Nicole's Family Day Care in Calala | Childcare service

Nicole's Family Day Care

Locality: Calala

Address: Windhover Cr 2340 Calala, NSW, Australia

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20.01.2022 What did we do? Exploring and fixing the green machine, known as Johnny’s motorbike to Mst N. Why did we do it? Mst N had seen the green machine sitting in the back yard but due to the building work in the back yard this month, and the rainy weather today, we have been unable to go into the back yard to further explore the bike. The bike was cleaned and brought inside this morning, to Mst N’s joy, and provided many moments of learning, creative role play and exploration tod...ay. What skills did we demonstrate? Mst N first observed the length of his and Miss C’s legs, and he decided that they weren’t quite tall enough to use the pedals (EYLF 4.1, 4.2, 5.1). Mst N used the pump to pretend to pump up the tyres and then used the pump to pretend to put petrol into the bike (EYLF 4.1). Later in the afternoon, Mst N assisted to push the bike’s tyre tube back into the tyre and, with a little assistance, used his muscles to use a real bike pump to pump air into the tube (EYLF 3.2) taking it in turns with Miss C (EYLF 2.3). Mst N was promised that the bike will be moved up to the top playroom so that he can show his mum the bike in close detail on the next day he comes (EYLF 1.1). What else did we do today? Drew pictures on boiled eggs (EYLF 5.3) before peeling and eating them (EYLF 3.2), made a batch of brownie cup cakes (EYLF 1.2, 2.3)

19.01.2022 What did we do? Tea party with mini tea cups, serving V8 juice, which had two different vegetables along with the fruit. Why did we do it? Mst C enjoys sensory play, especially water play and role plays with kitchen utensils. Mst C had just done an activity using a dropper to add water to flowers, which he thoroughly enjoyed, so we extended the liquid play theme.... What skills did we demonstrate? Mst C verbally interacted with me, showing care and respect, serving me small cups of juice and saying cheers. Mst C said not big cup, little cup when asked if he wanted a drink in the afternoon, so we had another tea party. (EYLF 1.4, 3.1, 5.1) What else did we do today? Kinetic sand free play (EYLF 4.1), picking flowers and making a bouquet (EYLF 2.2, 2.4)

17.01.2022 What did we do? We explored the concept of real life objects versus a matching but just for play or learning objects and we held a simple funeral service for our yabby, who had passed away. Why did we do it? This activity was an extension of our activity last week, as we were learning about spiders and snakes, about their features and how some can be dangerous and hurt or kill us. We had looked at rubber spiders and snakes, a snake skin and spiders that were deceased and pres...erved in a glass box and had talked about how they were safe to look at because they couldn’t hurt us but a real life, alive snake or spider could kill us. This concept of dangerous objects versus safe objects was extended to other household items, such as how a cup of hot coffee in a mug could burn us or break into sharp pieces that could cut us, but our plastic tea cup from our home corner was safe to play with, as with real life kettles and toasters, compared to our home corner toys. The children instantly recognised which were the toys and which were the real life items. We looked at a plastic strawberry from our home corner and compared it to a real life strawberry, which we could smell and eat, and we also compared a plastic donut and cinnamon donut, which we divided and ate (EYLF 3.2, 4.1). We then looked at Mst C’s soft toy snake that he brought in to show us and spoke about how it wouldn’t hurt us because it is a toy, unlike the brown snake, who shed the skin we had, and the live snake who we saw slither across the road on a You Tube video. We looked at 3 different spiders and identified which one could make us very sick, from a choice of a rubber spider, a large deceased spider, preserved in a glass box and a recently killed black spider from our home. We then looked our yabby, who had passed away in his tank, and we noticed how he wasn’t moving, as he usually crawls towards us to greets us when receiving his food. We spoke about how he wouldn’t come back to life again, he couldn’t play with us anymore . We took yabby out to the backyard and the children all chose a beautiful Spring flower from our garden, took it in turns to use a small shovel to dig a hole and then cover him back up, laying their flower on top of where he was buried, like we did with our fish who passed away earlier this year (EYLF 1.4). We talked about how his body would become the food for the plants to help make new flowers grow (EYLF 2.4). We fed our chickens, noting how big they have now grown, and collected one of the eggs that they had laid for us (EYLF 1.4, 2.4)

