Dear Mattingley families and friends,
We have had a wonderful start to our holidays with the children
enjoying their new play spaces and resources, venturing outdoors as well as
exploring new individual and group interests.
As per our previous discussions on camping sparked by Annaliese
interest, the children planned a camping set up offering their thoughts and
ideas.
"We need a tent", said Felix
"Food, so we don't die", added Walter
"Sausages and sauce" suggested Sidney.
"It goes with bread", said Eloise.
"And torch", said William
"And beds or sleeping bags", quipped Chloe
"And make sure you have a teddy to snuggle with", added Sidney.
So we went into work, preparing our set up and talked about how to
maintain the space as we play. We even have some warm beanies as wells as a
proper portable stove for Mrs Rocca's coffee.
To collect leaves and other natural materials for our threading project,
we ventured into the school grounds to see what we could find. We managed to
sneak in a bit of time to play in the top oval playground as well.
But of course, the highlight of our week is our much awaited
excursion to the botanical gardens to experience a walk into a real forest. We
were so excited knowing that we would get there by bus and talked about how to
be safe on our trip.
"You have to stay with an adult", said Amelia.
"Hold hands", added Fred.
"And out your seatbelt when on the bus", reminded Walter.
"And find your mummy and daddy or you are lost", said Jason.
The children and some of our parents enjoyed a beautiful day at
the gardens and we definitely spotted a whole lot of interesting stuff at the
forest.
"So many big leaves", said Joshua D.
"and lots and lots of tree. big tall ones" shared Leo.
"I saw a river with lots of water", said William.
It was wonderful to share this experience with the children while
creating awareness of the world surrounding them.
We would like to leave you this thought of wonder from Walter that
would be good to ask our children in this modern world.
" I already know a lot about forest and we saw in the video
that some people (Yanomami tribe of Brazil) do live in the forest but what
I really, really wonder about is "How do they not get bored living
there"?"
link to the "trip to the rainforest" video can be found
at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9rEBbF6wnSw
Next Wednesday is Casual Day: If your child attends this day, they
can come in their play appropriate casual attire .
Until next week,
Coney and Melissa
