Small Kauri Early Childhood Education Centre

Out and About: Library Adventures!
​We had a brilliant morning exploring our local library’s holiday program. It was wonderful to see our tamariki joining a big circle of local friends to participate in the parachute play. As the librarian added plastic leaves to the mix, everyone worked together to wave them high into the air—a fantastic display of Contribution | Mana Tangata, as the children learned how their collective actions create a fun, shared experience within their community.
​The busy morning continued with a creative session making paper hedgehogs. This hands-on activity links beautifully to Exploration | Mana Aotūroa, where our children develop their fine motor skills and find new ways to make sense of the world through different materials and textures.
​Small Kauri loves being out and about, embracing these opportunities for our children to feel a sense of belonging in the wider world while growing their confidence and creativity!

An engaging play provocation today.

Our tamariki gathered around the table to explore a creative small-world play using dinosaur figures, colourful Easter eggs, and soft fabric to create their own imaginative landscapes. The children were curious and excited as they opened and closed the eggs, sorted colours, and placed the dinosaurs in different spaces.

This exploration encouraged rich conversations, sharing, and turn-taking as tamariki worked alongside one another. We saw wonderful moments of cooperation, problem-solving, and creativity as they built their own little worlds together. The mix of older and younger children supported tuakana-teina relationships, where they learned from and helped each other. 💛

Through play, tamariki developed fine motor skills, language, and social confidence while expressing their ideas freely in a safe and supportive environment.

At Small Kauri we have an ethos of recycle, reuse and repurpose. Children with Binita's support worked to recycle gifted tiles to beautify our gardens and mosaic stepping stones.
Children at this centre are often involved in real life experiences that continue over time. They are encouraged to work co-operatively with others.
If you are wondering, children discarded their gloves to get the feel of the morter. A good wash after and no harm done.

Small Kauri Centre is always keen to foster links between what happens at home and at the centre.
This is why we offer a library system for our books and puzzles.

Hanging in the hall way to the office are books with matching stuffed toy characters in bags as well as spare bags so that children can take home a book or puzzle for a night or two.
We want to foster a passion for books and the joy of puzzles as well as learning to take care of the things we share.

We have a simple signing in and out sheet to help both you and us keep track.
These are great conversation starters about home when children bring them back.
❤️

At Small Kauri we provide children with a wide variety of puzzles and here is why.

Mathematics concepts and language in making puzzles .

In Early Childhood Education using puzzles develops core mathematical thinking—specifically spatial reasoning, pattern recognition, and shape identification. Key concepts include rotation, symmetry, ordering, and part-whole relationships. Engaging language, such as "edge," "corner," "turn," "match," "next," and "repeat," guides children to solve problems and understand spatial positioning.

Here are some of the key Mathematical Concepts in Puzzles

Spatial Reasoning: Understanding how shapes fit together, rotating pieces, and visualizing the final image.
Shape and Attribute Recognition: Identifying 2D and 3D shapes (circles, squares, triangles) by their features like straight/round edges or corners.
Patterning & Sequencing: Recognizing repeating units (red, white, red, white etc) and understanding the logical order of a sequence.
Part-Whole Relationships: Understanding that smaller pieces combine to create a larger, cohesive picture or structure.
Sorting and Categorizing: Organizing pieces by color, shape, or edge type to make them easier to fit together.

Our team of experienced, qualified teachers use Mathematical Language when supporting children.

Positional Terms: Top, bottom, side, corner, edge, under, through, over, next to.
Spatial Vocabulary: Turn, flip, rotate, upside down, straight, curved, fit.
Descriptive Words: Big, small, tall, wide, same, different, match.
Logical Terms: First, next, last, repeat, pattern.

Our teachers: Encourage children to think about "rotating" a piece or finding the "straight edge".
Introduce Complex Patterns: Move beyond simple patterns to more complex ones, to challenge children.
Encourage Problem-Solving: Ask open-ended questions like, "Why did you choose that piece?" or "Does this part belong at the top or bottom?".
We also use bits and bobs of collected items to: Allow children to create their own patterns using materials like buttons, stones, or blocks.

At Small Kauri every day our teachers are supporting and guiding your children toward "social competence". As you all know we are a "no hitting, no hurting place".
This is in accordance with the law and also in line with the "international rights of the child"
"Every child has the right to feel safe".

As well as responding on the spot to situations that arise, we hold group discussions read books and sing songs in support of learning appropriate behaviours.

This week Sue has talked with large and small groups of children about "friendliness".

We prefer to talk about "friendliness" than "friends" because we want children to be friendly to all as opposed to being exclusive and often excluding of someone.

We talk about "giving turns" not "taking turns". Having a turn doesn't mean you get it now.

And saying sorry is only for using when a child hurts another accidentily. ie. " I'm sorry I didn't mean to hurt you, do you need me to get a flannel ?".

We tend not to accept a "sorry" following aggression. ie. hitting. This generally gives the aggressor an "out" for something that isn't ok because we are working towards non violence.

Sometimes, when a child reports to you that another child hurt them, their behaviour has played a part it the situation. Sometimes not. But it is good to ask "oh, what happened" before you offer sympathy or judgement

I am attaching here a link to a good read, Tips on teaching your child:

friendliness.triplep-parenting.net.nz
https://www.triplep-parenting.net.nz
5 friendship skills every child needs (and how to support kids using ...

Small Kauri environment was planned to have plants and areas to provide opportunities to experience nature's creatures.
We love books and have an extensive library to enable children and teachers to investigate their finds.
Today a praying mantis was discovered and investigated. This moved on to playing "the jungle", our bug area.

Today a group built a sand maunga and with a teachers support tunnelled to create air vents and a crater to make a volcano. Fire was part of this experience and a large group gathered to watch our simulated eruption.

At Small Kauri we extend children's play ideas and explorations when teachers work alongside children, listening to their "thinking" then asking open questions to "scaffold" further thinking and expression of ideas. We plan and enact a rich "library of experience" in accordance with Te Whaariki, the early childhood curriculum.

Play-Based: Learning happens through meaningful play, exploration, and spontaneous experiences, with educators (kaiako) facilitating. (Te Whaariki)

Thank you Mangere Bridge Village for a fantastic Parade last night. We are so fortunate to be able to come together with our centre whanau to share ham and lamb dinner followed by dessert treats created by our children and teaching team and then watch the parade from our wonderful position in the heart of the village.

Thanks local community. You are fabulous,,❤️

Part of our Christmas community participation includes delivering out decorated cycled paper bags to Vinnies. They are always so welcoming.

This morning we made waffles to enjoy with the delicious "lady finger" bananas that were gifted to us by one of our local community members. We are so fortunate to be situated in the heart of the village.

Using a largely pictorial recipe, children measured, poured, cracked eggs and whisked up waffles while telling their stories of home cooking experiences as the opinions about waffles with bananas and maple syrup.