The tree house comes to life

Building the tree house has been the children's focus over the past couple of weeks. Now it is time for the children to show us how they would like to use it. Today Emma took the princesses to explore the tree house. Gryffyn looked a little perplexed and asked ..."but where are the boys?" so we went in search of some knights and dragons. i wonder what will happen at the tree house tomorrow?

Projects with wood

One of the things that we have noticed when children work with Steve is that there is interest from the children around him. some actively engage while others observe from afar, but the learning that is taking place is indisputable.

Wood projects with Steve

One of the main aims of our wood project is becoming familiar with tools and their uses.

Steve, we have a problem

As you can see our most beautiful clock has a mind of its own and has a split at the bottom.
We talked to the children about it ...
Jayden said .. "Itʻs broken. It canʻt choose the time anymore. Perhaps we could put paper on it and tape it on or we could make a triangle and put it in there."
Mia said, ... "Itʻs all wonky now. If you put it up it goes wonky. We could put some glue here and put another piece of wood here."
Logan said, ... "Get Steve and he could make another one."
Madison said, "Itʻd ripped. itʻs broken. Put a piece of wood there. We could make a bobo dog tomorrow."
Marshall said, ... "Itʻs broke. The teachers should fix it with cellotape."
Gypsy said, ... "Itʻs got that over it. You could put one of those over it (wood)."
Jemma said, ... "We could fix it with glue. That might be better."
Zak said, ... "Itʻs broken. Maybe Steve could fix it. I donʻt know how. I think he might get fire wood and chop it and put it inside."

When we asked the children what wood project they might like to work on next they said ....
Alex ... a house or the Eiffel tower
Mia ... a door
Kees ... a train or a table
Jayden ... we could make a shelf for the guinea pigs
Logan ... a pancake made of wood
Ryan ... a wooden chair to have our lunch
Madison ... a bobo dog
Marshall ... a horse with the fire wood
Gypsy ... I want a dog with four legs
Jemma ... I think we need a horse for kindy
Zak ... I think we should make a tiger with that seat

I wonder what will transpire ....

The next wood project

When Alex suggested that the guinea pigs would need a clock so they would know when they should go to their retreat it was time to set about planning what the clock might look like. Plans were drawn and numbers were written. Interestingly, digital clocks did not feature. As the children carved out the centre of the wood slab for the clock mechanism the hole suddenly went right through! What to do now? There was nothing for it but to start again. A thinner slab was cut, the children stamped on the number spaces and with help chiselled the numbers. With the mechanism fitted all that was left was to set the time. It was interesting that a number of children thought that it wasnʻt a real clock, so we had to watch the hands of the clock go around. What do you think of our clock?

Steve, there's an emergency

The guinea pig retreat

Building a guinea pig retreat

Finding a place for Uni

Unicorn naming

Tuesday is a Steve day

The projects with Steve continue with eager anticipation. The project today was to make another seat so that Katie and Rocky could meet with the children for a chat and a cup of tea. At morning meeting the children decided that they would like to make a horse. The plans started to emerge ... what great picture plans emerged.

Another awesome Steve day

The project today was to complete Katieʻs friend. At morning meeting the next steps were outlined by the children. Legs, arms, hair and many other bits. What a rush there was to go to help Steve. Jayden was adamant that Katieʻs friend needed a guitar. He chose a circle and drew on some spots to drill to string the string through. Ruby had the great idea for the hair and we had lots of helpers to style the hair. The children went on an arm and leg hunt to find pieces of wood that might be suitable. It was then that Archie suggested that perhaps we could use some of the driftwood that he had found on a beach in Wellington (and carried back on the plane. We LOVE driftwood at kindergarten). What cool arms. The next thing to do was decide on a name for Katieʻs friend. Over the past week we have taken name ideas from the children, so all that was left was to vote on a favourite. Guess what ... Katie the rock chick now has a friend called Rocky. There was nothing for it but to head to the dance studio for a bit af a dance happening.

Steve in week 5

After gaining ideas from the children the next project was narrowed to two ideas: a friend for Katie or table and chairs for her to sit out with her friends. It was decided to proceed with a friend for Katie. The children took turns in drawing parts of Katieʻs friend. Then, it was time to action the plans ... choosing the wood and talking about which pieces need to be bigger and which pieces need to be shorter. Jack was engaged in the construction for most of the morning. Katieʻs friend was not quite complete. At group meeting time Steve revisited the concept with the children and invited their feedback on where to go from here ... legs, arms, hair, topped the suggestions. Next week Katie should have a friend.

