LATEST STORIES
Exploring science and nature
At BestStart Richmond Kindy we believe it is important for children to have a variety of opportunities to learn outside. Our learning focus at present is science and nature.
The sun has started to shine again, and we have been making the most of it. Kaiako (teachers) have been supporting tamariki (children) to learn in our own garden. They have been growing their own grass pots, they germinated snap pea seeds and they also planted kumara. Children have been caring for them; giving each plant what it needs to blossom and grow and watching the magic of nature take place.
During this process kaiako have been working alongside tamariki to support them to express themselves and share what they know and what they are learning through oral language. Our children have been expressing how "caterpillars eat so much food to be a butterfly", "my mums tummy grows when the baby grows", and "a scorpion has 8 legs."
Having this freedom to explore with their senses and explore nature helps them develop reasoning and problem solving skills. One child expressed "bees eat flowers and make honey." Exploring this new learning focus is helping our tamariki make sense of their world and make connections with nature and the living world.
Summer is on our doorstep and we are looking forward to spending as much time as we can exploring nature outside in the sunshine, caring for our gardens and watching them flourish.