15.01.2022 What did we do? We made two batches of meatballs, with a mince and vegetable sauce. Why did we do it? We often eat a range of fruits for morning tea and for lunch and this activity provided the opportunity to explore a range of vegetables, in accordance with the Australian Dietary Guidelines of 2.5 standard serves of vegetables per day for children aged 2 to 3 years.... What skills did we demonstrate? The children added carrot, cauliflower, broccoli, zucchini, spring onion and onion to the food processor (while the food processor was unplugged) and then stood back and watched as the vegetables were finely cut into small pieces (EYLF 1.2). We named each vegetable (EYLF 5.1) and the children used their hands to pull apart some of the vegetable pieces that were too large to fit through the safety tube of the processor or handed them to me to cut into smaller pieces to fit (EYLF 4.1). We then added the meatballs into two slow cooker pots, with Mst N and Mst C showing joy at dropping the meatballs into the pasta sauce to watch the sauce splatter upwards (EYLF 4.1). I asked Mst C to give it a little stir and he said he would give it a big stir, before it was put into two slow cookers up on the kitchen bench to cook during the day, with the children all taking home a container of their meatballs and vegetables to share with their families. What else did we do today? We played on the Little Tikes cars, the sandpit and did waterplay in the baby bath in the paved area of the backyard (EYLF 3.2), enjoying an ice cream cone on a beautiful Spring day.

15.01.2022 What did we do? We matched picture cards of different occupations to the corresponding figurines. Why did we do it? The picture cards are a new resource for us, as they were donated by a library that was cleaning out older resources and the children were interested to look at them and describe what each person was doing.... What skills did we demonstrate? The children were engaged in the activity, describing the role of the workers in each picture and relating those roles to their own personal experiences (EYLF 4.3, 5.1). We extended on our interest in the cards by reading two books, Going to the Dentist and Going to the Doctor (EYLF 5.2) What else did we do today? We wrapped up Miss I’s birthday present, enjoyed our first morning tea and lunch on the new deck, stomping our feet to get the chicken’s attention, practiced our scissor cutting skills (EYLF 3.2, 4.1, 4.2) and used our hand/eye co-ordination to hammer thumb tacks into shapes to create our own designs (EYLF 4.1, 5.3)

15.01.2022 What did we do? We made pumpkin soup and a loaf of wholemeal bread. Why did we do it? This activity was an extension of last week’s vegetable sauce for our meatballs. We removed the pumpkin seeds from the pumpkin so that we can plant them into our vege garden next week and the children took home a batch of home made pumpkin soup and fresh bread.... What skills did we demonstrate? The children searched the pumpkins to find the seeds and then used their hands and a spoon to remove them (EYLF 4.1). They took it in turns to add the different ingredients into the bread machine (EYLF 2.3) and watched the bread machine mix the dough to form a ball, before the bread machine was placed up on the kitchen bench to bake our loaf. What else did we do today? We matched picture cards of different iconic buildings (EYLF 4.1), did a Dora jigsaw puzzle (EYLF 4.2) and looked at picture cards of different cultures going about day to day life (EYLF 2.2), with the children telling the story of what was happening in each picture (EYLF 5.1).

14.01.2022 What did we do? We used a paintbrush to paint a collection of sticks. Why did we do it? We did a fire drill in the morning and while we were outside, the children decided to collect small sticks from the ground, underneath our big tree. The children were excited to bring the sticks inside and we talked about what we could use them for.... What skills did we demonstrate? The children demonstrated their interest in the natural environment, searching the ground for sticks that caught their eye (EYLF 2.4, 4.1). They used their hand/eye co-ordination to apply the paint with the paint brush (EYLF 3.2), choosing their colours and then exploring other uses for the paint, such as painting their hands and the table and then playing with the bubbles from the hand soap when cleaning up (EYLF 1.2, 4.2). What else did we do today? Our Tamworth Family Day Care Co-Ordinator, Narelle, popped in for a visit (NQS 4.2.1) reading us a story (EYLF 5.4), facilitating an activity with animal puppets and corresponding songs (EYLF 4.1), a matching activity of adults animals to their babies (EYLF 2.2, 2.4, 4.1) and a painting activity to create a beautiful butterfly (EYLF 5.3).

