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Language, Culture and Identity
At Beststart Kenderdine we continued provide support our tamariki in their respective 4 bubbles (Level 3 Lockdown) and children who are doing home@learning with exciting and meaningful experiences to understand our tamariki's identity, language and culture. According to Te Whariki the arts are a key contributor to the unique bicultural and multicultural character of Aotearoa New Zealand. While exploring cultural history, values, ideas, and stories our tamariki gain their skills to be performers, artists and creators. It is through the arts that we get much of our cultural knowledge (of our own and others).
During the month of October, we celebrated many different cultural language weeks. These were Tuvaluan language week, Fijian language week, Niuean language week, and Hindi language week. Children had real experiences to explore the arts and crafts through weaving paper which developed their eye hand coordination, explored patterns and enhanced their creativity skills. Children were also able to be resourceful by using recycle materials and natural resources to make flower headbands and do collage for tapa prints. While learning about different country, children identified and painted flags using different colours. Children were able to develop strong hand coordination while holding the brush and moving it around the paper. Dress up day with music and movement ended each week as children explored new ways to move their body alongside the cultural songs. At the end of the week children were able to identify and share theior learning about how to count in different languages, explain the objects that is originated from the country such as the importance of coconut and what it is used for. All these contributed to children’s existing knowledge about the environment, people, and things within the early childhood learning contexts. It also affirms the cultural identity of all children and helps in gaining a positive awareness of their own and other cultures.
The highlights of October was celebrating Halloween which boosted our children’s curiosity and creativity. It gave them opportunities to show creativity through making lanterns, spiders, face masks and other spooky art and craft accessories.