1. Date: Monday 10th of November 2014
Gorilla’s Room
Date: Monday 10th of November 2014

2. Morning Minutes What would we like to play with
10/11/14 today
Robert – Rocket ship
James – Maps
Shantae – Computers
Jemma- Trucks
Reid- Blocks
Olive- Puzzles
Ryan- Lego
Charlize-Tent
Emery- The nature table
Jayden – The climbing frame with Robert
P-The bikes on the bike track

3. Reid and Jemma playing toss the hoops. Digging for gold
Emery and James having a chat
Olive Shantae and Charlize cooking up a storm

4. Reid to cool for school. Princess Olive.
Charlize and Olive having a rest on the climbing frame.
Jemma on the bridge.
Reid to cool for school.
Princess Olive.

5. Ryan’s LEGO water park !
Inside during free play Ryan was busy creating a water park made from LEGO. He spent the whole time concentrating on his masterpiece. Ryan explained to Miss Tanya that “the brown was all the water and this is invisible” referring to all the white pieces and the wedges to stop the water coming out were the yellow spaces he said “it was a bit hard to do it” because he ”ran out of pieces so i used other pieces that weren’t really for that”.
Analysis of Learning:
Ryan is experimenting with different pieces and using them to build his masterpiece, he used his imagination and made it come alive.
Ryan put a lot of thought into his creation from the colours representing different areas to how the water was going to get around the water park.
EYLF: Children transfer and adapt children develop a range of skills and processes such as problem solving, enquiry, experimentation, hypothesising, researching and investigating
What’s next:
Follow-up:
Date: /11/ Child: Ryan

6. Group time!
During Group time today we had a discussion about what the children have learnt/remembered so far about our current topic exploring space. This is what they said:
Jemma : The moon
Reid : Jupiter and Earth
James: Mars and Saturn
Ryan: Mars has volcano's on it. People launching to the moon very soon I think they might live there one day.
Charlize: The moon is sometimes round
Robert: Saturn has rings around it
Olive: The Earth we live there. The Equator is in the middle of the earth. It goes all the way around the earth.
Shantae: Mars
Analysis of Learning:
The children showed a strong interest and excitement while engaging in this activity.
The children showed great memory recollection, turn taking and verbal communication skills when they expressed their feelings and thoughts about space.
EYLF: Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, places, technologies and natural and processed materials
What’s next: Continue to extend on space and revisit the children’s memory on what they have learnt.
Follow-up:
Date: /11/ Child: Group

7. Building a Truck ramp
Cameron, Zach and Robert were in the sand pit together. They begun building a big ramp for their monster truck to jump over. Cameron and Robert used the shovels to pile the sand up into a big mountain. Zach waited patiently for his truck for them to tell him it was ready. Robert and Cameron patted down the mountain and Robert said “Its so big now. Okay Zach you can jump”. Zach then got a run up and watched the truck go over the mountain as he controlled it. “Wow”, they said as they laughed. “Go from the other side”, said Cameron. Zach then tried again from the other side. “You can have a turn, and I’ll fix the ramp”, said Zach as he left the truck for Robert. Robert then had a turn to drive the truck up and over the ramp.
Analysis of Learning:
Robert is displaying the ability to work with others and assist his peers
He is enthusiastic during play and expresses his enjoyment through laughter and happiness
Robert experiments with cause and effect when driving the truck over the ramp
EYLF: Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, places, technologies and natural and processed materials
What’s next: Continue to extend on Robert’s team work skills and experimenting with cause and effect
Follow-up:
Date: 7/11/ Child: Robert

8. Dr Seuss – American Writer
Today the children got to listen to a story by American writer, poet and cartoonist Dr Seuss. They listened to the story “The cat in the hat”. The children curiously listened to the story and seemed to really enjoy it. When asked about their opinions on the story the children began discussing different ideas. Robert said “It wasn’t really funny”. Cameron then responded “Yes it was, it was funny”. The children will continue to look at different Dr Seuss stories as we discuss America. We will be creating our very own hats also like the hat from “The cat in the hat”. We can’t wait to see some of the interesting hats that the children produce.

9. Todays Craft – American Flags
With this month America being the focus country we have been making our American flags. The Gorilla children have had a close look at the flag and have tried very hard to replica it. We used blue paint with a paint brush for the left hand corner and we used red paint and our thumbs or fingers for the strips making sure we left space for the white alternate stripes and for the final touch on go our stars, great job Gorilla’s.
EYLF 2 – Children are connected with and contribute to their world