13.01.2022 Our chickens have been busy laying their eggs over the Christmas break and today’s meal of zucchini slice was a healthy and quick way to use a dozen of their eggs. The children loaded the food processor (unplugged and with a safety lid) with carrot, onion and zucchini and then watched as the vegetables were finely chopped. We then set about cracking the eggs into the bowl and mixing the ingredients, before having a vegetarian and a bacon option of the zucchini slice for our lunch (EYLF 1.2, 3.2).

12.01.2022 What did we do? We did a snake drill, to practice our snake awareness and safety skills. Why did we do it? We have been learning about snakes, how they shed their skin, how they like to hide in bushes or in sheds or toys outside and how they can kill us if they bite us. Today’s drill was an opportunity to practice the procedure should we ever find a snake in our play area and increase the children’s awareness of the possibilities of snakes hiding in the play area.... What skills did we demonstrate? The concern for the children’s safety in day care and at their own homes as been discussed with the parents of the children and Mst C’s mum brought in a very realistic red belly black rubber snake, to use for our drill today (NQS 6.1.1). Before we headed outside, we danced to the Freeze song, with the children freezing in place when the song called out Freeze. We then danced to a similar song, with the Floor is Lava and the children all sat on the lounge (EYLF 3.2). We then put on our hats and headed outside, staying together as a group so that I could walk ahead and check for snakes. I spotted the red belly black snake, which Liam had previously and discreetly placed next to the sandpit and the cubby, and I called out Snake! Freeze!. The children froze where they were standing and didn’t approach the snake (EYLF 2.1). They slowly turned and tip toed back towards the house, with the older children holding the hands of the younger children and I carried Mst P. (EYLF 1.1, 1.4). We closed the door behind us and I pretended to call the snake catcher, to report the snake and told him that we hadn’t gone near the snake and we were all safe inside. We then watched a You Tube Video of a snake catcher catching snakes and we talked about how that was his job and he knew how to be safe when catching them, it isn’t our job to catch snakes (EYLF 2.1).The snake catcher (Liam) discreetly arrived while we were eating lunch and left a note on our door, thanking the children for not touching the snake, calling the snake catcher and telling us that the snake had been relocated to bushland, where he could find other snake friends and not hurt any children (EYLF 2.4). What else did we do today? We took it in turned to use the tie dye ink to dye socks, in each child’s size, a range of colours (EYLF4.2, 5.3), played on the climbing frame (EYLF 3.2) and said hello to a chicken, which Liam brought up to the deck to say hello to us (EYLF 2.4).

11.01.2022 Wishing Indie a very Happy 5th Birthday!! We celebrated Indie turning 5 earlier in the week with ice cream cupcakes and a Frozen dollhouse present, which she explored and shared with Mst D for the rest of the afternoon (EYLF 1.1, 1.4, 3.1)

10.01.2022 We had our morning tea on the deck and then took our left over food scraps to the chickens. We noticed that they didn’t have much water in their tray and the children took it in turns to hold the hose to fill it up (EYLF 1.4). Mst C then used the hose to fill up the watering jugs so that Mst N, Mst P and Miss S could water our zucchini, watermelon and pumpkin plants, before he handed the hose over so that he could also use the watering jugs (EYLF 1.2). Mst P demonstrated his ...emerging vocabulary and requested "more" water. We gave our worms some water too and collected four fresh eggs from the chickens (EYLF 2.4) We went inside to wash our hands and then completed a sequencing activity of our blackberry flowers, arranging the photos of the blackberry flower, the small bud forming in the middle of the flower, the green berry forming and then red berry. (We talked about how the black coloured berries won’t be ready until after Christmas). We then matched the different stages of the berries to their picture card (EYLF 4.1) We put together a layered puzzle of the process of a chick hatching form an egg and then growing to be a hen to lay her own eggs and Mst C then drew dragons on his hard boiled egg and Mst P drew a "photo" before all three children peeled their eggs by themselves, with Mst N and Miss S then enjoying eating their egg, (EYLF 1.2, 5.3).

