Preschool Booklet - German International School Sydney

Our Preschool at GISS
A guide to our preschool for new children by the children – past
and present.
Welcome to the Preschool at GISS!
The children have put this booklet together as a guide for the new children that start at our preschool and it is regularly updated. Working
on drawings and paintings , selecting photographs and talking about their daily work and events has been in important process for our
current children and has also served as a means of reflecting on their work. The task presented to them was to describe the preschool
and the many happenings within, in a way that they can communicate to the new children what they will need to know when they start.
They were also asked to find ways of creating visual representations so that the new children starting will know what the environment
looks like as well as activities that happen within a typical day.
Therefore what is presented here is the preschool through the children’s eyes and the happenings that they find to be important. What
has come out of their work shows us many things about what is important to them, in particular the many routines, from putting their lunch
on the trolley when they first come in the morning to putting their things away in their lockers. The environment has also been of
importance. Much of our work with the children has centred on looking after the environment and together in collaboration with the
children and families, setting up the environment in such a way that supports the development of the children in all areas, including an
awareness of the aesthetic in the environment. Many of the drawings and paintings created for this booklet reflect this awareness and an
understanding of the different areas that have been established in the environment. The dialogue presented here in the booklet also
reflects how the children work through projects, such as the creation of this booklet. By collaborating together and talking through their
thought processes they come to collective understandings about how the school looks ( this can be seen in the discussion about how the
building looks), about the various routines and about how the preschool operates on a daily basis.
Overall what is presented here is a guide for the new children making the transition to
preschool, whether they be arriving in Sydney from abroad, coming from another preschool
or starting preschool for the first time in Australia.
The page overleaf displays a drawing that shows the preschool’s position in relation to the
rest of the school and as a first drawing for the booklet provided much of the inspiration for
the work that follows. The drawing was done by a child that had been at the preschool for
nearly two years and he had a good understanding about the position of the steps that
lead to the older classes at the back ,the placement of the underground garage and the
position of the various parts of the outdoor area and beyond - including where the buses
are parked. We hope that you find the guide useful in helping your child to become more
familiar with our preschool and that you can talk about the pictures, the photographs and
the dialogue together as a way of making the transition to our preschool .
Most importantly we hope that you enjoy it!
Kind regards,
Your GISS Preschool team, children and parents.
Buon Giorno, Konnichiwa, An-nyeong and G’ day,
Kali Mera, Willkommen, Bonjour...Let’s play!
It’s a song that we sing every day so we can start group time. It means good morning in many
languages. In Spanish it’s Buenos Dias. I can speak Spanish. Orlando
Preschool floor plans made by Isabelle , Holly and Luke. Isabelle
is working on hers.
I go to school on the bus every day and I go home on the
bus too– except on Friday….my mum picks me up then. Is
today Friday?
This is the school bus with the logo on the side. Then everyone
knows it is from our school…it also has our address.
Das ist der Bus. Der Fahrer ist Frank. Der Frank fährt den Bus zur
Schule jeden Tag mit Kindern drin. (This is the bus. Frank is the driver.
He drives the bus to school every day with children in it).
Leonie.
Der Bus hat viele Fenster und das Schullogo drauf.
Frank
The Building
The preschool building is right at the front of the school – so everyone can
see it. There are really big windows so that we can see out. William T
We can see all the buses and everyone that walks by. Calvin
Das ist unsere Preschool – es ist dunkel rot und pink mit vielen
Fenster und zwei Türen. (This is our Preschool. It is dark red and
pink with many windows and doors) William D.
Elysha: The school is supposed to be red.
Claudia: See that door …it has an adult handle, you need to put
it in ( to draw it).
Elysha: I’m drawing the door from outside where you need to
come in, in the morning. But the preschool is supposed to be
red…or is it pink?
Claudia: No the whole of the outside is supposed to be red.
This is my mum coming to pick me up – and my Dad and my
sisters too.
This is me and my mum coming
to pick me up from the
Preschool. She’s standing at the
gate. That’s where all the mums
come in and go out.
This is the road outside. The mummies can park down the bottom so
they can bring us to preschool. These are the lockers ( the red figure).
When you are inside you put your things in there – your bag and your
jacket. Jessica
We have a beautiful new building and there is a fence all
around the preschool. That’s where you come in, in the
morning. At the back of the school there are some steps that
go up to where the classrooms are. When we walk around
there sometimes, we have to be quiet as there are people
working in there. Isabelle.
At GISS Preschool ........
.....I like books. Kai
.....Malen! (painting!) Mieke
We take lots of photos and write about what we
play, discover and learn.
