Ficino Montessori Preschool

This week, our preschool children had a fantastic bike training session! We began by exploring the idea of balance — what it means and why it is so important when riding a bike. To make this concept hands-on, we introduced tamariki a gyroscope - made from a bicycle wheel. The children were fascinated to see how, once spinning, the wheel doesn’t easily tip over. This scientific principle, called gyroscopic precession, helps explain why bikes stay upright when moving.

Learning about balance isn’t just about riding bikes — it’s a key foundation for children's overall growth and development. Balance supports:

Physical development: strengthening core muscles, coordination, and body awareness.

Cognitive development: understanding cause and effect, experimenting, and problem-solving through movement.

Confidence and independence: mastering balance skills helps children feel capable and ready to take on new challenges, both on and off the bike.

Social skills: by taking turns in races, encouraging each other, and celebrating successes together.

After our science moment, the children put their new understanding into action with short, exciting races. These gave everyone the chance to practice their balance, build speed, and experience the joy of moving with control.

Those children who were ready had the opportunity to try a pedal bike for the very first time — a big milestone for any young rider!

The session was a wonderful blend of learning, experimenting, and riding. Beyond the smiles and laughter, the children were also strengthening life skills that will support their journey.

This week, we gave our playground a fresh new look — and an extra layer of safety! We’ve replaced the artificial turf and added a 35mm shockpad underneath to create a softer, safer surface for our children to play on. 🛝💚

We’ve also extended the outdoor soft area, giving our students more room to explore, move, and enjoy their time outside. It’s all part of our commitment to providing a safe, supportive, and fun learning environment!

Mānawatia a Matariki! This week the children spent time doing traditional Matariki activities with students from Ficino School.

Today, we received a big delivery from MTA filled with new educational resources for water play, sand play, and classroom learning. The highlight? Our brand-new Mud Kitchen has finally arrived—and everyone, teachers included, is absolutely thrilled!

Happy New Year or 新年快乐!
What a beautiful day full of smiles, joy and cooperation. Today, we are celebrating Lunar New Year, and tamariki had a wonderful time listening to a music, making traditional crafts, practicing calligraphy and making dumplings together. We are grateful to all our parents and whanau who came to support us today and make this day so special. ❤️🧧

Yesterday afternoon our preschoolers embarked on an adventure to Mount Eden. Accompanied by their teachers, the children explored nature, fostering a connection to the environment. Outings like this not only enrich cognitive and physical development of tamariki but also create lasting memories, so the teaching team will continue exploring the Mt. Eden area and will plan a few big adventures as well.

Wow! Our preschoolers recently got to experience a dream morning with some educators from the museum where they explored dinosaurs! The educators explained how fossils form and how dinosaur remains were found.

The preschoolers got plenty of hands-on experiences as they examined dinosaur bone specimens and learnt more on identifying different kinds of dinosaurs. It was lovely to see their interest and engagement with the educators and their friends.

The preschool kindly invited our new entrant class to join the fun.

Not only do cooking activities bring joy to the preschoolers they also provide many educational values. The children learn life skills, social skills, science and math.

Most enjoyable is that it gives them a sensory experience where they can smell, touch and taste.