Pohutukawa Kindergarten Glendowie

An opportunity to participate in some research…

We are closed today (Monday 13th Feb) due to predicted severe weather conditions. Please take care and reach out via email with any queries. 🥰

Today is going to be a wonderful day!🌻😎🥰

These opportunities don’t come around that often…

https://www.facebook.com/groups/weloveglendowie/permalink/1339266333567626/

Matariki is a time to gather with family and friends to reflect on the past, celebrate the present, and plan for the future.
For those who aren't too sure what the stars represent:

-Matariki
Is the mother of the cluster and encourages gathering of all people.

- Waipuna-ā-rangi
Watches the skies, rains, snows, sleets which nourishes the earth and contributes to the water cycles.

- Ururangi
Is the winds of N,E,S,W.

- Tupu-ā-rangi
Represents cultivation from above: forests, birds, trees.

- Tupu-ā-nuku
Represents cultivation from the earth: kawakawa, kumara, healthy soil etc.

-Waitī
Watches over the fresh water environments and everything living in it. Creaks, rivers, lakes, springs which then flow into Waitā.

-Waitā
Represents the salt waters. Seas, oceans and everything living in it.

-Pohutakawa
Is the star of remembering our passed ancestors. Our family and friends who have died.

-Hiwa-i-te-rangi
Is known as the wishing star. Where you cast all your dreams and hopes for the new year.

The last two stars mentioned, Pōhutukawa and Hiwa-i-te-rangi, are particularly important to us this year as our focus is on reflecting on what we can learn from the past and those who have passed on in order to realise our aspirations for the coming year.

Matariki symbolizes Māori new year under the Māramataka - Lunar Calendar. The more accurate than the Gregorian Calendar.

The word Matariki comes from Ngā Mata o te Ariki, Tāwhirimātea (The eyes of the chief, Tāwhirimātea).
Tāwhirimātea (the atua of the wind) was so upset that his parents (Ranginui and Papatuānuku) were separated by Tāne Mahuta (Atua of the forest) that he tore out his eyes and threw them into the sky, creating Matariki.
Two other meanings of Matariki both refer to stars: mata ariki (eyes of god) and mata riki (little eyes).

Matariki was also used by early Polynesian navigators to make their way across Moana-Nui-A-Kiwa (Pacific Ocean).

Matariki’s reappearance in the north-east sky is not visible in all parts of New Zealand, especially in areas to the west of mountains. For some iwi, the new year begins with the rising of Puanga.

How to celebrate Matariki?
Gather your friends and whānau. Eat together. Remember those you have lost that passed year. Talk about your dreams and aspirations for the future. Get your land ready for the coming year. Go and see the cluster - best seen at sunrise.

An easy song for kids to learn the stars:

Matariki 9 Star Song Matariki | 9 Stars | Matariki Macarena | Māori songs for kids | Te Reo | New Zealand

Kia Ora!!

It has been so lovely to have you all come back into Kindy when dropping off and picking up your children! And to be able to have our Mother’s Day treat last Friday. We hope all you lovely mums had a great Mother’s Day! 💕

You may of noticed our new display wall in the Huero room! Some of our afternoon tamariki worked really hard last week on such amazing self portraits of themselves. 🎨 We were looking at the number 1 last week and talked about how there is only ‘one of you.’ There is no one else like you in the world! Everyone comes from different backgrounds and have such unique personalities they bring.
We discussed what sort of details one might need e.g eyes 👀, nose 👃, mouth 👄, ears 👂, hair, eye brows etc.. what shape their face might be. They then used vivid to draw themselves whilst using mirrors to reference back to. When they were ready they again used the mirrors 🪞 to decide what colours they would need for their skin, eyes, hair, mouth etc. and here we are! An amazing collection of our beautiful tamariki at Pohutukawa Kindy!

Celebrating the most passionate, kind, caring and professional teachers with treats and gifts from local retail!

A great read I think… all kids are feeling things differently and at different times, just like us adults. But the important part is everyone has thoughts and feelings which often results in actions or behaviour changes. As always listen to your children, answer them honestly and let them know they are safe and you will do all you can to protect them. This is new to us all!

An update on Covid-19 for the kids of Aotearoa There are nearly 800,000 New Zealanders under 12 years of age. This update is for them. The pandemic has already lasted 18 months, which for kids, is a pretty big part of your life. You’ve worked hard at keeping a safe distance from others, doing schoolwork from home, maybe wearing masks or getti

As we head into week rima of this level 4 lockdown, we join together to celebrate Te wiki o te reo Maori 2021. Here is a fantastic song that is easy, catchy and helps you with te reo pronounciation. Keep watching to see what other ideas we have for sharing te reo Maori during this very special week here in Aotearoa.

A ha ka ma na slow and fast

Good evening all

Hope you are all okay and tucked up for the night with your families digesting this news. In reality with everything we know and read this was bound to happen at some point but that certainly doesn’t make it any easier.

As you would of heard we are now in lockdown for 7 days and kindy will be closed!!

We are available on email for any questions and would like to offer help to any families in need so please let us know if there is anything you need or we can we can do. Everybody’s experience of lockdown is unique and a lot depends on the age of your children, your extended family ‘s needs, and your own work and health so be kind to yourself and know even though we are bubbling at home you are part of a bigger kindy bubble and we can still communicate and support each other.

At this stage we need to all stay home, look after our families and keep an eye on our neighbours. We look forward to seeing some pics of the children and interacting with you all on our enrolled families pages.

Much aroha

Mel and the amazing Pohutukawa team

What was your favourite activity at kindy?

Come and see how we are helping your children make memories. 🧐

Pohutukawa Kindergarten Glendowie Private Kindergartens based in Ellerslie and Glendowie. Catering for children aged 2-5 years for 4 or 6 hour sessions. Our philosophy is based on Respect.