Owls Nest Preschool

Another little owl flies the nest! Aroha nui Luna.

Another little owl flies the nest. Aroha nui Paige.

Another little owl flies the nest. Aroha nui Aroha!

Another little Owl flies the nest. Aroha nui Cassius.

Lest we forget.

Another little Owls flies the nest. Aroha nui Xavier!

Owls Nest tamariki enjoy the early literacy opportunities that we provide.

We understand the importance of early literacy experiences for our four year old tamariki. The Owls Nest's early literacy aspect of our curriculum gives tamariki the opportunity to gain knowledge of the alphabet, begin to have phonological awareness (being aware of sounds in words) and the ability to name letters, numbers, objects, colours and the ability to write their own name. This gives children a great foundation for further learning at primary school.

Our sand pit and mud kitchen is busy today. Our tamariki just love the messy play that water and sand provides. They have opportunities to learn so much.

Our national curriculum Te Whāriki supports learning across all the strands. In particular, it supports the Exploration strand, where children gain confidence in and control of their bodies, where the importance of spontaneous play is recognised and where they learn strategies for active exploration, thinking and reasoning.

Sand play affords opportunities for children to develop useful social interaction skills while playing alongside other children as part of the Contribution strand, and if conflicts arise, there are opportunities to practise problem solving. As part of the Belonging strand, they develop ideas about the limits and boundaries of acceptable behaviour.

Active movement and play is important for tamariki.

Here at the Owls Nest we actively encourage and provide physically active play. It can help children to develop large muscles, strength and balance, develop flexibility and coordination including hand-eye coordination. Further fundamental skills can be developed such as throwing, catching, hopping, skipping, climbing and balancing.

When tamariki engage in active play concepts of spatial awareness are developed, such as over/under, in front/behind, on top/beneath, and inside/outside.

Today we had a wonderful visit from the New Zealand Conservation Trust. We have been incredibly privileged to get to meet a Tuatara. Our tamariki loved this experience and were absolutely fascinated, especially when the Tuatara got fed some meal worms.

The trust has the specific objective of raising awareness of the conservation issues surrounding our native flora and fauna.

We love this type of experiential learning here at the Owls Nest.