Weknow that, for our children, being ready for school is an exciting monumentallife event. We also know that it can feel daunting for our parents and whānau.
As welook into the NZ Curriculum for early childhood education ( Te Whāriki), we areaffirmed as educators in the knowledge and approach we share as we transitionour tamariki to school.
Tewhāriki states that while in our care, children will increasingly become morecapable of making connections between people, places and things in their world.Children will take part in caring for their place wether it be ABC Papamoa,home or their new school. It also mentions that they will develop anunderstanding of how things work in their new environment and will build theresilience at ABC to cope with the changes they face moving forward to school.
Wevisit our local school Te Akau Ki weekly and at the same time of day, to createpredictably of the routine and the expectations for our children. Children aremuch more confident when they know what to expect, especially in a newenvironment. We arrive at morning tea time when all of the children areplaying. We are greeted with open arms by our beautiful past students who actas kaitiaki of their new peers. This instantly makes our impending school kidsfeel empowered and safe. When the bell rings, the children spend about half anhour in their new class. Here they practice sitting on the mat, listening fortheir name and following instructions.
Ourchildren absolutely thrive at the school visits and as teachers we are beyondproud of the children who’ve left our ABC Papamoa nest and also warmed with theknowledge that our tuakana teina culture is going to support our new five yearolds to enjoy a smooth transition into their school years.