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Explorers as kaitiaki of their environment

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We are fortunate at BestStart Oraha Road to be surrounded by tall pine trees where a plethora of bugs and insects make their home. We are chorused every day by kihikihi (cicada), and the tamariki often stop and listen, taking a moment to appreciate the natural environment that they are at the centre of. 

One morning as the Explorers tamariki (1-2-year-olds) head outside for some vitamin D, a tamaiti found a lone kihikihi. She stopped and pointed to it buzzing on the ground as the others rushed past her in a bid to be the first on the bikes. She bent down to get a closer look before running inside, emerging soon after with a magnifying glass. She held it close to her face, knowing full well how this tool worked! Intrigued, a small group of tamariki followed her out, oohing and aahing when they saw the kihikihi. 

The tamariki took it in turns to carefully try and pick the kihikihi up, but it kept scuttling away from them, unable to fly. They looked at me, puzzled, so I suggested we try to guide the kihikihi onto a leaf so we could transport it to safety. They ran off and found some lovely big leaves that had dropped from the passionfruit vine, and carefully guided the kihikihi onto a leaf before taking it inside. After inspecting it closely, one of the tamaiti went off to our nature area and found a poster of various bugs. She lay down on the carpet with the poster, other tamariki coming to join her, and pointed to the bugs. The tamariki talked animatedly amongst themselves until they found the kihikihi. They pointed excitedly at the image on the poster, laughing and giggling. I was amazed by their ability to form a connection between the living and the inanimate. 

In our under 2’s space, we provide tamariki with opportunities that support them in understanding the important role they play in taking care of their world. We are so lucky to have bugs visiting us regularly as this gives them real life experiences in being kaitiaki, or guardians, of their environment.