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Celebrations and special events at BestStart Welcome Bay
At BestStart Welcome Bay we have been celebrating a number of special events and occasions.
Over the month of August we have had quite a few children turn 5 and move off to Primary School and so we have held Graduation ceremonies. We hold a special mat time ceremony and invite the families to join us. We revisit the children’s portfolios and all the awesome milestones, learning experiences, and friendships they have experienced on their learning journey here at BestStart
Recently we have amended our celebrations procedure and because we are a GOLD healthy heart centre we have now decided to eliminate birthday cakes. As a replacement we have developed a new birthday ritual where our children get to celebrate their birthday throughout the day through a special mat time with a birthday chair, making their own birthday hat and they have the very special birthday tea set. They choose one special friend to join them for fruit tea and kai. This has been a huge hit for our tamariki!!
Over the month of September we held our very first Father’s Day breakfast. Our Dad's and Grandad's were very impressed with their delicious bacon and egg McMuffins, hotcakes and coffee station. The tamariki made their Dads special gifts, alongside a beautiful video that was put together for our Dads to enjoy. Our Teachers all pulled together to make this such an awesome event for our Dads, it was such a marvellous occasion… Our Mums may have been a little jealous!
Crossing the midline – This month we have had a special visitor join us from the Tauranga council. Tony is an interactive musical performer who came into the centre and taught the children about crossing the midline. Benefits of crossing the midline are:
- Helps the left and right hemispheres of the brain to communicate
- Helps to develop eye muscles
- Helps to develop core muscles
- Helps to co ordinate movement and body control
This month we have also celebrated Maori language week. The Tamariki have been absorbed in all sorts of curricular activities including;
- Maori legends of the local community
- Koru designs
- Kowhaiwhai pattern painting
- Taonga – salt dough
- Mahi whakaro – Soap Carving
- Exploring traditional Maori dress such as Piupiu and Korowai
- Word/Phrase of the day
And an Aotearoa dress up day to finish off the week!