Our Family Early Learning

We have had an amazing week celebrating Diwali at preschool! We have been celebrating by creating rangoli in a variety of ways (salt painting, collage and chalk), painting diya, baking cookies with our whānau, (paint) henna, decorating our beautiful centre full of colour, exploring pukapuka/books and music! We have also been loving sharing with our whānau about how they celebrate Diwali at home! 💜

Our Family Kaiako Mā 💜
Ann, Bex, Lindsey, Koral, Kylene, Debby, Morgan, Angela, Sehee, & Maricel 💜

This morning at 9.30am, we participated in Shake Out! Shake Out is New Zealand's annual national earthquake drill, where we drop, cover and hold to keep ourselves safe in an earthquake! Earlier this week, we reminded ourselves how to be Turtle Safe, rewatching the video, having our very own practice, and even making our own turtles! 💜

We've had an amazing week at preschool, celebrating Chuseok and Moon Festival! We kicked off the week by inviting our families to help us make Yachaejeon (Vegetable Pancakes) and Mooncakes. We have been exploring these important events through art experiences, such as making Jade Rabbit Lanterns, Shànzǐ, and our wishing tree. We have enjoyed lots of delicious kai, games like Tuho, Sabangchigi, learning new songs and dances, and so much more! 💜

💜 Meet Maricel, Cook / Teacher Aide 🇵🇭💜

Maricel has recently joined us here at Our Family, after moving in 2023 from the Philippines! She and her beautiful whānau are loving exploring the breathtaking scenery and beauty that New Zealand has to offer! We think of Maricel like our centre Mum, her role is integral to our days running smoothly here! She spends her days creating delicious kai for our tamariki, making sure our environment is safe and hygienic for us to explore in and supports our teaching team! She is so excited about to opportunity of working with our kaiako and tamariki! 💜

Outside of preschool, Maricel loves cooking and baking, which makes her role here a perfect fit! She enjoys spending time with her family and friends, travelling and the beach! 💜

We had a fantastic evening last week, welcoming Jenny Hale from Parenting Place to Our Family to come and share her amazing presentation all about Raising Resilient Children! Many of our whānau and some amazing members from the Sunnynook community came and joined us, listening to Jenny! 💜

We loved listening to her advice, wisdom and knowledge about supporting our tamariki, healthy boundaries, navigating emotions, looking after ourselves and having fun with our tamariki! These events are amazing to support our families and tamariki, while also strengthening our practices as teachers and as a centre! 💜

If you want to learn more about Jenny and the Parenting Place, click this link and have a look at all of the support they offer! You can book 1:1 sessions, engage in online courses and more! https://parentingplace.nz/ 💜

💜 Meet Ann, Senior Teacher 🇵🇭💜

Ann has been a part of Our Family since 2021 and is one of our amazing senior teachers! Ann is originally from the Philippines, and moved to Auckland in 2016! She has been teaching since 2001, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology and Business Management, and in New Zealand has a Post Graduate Diploma in Early Childhood Teaching. This year, Ann has embarked on a new challenge and is currently studying Early Intervention teaching! Ann is deeply committed to supporting each child’s unique strengths, culture, and their whānau’s aspirations in order to uplift their mana and potential. She is truly passionate about advocating for diversity, equity, and inclusion in ECE, and celebrates the richness that each individual brings. Her positive energy, warmth, and empathetic nature help both tamariki and whānau feel comfortable and build genuine connections and strong relationships with her. 💜

Ann’s favourite activities at preschool are art and literacy. She loves engaging with our tamariki to explore the different forms of art - including music, dance, open-ended/process art, and dramatic play- encouraging them to freely express themselves while developing their creativity, perseverance, problem-solving skills, and resilience. She also loves reading books to and with them, sparking their curiosity and imagination, engaging in conversations with them, modelling rich vocabulary, and particularly enjoys singing Willoughby Wallaby Woo because our tamariki giggle each time they hear their names sung in a fun, playful and rhyming way :) 💜

Outside of preschool, Ann loves travelling, exploring new places, as well as relaxing in nature. She is a yoga and pilates enthusiast; and is an avid runner who enjoys racing marathons. She loves trying different cuisines with her partner and spending time with her three gorgeous cats! 💜

💜 Meet Koral, Provisional Teacher 🇳🇿💜

Koral has been here at Our Family since 2022, when she did a practicum with us here and hasn’t left! Soon after, she graduated with her Bachelor of Teaching and is now one of our amazing provisional teachers! She was born and raised right here in Aotearoa and has she has two foster siblings and three older brothers. Koral has always been passionate about working with tamariki, as we have a unique opportunity to support them as they grow into confident, capable learners. She deeply values the respectful bonds we create and strives to offer tamariki experiences in a nurturing environment where they feel comfortable exploring! 💜