Portfolios
Computer
We put drawings in there and paintings and
photos. All children have one. There are photos
and names on them so that everybody knows
who it belongs to. Noah
Was man gemacht hat kann man
aufschreiben in der Mappe. (You can write
down in the folder what you did). Oskar
On the computer we draw
and write.
This is the password. It’s
PRESCHOOL. You write it
and then you log it and
after logging you can draw.
Lucas
You can make any pictures that you draw on the paper and
they are all the same. (Scan in drawings and paintings) and you
can also draw on the computer . Mia
You use a paint brush (icon) to paint. You use the rubber for the
picture you don’t like. You choose the colours you actually like.
You use the colour box to find them and then you press on the
mouse. Leo
There are things of us in
there. This is how I learnt to
do my shoe laces. Luke
The Food Area
In the kitchen there’s a fridge. The kids are not allowed to
go in there – but the adults can. You must put your lunch on
the trolley when you come in the morning.
The adults get all the lunches out and put them on the
trolley at lunchtime. Then they will choose which children will
bring the lunch to the kids. William T
There’s also a shelf for the breakfast. You can get your own
breakfast off the shelf. Calvin
If you need something out of the fridge you should ask a
teacher. Max
Sometimes we have morning tea outside. We take a
blanket and spread it out and everyone can sit on it and
eat their food. Lily
Wir haben eine schöne Lampe mit Kerzen. Wenn wir etwas
ganz besonderes machen,dann hängen wir etwas drauf.
Für Halloween wir haben Gespenster und die hängen drauf.
Chiara
(We have a beautiful chandelier with candles. When we
have something special then we hang things from this. For
Halloween we have ghosts hanging from it).
It’s (the food pyramid poster)
looking at the food. Chocolate
is only a sometimes food
because you get sick if you eat
them all. Imogen
Da kann man sehen, dass
Nutella nicht gut ist weil da
werden die Zähne schwarz
von. (You can see on there
that Nutella is not good for you
because you can get black
teeth). Malte
I am Spiderman.
I was cleaning
the floor cause
there was
crumbs on it.
They go in the
bin. This big bin.
Ari
Sauber machen
(Cleaning up)
Compost
Das ist der Müllkuebel für Kompost . Da
kommt Essen rein. (This is the bin for compost.
This is where we put food scraps). Benjamin
We have to keep
everything clean
because we
don’t like the
picture messy
when we make
photos. If you see
something messy
then you go to
clean up.
Catalina
Banana skin is in there. We tip it into the big
bin. Hugo
Da sind Würmer drin die essen das. (There
are worms inside that eat it). Luisa
Damit die Erde so bleibt wie sie ist. (So that
Earth will stay as it is). Tilman
Why is it important to clean up?
Luke: Because we can trip or slip
when things are on the floor.
Blake: It will look all messy. It must
look inviting! You can leave
buildings (in the block corner) if
it’s special....so we can play with
it.
Leo: We can play with it
tomorrow.
Recycling
I like recycling paper
because they put it in a
big truck and then they
give it back. Then it’s all
recycled.
The paper bin is this one
(points on the card board
box). It’s white
Mia
When you wash
your hands you must
turn the tap on, put
your hands under
the water and
count to 10…then
turn the water off
and take a towel to
dry your hands. This
is so you don’t get
sick.
Valentin.
The Bathrooms
Das ist der Waschraum. The people wash their hands here
and you can look in the mirror too. Jasmine
There are two bathrooms and there are two
toilets. Philipp
‘Die Toiletten’
Nina
Yes…there are four toilets altogether. You can
choose which one you want to go to.
Megan
Activities and areas in the Preschool
Das sind die Perlen. Wir können die zusammen kleben mit einem
Bügeleisen. (These are beads. We can make them stick together with
an iron) William D
We have a beautiful home corner. We
play princesses there and we wear dresses
and then we pack up. Catalina.
Ich nehme die blauen Töpfe damit kann
ich kochen. Luisa
( I take the blue pots and I can cook with
them).
This is a doll from the doll’s
corner. Tomas
The home corner. I play with Lily in there with plates, tea
pots, babies, dress ups, food and the schoolbag. Aureleo
Da muss man die richtigen shapes in
die richtigen Löcher machen. Die
Spiele sucht man sich selber aus und
man muss die wieder aufräumen wenn
man fertig ist. (You choose the games
you want to play and you have to tidy
them up when you are finished with
them). Noah
I’m just playing .These are rubber bands. You just
need a lot of rubber bands and a blue square. I
made a really fast car. I just made it. Ari
I know how to do puzzles. You have to
match them. Toby
Da kann man diese Sachen drauf
legen und das leuchtet und wenn
man da noch eins drauf legt was eine
andere Farbe hat, dann hat das eine
andere Farbe. (You can put things
on there and they shine and if you
put something of another colour on
top of it, it changes colour).Tilman
Das ist eine Höhle wo Amélie und ich spielen..
