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A journey of wānanga
Our Home of the Brave explorers have been on a journey of wānanga, and exploration within their own back yard! Our tamariki are empowered to be Kaitiaki of the whenua and all that dwells, and this became the catalyst for our current focus; Bugs and Nature.
As we have been decorating and renovating our Community Garden and playground, our tamariki began finding lot's of Ngata (Snails) and Slugs (Putoko). With curious minds, and hearts full of manaaki, the Home of the Brave whānau began to rescue and care for these beloved taonga of the land. Ensuring they were well fed, safe from harm, and the heat of te Rā. Such brave explorers, and magnificent Kaitiaki!
Noticing the interactions with nature and curiosity of our young explorers, combined with our centre wide commitment to sustainability, we set out on creating a project - lead by our tamariki, facilitated by Kaiwhakaako (teachers), to discover all there is to know about the bugs in our backyard.
Noticing the different colourations and patterns of the Ngata, we used collage to replicate, and create our own creatures. What colours do you see? How many can you point out? Do you see any patterns?
We also created more of our own bugs using glue guns, sticks, pipe-cleaners, experimenting with our own creativity and ideas. Some friends created bugs with two heads, wings, and 5 legs! We love celebrating and seeing the incredible ideas and thought processes of our tamariki come to life!
Recognising this emerging project, our Home of the Brave Kaiwhakaako have been providing rich, beautiful experiences to help nurture the learning and interests of our tamariki. In order to extend this further, the teachers and tamariki came together to design, and create a science and nature area! A perfect space to explore the wonders of the working world thay we live in! We think it looks pretty awesome, and we are very proud!
As we continue along our journey of mōhiotanga, following the interests of our children we will develop and grow this area to suit their needs, their questions and curiosities.
Project learning is a wonderful way in which we can learn and explore together, we can share ideas, research and collaboratively make sense of the world around us.