The Student-led conference took place in recent weeks. We were very happy that the parents were able to look into the children’s everyday life in this way and play together with the class’ favourite activities. It is always a great pleasure to see when the children’s family is also part of their children’s learning journey.

The children have been preparing a lot for their Valentine’s Day celebration. There are favourite songs, games, and lots of red and pink heart decorations. The whole kindergarten was decorated in these colours and the performance at the assembly was also a great success, where once again the little koalas showed how confident they are. After the program, we had a party and thereafter with lots of interactive fun games. Our February could not have started better. And in addition to all this, another little Cuddly Koala turned 2 years old. Cake and fun were guaranteed.

The learning and movement connection are especially evident in instrument play. In exploration time, we encourage the Cuddly Koalas to explore the texture and colour of the instrument, the many ways to play it, and the variety of sounds it makes. Playing the instrument to music engages the senses of touch, hearing, and sight. The Cuddly Koalas observe that as they change the way they move the instrument, their sound changes, too. They learn to coordinate their movements to play fast or slow and quiet or loud. They also learn that they can express themselves by choosing how they play.

The Cuddly Koalas children started to prepare their cute art pieces for our upcoming art exhibition. They painted blue sky and yellow sun backgrounds with tempera paint, and then, they glued the pre-cut paper sun parts with glue sticks. They manipulated the materials and tools accordingly and created lovely sun artwork to the best of their knowledge.

This month we are learning more about the topic ‘Going to places’. The little Koalas learned what kind of vehicles we can use when traveling. The children learned the names of the vehicles very quickly and some of them also told stories about their own experiences, such as when they travelled by bus or by airplane. Now everything in the Cuddly Koala’s class is related to vehicles. The sensory box is also enriched with cars and trucks and we introduced the bingo game with vehicles. During the outdoor time, the ponies were here and a few children took advantage of the opportunity to ride them. In addition, we also started preparing for the upcoming Valentine’s Day and are already enthusiastically practising the songs for the big day.

An instrument play-along provides many opportunities to practice social skills. We ask the Cuddly Koalas to get instruments for themselves, they wait their turn, they interact with their friends as they play, and at the end, they work with the group to put the instruments away and get ready for the next activity. These are all big steps in the development of cooperation, relationship, and empathy.

The Cuddly Koalas children made textured winter collages during one of their visual arts lessons. They used foam paper pieces, felt sheet pieces, cotton pads, and silk paper pieces and glued them on the chosen bases according to their preferences.

Ball play enables the children to investigate rolling, bouncing, passing, and tossing. These movements invite the Cuddly Koalas to interact with the ball in some way-then and watch what happens. Each movement of the ball after the Cuddly Koalas toss, tap, or roll is an opportunity for them to get feedback and decide how they want to do it the next time. All the balls bouncing and rolling around the room may look like chaos, but it is a laboratory for children’s exploration and discovery.

The Cuddly Koalas children made melted snowmen during one of their visual arts lessons. First, they observed a picture of a snowman and learned its main body parts with their art teacher. Then, they painted the snowmen’s bodies with white paint and glued eyes, carrot noses, hats, belly buttons, scarves, and twig hands on them.

After the long winter break, the little koalas started the nursery very well and went back to the routine easily. We could introduce new topics and get to know new songs as well. Our recent topic was winter, and we talked about winter sports in more detail. We collected pictures of the sports activities and with the children’s help and ideas, we were sharing experiences. It is so amazing how much the Cuddly Koalas managed to grow their vocabulary. In addition, we provided more opportunities to develop their fine motor skills and let children explore and manipulate with different kinds of games. The pompoms are all-time favourites, it has many ways to create a play. For instance, it is a great sensory tool and is also good for counting and sorting. Fine motor skills are crucial for doing many actions such as holding things, doing up zippers and buttons, and drawing. They sound simple, but are very beneficial to practice. Children can also improve their hand-eye coordination, encourage their creativity, and build confidence. This is natural for children, and the reason why opportunities and freedom to unfold their curiosity and their need to discover is offered.