Man holt die Tücher und macht die fest, dass
die nicht runter rutschen und dann kann keiner
uns sehen. (This is a cave where Amélie and I
play. You get the scarves and attach them so
they do not fall down. Then nobody can see us).
Luisa
Die Bauecke (the block corner)
Luke: I like playing in the block corner because I can build things.
Luke & Leo: We have blocks, animals, some rocks, trains, tracks, roads,
cars, stones, tiny blocks, sticks....
Aureleo: I make things like home corners for cars.
Hugo: I like playing in the block corner because I want to play with my
friends. We build towers.
Lukas: Lego ist eine tolle Sache!
There is also a fire
extinguisher.
Leo: If there’s a fire in
preschool.
Luke: You spray with it
and it goes away.
Leo: You spray the
smoke out from here.
Blake: Fire could make
everything burn.
Die Bastelecke (the craft area)
Blake: I like playing in the making-stuff-area. I make machines and stuff like
that. Like rockets and machines that can do a lot of stuff.
I use lots of bottles and boxes and papers. I need lots of lids. I use sticky
tape, glue...I use everything I can find.
Holly: I like drawing because then you can draw what you like.
Here I am drawing a picture of my bunny
rabbit. I used colours and a white piece of
paper. I looked at the bunny...at the
shapes and then I drew it. Sometimes we
draw things by looking at them.
Orlando
I like drawing because I can draw
something for my mum. I like to draw
princesses and I like to paint....I like to paint
a ball and a bubble. Amélie
I’m getting my dress on. Mia made it. It’s made from a
pillow quilt and one strip of paper and she put it on
with a belt. Imogen
Lukas: Die Arme sind unten und die
Füsse auch. Er wohnt auf Space.
(The arms are down low and the
legs as well. He lives in space).
The Nature area
I like using the magnifying glass. I put it up
to my eye so I can see how big things are.
I like to look at shells and other things....like
insects. Aureleo
Die Leseecke
(the book corner)
Ich mag am
liebsten in die
Leseecke weil ich
dann die Bücher
angucken kann.
(I like to sit in the
book corner
because then I
can look at the
books). Luisa
There are lizards and spiders . I put
them on the ground to see how
big they are. Sometimes I draw
them. Benjamin
Chiara drew the puppets Janna, Kim & Jim . Jim also
visits the playgroup.
Music
Often the children plan their own shows. They
write and hand out invitations , set up chairs
for an audience and then perform.
Noah counted everybody in: A one,...a
two,...a one, two...
Malte continued with: Three, four, five...
Oskar: Das nehmen die Aborigines.
Tilman: Das ist ein Didgeridoo.
Hugo imitates the sound: Uuuoooaaaaoooo
I like drums because they are
loud. I like guitars too because
they can make cool sounds and
cool songs. Lukas
Ich mag die Trommeln weil die
Trommeln so schön sind (I like the
drums because the drums are so
nice). Luisa
It’s so noisy that I can hear it. Mia
The Outdoor Area
The Sandpit
That’s the door to go inside to the preschool. I’m now going to
put in the sandpit. I need to draw a rectangle cause it’s a
rectangular shape. Maybe the new children coming here need
to know that? Now I’m drawing the cubby house with two
steps…it has two steps that you have to go up. Megan
Der neue Sandkasten ist ganz schön. Der Sand ist weich und wir
haben viele Spielzeuge für den Sand. Wir können Kuchen backen
mit dem Sand. Elysha.
( The new sandpit is really beautiful. The sand is soft and we have
lots of toys for the sand. We can bake cakes in the sand).
I like digging in the sand.
Leo
I like to play with sand and
water and to tip the water
out of the bucket. Ari
Then it becomes mud! Leo
Lukas: Ich mag
Wasserspiel. (I like
water play).
Catalina: Look! I make
some goopy! I like
goopy!
I like going in
the sand
because
there are all
these little
cups in there
and you can
fill them up.
MiaFrancesca
Sometimes we
find treasures.
I like swinging on the swinging rug cause I can go up
and down and it makes me feel funny cause it’s moving.
I like to be in there with other children, one other cause
we can only fit two in there at a time. We like to talk and
laugh in there. Orlando
Lucas: The blue is the lake. One fish is bored in the water. It’s
jumping out. The other is jumping as well. The green is grass. I
have to draw some frogs. The small one is a baby frog. The two
down there are big boys. The brown is a path you can walk on it
to watch the frogs. I will draw some rocks onto the path. They
will lead the way to the frogs.
