Our Kindergarten
To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose.
A time for childhood, a time to play.
When you can walk and when you can talk you can play and then you need friends to play with.
Each morning the children find the kindergarten just the same as every day. The seasonal table may change to show the season and the purpose of the work on the table may be for a seasonal craft or preparation for a meal, a birthday celebration or festival but as a child arrives they are greeted.
“Good morning, good morning, wake body, wake mind! Work, play, seek, find. Eat breakfast, dinner too, wash, brush, sing, dance and do!
Settling into the kindergarten
From I to We
The first term of the kindergarten for a child is a time when a child is moving from mostly being at home, looked after by a family member to being in a group of children and a teacher. The child has to separate from the family member and in a loving environment be able to begin to share and take turns. This is a healthy progression for a child to move from “I” to “We”, which is the only way a child can later in life begin to empathise. As a parent you have to trust in another adult caring for you child. This hand over has to be in trust because you cannot know what happens during the kindergarten hours. The child is looking to the adult to have made a decision in the boundaries for the child and to trust it is right. If you have any concerns, usually a conversation with the teacher alone, not with the child present, usually is enough for a trust in the process. We are flexible in our approach and review the process for each individual family.
Settling in
The getting to know the teacher begins with a home visit during the first term.
The insight in the family life gives a good starting point for what the child may bring into their kindergarten family. This is not done in a way of judgment but of observation of the child in the family situation. Coming into the kindergarten starts with a relaxed time with a family member present so that the child is not worrying about being left but can get a feel of the kindergarten environment, find the toys and navigate the space without any other children to consider.
The first times in kindergarten are what I call ‘settling in’ times whilst a parent goes to the cafe for a drink. This only really has to be short time while the parent is out of the kindergarten room, but it can often be a full morning up until story time. A following settling in time during outdoor play means arriving at 11am to go straight outdoors and again the parent will leave for a drink at the cafe returning at 12noon. These two periods are usually enough for the child to be ready for a full morning.
The first morning we ask the parent to be nearby. It is better that a child goes home feeling they want to stay longer than staying longer and wanting to go home. For the three year olds it can be too much to come back in to the room for story and better that a parent is waiting at the gate at 12noon when the other children go in for story, the three year olds are happy to leave. At this time of day it is particularly important that the children do not have to wait. Usually during the first term the three year olds are are ready to stay for story.
The success of the settling in period is for the parent to think of the kindergarten as the child’s space and not really enter into it in terms of engaging with the activity too much. The teacher and kindergarten children will guide the child in this and the new child will be reassured that you trust in this interaction. During kindergarten hours if the child directs a question to the parent it is reassuring and easier for the child if the parent suggests the teacher answers the question. ‘You may ask Marie”. If the parent thinks that the time is them visiting it does not make it easier for the child and the child will expect the parent to stay. It is often nice for the parents to be in the kindergarten but the longer they are in the space it does not make it easier for the child to let them leave. We welcome parents for the seasonal festivals and share how we spend the morning.
Morning Sessions
9;00 - 12;30
The importance of rhythm in the kindergarten We are surrounded and supported by rhythm all around us - day to night, weekly, monthly and the seasonal rhythms of the year. Everything that lives has a rhythm because all living things breathe. Breathing is the archetypal rhythm- breathing in a contraction, breathing out an expansion. We need to balance the two in order to feel healthy. All activities that we do throughout the morning are part of a rhythm. The children breathe out in free play and breathe in when drawn together for circle time.
Afternoon Sessions
12;30 - 15:30
From quirky traditions to a narrative play, the children have time to explore what can be made during an afternoon of play, this can be a quiet time being creative or the whole group coming together with knights, castles, pirates or playing family.
Forest Fridays
9:00 - 13:30
We take the fun in learning to Hawkwood. Drop off as normal at the kindergarten, when the cinnamon buns and a flask of hot chocolate are made we walk across two fields of alpaca and cows to the Horse chestnut tree. EduAdventure Kit! Packed with a flat bread we pick fresh carrots and salad leaves to accompany our lunch. Pick up near SCA pick your own
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