Pebbles Montessori Cashmere

We're having so much fun outside this morning! 🎈🪰

Our tamariki have been loving this Moving Smart activity set up by their kaiako—using fly swats to hit hanging balloons! Not only is it loads of fun, but it's also helping to develop spatial awareness, hand-eye coordination, and those all-important big movement skills.

Learning through movement is such an important part of early childhood, and this simple activity had everyone smiling. Ka pai, tamariki! 💛

Simple Play Ideas from Pebbles Cashmere! 🎨🪰

This week we've been painting with... fly swats! The children have absolutely loved the novelty of this fun twist on painting.

As they enthusiastically slapped the paint onto the paper, they were developing their gross motor skills, moving their arms up and down, using force, and coordinating their movements. These big body movements help build the strong foundations children need for so many future skills.

At Pebbles, we know that tamariki learn through movement, and this simple activity has been full of laughter, creativity, and joyful learning. Sometimes the best play ideas are the simplest ones!

Who needs a volcano when you can make rainbow lava in the sandpit? 🌈🌋

No wonder Kaiako Kristi is everyone's favourite! 💛 She has such a knack for creating fun, hands-on experiences that spark curiosity, imagination, and so much joy.

Just look at the excitement on our tamariki's faces as they explored, experimented, and got wonderfully messy! These are the moments childhood is made of. ✨

This morning's game of Twister had everyone laughing as the children twisted, stretched, balanced, and bent their bodies into all sorts of funny positions! 🌈🤸

Not only was it a fantastic way to develop coordination, balance, body awareness, and gross motor skills, but the children also took turns being the leader, confidently calling out instructions like, "Feet on red!" and "Hands on yellow!" ❤️💛💙💚

It was wonderful to see their listening skills, confidence, and turn-taking shine through, all while having so much fun together. Learning through play at its best! 😊

Today we were so lucky to welcome some very special visitors from Japan to Pebbles Montessori! 🇯🇵

Anisa's guests shared a little presentation about Japan, amazed us with their incredible kendama skills, and then spent time creating beautiful origami with the children.

The tamariki were so enthusiastic, loved having a go at the kendama, and thoroughly enjoyed this wonderful window into another culture. Opportunities like these help spark curiosity, celebrate diversity, and remind us that there is so much to discover about our world.

A huge thank you to our lovely visitors for sharing their time, talents, and culture with us. What a special morning! ❤️

Tiny hands, big hearts. 💕

Through nurturing play, our tamariki explore kindness, empathy, and responsibility as they lovingly care for their babies. These precious moments of pretend play help build confidence, communication, and compassion—one cuddle at a time. 🌸

Yay! The monkey bars are back! 🙌

Did you know that before little hands are ready to confidently hold a pencil, they need to develop the strength and stability of the bigger muscles first?

Activities like climbing, hanging, swinging and using the monkey bars help strengthen the shoulders, arms and core. These "big muscles" provide the stable foundation needed for the small muscles in the hands and fingers to do the precise work required for writing.

As tamariki climb and hang, they're also developing hand strength, grip and the pincer grasp needed to hold a pencil with control. It's a wonderful reminder that learning to write doesn't begin with worksheets—it begins with play!

So if you see your child spending lots of time on the monkey bars, know they're building important skills for their future writing journey… all while having heaps of fun! 💪✏️🌿

Our absolute pleasure

We're excited to share that our preschool has signed up for the Sign for Change Challenge!

Over the coming weeks, we'll be learning 30 New Zealand Sign Language (NZSL) signs together and incorporating them into our daily programme. We can't wait to share what we're learning with our tamariki and whānau as we celebrate inclusive communication and build our NZSL skills together.

Watch this space for our weekly signs and join us on the journey!