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An Anzac Excursion
During the month of April, BestStart Ngatai Road focused on celebrating our ANZAC Heroes. At mat times we read a story called “Dawn Parade”, to help our tamariki gain an understanding of why and how we celebrate ANZAC Day in New Zealand. Our tamariki were interested in many aspects of the book, especially the war medals and memorial. We made our own war medals, using vintage ribbon and decorated stars, then pinned them to our shirts. While the children made the medals, we talked about the brave soldiers and how we would remember them.
With a growing interest in war memorials and ANZAC Day, we planned a special trip to our local war memorial; Memorial Park Tauranga. The day before the excursion, the children made ANZAC biscuits for afternoon tea and we saved some for the trip the next day.
Our excursion to Memorial Park was a huge excitement for our tamariki, as they were eager to see the war memorial. It was a beautiful crisp and sunny morning, perfect for a trip. Before we left the Centre, the children talked about their memories of Memorial Park, including the water fountain and rocket slide, however, it appeared that none of them had seen the war memorial.
When we arrived at the war memorial, the tamariki were amazed with all the flowers and poppies laying below. Then, we gathered together and read the book “Dawn Parade”, wearing the poppies and medals we had made. During the story, we listened to the Last Post and the National Anthem of New Zealand. At the end of the story, the children took off their poppies and placed them under the war memorial, just as the boy in the book. This was a special moment for the teachers and staff, as we experienced the significant learning taking place for our tamariki.
We ended our visit to Memorial Park with our wonderful Admin running around and playing tag with the children. The excursion was a huge success and enriched our children’s learning around ANZAC Day. From this experience, our tamariki gained an understanding of what it means to be a New Zealander and celebrate ANZAC Day. Furthermore, they are developing citizenship skills, which will benefit them as they transition to school. This learning reflects what is most important to us at Ngatai Road, nurturing our children’s interests and allowing them to blossom in their learning through rich and engaging learning experiences.