The Cuddly Koalas children made amazing silhouette snowflakes during one of their visual arts lessons. First, they observed some pictures of snowflakes with their art teacher and extended their knowledge about snowflakes. Then, they used paint rollers to paint the samples and cover the snowflakes with cold colours, such as white, silver, and different hues of blue. At last, the children shook glitter on their snowflakes to make them shiny.

As part of our Christmas theme, we introduced a new book, ‘The Gingerbread Man’, to the children. The Koalas enjoyed listening to the story about a little gingerbread man that everyone was after to eat up. The book inspired us to bake some gingerbread. First, we rolled and shaped the dough and then we used different cookie cutters to form stars, reindeer and Christmas trees. The children were very busy and they did not even notice how messy they got as they were covered with flour. After all these preparations, the Christmas party was really successful. The performance of the Cuddly Koalas was super sweet and we were very happy that the parents and grandparents shared our joy. Our handmade gifts were memorable for everyone and it was nice to be able to celebrate together with the families. After this eventful December, we will have the winter break soon. We wish everyone a very nice Christmas and a Happy New Year. See you in January.

It is hard work waiting for the drum. Like all stop-and-go games, taking turns fosters the development of patience, something most children have not mastered yet. (In fact, many adults still have trouble with it.) Allowing the Cuddly Koalas to practice and master the important skill of patience helps them to succeed in school and life.

The Cuddly Koalas children made cardboard Christmas trees during their visual arts lessons. First, they observed some pictures of Christmas trees and identified their main physical characteristics with the art teacher. Then, they painted the cardboard samples with light and dark green tempera paint. At last, they decorated them with buttons and placed giant silver or gold tree toppers on the top of the Christmas trees.

The past weeks were very eventful for us and as part of that, we also celebrated Thanksgiving.

On Thanksgiving day we started with a successful performance at the Assembly. The Cuddly Koalas were amazing. During that day we continued with different games related to the theme. Our lunch was also unique, and everyone enjoyed the pumpkin soup and roast turkey. After this memorable event, we have also started preparing for Christmas. We learned new songs and are practising them a lot to be able to sing perfectly for the upcoming Christmas party. The children are also preparing gifts for their parents, but this should be a secret until then:-) As part of the Christmas preparation, we also decorated our Christmas tree. All children helped pack out the ornaments with joy and enthusiasm. They all decorated skillfully. Our classroom is getting nicer and nicer with the festive decoration. We are looking forward to our next event when Santa is coming to visit us.

It is hard work waiting for the drum. Like all stop-and-go games, taking turns fosters the development of patience, something most children have not mastered yet. (In fact, many adults still have trouble with it.) Allowing the Cuddly Koalas to practice and master the important skill of patience helps them succeed in school and life.

The little Koalas started preparing to celebrate Thanksgiving and designed a great collaborative art project together. Above all, we learned about the comparison of small and big and got acquainted with new types of activities as well. These activities promote development and learning by encouraging children to demonstrate an understanding of size, spatial sense, and classifying and sorting. Children gain early math skills as they observe and notice differences in size. We also got a new favourite book titled: ‘Where’s my Teddy?’, and our song list has been expanded to the delight of the song-loving children. On another exciting day, we talked about World Kindness Day and learned the importance and significance of being kind to each other and how we can express it toward others. Also, we highlighted and encouraged good deeds in our community such as sharing toys, using magic words such as ‘thank you and ‘please’, or cleaning up together after playtime.

Many traditions and cultures around the world use circle dance to strengthen community connections. In our classes, we value the long tradition of circle dancing and the learning that circle dances offer. Circle dances can be simple and fun with everyone contributing equally (no leaders or followers) and they give everyone a sense of accomplishment and joy. When we dance together, we synchronize our movements to a common steady beat. Research shows that this connects us both physically and emotionally to one another, allowing us to relax together as we dance. Circle dances create the perfect environment for the Cuddly Koalas to thrive and grow emotionally and socially.

What could be better than exploring an open-ended process art activity where you can mix primary colours and paint with them on a seethrough surface? The Cuddly Koalas children explored colour mixing and painted circles, vertical lines, horizontal lines, wavy lines, and dots on seethrough surfaces. They loved how easily they can make these marks with freshly mixed colours and paint all over them to create new layers.

