Tupu Tahi

We are excited to introduce a new well-being experience in our Casa learning environment, a calm foot spa area for our tamariki.
This space has been thoughtfully created to provide tamariki with an opportunity to slow down, relax, and enjoy a peaceful sensory experience. Using warm water and a calm atmosphere, tamariki can take a moment to unwind, connect with their bodies, and practice self-care in a safe, nurturing environment.
The foot spa area supports emotional well-being, self-regulation, relaxation, and social skills such as turn-taking.
We believe that caring for our well-being is an important life skill, and this experience is one way we can support tamariki to recognise when they need a quiet moment to recharge. This new experience sits alongside other rituals we do, such as foot massages, yoga, and our morning tea parties.

Our tamariki were very busy working together in the sandpit to create a volcano before making it erupt using vinegar and baking soda.
Through this hands-on experience, the tamariki strengthened their ability to collaborate, communicate, and work together towards a common goal while exploring curiosity, creativity, and scientific theories.

Creating a cicada provocation invited tamariki to slow down, observe, and wonder. Using playdough, branches, and real cicada shells, tamariki explored texture, pattern, and the life cycle of these fascinating creatures through hands-on discovery and imaginative play.

Creating rituals like tea parties and baby massage with tamariki offer amazing learning opportunities. These rituals build a strong sense of belonging, connection and emotional security.
Through familiar routines tamariki begin to anticipate what comes next, developing trust in the environment and the people around them.
In our Reggio Emilia inspired environment these rituals honour the importance of slowing down and creating moments of connection.
Shared experiences like tea parties invite wonder, nurture mana, and remind us that even the simplist rituals are meaningful learning experiences.

Watching our butterflies emerge from their chrysalis invited a sense of wonder and patience, as tamariki observed transformation in real time. The discovery of a different caterpillar on a nearby plant sparked curiosity, comparison, and new questions — reminding us that nature is never static, always offering more to explore. In this moment, the environment led the learning, and tamariki responded as capable, thoughtful researchers, deeply engaged in the unfolding story of life.

Ngā mihi o te Aranga, Happy Easter! We hope everyone has a nice break, we will be closed on Friday the 3rd and Monday the 6th of April. We look forward to seeing you all on Tuesday and hearing about all your long weekend adventures.