Annika: I wonder how many legs he has.
Richard: It’s a grasshopper.
Philippa: No, a stick insect.
Tilman: Warum ist der so rot? (Why is he redish?).
Philippa: Vielleicht um die Tarnung gut zu machen in den Blättern.
(Perhaps to camouflage well in the leaves).
Max: A CD! It gets into
a rainbow. You hang it
in a tree and the sun
shines on it.
Someone has to
block the other
person from getting
three in a row. Blake
Leo: The dinosaurs are
standing on the rocks. They
pretend that’s the jungle.
Oskar: Da wirft man den
Ball und wenn man alle
umgekippt hat, hat man
gewonnen. (You toss
the ball and when all
(pins) fall over you won).
I like playing outside in the cubby house. I play ice cream shops with Catalina and Imogen . We
get some pots and fill them up with sand and bring them in the cubby house. We put a table in
and also some spoons. Then there is an ice cream shop and some kids come to the window and
we ask if they want any flavours. Tilman is the puppy dog. Mia
Chantalle: Ich mag Pferdchen reiten.
(I like horse back riding.)
Chiara: Das ist mein Pferd. Wir spielen
Meerjungfrau und Fee. (This is my
horse. We are playing mermaid and
fairy).
Orlando: We play ice-creams
in the cubby house. You just
get some sand and mix things
with pots and pans and
everything...even spoons.
Hugo: Even with bowls and
cups and spades. Then we sell
the ice-cream to the people.
We make chocolate,
strawberry, blueberry.
Orlando: We also sell fruit and
vegetables...bananas,
strawberries..apples and
pears.
Hugo: And blackberries
Piratenschiff (Pirate ship)
We like to play pirates. We make treasure maps. I do an ‘x’ and this means that
there is treasure there. Then everybody uses the map to find the treasure. We try to
find money! Benjamin
Snail trail
It’s sparkly and I follow it, the trail because
I pretend there was a snail making a track.
Mia
Gardening
I drew flowers. It’s a rainy day
and there is a bee. Mia
We plant in the garden so that we have new
flowers. Isabelle
Plants need water. Kai
They need for eating, soil.
Benjamin
The gym
This is the way to the gym and from gym back to preschool.
There are lots of steps and you have to hold onto the rail…und
aufpassen…..as you go down so you don’t fall.
Anaїs
I like to play with the parachute...we spin ...we twirl. Holly
I like to play ‘What’s the time Mr Wolf’. I like it when
it’s ‘Dinnertime!’ and everyone runs. Amélie
Die Turnhalle ist so gross! Hier sind die Treppen…wir gehen runter in einen
Raum und wechseln unsere Schuhe. Der Boden ist sehr kalt! Darum
brauchen wir Turnschuhe. (The hall is very big. Here are the steps..we go
down to a room were we change our shoes. The floor is very cold. That’s why
we need sport shoes. )Sascha.
Die Bücherei (the Library)
This is the library. We read books and sit down and wait before borrowing books. Lily
Das ist wo du Bücher ausleihst. Du liest es und wenn du bist fertig, du machst es in
deine Tasche und dann wenn du bist in der Schule wenn wir gehen zu der Bücherei
dann wir geben es zurück.
(This is where we borrow books. You read it and when you are finished you put it in
your bag and then when you are at school and we go to the library, we give it back)
Benjamin
Da sind sehr viele Bücher. (There are lots of
books) Lukas
Chiara and Isabelle drew books. Chiara’s book is called “The princess and the giraffe”. As
you can see, they have many pages.
I’m showing the “(When the) snake bites
the sun book” because I like the story. It is
an Aboriginal story. Catalina.
Circle Time
I can sing a song (Megan began to sing… ‘Ich
bin die kleine Schlange’). The new children also
need to know that they will learn some songs
here. Megan
Im Kreis wir machen das Schmetterling spiel. Tilman
Wir fangen die Schmetterlinge . Wenn du so läufst dann musst du
auch singen....dann fangen wir ein Schmetterling und dann am
Schluss haben wir so viele Schmetterlinge. Amélie
‘I know what we do in circle time..we sing songs like ‘Die
Eisenbahn’ and we play games too.’ William T.
‘Yeh’, said Calvin. ‘Like Schmetterling…you funny thing’.
‘No’, said William. ‘It goes Schmetterling du kleines Ding’.
We have a globe. We find places.
Australia, India, China, ....Germany.
Lucas
That’s where we are. Kai
If you smile you make friends. Blake