LATEST STORIES
Settling back into centre life
In the Kahurangi room (Under 2 room), we have been busy since we have been back from lockdown, settling the tamariki back into the centre life. We have had water play and calming activities, such as manipulative play which teaches concentration and perseverance and sensory experiences with gloop, playdough and cloud dough which is essential for fine motor skills.
Summer fun is our focus, we have had a lot of water play which encourages hand and eye co-ordination with objects and sand to manipulate it in to different shapes and by adding water it gives it a different texture. This starts the love of science problem solving and the possibilities are endless.
In the Pounamu room (2-3 year old room), we have welcomed majority of the tamariki back after their holidays and new toddlers starting Nau mai, Haere mai all. Over the past few weeks we have made the most of the beautiful summer weather with loads of water play! On January the 12th the toddlers had an absolute blast for our Wet 'n Wild day, where they splashed around in their togs and slid down the water slide. The smiles on their faces were priceless! We have been working on settling the tamariki back by encouraging group play with learning experiences, such as block building to enhance .......and they can interact, share ideas and work together. They have also enjoyed spontaneous freedom of expression through art, especially painting and drawing with the window markers. We look forward to what learning and growth in the next few months will bring us here in the pounamu room.
In the Kawakawa room (3-5 year olds) this month we have been focusing on the wellbeing of our tamariki by welcoming them back into their safe place . This month has been very child centred and the focus was on all the tamariki's interests. These interests involved : exploring the use of colours by creating pictures of their choice , this activity encouraged colour recognition and hand eye coordination . We even had a pamper day , were the boys as well as the girls got to role play getting teacher Chante ready for a princess ball by getting involved and working alongside each other to get her hair and makeup ready . The tamariki also enjoyed exploring water play as well as messy play during the past hot days , this was a great way to stay cool while the heat increased . Water play involved using different measuring tools as well as items , the tamariki enjoyed being creative with the water and even created their own water theme park which was great to see.
Other great activities that took place this month has been sandpit fun , this involved a lot of group learning and socializing which was great to see as we slowly were getting back to normal again .
This month we have been working on the tamariki's self-help skills by encouraging them to clean up after themselves by washing their bowls once they have finished , push or pack away their chairs when they have eaten , making sure to put their shoes on the shoe rack when they aren't wearing them and to help their teachers with morning and afternoon teas .