REDDAM ELS LINDFIELD
NEWSLETTER 18th November 2022
Principal’s Message
By Ms Christine Irwin
Dear Parents, As we move towards the end of the year the children have been practicing their special songs that they are doing at the end-of-year graduation and Christmas concerts. The dates and times for Christmas concerts and graduation for each class have been listed below. A few parents have been asking about our Christmas closure which has also been added to the end of the principal’s message. The children have been developing their pre-math skills with pattern making being a strong focus in stages 3 and 4 over the past few weeks. With loose parts and round wooden boards as their base, the children have completed a wonderful array of mosaics with the emergence of patterns coming to the forefront. This type of play focuses not only the pre maths skills but also on the concepts of negotiating and teamwork as groups of children share the resources and discuss “what comes next? Button, pebble, shell, button… the pebble comes next” which encompasses emerging skills of seriation (for example; biggest to smallest) and serial order (for example; following a pattern). “Mathematicians say that math is the study of patterns. It is the structure in numbers and the patterns and structures in geometry. The foundations for remembering the counting sequence and comprehending numerical operations are supported by patterning. Therefore, children will be better able to foresee the future and draw logical conclusions if they know patterns and relationships. It serves as a crucial foundation for later mathematical reasoning and thought.” - Awesome Preschool.com (2022) During our day at Reddam, the children follow patterns in our routines and curriculum such as the times of the day i.e arriving at school, morning tea, experiences, group times, lunch, rest, afternoon tea, outdoor experiences, and departing school for home. Even having lunch children choose a plate, a fork, a spoon, and their drink bottle. This patterning assists with their 1 to1 correspondence which in turn increases their ability to count using a corresponding object to a number. In math, patterns are repeating or growing sequences of objects, shapes, or numbers governed by a rule. Hence, this rule tells us which objects belong to the pattern and which do not. We can relate a pattern to any type of event or object in the world and mathematics. Identifying the rule of a pattern brings predictability and allows us to make generalizations. They can be found in many forms; visual, auditory, movement, and temporal.—Awesome preschool.com (2022) The educators here at Reddam are amazed at the wonderful patterns that are being produced by the children. Stage 3 children have come a long way in such a short time by becoming precise with their placement of the resources when using pattern board and also using their skills of classification when packing the materials away back into their bowls.