Bringing our wood project to life

Hi, my name is Katie. I am made of wood ... tree wood. I live at Botany Downs Kindergarten. I havenʻt got any hair or arms yet and I havenʻt got a mouth so I canʻt talk. I just go mm, mm mm, mm. Perhaps you could draw or cut my mouth. I havenʻt got any holes in my nose as well. I think I need a belly button too. Someone needs to cut some of my leg off because my legs are different sizes. I always fall over when I stand up. I need feet and hands or I wonʻt be able to pick up things. Jessica thinks I should live in the garden but Mia thought it would be too cold and that I should live in the playhouse. The children could take me to play in the sandpit. Oh no, Iʻve got no clothes! Perhaps the children could make me some clothes. Mia thinks paper clothes would be good. jessica wondered about tissue clothes. Jessica wondered if I would like to borrow some of her clothes. I am looking forward to my adventures at kindergarten.

Steve week 4

We have been waiting all week for steve to come to kindergarten! Today Steve showed us some new tools that he was going to use today. He had a brace and bit, a scotch eyed auger, an axe, a bow saw and a Japanese pull saw. The question now was what could we use these tools for, Steve had noticed some tree trunks from a tree that had fallen down at Bronwynʻs house. He showed the children pictures of rustic sculptures he had made with other children, Then we had to put our thinking caps on and plan our next project,
Everyone drew a plan on paper and the most popular was a person so work began. We look forward to working on it next week. Steve asked us to think about what else we need to put on our person and what length his legs should be.
Archie finished work on his skis and because there was no snow at kindergarten he decided to water ski. great work Archie!

The wood project ... week two

Itʻs Tuesday ... and that means that It has been a Steve day.
With the bird house project well under way the plan was to use the ideas the children had shared last week or had put on the blog. What great ideas emerged.
At morning meeting the children looked at their progress last week on the TV. Earlier in the morning Ben had had the task of checking out suitable places to put the birdhouse. Steve then asked Ben to take photos of the four best places he thought the birds might like to live. The children then discussed the shape and size they wanted for the hole for the bird to get in. The children then drew the shapes they thought the bird might like and then all the children voted on their preferred shape. The circle won. It was then time to find the right tool to cut a circle and to put the plan into action. While all this was happening Marieke was hard at work drawing, cutting out and laminating her flag for the birhouse.
Next task ... the top. Did it need to open? Did the children want it to hinge or lift off? So many decisions! Hinges won the day and were duly added. What else do we need? Thatʻs right! Olivia suggested that the birds needed to have something to stand on while they decided to go in or out. Luckily Steve had a round piece of wood ... called dowel ... in his tool box. It was just right for the job. The only job left was to test out the best places for the bird house that Ben had chosen and photographed. They decided that the spot by the guinea pig grotto was not sunny enough. They experimented with placing it in the tree, but they couldnʻt open the lid. The spot on the side of the playhouse was just too noisy. The last spot was the fence and that was just right! You could open the lid, it was sunny and it wasnʻt too noisy. Together, the children and Steve attached the bird house to the fence ... and Mariekeʻs flag looked really grand. How lucky the birds are!
It is now time to think about the next project. What will that be? Put your ideas on the blog.

Working with Steve on projects

>
The children had been very excited to have Steve come to work with us. Steve started the day with a morning meeting together the children's ideas for projects. They were written down so that we could prioritise and revisit. To get a taste of the possibilities it was discussed and decided to attempt a bird house. Then it was time to draw the plans. What great ideas the children had. Next it was time to implement some of the plans. With guidance in using the tools, the children measured sawed and hammered. There wasn't time to complete the project, however there was time to have a reflective planning meeting. So many questions were asked. How would the bird get in the bird house? Did the hole need to be big or small? Why did a bird need a bird house? who are the predators of birds? What else might the birdhouse need? How busy we were documenting this flow of ideas. You'll have to watch this space to see the progress of the bird house next Tuesday.

Since writing this blog we have had a number of people asking how to contact Steve ... so we have put his contact details on our website