Koral’s favourite activity at preschool is carpentry. She loves working closely with ngā tamariki to bring their vision to life, supporting and guiding them to develop their confidence! She also loves exploring with messy play and art experiences! 💜

Outside of preschool, Koral loves all things cosy, reading, knitting, playing games and watching movies! She is a self-taught nail tech, is a passionate plant mum, enjoys listening to music and spending time with her whānau and friends! 💜

💜 Meet Sehee, Provisional Teacher 🇰🇷💜

Sehee has recently joined Our Family Early Learning. Since completing her placement with us this year, she has now joined our team. She will graduate with her Bachelor of Teaching very soon and will be another of our amazing provisional teachers! Sehee was born in Seoul, South Korea and moved here when she was 14. Sehee feels lucky to spend her days learning, laughing and growing alongside tamariki. She creates a warm, respectful environment where children feel valued and confident to explore through play 💜

Sehee’s favourite activities at preschool are exploring art experiences, using a variety of tools and methods to express creativity. She also enjoys engaging in construction activities with our tamariki, challenging their ideas, supporting their thoughts having lots of laughs when they tumble down and try again 💜

Outside of preschool, Sehee loves spending time with her whānau and friends, enjoying her daily coffee at a cafe and eating delicious kai. She enjoys travelling, music and playing games! 💜

💜 Meet Morgan, Team Mentor / Senior Teacher 🇳🇿💜

Morgan has been at Our Family since 2016, has a Bachelor of Teaching and is our team mentor and one of our amazing senior teachers! Morgan was born and raised right here in Aotearoa and has three beautiful children with her husband! Morgan treasures the relationships she has formed over her years with our kaiako mā, tamariki and their whānau, which have shaped her into the teacher she is today! She supports tamariki to develop a love for learning, curiosity and become strong in their sense of identity 💜

Morgan’s favourite activity at preschool is messy play, she loves getting amongst it and exploring with ngā tamariki! She also loves art and crafts, working with our children to create something amazing, while developing their skills! 💜

Outside of preschool, Morgan loves hiking, gardening and camping. She loves reading, art, listening to music and spending time with her whānau! Morgan isn’t kidding when she says she loves her art and has used her talents many times to create some beautiful resources for our centre, and we are so grateful! 💜

💜 Meet Bex, Provisional Teacher 🇳🇿💜

Bex is another kaiako who is practically a part of the furniture! Our Family has a very special place in Bex's heart as she has been involved in the centre since childhood, with being Debby's daughter it really is her second home. Bex has been relieving here casually since 2018 and in 2022 started full time and she has since completed her Post-Graduate Diploma degree, she also has a Bachelor of Business. Bex is now one of our amazing provisional teachers, and she also manages all of Our Family's social media and website (hi). She is very passionate about her job, seeing everyday as a new challenge and ways to share unique, enriching experiences together! Bex loves creating and strengthening the beautiful relationships with our tamariki, whānau and our amazing team of kaiako! She was born and raised right here in our beautiful Aotearoa! 💜

Bex's favourite activity at preschool is a collection of things. She has a passion for creating experiences and resources based on interests and goals, to extend the learning of our tamariki! In the past she has created games like space and ocean bingo, emotions memory, books and more! She loves playing group games and supporting our tamariki through these experiences! 💜

Outside of preschool, Bex loves cooking and baking, often spending much of her weekends trying new recipes! She loves plants and has recently gotten into gardening! She loves painting, watching movies, music, puzzles and getting her nails done. Bex loves spending time with her boyfriend, whānau and friends! 💜

💜 Meet Kylene, Provisional Teacher 🇦🇺💜

Kylene is basically part of the furniture here at Our Family. She started with us in 2015 and completed her Bachelor of Education in 2024, and is one of our amazing teachers! Kylene is originally from Australia, but has been in our gorgeous Aotearoa since she was 10! She has four beautiful children with her high school sweetheart! Kylene is extremely passionate about embracing the excitement, fun and adventures that teaching brings. Her deepest joy comes from igniting a love for learning with our gorgeous tamariki! 💜

Kylene loves getting creative in the sandpit with our gorgeous tamariki, whether it’s making a maunga (mountain), cooking up a storm, creating a dinosaur jungle, or a digger enthusiast's worker’s dream! Kylene is your girl! She also loves music, dramatic play and art experiences! 💜

Outside of preschool, Kylene is a music lover; she loves jamming out and is our dancing queen! She absolutely loves her coffee and kai, lasagne is a firm favourite! She loves quality time with her family, watching movies and celebrating!! 💜