LATEST STORIES
Summer memories
We have had some beautiful summer days and have not wasted any of those days here in the Harakeke room.
Over the summer, the Tamariki enjoyed playing in the water and were keen to try new things. Our team created a ‘water world plan’ that extended tamariki interests and introduced new experiences.
Lots of our experiences were spent playing in the water through learning basic math and sciences concepts as well as the associated language, such as Big, half, empty, sink, and float.
On hot days, we turned on the sprinklers for everyone to enjoy. Sometimes the kaiako seem to be enjoying themselves way too much.
One of our experiences was creating our own garden. We made our own planter box out of an old pallet, filled it with soil then planted strawberries and Marigold together. The challenge was keeping them planted and alive. We modelled and demonstrated care and responsibility while discussing why it is important to look after our plants.
Before long, the tamariki were the ones prompting the kaiako to water the plants as soon as we ventured outside, which showed us that they were now caring and responsible for our plants. We enjoyed quite a few strawberries, and our plants are still growing new ones.
Our tamariki gain a keen interest in eating vegetables and fruit if they help with growing them. It encourages healthy eating habits for children from a noticeably early age. Growing flowers or vegetables from baby plants require care and attention.
It is a fantastic opportunity for the tamariki to learn to take responsibility for looking after the plants and waiting patiently for them to grow. Our tamariki have done a wonderful job! It has been an amazing summer with the Harakeke family.