What a colourful Africa Day we had here at BestStart Kelvin Grove.
Our kaiako and tamariki taught us a beautiful Zimbabwean folk song, sung in the language "Shona" - "Shiri Yakanaka" which is about a child speaking to a bird, asking where they are going and if they can play together.
The bird replies, “I am going to the sky, to be like the clouds”. The children listened and joined in the actions…flying to the sky. They empathised with the story and talked about friendship, kindness, and how we wish we could fly to the sky too!
We also did a lot of dancing to African music as well as arts and crafts - making "Chuma" necklaces out of paper plates - expressing ourselves through music and art. We love to share and learn about the diverse cultures and celebrations within our own Kelvin Grove whānau.
We value the cultural contributions from our kaiako, tamariki and whānau and put importance on celebrating these as a whole Kelvin Grove whānau. This highlights our priority of individuality "mana" and how this can be recognised through teamwork "kotahitanga" and respect "manaakitanga".
Our centre vision of "at one with child, whānau and community" in action, as we teach and learn through our beautiful culturally inclusive lens!