In the weeks before the Autumn Break, we already started preparing for the long-awaited Halloween celebration. In the beginning, only one or two decors appeared in the classroom, but then we got to know more about the theme with the help of songs and art activities. In the last week, the little Koalas were excitedly waiting to dress up in costumes and join the party. On Halloween day, everything was nicely decorated and we could see different costumes of teachers and children, we played different fun games such as pumpkin bowling and dancing with balloons. Let us not forget to mention the sweets which we got as a ‘Trick or treat ‘ gift. Many things coloured our day, which was a great end to the autumn semester. Now we wish everyone a well-deserved Autumn break, have a nice and relaxing time. We will start again on 2 November 2022.

Touching each of the Cuddly Koala’s fingers individually while enjoying fingerplay will help them begin recognising each finger as separate from the others. When they were babies they moved all their fingers together at the same time. As they grow and develop, children learn to move their fingers individually, beginning with the thumb and pointer finger. The ability to move each finger, one at a time, is called finger isolation and is vital to fine motor development. It contributes to the ability to hold a pencil correctly, use scissors, button and zip clothes, tie shoelaces, and play a variety of musical instruments.

The Cuddly Koalas children made silhouette bat artwork in one of their visual art lessons. First, they chose bat stencils which we glued onto their black papers. Then, they painted over the bat stencils with sponges. They used white, grey, purple, and blue tempera paint. At last, we took the bat stencils off and revealed the bats with the children. Their bat artwork is part of our Halloween decorations and we proudly look at them each day.

Hearing the words clap, clap, clap at the beginning of the song sung on the beat reinforces how the steady beat and movements fit together. The more the Cuddly Koalas experience a steady beat, the more likely they will be to learn to keep a steady beat independently. “Moving to a steady beat is a fundamental skill-not only for music performance, but one that has been linked to language skills”-Nina Kraus. Kraus’s research showed that people who performed better on rhythmic tests also demonstrated superior neural responses to speech sounds.

The Cuddly Koalas children have been preparing harvest-themed decorations for our upcoming harvest festival. During one of their visual arts lessons, they have been focusing on the grape. First, we observed some pictures of grapes and grape yards and identified their main physical features with the children. Then, they printed grapes using wine corks on their grape samples and made beautiful grapes.

The little Koalas were getting to know a new topic, emotions. They observed how their faces changed when they are happy or angry, sad or scared. Some games were built around the new theme as well such as a mirror game and fine motor activity with pipe cleaners. In addition to all this, we welcomed autumn as a new season. New songs are on our favourite songs album; ’Five Little Pumpkin’, and ‘Dingle Dangle Scarecrow’songs. The weather also helped us to learn more about autumn as we had lots of rainy days, however, we could still spend a lot of time outside. We also celebrated the harvest with the other children of the kindergarten. The children prepared their own snacks for the event and shared them with others. They could watch the performances of the older children in the gym and afterwards, they played and danced together in the garden. The Cuddly Koalas were very confident and happily participated in the gathering.

We got to learn a new topic and we expanded our knowledge about our bodies. The children could learn more about the body parts with the help of various activities, including the game with the sensory table, where small photos were hidden in a box with lentils, and the body parts puzzle game. Our song repertoire has also been expanded with two new songs and some new movements. The little Koalas also worked on a project where they were the models on the drawing board. The end result was great and they enthusiastically participated in its implementation. In addition to all this, we also had the opportunity to meet with the ponies in the big garden and there were a few Cuddly Koalas who even rode on the ponies. Those who preferred not to ride the horses were not bored either, as we were also able to discover the garden and we spend our morning outdoor time there.

The Cuddly Koalas love to move-but they especially love moving independently. One of the ways to encourage a toddler’s drive for independence is to engage him/her in simple movement rhymes. With repetition and time, Cuddly Koalas will delight in showing off the movements they have learned. It is a mastery of age-appropriate independent skills like these that your toddler’s self-esteem will blossom.