10. What have we had out to play with today……
Activity
Why was it out?
Was it popular?
Pattern Blocks
Jayden and Robert chose this activity during morning minutes. This will allow the children to explore mathematical concepts and patterns. CI
All the gorilla’s had heaps of fun using the pattern blocks today. They enjoyed grouping the blocks based on patterns, colours and shapes.
Rocket ship
This activity was chosen by two of the children during our morning minute discussion. This allows the children to further extend upon their current project interest. CI
Cameron and Matthew were very entertained by this activity for a short period of time. Most of the children weren’t particularly interested in this activity and didn’t give it ant attention.
Wooden Blocks
This activity has been included in the room by the educators. It encourages the children to explore their constructive capabilities and explore their imagination. EI
Jayden, Robert and Cameron got very creative today and made their very own mechanical garage and bridge for the large digger trucks
Melbourne Cup Races
Today is Melbourne cup today, the children were encourage to engage in physical cup whilst participating in this national annual day. IT
The children absolutely adored this activity. They engaged in 3 way races against their peers and loved naming the horses and giving them a number.
FI= Family Input
EI = Educator
CI - Child Initiated E = Extension F = Formal follow up
S = Spontaneous FI tor Input
IT = Intentional Teaching
CM = Community Input

11. EYLF Learning Outcomes Summary
Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity
a) Children feel safe, secure and supported
b) Children develop their emerging autonomy, inter-dependence, resilience and sense of agency
c) Children develop knowledgeable and confident self-identities
d) Children learn to interact in relation to others with care, empathy and respect
Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world
a) Children develop a sense of belonging to groups and communities and an understanding of the reciprocal rights and responsibilities necessary for active community participation
b) Children respond to diversity with respect
c) Children become aware of fairness
d) Children become socially responsible and show respect for the environment
Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
a) Children become strong in their social and emotional well being
b) Children take increasing responsibility for their own health and physical wellbeing
Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners
a) Children develop dispositions for learning such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination and reflexivity
b) Children transfer and adapt children develop a range of skills and processes such as problem solving, enquiry, experimentation, hypothesising, researching and investigating
c)Children transfer and adapt what they have learned from one context to another
d) Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, places, technologies and natural and processed materials
Outcome 5: Children are effective Communicators
a) Children interact verbally and non-verbally with others for a range of purposes
b) Children engage with a range of texts and gain meaning from these texts
c) Children express ideas and make meaning using a range of media
d) Children begin to understand how symbols and pattern systems work
e) Children use information and communication technologies to access information, investigate ideas and represent their thinking

12. EYLF Principles Summary
The following are five principles that reflect contemporary theories & research evidence
Concerning children’s learning & early childhood pedagogy. The principles underpin practice that is focused on assisting all children to make progress in relation to the Learning outcomes.
1. Secure, respectful and reciprocal relationships
Educators, who are attuned to children’s thoughts and feelings, support the development of a strong sense of wellbeing. They positively interact with the young child in their learning. Through a widening network of secure relationships, children develop confidence and feel respected and valued. They become increasingly able to recognise and respect the feelings of others and to interact positively with them. They also help children to learn about their responsibilities to others, to appreciate their connectedness and interdependence as learners, and to value collaboration and teamwork.
2. Partnerships
Educators create a welcoming environment where all children and families are respected and actively encouraged to collaborate with educators about curriculum decisions in order to ensure that learning experiences are meaningful. In genuine partnerships, families and early childhood. Educators value each other’s knowledge of each child, value each other’s contributions to and roles in each child’s life, trust each other, communicate freely and respectfully with each other, share insights and perspectives about each child and engage in shared decision-making. Partnerships also involve educators, families and support professionals working together.
3. High expectations and equity
Early childhood educators who are committed to equity believe in all children’s capacities to succeed, regardless of diverse circumstances and abilities. Children progress well when they, their parents and educators hold high expectations for their achievement in learning. Educators recognise and respond to barriers to children achieving educational success. In response they challenge practices that contribute to inequities and make curriculum decisions that promote inclusion and participation of all children.
4. Respect for diversity
There are many ways of living, being and of knowing. Children are born belonging to a culture, which is not only influenced by traditional practices, heritage and ancestral knowledge, but also by the experiences, values and beliefs of individual families and communities. Respecting diversity means within the curriculum valuing and reflecting the practices, values and beliefs of families. Educators honour the histories, cultures, languages, traditions, child rearing practices and lifestyle choices of families. They value children’s different capacities and abilities and respect differences in families’ home lives. Educators recognise that diversity contributes to the richness of our society and provides a valid evidence base about ways of knowing. When early childhood educators respect the diversity of families and communities, and the aspirations they hold for children, they are able to foster children’s motivation to learn and reinforce their sense of themselves as competent learners.
5 Ongoing learning and reflective practice
Educators continually seek ways to build their professional knowledge and develop learning communities. They become co-learners with children, families and community, and value the continuity and richness of local knowledge shared by community members, including Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Elders. Reflective practice is a form of ongoing learning that involves engaging with questions of philosophy, ethics and practice. Its intention is to gather information and gain insights that support, inform and enrich decision-making about children’s learning.
Source
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. (2009). Belonging, Being and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia. Canberra: Commonwealth of Australia

13. Thank you for choosing Spunky Monkeys to care for you child.
What was on the menu today
Morning Tea:
Fruit platter with muffins
Lunch:
Creamy Chicken with rice
Afternoon Tea:
Zucchini bread
Thank you for choosing Spunky Monkeys to care for you child.