During the recent months as a community, we have had to face many changes, times of uncertainty and for many adapt, as we rediscover our new normal. Although it has been an adjustment, as a centre we have been extremely thankful to be able to stay connected and communicate with all our tamariki, parents and whanau through our Story Park, Best Start @home platform.

For us at BestStart Oraha during level four we have taken this time to truly reflect and embrace the importance of whanau and community, to create a culture of kotahitanga(unity) where we are working alongside one another as a community of learners. Drawing on the Māori whakatauki “Waiho i te toipoto, kaua i te toiroa” Let us keep close together, not wide apart, reiterating the importance of relationships and whanaungatanga.

During level four, we focused on ensuring that our tamariki, parents and whanau felt supported and took this as an opportunity to foster that connection between home and the centre. Through Story Park, setting up daily conversations and weekly zoom mat times, where our children were able to reconnect with their fellow peers. Share their experiences at home and engage in waiata, story times and share their voices. This platform also gave us the opportunity to further support our parents and whanau with learning through play at home. Through sharing ideas, learning experiences, provocations, and activities that they were then able to do with their tamariki. Our intention was to create a space where our parents alongside Kaiako(teachers) could work collaboratively, seek support, sharing our experiences, milestones, concerns, and growing interests during these changing times. To ensure a smooth transition back into the centre.

As we have moved into level three, we have had the pleasure of welcoming back a few of our tamariki and whanau. Who have had such a wonderfully smooth transition back into the centre, thanks to our Best-Start@ home programme and the continued support of our parents and whānau.

Since returning although it has taken a few of our tamariki time to settle back into the teaching and learning environment with all these changes, most of our children have settled back in extremely well. Welcoming each other with smiling faces, laughter, and such enthusiasm. During this period our tamariki have begun to reconnect with their Kaiako and peers, sharing their milestones, growth, and experiences from home with their whanau. Restabilising their relationships and making sense of the current changes we are all facing as a country and community. As a result, settling in, relationships and working with and alongside others has been a strong area of focus for us as a centre as we work together to support and uplift our community. As through their encounters and exploration our tamariki are restablishing a sense of belonging, learning to share the space, their thoughts, and ideas. Acknowledge the feelings and needs of others and enjoy the company of those around them. Creating an environment where collaboration, communication and manaakitanga are central.

For our youngest tamariki in the Explorer and Discover’s room fostering those relationships to ensure they are responsive, and reciprocal has been so important. As we have taken this time to really reconnect with our children alongside their whanau. Getting to know their new routines, the milestones they have achieved and tremendous growth within their big personalities and abilities. During this time, we have also had the pleasure of welcoming our newest Kaiako Jaidin into the room and our tamariki have greeted her with such warm smiles and aroha. To support our tamariki and whanau who are still at home Ashley and Alice have continued to share stories such as the dingle dangle scarecrow on story park, which has received such a positive response from our children and their parents.

Since returning we have aspired to create an environment that is reflective of our children, their needs, and interests. By setting up intentional experiences that produce wonder and that are thought provoking for them. Ashley has started this by setting up experiences with black paper, mirrors, and white pencils and our tamariki have really begun to actively engage and explore. Children such as Koa really enjoyed this, as it gave them the opportunity to interpret what they saw. Through expressing themselves, their ideas and understanding through the language of art. To extend their learning and incorporate papatuanuku we have utilised our outdoor environment and our large window in the room, which has brought about such rich discussions around what our tamariki can see in the environment. As a result, we have been adding colours, counting, specific car types, this learning has also been extended into their play. The children will load up the trolleys, cars, trailers with sticks, pinecones, leaves they find in the environment outside and move around the centre with these. The children have also been transferring the natural resources throughout the outside environment moving back and forth also saying “beep” when going backwards. They have been using the heuristic play to mix, create, tip, and pour the natural resources, the children have been filling up with muffin trays and pretending to “eat” what they have made.

For our toddlers in the Adventurers room who have welcomed some of the pre-schoolers into their bubble, this has been a time for them to work alongside one another. As our older tamariki have truly displayed the concept of tuakana teina guiding and supporting the younger children with such kindness and patience. For the Adventurers this has been a time filled with such expression and creativity as our children begin to make sense of their world through the language or art, role play and dramatic play. As they have begun to gravitate towards dramatic play involving animals. To support their current interest, we have provided various set-ups including dinosaurs, wild animals, and sea creatures. Dramatic play has enabled our tamariki to play alongside and co- operatively with their peers. We noticed they have enjoyed dramatizing various scenes, like picnics, and workmen visiting a home. We have also enjoyed active exploration outdoors bike racing, rope climbing, bubble catching and ribbon dancing.

For our pre-schooler in the Researcher’s and Investigator rooms, these past months have been filled with such growth and natural curiosity. As our tamariki have naturally begun to make sense of the changing world around them. One way in which they have done this is through expressing themselves and their ideas through the hundred languages (multiple ways of seeing and multiple ways of being). Through art, dramatic play, music and movement and roleplay. Which has led us to focus on “How do we interpret our understanding of the world around us through the hundred languages”.

There have been many discussions around what is currently happening in our world which has also led to a growing interest in developing an understanding of the natural environment alongside living creatures. They have begun to explore the outdoor environment taking a particular interest in the living world as they begin to make meaning through their exploration and conversations with others. Through our investigation as a class, we have begun to explore the biology of other living creatures and plants, taking a closer look at the life cycles. Which has naturally led to discussions around their physical characteristics, their diets, similarities, and differences and intern their habitat. Which has led us to focus on “developing an understanding of our living world”.

Through intentional learning experiences and active exploration, our tamariki have begun to think critically, explore and confirm their ideas about the physical environment we live in through investigation and exploration. To support their growing interest in the living world as Kaiako we have utilized the environment as the third teacher, setting up provocations and experiences that foster and extend their current working theories. While provoking their natural curiosity and wonder. We are really looking forward to watching these relationships and interests grow as they continue to explore and discover, taking ownership of their learning through their encounters.

At Best-Start Oraha as a community of learners, we will continue to aspire to create an environment of empowerment, partnership and participation and look forward to growing as a community of learners.

‘Mā mua ka kite a muri, mā muri ka ora a mua ‘-Those who lead give sight to those who follow, those who follow give life to those who lead