A Word from Raylene

Hi. My name is Raylene. I am a keyworker and Team Leader of the preschool program at Jumbunna. I can be found in the Platypus room, where our children who are transitioning to school are placed.

I feel really pleased and proud of the children in the room when they are able to play collaboratively, or work together on an activity.

One such activity took place when a child came up with an idea to build a sandcastle. He suggested to the other children to build a sandcastle in the sand pit. The children followed his lead and began digging the sand, forming a mound.

The group decided the sandcastle was not big enough for everyone to play on so it became bigger and was called ‘Dinosaur Island’. The children all joined in digging ‘Dinosaur Island’.

Another child suggested it should have a moat around the island. Some of the children were given the task of digging the moat, others collecting buckets of water to fill the moat. The children all enthusiastically started their assigned tasks.

One of the children then decided the island needed to be bigger, so all of the class members could join in with the play. It was then renamed ‘Dinosaur Land’.

The children all had such an enjoyable time digging and collecting water, evaluating the play and then redesigning. They were all able to do this with very little direction from the educators.

These are the moments that make teaching so rewarding. It is an absolute delight and privilege to work with children.