Lollipops Aubrey Street

✨ Empowering tamariki for life starts with giving them opportunities to do things for themselves.

In Early Childhood Education, promoting self-help skills, agency, and real-world experiences helps children develop confidence, resilience, and independence. Whether it's serving their own kai, problem-solving with friends, packing away resources, or helping care for their environment, every small responsibility builds valuable life skills.

When children are trusted to make choices, contribute to their community, and take ownership of their learning, they develop a strong sense of capability and belonging.

At the heart of quality ECE practice is the belief that children are competent, capable learners who thrive when given meaningful opportunities to lead, explore, and grow. 🌱

This August Lollipops Aubrey St is supporting the Sign for Change campaign run by the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Foundation. Each week we will learn a number of signs based around a common theme. This first week is about Getting Started.

Each room will encourage the tamariki to learn and use as many of these signs as they are able to.

Our first 8 signs are for:
- Hello
- Thank you
- Please
- Yes
- No
- Good
- Morning
- Afternoon

I have included images of these signs below and also a link to the website if you would prefer to watch a video clip of the sign.

Please get behind us and help our tamariki learn some basic sign language so that everyone has an opportunity to be able to communicate in one of Aotearoa's official languages.

https://www.nfdhh.org.nz/content/sign-for-change-campaign/gman7c

🌟 Happy Last Day, Tommy! 🌟

Today we celebrate a very special milestone as we say goodbye to Tommy on his last day at the Centre before he begins his exciting school journey. 📚🎒

It has been a privilege to watch you learn, grow, make friends, and develop into the confident and capable learner you are today. Your curiosity, kindness, laughter, and unique personality have brought so much joy to our centre, and you will be greatly missed by your teachers and friends.

"Whaia te iti kahurangi, ki te tūohu koe, me he maunga teitei."
Pursue excellence. Should you stumble, let it be to a lofty mountain.

As you take this next step, remember to be brave, keep asking questions, and never stop believing in yourself. We know you will achieve wonderful things and make the most of every opportunity that comes your way.

Thank you for being such an important part of our Centre whānau. We are so proud of you and can't wait to hear about all your new adventures at school.

✨ Ka kite anō, Tommy, and best wishes for your next big adventure! ✨

At our centre, we believe there's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing! ☔🧥

As tamariki, kaiako, and whānau, we embrace the changing seasons and all the learning opportunities they bring. Whether it's splashing in puddles, feeling the wind on our faces, or searching for signs of nature after the rain, outdoor play helps children build resilience, confidence, curiosity, and a connection with the natural world.

In Aotearoa, we are fortunate to experience the beauty of te taiao (the natural environment) throughout the year. With warm layers, raincoats, gumboots, and a sense of adventure, every day can be a day of discovery. 🌈🍃

So don't forget those weather-ready clothes! Together, we'll continue exploring, learning, and thriving outdoors, whatever the weather may bring. 🌦️💚

At our centre, manipulative play is one of the quiet heroes of learning. You’ll often see tamariki deeply focused — threading beads, building towers, sorting treasures, or creating patterns.

These activities help strengthen little fingers, spark big ideas, and support early maths and science thinking. Best of all, they give children the freedom to explore at their own pace.

Ngā mihi to our curious learners who remind us daily that play is powerful.

Today was the first day our beautiful Korowai was worn and what a beautiful day it was. We farewell two of our beautiful Tamariki as they spread their wings and start their new learning journey to school next week. We wish them and their whānau the very best on their new adventure 💕

Mā te huruhuru ka rere te manu
Adorn the bird with feathers so it can fly

Something exciting is happening in the Kopa Rito outdoor environment...watch this space!

Play provocations are one of the ways we invite tamariki to be curious and get involved when they come to Lollipops. These are intentional set-ups carefully crafted by Kaiako which make children want to jump in and play. It may pose a problem that needs solving, loose parts to be combined into something new or a set of related items to encourage tamariki to kōrero about a particular topic.

Ngā tamariki have been particularly interested in Fire trucks and fire fighters recently - listening to songs about them, dressing as fire fighters and creating their own fire trucks by lining up chairs. To extend on this, Kaiako in the Junior room set up a play provocation for the tamariki to put out a fire in the tuff tray using spray bottles. From this provocation blossomed a wealth of collaborative play, problem-solving, sharing knowledge and ideas through conversation, and most importantly - fun and laughter. How exciting to see learning unfold in the context of warm relationships, kaiako who know the tamariki and their interests, and laughter with friends.

With the cost of living so high, we know lots of people are struggling to make ends meet with food being an especially high cost. With the hopes that our Aubrey Street community can support one another, we have set up a Pātaka in our reception area. This is a space where everyone can share kai and clothes in good condition that they don't need and give someone else the opportunity to make use of it.

We have already had a lot of generously donated kai, nappies, clothes and shoes which are patiently waiting to go to new homes. We look forward to seeing this space utilized and our Lollipops whānau supporting one another.

He taonga rongonui te aroha ki te tangata
Goodwill towards others is a precious treasure