Busy Bees Te Rapa

Backing Our Local Rugby Team! 🏉🖤💛❤️

Today we came together to support our local Hamilton rugby team as they prepare for their final game. Our whanau and kaiako donated food and essentials to support local families in need, showing kindness, generosity, and whanaungatanga.

Tamariki enjoyed rugby activities, face painting, and dressing up in the team colours of black, yellow, and red. They showed pride in their community and excitement for the big game ahead.

Learning happened:

Developing a sense of belonging and connection to our local community.

Learning about helping others through donations and community support.

Building teamwork, communication, and physical skills through rugby play.

Exploring local events that are important to our community.

Go boys, bring home the trophy! 🏆
Black, yellow, and red – we stand proud!
One team, one community!
Good luck for the final! 🎉🏉

Today, our tamariki explored a new and exciting experience using magnets attached to a clothes drying hanger. The children were fascinated as they pulled the magnets off and carefully placed them back on. There were lots of smiles, curiosity, and determination as they discovered how the magnets worked.

Our crawler babies also eagerly joined in, reaching up to the magnets according to their height and abilities. They stretched, balanced, grasped, and experimented with moving the magnets, showing perseverance and confidence as they explored.
This experience supported tamariki to:

Develop hand-eye coordination and fine motor skills as they grasped, pulled, and replaced the magnets.
Strengthen their physical development through reaching, stretching, balancing, and moving their bodies.
Explore cause and effect, discovering how magnets attach and detach from the metal hanger.
Build problem-solving skills as they figured out how to remove and reposition the magnets.
Develop confidence and persistence when trying something new.☺️

🎨🪶 Sensory Exploration in the Babies Room 🪶🎨

Today our tamariki enjoyed a beautiful sensory painting experience using feathers as their painting tools. The soft textures and gentle movements of the feathers encouraged curiosity, exploration, and creativity as our little learners discovered new ways to make marks and express themselves through art.

This experience supported sensory development by allowing tamariki to explore different textures, movements, and visual effects while strengthening their fine motor skills and hand-eye coordination. The feathers provided a unique painting experience, inviting wonder and engagement through touch and movement.

🧘‍♀️🌿 Yoga at its finest at Kowhai Preschool! 🌿🧘‍♂️

As part of our daily routine, our tamariki enjoy taking part in yoga sessions that help them build strength, balance, flexibility, and mindfulness. Through fun poses, stretching, and breathing exercises, children learn to relax, focus, and connect with their bodies in a positive way.

It's wonderful to see our little yogis embracing each pose with enthusiasm, confidence, and plenty of smiles! 😊

At Kowhai Preschool, we believe in nurturing the whole child, supporting not only their learning but also their physical and emotional wellbeing every day.

Our pēpi room has been filled with curiosity and joy as tamariki explored books alongside their kaiako. Through shared reading experiences, they turned pages, discovered new stories, and built early language skills.

It was wonderful to see their excitement and growing confidence as they developed a love of learning through reading. 💛📚

Today our babies had so much fun exploring and creating their own little sheep 🐑✨ We used cardboard shapes and soft cotton wool in the middle, sticking it on with tape while the babies enjoyed touching and feeling the different textures 🤍☁️

We also sang “Baa Baa Black Sheep” together 🎶🐑 which made the experience even more exciting and interactive 😊 The babies were so engaged, curious, and happy throughout the activity 💕

To make their learning more meaningful, we displayed their beautiful sheep creations on the wall 🌈🖼️ so they can revisit and recognise their work again and again. Such a lovely sensory and creative experience for our little learners 🥰✨

🌸 Pink Shirt Day at Kōwhai Rūma 🌸

Today our tamariki at Kōwhai Rūma celebrated Pink Shirt Day by designing their very own pink t-shirts! 💗👕

Through creativity and conversation, the children explored the importance of kindness, inclusion, friendship, and standing up against bullying. Each design was unique and reflected the wonderful personalities and ideas of our tamariki.

We are so proud of our tamariki for sharing messages of aroha, kindness, and friendship with one another today. Thank you whānau for supporting us in celebrating a day that reminds us all to be kind and inclusive every day. 💕

Happy Mother’s Day! 💐 💮

To all the whaea, mums, step-mums, grandmas, nanas and mother figures in our lives - today is for you!

For the early starts, the big hugs, the long nights, and the endless love in so many different forms… we see it, and we appreciate it.

Sending love and aroha to you today.
We also hold space today, for those who may be missing someone, waiting for someone, or carrying their motherhood journey quietly. 💗 💜

Mother’s Day in Kōwhai Preschool 🌸

Our tamariki loved creating special handprint flower bouquets and collage cards for their wonderful mums and mother figures this Mother’s Day. 💖🌷

Wishing all our amazing mums and whānau a day filled with love and celebration. Thank you for all that you do! 💕