The Cuddly Koalas children felt ready to invite our visual art teacher and have visual art lessons with her in their classroom. First, they made apple sun-catcher artwork during the lesson. They squeezed glue out of its tube and glued cellophane paper pieces onto their samples. Next, they learned about autumn colours and painted autumn leaves with tempera paint. The Cuddly Koalas children already know how to squeeze the glue out of its tube, stick paper pieces, and paint with brushes, and it is not October even.

The new little koalas had a wonderful start to the new school year. They are interested, curious, and like to play together. The children are still just getting used to the setting, but day by day they develop skills and feel emotionally more confident. We also get to know the daily routine and various activities together, which help the children feel comfortable in the new environment. There are also a lot of fun activities for instance: playing with Play Dough, board games which are now the children’s favourite. The time spent in the gym is also a great joy for everyone. On the terrace, many exciting games are waiting for the little ones such as the toy kitchen, motorbikes, or the sandbox. The Cuddly Koalas make a great team together and we are excitedly waiting for the school year ahead so that they can be a part of our learning journey in the nursery.

The Cuddly Koalas made cute, colourful paper birds during one of their visual art lessons. They glued colouredl feathers, paper beaks, wiggly eyes, and paper feet on the bases and personalized them according to their preferences. They practiced their decision-making skills, sticking skills, and composing skills and happily imitated some of the well-known sounds of birds in various ways.

Children need at least one hour of active physical play a day. Activities like the one where we invited the Cuddly Koalas to get up and move like a rabbit or any other animal they imagine, help build strong, healthy muscles and bones. On a rainy day, put on some music, and turn your family room or play area into a forest or savannah where everyone can move and dance like their favorite animals.

It is so incredible that the school year is almost over. We have a fantastic period behind us and there are still plenty of programs and learning opportunities waiting for us in the coming weeks. In recent days, we have gotten to know about the sea animals in more details and added a lot of new tunes to our song repertoire such as ‘Party on the ocean floor song’ or ‘I love summer songs. We did a scavenger hunt in the big garden and noticed a lot of little things around us in nature. We also took part in the last Rolli-Polli session of the school year with great activity and super atmosphere. The Cuddly Koalas are very much looking forward to the Step-up day when children can exmerience their future class rooms in the next school year. Sports day also promises to be fabulous with a variety of sports activities. The End of the year party will be a lovely closing  to this fantastic school year with our little Koalas.

Our new topic for this month is called Animal Kingdom. Children are getting to know about animals such as their habitats, what they like to eat, how to take care of them, and how to interact with them. Cuddly Koalas love the topic and new favorites are ‘The animal sounds song’ and ‘The Old McDonald song’. They love to look at books about animals and also share their existing knowledge with us.

We also have a new responsibility to take care of our herbs on the terrace. Everybody is busy with the watering can to water them – I hope the herbs do not mind the lots of water:-) As the weather turned warm we are spending even more time outside and enjoying sand play, trampoline, and explorations. We do not forget to develop the fine motor skills and inside the classroom, we keep little hands busy with sensory fine motor skill practices.

When the Cuddly Koalas hear music, their natural instinct is to respond. There are many ways to respond to music, but this lesson focuses on just one-responding with movement. In responding to music, the Koalas are learning to listen, evaluate, and then coordinate their body’s movements to interpret and react to the music’s rhythm, beat, and mood. Combining movement and music can help children express their feelings, as well as teach them patterns, pulse, rhyme, and structure, all without the need for spoken language.

The Cuddly Koalas children are focusing on the topic of space and are making some space-related artworks during their visual art lessons. They made space-themed twirlers and q-tip painted twinkle stars and practiced their painting skills in various ways. They also had the opportunity to use one of their favourite art materials, the shiny glitter.

The Cuddly Koalas children’s favourite art tool is back for another round! At this time, the children had the opportunity to explore what happens when painting on a vertical surface with liquid paint and pipettes. The liquid paint moved down on the vertical surface no matter what. The pipette worked only if they held it facing a little down only. They were amazed by the power of gravity and how each colour can be mixed in this vertical painting process art activity.

