Hello Halicat!

At the Eureka! Nursery last week there were lots of excited children in our pre-school waiting for a very special visitor: Halicat!

A little background, since the mascot from the Halifax Rugby League Football Club doesn’t stop by Eureka! every day. Following the lead from the children’s interest in colours the nursery’s preschoolers have been choosing a colour a week. We have been encouraging the children to bring in objects from home for their show and tell sessions. Last week was blue, and one of the children, Alex, decided he wanted to bring Halicat, who wears a blue and white striped shirt. Alex’s mum works at the Halifax RLFC, and between her office and our nursery we knew there was no question: how could we not make it happen?

Alex brought many Halifax RL artifacts during the week, leading up to the main event and on the Friday morning it was announced that Halicat was coming. We discussed it with the children to prepare them for the visitor. The children were excited, but also concerned about how Halicat would be able to come into the nursery and be safe. Together we all carried out a risk assessment for Halicat. The questions included:

• How will he know where he’s going?
• Will he get wet in the rain?
• If he is so big, what if he doesn’t fit through the door?

We went through all of their questions and assured them that everything would be just right for Halicat’s visit. Just in case, one of the children, Oliver, decided to make sure that a big umbrella was ready at the door for Sandra, our Head of Nursery, to carry out to Halicat if it started raining.

Although the children knew Halicat would come after their dinners they were continuously checking my watch to see if the little hand was at one and the big hand at six. Sam asked me if they could use key worker group time to make presents for Halicat. I thought this was a fantastic idea because it would help them develop colour awareness and give the children ownership of the project. The children wanted to make blue and white scarves, headbands and bracelets, using their colour awareness effectively as they made links between their artworks and the Halifax rugby team’s colours. Everyone had a different way of making their decorations; some made white and blue stripes with rollers, some did finger printing, hand printing, there were so many excellent techniques to try that before we knew it, their dinner was ready.

The dinner period turned into a conversation about what Halicat might eat. Lucas thought chips and Sam thought cat food. After lunch, we sat down on the carpet. The children had put on their scarves and garments; at this point they were so proud of what they had made, they were no longer presents for Halicat, but something for them to show to him what they had achieved. When the security buzzer rang at the Nursery’s front door, Oliver made sure I carried out the safety checks, and all of the children were jumping with excitement.

Children playing with Halicat

It was funny how quiet and nervous the room become when Halicat walked in, but the shy silence was quickly broken by Lucas, who asked ‘Are you Halicat?’, and Halicat nodded.

The questions came on strong after that, and from Alex’s mum they learned that Halicat lives in Shay Stadium, and comes out when the rugby team are playing. This was a good cue for us to encourage the children to communicate about their experiences and family members. Thea said her dad plays rugby, Oliver said his dad was ‘really strong’ and Sam told us he had been downloading photos of Halicat to his dad’s mobile phone!
Halicat prompted another positive learning experience for Ruby. She asked if she could bring out her cat, a very special toy who goes everywhere with her. Ruby came back with her cat and explained confidently to Halicat and the entire group why her cat is different and the same. She told us about the differences in colour; hers is pink, but they both have black whiskers. She identified the size difference, and that Halicat had on big boots and her cat did not.

After a lot of discussion and cuddles, Halicat gave hi-fives to everyone and they all posed for a photo. He even did a little dance before returning home to Shay Stadium.

Posing for the camera.

 The fun, holistic learning experience is still ongoing. The children have regularly revisited their photos of Halicat, and dress up with the different accessories they made. I often hear interesting conversation too as they play together, ‘put your scarf on, it’s rugby today’. What used to be a Chinese dragon has now been made into a ‘Hali-dragon’ by wrapping blue and white material around its head, on suggestion from the preschoolers.

Some children are now saying they will visit Halicat regularly on match days, which is exciting because it could be a new experience for the whole family. For those who aren’t going their not missing out, as Alex will give a regular update for us all. As he said: ‘I see him on Sundays, he’s my best friend!’

Clare Dean is an Early Years Professional at the Eureka! Nursery