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Kaupapa Moana - Sea Week 2024
This week we have dived into the deep blue sea with snorkels and goggles to learn about the animals, creatures, and environment. Did you know that the sea makes up 93% of Aotearoa New Zealand’s territory AND 71% of our whole planet? Incredible!
Tamariki in Preschool were encouraged to research and investigate their questions with the support of sea stories, factual books, and encyclopedias. We even watched a few informative short videos online. They were so excited one day to venture outside to play with the sea creatures in glistening blue water at the troughs … but … oh no, the water wasn’t what they had expected at all! Instead, the troughs were filled with trash. Plastic bags, straws, old nets, plastic bottles, and other bits of single-use rubbish filled the troughs.
The sea animals were tangled, squashed, and in peril. After the initial shock and discussion about what we could do to help the creatures, tamariki set to work cleaning up the water. All of the rubbish went into the bin, and stuff that could be recycled was put in the correct bins. Thankfully, our sea animals were soon swimming in lush blue water once more. This was so eye-opening for our tamariki, and we’ve had many more conversations about the importance of looking after our oceans (and land environment) since.
The exploration strand of Te Whaariki explores the way in which tamariki explore and investigate the world around them and learn how to make sense of working theories. At BestStart Puketaha Road, tamariki are supported to develop their curiosity by investigating different aspects of their world by taking part in purposeful and meaningful learning experiences.