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Sibling day at BestStart Epsom
Sibling Day at BestStart Epsom At BestStart Epsom, Manaakitanga is expressed through fostering tuakana-teina relationships between older and younger children, an aspect of Maori pedagogy.
In our Pohutukawa room, we have 2- to 5-year-old children together. Older children take the responsibility of supporting their younger peers during play and care moments like sleep time.
To reinforce this practice to s deeper level, we organised ‘Siblings Day’ and invited older siblings to spend time with their younger brother/sister at their childcare centre. We started our day with yummy morning tea. Our older siblings took the initiative to help the little ones by putting bibs on and feeding them. After morning tea, we played a ball game called "Piggie in the Middle".
The tamariki (children) enjoyed running around on the deck and practicing their ball skills (throwing, catching, and kicking). Then we had a drawing activity under the beautiful sunshine, and that's when our older siblings drew some beautiful pictures for their younger brother/sister. Then as the tamariki slowly moved themselves inside, we built a giant train track together with the help of our older siblings. We also danced and sang together.
After the older siblings left, the little brothers and sister made a card for them as a surprise and a humble ‘Thank You’ gesture. We are sure that our big brothers and sisters all liked it very much. A big thanks to all the big sisters and brothers who came and made this event very special, magical, and meaningful. We had great fun together and look forward to our next "Sibling Day".