March is coming and so is Wauchope's annual Lasiandra Festival where everything goes all fun and purple-ly! At TG's we love getting involved in the different festivals in our communities and the children get all excited and have something to look forward to throughout the year. TG's has been taking part in Wauchope's Lasiandra Festival every year without fail, and on 12th March we are all going to dress up for Purple People Day!
The Lasiandra Festival traditionally takes place from the second Saturday in March because that is when the Lasiandra flowers are blooming in all its glory. This is a festival celebrating flowers, nature and growth and it is when plantings take place about the town. At TG's, the children are given responsibilities in taking care of TG's beautiful gardens and natural playspaces. There are also gardens and natural areas in their communities and we are always looking for opportunities for the children to connect, experience and use what they have learnt at TG's and share them in their communities. In fact, one of the objectives of the Wauchope Lasiandra Festival is to encourage the plantings and maintenance of Lasiandras in the community. The Purple People Shopping and Market Day is part of this festival and the community knows that TG's is always a happy presence on this special day! We expect lots of family fun and friends from all over to join in as well! You can imagine all three TG's centres in Wauchope are already busy making plans. We love this anticipatory buzz in the air whenever we begin to prepare for a festival! The children are going to dress up in purple on 12th March, so they have been looking through their wardrobes with the help of mum and dad. A big floppy purple sunhat, happy purple socks, a fun purple boa feather scarf … let your imagination flow and anything goes (as long as it is purple)! Or perhaps the children are also helping out the rest of the big people in the family with their fashion choices! TG's children are going to explore the Lasiandra Tree through language, literature and technology. And little hands love getting busy, messy and mucky at TG's, so we are going to get the children involved in lots of purple-themed art and crafts, as well as sensory and creative experiences. One of their favourite activities in previous years was to prepare purple decorations for a little competition! There is so much we can expand on here and just one single festival opens up so many Playing is Learning for Life opportunities! Our educators go into overdrive whenever we have a special festival as there is so much they can milk to get the children experiencing, exploring and learning! Everything that is learnt and created by the children gives them an empowering sense of ownership and pride. It allows them to use their gifts and feel proud of themselves for playing a part in their community. Going even further, we encourage the children to develop a deeper awareness of their local Wauchope community. They get to know, get curious about, understand and appreciate the presence of all the different people in this beautiful community. It allows the children to broaden and strengthen their understanding about the community in which they live in. Collective thinking naturally falls into place when the children can see the bigger picture of how everyone contributes to making the community a loving, safe, kind and respectful place to grow in. As this is a festival that is for the entire family, TG's is inviting family members into TG's happy spaces throughout the week to join in and share in our fun and games! This is a wonderful opportunity for families to share their gifts and build relationships! The children adore such moments as they get to see another side to their families when they share their occupations and skills. It opens up amazing opportunities for conversation and curiosity! Knowing how much TG's children and educators love fun and play, we can expect quite a bit of spontaneity amongst the planned activities. We keep our eyes and ears open to what comes up and if exploring, playing, fun are the ingredients, we can guarantee lots of learning is happening too! We can't wait to meet different people and get together with families and friends at the Lasiandra Festival! See you all there! Don't forget to come dressed in purple!
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