Five little monkeys

Kaylee and Kiarna play the piano

We love having visitors

Making fruit smoothies

Merry Christmas

Some Christmas stories

Decorating the Christmas tree

Decorating the Christmas tree on PhotoPeach Decorating the Christmas tree is one of the highlights leading in to Christmas. Underneath all these decorations is a very old looking Christmas tree ... but after some careful decorating from the children it is magnificent. We cannot bring ourselves to cut down a real tree in a world that needs trees ... and we are so happy with the results. The children completed the whole process all by themselves, including the ladder and the lining up. Such competent, capable children.

The work project

The work project on PhotoPeach It was exciting to get a call from our ex secretary deanne to say that she had a crate at her work ... and would we like it? It was too good an opportunity to pass up ... so it was off to the factory in the weekend with the trailer (as teachers do). What excitement there was on Monday morning when the children discovered it! They wanted to make a hut and decided that they would start by adding a roof. It was all hands on deck. The children at Botany Downs Kindergarten are particularly good at team work. It will be interesting to see where this project goes.

Mmmmm! Making our own fruit juice

Mmmmm juice on PhotoPeach With lots of fruit left over from our Christmas fruit kebabs there was just one thing to do ... make fruit juice.

Lemonade scones. Yum!

Lemonade Scones. YUM! on PhotoPeach

Putting a topping on our lemonade scones

lemonade scones on PhotoPeach Lemonade scones is a very popular quick baking activity ... especially on this rainy day. The recipe is on our website http://botanydownskindergarten.org.nz/Botany_Downs_Kindergarten/Welcome.html .... holiday ideas.

Fairy Day

Fairy day on PhotoPeach For a while now the children have shared their fascination with fairies with our wonderful student Natasha. They have played fairies, drawn fairies, written fairy letters made fairy shoes and wands ... and discussed if there are boy fairies. They went on to plan a fairy day complete with fairy dance in their fairy shoes. Little did they know that Fairy Clare popped by for a sleep in our magnificent tree.

Enjoying Grandparents Week

Enjoying Grandparents Week on PhotoPeach

Celebrating Mickey Mouse's Birthday

Mickey 2012 on PhotoPeach Each year we choose to ceebrate Mickey Mouse's birthday. Why? Because he epitomises happiness. You just can't look at him without smiling ... and that has to be good.

Special 'Logan' moments

Using the digital microscope

Playdough making

Kate and Alex caring for the guinea pigs

Such great concentration Henry

Fairy Dancers

Duck Duck Goose

Our children love to organise their own games and no game is more popular than Duck Duck Goose

What 'cool' news, Kate

Today Kate shared her news about how a hail storm had come to her house and covered the ground in white round ice. What a fabulous experience! Kate's Mum scooped up some of the ice and popped it in the freezer so that it could be examined over and over again. Now that is an idea we have not tried before ... but it was VERY successful. Thanks for sharing.

Fathers Night 2012

Fathers Night 2012 on PhotoPeach

The sensory experience of working with ORBs

The sensory experience of playing with ORBs on PhotoPeach

Special links

We are so fortunate to have a visit from student from Our Lady Star of the Sea primary school as part of their helping in the community programme. The school children worked with our children throughout the curriculum. In this photo they are playing one of our favourite games Duck, Duck, Goose. What a great morning, thank you.

Our visit to Marble Park

Our visit to Marble Park on PhotoPeach

Name dropping

With New Zealand's Got Talent currently on our tv screen on a Sunday night it seems timely to revisit the judge Jason Kerrison visiting Botany Downs Kindergarten to jam with our very cool drummer Kauri.  It really is about who you know.  A big thanks to Kauri's family for organising this visit.

Friends slide together

The fun and anticipation of setting up our own marble roll

Bella's crocodile story

Who sank the boat?

Making marshmallow ghosts

Making marshmallow ghosts on PhotoPeach

Halloween 2012

Halloween 2012 on PhotoPeach

A race on the school field

A race on the school field on PhotoPeach On Thursday we spied the school caretaker, Mr J, painting lines on the school field. So, first thing Friday morning we whipped out our back door and onto the school field to try them out. We raced, played Stuck in the Mud and Duck, Duck, Goose. What a great start to the day ... love this spring weather!

Anticipation

Anticipation on PhotoPeach

Finnan, thank you for visiting

What a surprise it was to see you Finnan! All the way from Perth! We really miss you. A big thank you to your Gran, otherwise known as Mrs Richards for bringing you in to visit while you were in Howick on holiday.

Making our own scones

Making our own scones on PhotoPeach Two big tablespoons of flour A knob of butter A little bit of cheese Some milk to mix YUM!

Hula Hooper Kate

We are often blown away by the skills of our children .... and never more so than when Kate demonstrated her hula hooping skills.  Tino rawe, brilliant Kate.

We love having parent helpers

Learning together

We love our slide

We love our slide on PhotoPeach

Toasting marshmallows

Toasting marshmallows on PhotoPeach

Joining in the nation wide earthquake drill

Lunch Boxes

lunch boxes on PhotoPeach

A big THANK YOU

It was time for us to say am very big THANK YOU to Melissa and Antony from Sommerville Special School for all their help this term ... and of course, to their teacher Claudia.

Whatever happened to twinkle twinkle little star?

Ambury Park Interviews

http://youtu.be/rJn2yk78GtY

Check out what the children had to say about what they liked best at Ambury Park Farm

Ambury Park had a Farm E I E I O

A morning at Ambury Park Farm

A morning at Ambury Park Farm on PhotoPeach

Playing Duck Duck Goose

crayon dripping

CRAYON DRIPPING on PhotoPeach

Building strength and balance

There is nothing like a box

The boxes that the trucks arrived in yesterday became the centre of attention today.  This group of children worked for most of the morning creating their pirate ships.

What's in the box?

It is always exciting when new toys arrive at kindergarten ... and today's delivery was no exception. The children couldn't wait to catch a peep inside ... and to their delight there were trucks and diggers, thanks to a grant from the Howick Club. Even though it was raining they just had to be teated in the sandpit.

Thanks to our wonderful helpers Rhona and Nancy

And the winner is ...