The Tui Room at BestStart Meadowbank is alive with learning as tamariki move along our Hungry Caterpillar Literacy Wall, celebrating each new milestone. This visual journey fosters pride, sparks conversations with whānau, and builds a lasting love for literacy.
At BestStart Meadowbank, in the Tui Room, we’ve been delighted to see our tamariki thriving in their emergent literacy journey — particularly through our Hungry Caterpillar Literacy Wall. Inspired by the beloved story, this display allows tamariki to visually track their progress as their photos “crawl” up the caterpillar.
Each new literacy milestone — like writing their name, recognising letters, or drawing — is celebrated by moving their picture forward. This simple but powerful display has become a source of pride and motivation for our older tamariki, especially those approaching school age. They love checking in to see where their photo sits and talking about what they’ve learned.
It also opens conversations with whānau, who are increasingly interested in their children’s developing skills. Our kaiako have been nurturing this interest through our Set for School programme, which includes writing books, book bags, and literacy-rich group times.
From storytelling and singing to drawing, reading, and name writing, children are showing growing confidence and curiosity in how language works. It’s been heartening to witness the joy tamariki find in communicating, storytelling, and making meaning through symbols and sounds.
We look forward to continuing this journey and growing a love for literacy in every child.