Playing Tin-Tin.
• Making a traditional Australian bread called Damper
• Face painting
• Learning the words and actions to a traditional Australian song: Taba Naba
• Dot painting
• Listening to Didgeridoo music

Here's a link to the recipe!  DAMPER

Learn more about this ancient art form here.

Australia Project - Inspecting, counting and sorting coins

I brought some of my coins to school today for the children to see.  They had fun looking at them with the magnifying glass and naming the animals they could see - platypus, kangaroo, echidna, and emu.  There were also some tongs to use to sort the coins by value.

Group 5's Science Project

The children in Group 5 looked at Earth and Environmental Science - the study of the Earth and its materials and how we care for the natural world. We explored the key question: “How can we care for our world?”

In this project, we developed the following concepts:

• The weather can change every day
• The sun is powerful
• The sun can affect living and non-living things
• Sunscreen gives protection from the effects of the sun

These concepts were discovered through participation in the following activities:

• Observing, measuring and recording the weather and temperature in a collective weather diary
• Discovering the effects of the sun with an experiment using black paper and sunscreen
• Using different mediums (including recordings, photographing and creating artwork) which documents these experiences and discoverie

 

Group 3's Science Project

The Group 3 Project focused on Physical Science - the study of materials and energy in the non-living world.  We explores the key question: “How does it move and change?” 

In this project, the children in Group 3 explored the following concepts:

• The nature of materials
• Physical and chemical changes
• Force and movement of objects

 

These concepts were discovered through participation in the following activities:

• Observing the effects of cola on eggs, understanding how that applies to us

• Mixing different substances and observing the results – coloured ice cubes, bicarb of soda and vinegar, shaving cream and cornflour
• Playing with materials which encourage the exploration and discovery of magnets, measuring weight, and testing speed
• Use different mediums (including recordings, photographing and creating artwork) which document these experiences and discoveries

Group 4's Science Project

In this project, the children in Group 4 focused on Biological Science - the study of living things. We asked the key question: “What is alive?” As part of this project the children explored the following concepts:

• Living things have basic needs
• Plants grow from seeds
• Plants need sun and water
• Living things have life-cycles

 

 
These concepts were discovered through participation in the following activities:

• Use of stories, reference materials and live observation to discover the lifecycle of different animals and insects
• Examining the growth of seeds under different conditions
• An outdoor work station set up with activities which encourage the exploration and discovery of plants, flowers and seeds
• Observing the effects of bacteria on a slice of apple
• Use different mediums (including recordings, photographing and creating artwork) which document these experiences and discoverie

 

Preschool Science Fair

 

This Friday is the Feira Integrada at Upuêre and in English class the children have been conducting experiments which will be on display at our very own Science Fair!

This project-based approach integrated science and language learning.  There were opportunities to explore a broad range of skills, not just English. The project introduced, practised and integrated language skills in a natural way.  During our science learning, the children engaged in science processes. These science processes were problem-solving, inquiring, experimenting, hypothesising, researching and investigating.  The project has been a big success and I hope you all get the chance to visit our display on Friday.

 

Looking After Our Pets

More kids have sent in their beautiful photos and here they are!  Great to see so many of you looking after your pets.  Good Job!!

Looking at Pets

We started a fun new topic this month...PETS!  Animals are a natural topic of interest to children of this age.  Many already have a pet at home or at the home of a close family member.  During this month, the children used vocabulary and structures related to naming, describing and discussing the care of pets.  The activities and themes we explored also taught them values such as respect for all living things and responsibility.  The theme also provided opportunities for revision of previously encountered vocabulary relating to size, habitat and food.

Happy Mother's Day

We were talking about our feelings this week so I thought I'd make this photo montage of the children at Upuere to celebrate Mother's day.  Congratulations to all the mothers at Upuere.  I hope this makes you smile!

Food in Brazil

Bom dia amigos,

This week we’d like to send you some photos our playground.  It’s quite differente to yours.  We have slides, swings, a sports court, tunnels, monkey bars, a swimming pool, hopscotch and a big bird cage.

We have a school kitchen where our cook prepares meals for us.  Usually, we have rice and black beans with vegetables or salad.

We learned some new food words in English this week:

Apple = maça (ma-sa)

Banana = banana (that’s and easy one!)

Sandwich = sanduíche (san-du-witchy)

Biscuit = biscoito

Beans = feijão

Rice =arroz (ah – hois)

Adeus! 

Your friends from Brazil.

Introducing UPUERE

Hi friends...or as we say here Oi amigos!

We are a childcare center in Brazil. Do you know where Brazil is on a map? It's a long way from Australia!

The name of our center is Upuerê (uuu-poo-eh-re). This word means movement and action in the indigenous language of Brazil.

We learn English at school and this week we read a story with Australian animals in it. It’s called Wombat Stew. We went outside and made our own Wombat Stew in the playground. When it got too hot we went inside, did an art activity and learned some new words in English.

Here are some of the words we learned this week…

• Hello = Ola
• Good Afternoon = Boa tarde
• Bye bye = tchau tchau

We loved your email and the pictures. We have some questions to ask you about your school and the things you do.

1. Why do you all wear hats in the playground?

2. Do you have a swimming pool at your school?

3. What is the name of the tree that James’ seed pod came from?

We took some pictures to send to you, too

 From your Friends at UPUERÊ

New Friends

 Dear Kindy Friends,

We are a kindy in Brisbane, Australia.  Our kindy is called Margaret Cribb Child Care Centre.  Our names are Wena, James, Jasmine, Dollyn, Charlotte, Sanily,  Jayden, Evangeline, Eve, Oliver, Ethan and Lily.  Our teachers’ names are Tamara, Louisa, Gwyn, Sophie, Ray, Gary, Helen and our art teacher Libby.

At Kindy we play inside and outside.  When we are outside we play in the sandpit, with water, climbing frames and play ball games.

Inside we like to play with the dinosaurs, play in home corner, do collage, play with the light box and do drawing.

James really wanted to tell you that we found a seed pod in the sandpit.

From,

All the Kindy children and teachers at Margaret Cribb.

Margaret Cribb Child Care Centre

70 Coleridge Street

ST LUCIA  QLD   4067

Ph: (07) 3365 1509

www.mcccc.org.au