10.01.2022 The children were excited to find a see saw, still in its box, in the back playroom. They helped to remove it from its packaging, pulling the packing foam off each of the parts and we then worked as a team to assemble to see saw, consulting with the instruction sheet to see which piece we needed next and what bolts to use (EYLF 1.2, 4.4, 5.4). We counted the washers on some of the bolts, to ensure that we had the right one, and took it in turns to use the allen keys and spann...er to tighten the bolts and a pump to inflate the tyre bases for the see saw (EYLF 1.2, 4.1, 4.2). Great fun was then had as the children took it in turns to bounce up and down and to spin 2 friends around in a circle. We set speed limits for how fast we could spin our friends and established the rule that everyone needed to stop spinning or bouncing as soon as another person on the see saw called Stop! (EYLF 1.4,3.1, 5.1)

08.01.2022 Mst L had been given a 1970’s typewriter for Christmas from his grandmother and he eagerly demonstrated how to use it to his friends, explaining how to load the paper, what the bell meant and how to scroll the paper up (EYLF 3.1, 4.1). The other children then had a turn to type a sentence (EYLF 5.1, 5.4, 5.5), Mst A typed about going to the beach, Miss L typed a sentence about why she loves her mum and she then assisted the other children to type on their pages (EYLF 1.4, 3.1, 5.1).

08.01.2022 What did we do? Made a batch of brownies and drew pictures on a boiled egg, before peeling and eating it Why did we do it? Miss C is a keen baker, always willing and excited to add ingredients and to mix them. She enjoys cracking eggs and so we extended our cooking activity by drawing on a boiled egg and then exploring how it was different to crack compared to an uncooked egg.... What skills did we demonstrate? The children took it in turns to add the ingredients for the brownies (EYLF 2.3). They selected their own coloured pens to draw on their egg (EYLF 1.2, 5.3) and were intrigued by the different texture of the cooked egg, compared to the uncooked egg they had just added to the brownie mix (EYLF 4.1, 4.2).

05.01.2022 We used a different sort of paint brush and paint today, using a spaghetti brush and food colouring in water to create different patterns on our pages (EYLF 5.3)

04.01.2022 What did we do? We examined specimens of different spiders and insects, encased in glass box and then extended our activity by playing Build a Beetle game, looked at a snake skin and rubber spiders and insects, and then watched a video about Eastern Brown snakes. Why did we do it? The warmer weather has brought out a greater range and activity of insects and spiders and also increases the risk of a snake being present in our yard, and the children’s yards at home. In Spring l...ast year, we had a baby brown snake on our property, and approximately 75% of the families who attended our day care also reported sightings of snakes in their yards around that time of year. Today’s activities were intentionally provided to increase the children’s awareness of the diverse range of insects, spiders and snakes, their potential to cause harm to children and simple ways to safely live along side these creatures. What skills did we demonstrate? The children decided to move the table to the back room, to sit by the window, for their morning tea, lunch and activities (EYLF 1.2). They were curious about the spiders and insects, closely examining them on the light box and describing their features, such as their size, colour, presence of wings and number of legs (EYLF 4.1). We spoke about how not all animals are dangerous but they need to not touch any, especially snakes and spiders, until a big person has made sure the situation is safe. We spoke about how it was ok to touch the spiders, the snake skin and the rubber snake and insects on our table, as they were either toys or not alive in a glass box or just a skin and I was their big person with them to make sure this situation was safe, but we wouldn’t touch any that we saw anywhere else, we tell a teacher, Mum or Dad. (EYLF 3.2). We consolidated this concept with a video of an Eastern Brown snake, noting that a big person had not said that it was safe to go near and it wasn’t a toy and it wasn’t dead in a glass box, it could hurt us.

03.01.2022 What did we do? We read the book There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Mozzie, an Australian adaptation of There was an Old Lady who Swallowed a Fly, and we then re-read the book, lining up the animals as we read. Why did we do it? We read the book There was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Fly recently and the children had enjoyed the absurd story line and rhymes and the sequencing pasting activity that we had done. This book was uniquely Australian, with native animals and... Australian colloquialisms, and was a valuable addition to our library . Mst N often tells us about the mozzies that bite him in the night time and Mst C was very interested, and wary, of the snake, reminding us all that we don’t touch a snake, as they are very dangerous (EYLF 4.3). What skills did we demonstrate? The children engaged with the text and illustrations of the book (EYLF 5.2) with the older children re-telling parts of the story in their own words (5.1) and demonstrating an understanding of the sequence of the book, as they lined up the animals in the order that the old lady swallowed them (EYLF 4.1). Mst P engaged in co-operative play experience with Mst C, allowing Mst C to use the crocodile to pretend to eat Mst P index finger (EYLF 3.1).