The month of May brought not only the wonderful weather but also the super programs in which parents could take an active part. In Hungary, we are celebrating Mother’s Day on the first Sunday in May, and we celebrated Mother’s Day accordingly. We created a cozy spring picnic atmosphere in the classroom and the Mother’s Day picnic was really idyllic. Everyone picked up the rhythm when they heard the catchy songs sung by everyone. The handmade gifts were also a great success. After all this, the Student-led Conference also provided a great opportunity for teachers and children too to present a slice of our daily lives at the nursery, and for parents to gain insight into it. It was good to see the children show their toys, books, and favourite places enthusiastically and with great happiness. Also, for us, it was interesting to see the little Koalas proudly and confidently showing what they have learned so far. Thank you very much for your active participation and words of appreciation.

The Cuddly Koalas are becoming more aware of the roles of steady beat and rhythm, and how they fit together in music and language. Their roles may be different, but one cannot exist without the other. In this lesson, the Koalas experienced activities that introduced the layering of steady beat and repeated rhythm patterns. As children further develop skills to recognize different types of patterns, they also acquire mathematical skills in the areas of prediction and categorization. Understanding rhythms and patterns are also essential skills for learning to read and write.

In the days before the spring break, the Easter Bunny visited us and we spent the day having super activities. The Easter egg hunt was very exciting. The Cuddly Koalas’ children filled their little baskets enthusiastically and checked under every bush and tree to see if they could still find chocolate eggs. The Easter bunny was very generous and everyone got plenty of chocolate. After the great adventures, we got to know a new topic as part of the Ever-Changing Nature theme, and we have a great book to help to get closer to the topic. The book is called ‘The Very Hungry Caterpillar’. The Koalas can learn from a hilarious little story that how the little tiny caterpillar will become a beautiful butterfly. Supporting understanding, we can also play the story with small felt figures. In addition, even the Mother’s Day preparations are in progress. The month of May looks like a very eventful, exciting month ahead.

The movement and music shifts in this fun bounce allow the Cuddly Koalas to respond to the mathematical principle of patterns. Each musical change is connected to a movement change; we sway to the legato waltz section of the song and bounce to the more staccato section that mimics rain. The movement contrast helps the Koalas hear, feel, and experience the well-defined pattern in the music.

The Cuddly Koalas children explored how to paint with movement by manipulating yarn in various ways. They pulled, tapped, and shook the yarn on their bases. They used their hand-and-eye coordination and balancing skills to handle the yarn according to their needs. They also made decisions and chose colours of their preferences. What an exciting way to play, explore, and paint.

The Cuddly Koalas class has been actively preparing for the fashion show and the Big Draw events. The success is not to be missed, as the little koalas performed fantastically and the veil of the beautiful costumes finally fell off. We practiced the days before the big day, adjusted our costumes, and cheerfully waited for the big event.

Our theme was ‘numbers’, around this theme we managed to make wonderful costumes. We designed costumes such as a clock, telephone, calculator, number plate, ruler, sports shirts, and billiard balls. There is a number in each of these objects, so the numbers have been presented from a different perspective by our little Koalas. The children enthusiastically participated in making the costumes. During the fashion show preparation and on the day as well, they were super cute, and active participants. I hope you also enjoyed the big koala picture made by the little hands. Our next event is also coming soon because the Easter bunny is coming to town

Toddlers first approach numbers by memorizing the counting sequence by rote. Early on, your toddler may not even realize that the phrase “one, two, three” is actually made up of three separate words, and instead might hear it as a single “chunk”. Counting with your little Koalas will help them become familiar with the sequence of numbers and introduce them to the idea of one-to-one correspondence, a foundational math concept.

The Cuddly Koalas children have been making pompom-painted Easter eggs during one of their visual art lessons. They practiced their moving and handling skills and hand and eye coordination skills and made colourful marks with the pompoms on the egg samples. They also practiced the name of the colours and showed their colour preferences. They also showed they can keep the ’one pompom one colour’ rule where each pompom can be used with one colour only. What colourful and beautiful Easter eggs made by the Cuddly Koalas children.

“Mine!” “I do!” is the call of many toddlers. The Koalas of this age can be very possessive and have difficulty taking turns and sharing. However, getting along with others is an essential life skill, and sharing is an important part of cooperative play. When the Koalas are asked to share with their friends, as they are with the drum in this activity, they have the opportunity to learn and practice sharing in a safe environment. This will help them make and – perhaps more importantly -keep friends.

