Universal Kids Early Childhood Education Centre

Tongan Language Week at Universal Kids 🇹🇴

This week, our tamariki have enjoyed celebrating the beautiful language and culture of the Kingdom of Tonga through a range of meaningful experiences. Tamariki created their own Tongan flags, explored making tapa using a variety of resources, learned Tongan numbers, and practised simple phrases such as Mālō e lelei (hello), Fēfē hake? (how are you?) and Sai pē, mālō (very well, thank you).

A special mālō ‘aupito to Olivia and her whānau for sharing their culture with us through music and movement, traditional attire, and the delicious and refreshing ‘otai for everyone to enjoy. We loved seeing Olivia dressed in her beautiful kiekie and appreciate the opportunity for our tamariki to learn through authentic cultural experiences.

Thank you to our tamariki and whānau for helping make this celebration so special.

💛 Join us next week as we turn our centre yellow to celebrate Daffodil Day with more fun and learning experiences! 🌼

Universal Kids Celebrates 4 Years!

This week at Universal Kids, we celebrated our 4th birthday. To mark this special occasion, we were excited to welcome Science in a Van, who brought lots of fun, hands-on science experiences for our tamariki.

Tamariki had a wonderful time exploring the science of bubbles, experimenting, making observations and discovering what happens when we try different things. It was lovely to see their excitement, curiosity and enthusiasm throughout the experience.

Our tamariki have also continued to explore both our indoor and outdoor environments when the weather has allowed. They have been busy engaging in activities, asking questions, making predictions and testing their ideas.

From predicting how far their planes would fly to investigating which objects would float or move with the hairdryer and discussing why some objects were too heavy, tamariki have been developing their problem-solving, critical thinking and early scientific thinking skills.

Tino pai, tamariki mā! We love seeing your curiosity and your eagerness to learn through exploration and discovery.

Join us next week as we celebrate Tongan Language Week! 🇹🇴❤️

Today we celebrated 4 years of Universal Kids! 💜

Over the years, our amazing staff have continued to work hard and give their best to our tamariki and whānau. We are so grateful for all the love, care, dedication and commitment our team puts in every day. It really is a team effort, and we are proud of how far we have come.

A big thank you to our management (Fiona, Vikash and Ranjila) for always being there with your support, guidance and encouragement over the years. We truly appreciate everything you do for our centre, our staff, tamariki and whānau.

We also had a special treat today with Science in a Van joining us to help celebrate! The tamariki had so much fun learning about the science behind bubbles and getting to experience some hands-on science. There were lots of smiles, excitement and curiosity!

Thank you to everyone who has been part of the Universal Kids journey over the past 4 years. Here’s to many more years of learning, growing, laughter and making special memories together. 💜

Happy 4th Birthday, Universal Kids!

Cook Islands Language Week at Universal Kids

This week we celebrated Cook Islands Language Week through language, art, music, movement, and cultural experiences.

Tamariki learned simple Cook Islands greetings, explored Cook Islands flags and Tivaevae-inspired patterns, enjoyed flower painting, and created their own Cook Islands-inspired headpieces and necklaces across our different rooms.

We were also lucky to have a special guest Kahlani perform a traditional Cook Islands dance, with tamariki enjoying watching and joining in.

These experiences supported creativity, fine-motor skills, confidence, communication, and an appreciation of culture. For our Cook Islands tamariki, seeing their language and culture celebrated helps strengthen their sense of identity, belonging, and pride in their heritage, while encouraging all tamariki to respect and celebrate diversity.

Ka rawe, tamariki mā! 🌺
Happy Cook Islands Language Week!

Celebrating Matariki at Universal Kids

This week at Universal Kids, we have been preparing to celebrate Matariki by learning about each of the nine stars and what they represent. Tamariki explored the meaning behind each star through a range of hands-on learning experiences, helping them deepen their understanding of the Māori New Year.

Our tamariki have enjoyed singing waiata, dancing, creating beautiful Matariki-inspired artwork, and participating in many other exciting activities throughout the week. It has been wonderful to see their curiosity, enthusiasm, and confidence grow as they embraced this special celebration.

To conclude this week’s activities, a group of tamariki from our preschool room had the wonderful opportunity to attend a vibrant Matariki celebration at Ngā Whare Wātea Marae. They experienced a day rich in Māori culture, traditions, and community, creating meaningful memories while celebrating the Māori New Year together.

The excitement continues next week as we conclude our Matariki celebrations! Tamariki will take part in more fun-filled activities, including a warm and nourishing Soup Day and a Matariki Dress-Up Day. We can’t wait to celebrate together and create even more special memories.

Ka pai, tamariki mā! We are so proud of your learning and the joy you have shown throughout our Matariki celebrations.

Happy Matariki from the Universal Kids whānau.

🇼🇸 Samoan Language Week at Universal Kids Childcare

This week our tamariki have been embracing Samoan Language Week through a range of fun and meaningful experiences. We have been learning new Samoan words and phrases such as Talofa (hello), O ā mai oe? (how are you?), and Manuia, fa’afetai (I’m very well, thank you), while also exploring different animals found in Samoa through our pukapuka and learning resources.

Our tamariki expressed their creativity by making beautiful Samoan-inspired artwork, including the Samoan flag, siapo designs, ula necklaces, and much more. They enjoyed singing, dancing, and moving to Samoan music, celebrating the rich culture and traditions of Samoa.

A special thank you to Keoni’s whānau for sharing some delicious koko laisa with us. Tamariki loved tasting this traditional Samoan treat and learning more about Samoan culture through food.

What a wonderful week of learning, celebrating, and connecting with the Samoan language and culture. 🌺

Fa’afetai tele lava and tino pai tamariki mā!

Group photos from today ❤️

Enjoy the long weekend whanau ☺️

A little recap of our week here at Universal Kids

Our tamariki have had a busy week exploring all areas of our learning environment! From outdoor play enjoying the beautiful weather to sensory experiences with playdough and creative play, there were many opportunities for learning through fun and exploration.

Our tamariki also enjoyed special mat times, quiet quality moments during our transition to school programme, and strengthening friendships along the way. In our babies room, we were so excited to welcome many new friends and whānau into our Universal Kids family

Tino pai tō mahi tamariki mā! Thank you to all our whānau for another wonderful week full of learning, laughter, and aroha

Today at Universal Kids we celebrated Pink Shirt Day 💗

Throughout the week our tamariki explored stories and discussions around kindness, friendship, inclusion, and caring for others. Together we learnt the importance of using kind words, showing empathy, and creating a safe environment where everyone feels valued and accepted.

To celebrate, tamariki designed their own pink shirts for display and came dressed in pink to stand together against bullying and spread kindness throughout our centre.

Alongside our celebrations, tamariki also engaged in day-to-day outdoor play and exploration, noticing the changing seasons and weather around them. Through nature play and conversations outdoors, children were encouraged to observe their environment, share their thoughts, and make connections to the world around them.

A beautiful day filled with creativity, learning, laughter, exploration, and aroha 🌸