03.01.2022 What did we do? We held a funeral service for our hermit crab in the pink shell, following our morning farming activities. Why did we do it? Our hermit crab wasn’t feeling the best and he sadly passed away this week. Mst N, Mst C and Mst P have attended 2 other funeral services this year, for our yabby and gold fish, and recently, a Remembrance Day service, and they were very much aware and mindful of how to respectfully say goodbye to our pet, with Miss S happy join in our ...service too. What skills did we demonstrate? Mst C observed that the crab wasn’t moving, because he was dead (EYLF 4.3, 5.1) and he wanted to use his digger to dig the hole for his grave. He shared his digger with Mst N(EYLF 1.4, 3.1), while Miss S and Mst P used the hand shovel to dig the hole. We chose a grave site next to a plant with pink flowers, to remember "Pink Crabby". I asked the children if they would like to sing a song as part of our funeral service and Mst N requested Shotgun. We played Shotgun, with Mst N singing and dancing along to the music, while Miss S and Mst C stood still to pay their respects and Mst P used his initiative to begin covering up our crab.

02.01.2022 What did we do? We read our new book Thank You Heroes and then re-enacted the book with figurines for the different occupations. Why did we do it? This year has been a memorable and different year for adults and children, due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, and it is important that we acknowledge the workers who have had greater stress, increased hours or different responsibilities in order to serve our community during these times (EYLF 1.4, 2.1).... What skills did we demonstrate? The children listened attentively to the story, contributing their knowledge and thoughts, such as people that they know in those occupations, including their own parents (NQS 1.1.2, EYLF 2.1). Mst C identified the grocery truck, that brings our food to the stores and identified his parent’s occupations in the book. Mst N identified the man delivering the tv set as a courier and he was concerned where the fire fighter was, who wasn’t mentioned in the book but, as Mst N correctly stated, is an essential worker to our community too. Miss S re-read the book to herself afterwards and enjoyed playing with the teacher figurine, while Mst P was excited to see the ambulance truck (EYLF 5.1)

02.01.2022 The children shared three tubs of different coloured and textured slime, a Fruit Slushy, a Cosmic Shimmer and a Blueberry Cloud, exploring how they could manipulate the slime and then how they could remove it from their hands once they became caught up in the experience (EYLF 4.2)

02.01.2022 What did we do? We explored a caterpillar’s cocoon, read a hungry caterpillar counting book and did a butterfly jigsaw puzzle Why did we do it? Following our butterfly painting on Tuesday this week, we noticed a caterpillar’s cocoon on our back deck this morning and brought it inside to examine more closely and extend our learning and interest with a book and puzzle.... What skills did we demonstrate? The children we curious about the cocoon, examining it closely, with Mst J picking it up to observe, and wondering if the caterpillar could still be inside (EYLF 2.4, 4.1, 4.2). I read a counting puppet book about the hungry caterpillar, counting the pieces of fruit on each page and Miss I and Mst C then had a turn to read the book to us (EYLF 5.1, 5.2, 5.4). We then pieced together a Very Hungry Caterpillar jigsaw puzzle, with the children all contributing their ideas as to how the pieces could and should fit together (EYF 3.1, 4.1, 5.1). What else did we do today? Mst C brought in a toy dinosaur to show his friends today (EYLF 1.1) and we extended on this by matching a range of other toy dinosaurs to a dinosaur poster (EYLF 4.1), naming them (EYLF 5.1) and then engaging in creative role play with the dinosaurs, before making dinosaur fossils in our own batch of salt dough (EYLF 5.3)

01.01.2022 What did we do? Colour and number matching puzzle What skills did we demonstrate? The children practiced their colour, fruit and number recognition (EYLF 5.4), waited patiently to have their turn (EYLF 2.3) and we discussed the concept of light and dark colours, as the board had a light and dark green and light and dark blue (EYLF 4.1) We practiced counting the fruits on each card.... What else did we do today? Ring toss (EYLF 3.2), matching the same number of animals worksheet (EYLF 5.4), dress ups (EYLF 4.1, 3.1), animal puppets (EYLF 2.2), builder role play (EYLF 3.1, 4.1)