The Cuddly Koalas children made beautiful butterfly sun-catchers during one of their visual art lessons. First, they observed some pictures of the butterflies, such as their colours and symmetry wings. Then, they used their palm powers to squeeze the glue out of their tubes and glued cellophane paper pieces onto the butterfly samples. They glued the pieces one by one and handled each piece carefully. Thanks to the Cuddly Koalas children the Happy Kids corridor is filled with butterflies that bring colourful sunshine to us to brighten our days.

Beautiful spring has arrived and we are making the most of it. We are spending our outdoor time actively and either in the big garden or on the terrace, the children are really enjoying it. The ponies visited Happy Kids again. Not all of our little Koalas were brave enough to ride them, but we loved to watch the horses from afar. In connection with spring, we get to know the characteristics of spring. One day we even organized a little walk on the bike track where we looked for small flowers, fresh buds and we also saw some beetles. Inside the classroom, we are also busy, and lovely spring-themed artworks are being created. In addition to the spring theme, we are already tuning in for Easter. The new songs which we are learning are very catchy: ‘The Easter Egg Hunt Song’ and ‘The Do the Silly Dance Song.’

We had a fantastic carnival celebration and everyone was gorgeous in special costumes. Among the costumes were kittens, policemen, dinosaurs, eggs, fairies, elephants, superheroes, princesses, firefighters, lions, and surgeon’s costumes. They were very creative choices. Donuts, popcorn, and dancing are an indispensable part of a carnival. We had them all. We even watched a fun puppet show. Moreover, the little Koalas had the opportunity to meet with the puppet characters after the performance. Additionally, we started to tune in to the spring as well, and around that topic, we build the everyday sensory and fine motor activities. We love the sensory box because it is great for sensory stimulation providing hands-on learning. It gives an opportunity for imaginative play and exploring a variety of concepts. It is lovely to see how children get so absorbed in exploring all the different textures and items. They are fun and it helps to bring experiences alive.

Music can have a strong effect on our emotions. It can therefore be a powerful tool for teaching the Koalas how to soothe themselves and regulate their emotions-a key skill that plays an important role in problem-solving and learning in all stages of life. By breathing deeply and relaxing, we are modeling for our children what ‘calm’ looks and feels like. We can further their understanding by verbally describing how their bodies might feel (relaxed, loose, easy) in this state.

The Cuddly Koalas children made one of the most beautiful spring flowers during one of their visual art lessons. First, they observed some pictures of the daffodil flowers, then they made some on their own. They painted the flower samples with an alternative painting tool and used their palm powers to squeeze the glue out of its tube so they could put the corona in the middle of the petals. Thanks to these Cuddly Koalas children, a beautiful daffodil garden shines at the entrance of our kindergarten!

We hope your family had a relaxing ski break and everyone is recharged to start a wonderful March.The week before our break, we got to know the ‘We’re Going on a Bear Hunt’ story-book. The little Koalas are learning in more detail about the story.It depicts an adventurous trip by a family to the bear’s cave, which is coloured with different locations. The journey back home is even more adventurous for them. The Cuddly Koalas are big fans of the adventure. We played and imitated the sound of the rubber boots when getting stuck in the mud or in the big wavy grass. It was a lot of laughter and joy to get acquainted with the book. We also prepared several sensory games for the children and had a few drawing and painting activities too. After all this, we started preparing for the carnival and we are looking forward to seeing a variety of costumes for the upcoming occasion.

In our classes, when we teach children new concepts such as up and down, we employ all of the children’s senses to help them connect meaning with a specific word. In this activity, we connect the words up and down with their meaning by moving our bodies, saying the words in the poem, and watching each other move as we say the poem.

The Cuddly Koalas children had the opportunity to experiment with colourful water and pipettes. This evergreen activity is always one of the children’s favourites for many reasons. They can mix colours, make small and big drops, squeeze the pipettes from high above and near to the surface or even make slow and fast water drops. The pipette helps the children to strengthen their fine-motor skills and palm muscles and is the best tool to prepare them to handle and use scissors and writing tools smoothly. How effective was this process art activity? The pictures talk about themselves.

The Cuddly Koalas children made heart collages from some interesting art materials. They practiced their sticking skills with colourful paper pieces, patterned paper pieces and glue sticks. They showed that they can make decisions even at such a young age, choose colours according to their preferences, stick paper pieces where they like and design nice hearts to the best of their knowledge. Thanks to the Cuddly Koalas children, the Happy Kids entry spreads love to everyone who passes through it. Well done Koalas.

We started another month and greeted February with a cheerful celebration. One of the little Koalas joined the 2-year-old club and we celebrated his birthday with a delicious cake and fun games. Although our weekly topic has changed, the children have been so fond of the transportation theme. The pictures of the vehicles and songs which we learned as a part of that topic are very popular. The Cuddly Koalas are always asking to sing the songs over and over again and talk about the vehicles. It is so much fun. We also learned about the Chinese New Year and made special paintings. Of course, we were preparing for Valentine’s Day too. We decorated the classroom with the artwork of the children and with other decors in red and pink. Valentine’s Day itself was a lot of fun and the little Koalas performed skilfully in front of a large audience.

The learning and movement connection is especially evident in instrument play. In exploration time, we encourage the Koalas to explore the texture and colour of the instrument, the many ways to play it, and the variety of sounds it makes. Playing the instrument to music engages the senses of touch, hearing, and sight. The little Koalas are observing the changes when they move the instrument, and how the instrument’s sound changes, too. They are learning to coordinate their movements to play fast or slow and quiet or loud. They are also learning how to express themselves by choosing how they play.

In recent weeks, we introduced a new topic and expanded our knowledge of vehicles. The children liked the new theme and shared a lot of experiences with us that are related to a trip or they see such vehicles on a daily basis. Their vocabulary has grown with many new words and it is a great pleasure to see that our beautifully growing little koalas are becoming more communicative. The crafts and activities designed around the theme were also a great success and they enjoyed using new tools and techniques. We have also developed fine motor skills with very simple but fun games that you can even practice at home. These included unscrewing the tops of empty containers; for example, creams, transporting water with a pipette, connecting small Lego blocks, or practicing closing and opening padlocks. These types of movements are important for young children to practice because they help them to have a solid foundation for their future everyday tasks. We were also able to practice shoveling and making snowballs in the few days we could enjoy the remaining snow in the garden.

An instrument play-along provides many opportunities to practice social skills. We ask the children to get instruments for themselves, they wait their turn, they interact with their friends as they play, and at the end, they work with the group to put the instruments away and get ready for the next activity. These are all big steps in the development of cooperation, relationship, and empathy.

The Cuddly Koalas children made amazing textured winter collages and experienced the beauty of processed art activity. They enjoyed the freedom of creating something unique without following any instructions, squeezing liquid glue out of its tube, and placing any materials they like and the way they want. The Cuddly Koalas children used cake paper pieces, silk paper pieces, foil pieces, cotton wool pieces, and crepe paper pieces and strengthened their palm powers and practiced their sticking and composing skills. Well done Cuddly Koalas.

The new year started very powerfully and everyone came back from the break with full of energy. Taking advantage of this, we are spending our days actively with the little koalas who are always very interested, curious, and open to learning about everything. We have also got new knowledge about winter as a season. We were learning what should we wear in wintertime and what we can experience outdoors. Unfortunately, we did not have any luck with the snow yet, but in the meantime, we can learn more and more about the cold, but sporty season with help of pictures, and many art and craft ideas. Winter sports have not been left out of our knowledge either, and children are already increasingly trying to share their experiences using the English language. We will soon introduce you to an opportunity for an exciting game in which all members of the family can be involved. More information is coming soon.

Theme: Family and Friends

Ball play enables children to investigate rolling, bouncing, passing, and tossing. These movements are an invitation to interact with the ball in some way and then watch what happens. Each movement of the ball after your children’s toss, tap, or roll is an opportunity for them to get feedback and decide how they want to do it the next time. All the balls bouncing and rolling around the room may look like chaos, but is really a laboratory for your children’s exploration and discovery