Karaka Learning Centre

Karaka Learning Centre We cater for children from 6 months to 6 years. We provide a swimming pool, a school readiness programme

🌏 Kererū Nest’s Cultural Journey Comes to an End 🌏Our Kererū Nest cultural journey has come to a beautiful end, with our...
30/08/2026

🌏 Kererū Nest’s Cultural Journey Comes to an End 🌏
Our Kererū Nest cultural journey has come to a beautiful end, with our final stops taking us to Vietnam 🇻🇳, Afghanistan 🇦🇫 and India 🇮🇳.

Throughout our journey, we have enjoyed learning about the wonderful animals that are special to each country. In Vietnam 🇻🇳, we discovered the water buffalo 🐃 and learned about its important role within Vietnamese culture and everyday life.
In India 🇮🇳, we explored the magnificent peacock 🦚, learning about its beauty and significance. Also making each other Rakhi and promising to look out for our kererū nest brothers and sisters.
In Afghanistan 🇦🇫, we had lots of fun exploring traditional games and discovering the joy of kite flying 🪁.

This journey has given us so many wonderful opportunities to learn, share and connect with one another. We have learnt not only about different countries and cultures, but also so much about each other. We have celebrated our similarities, appreciated our differences and developed a deeper understanding of the diverse cultures that make our Kererū Nest family so special.

Although our journey of exploring and discovering different cultures has now come to an end, the memories and connections we have made will stay with us. We will always remember the special taonga that each culture has shared with us and treasure the knowledge, stories, traditions and experiences we have gained along the way.

As we continue our journey together, we will carry these learnings with us — continuing to appreciate, love, respect and embrace every culture that makes up our wonderful Kererū Nest family. ❤️🌏

What a special journey it has been

Curious minds led to busy hands in the Kea Nest this week as we explored using our senses, incorporating nature and the ...
22/08/2026

Curious minds led to busy hands in the Kea Nest this week as we explored using our senses, incorporating nature and the beautiful gifts of Papatūānuku. Through hands-on experiences with natural materials, tamariki were encouraged to explore, create, and connect with the world around them 🌿🪾🌱

Our little travellers have had another busy week exploring the world! ✈️🌏 This time, our journey took us through China, ...
21/08/2026

Our little travellers have had another busy week exploring the world! ✈️🌏 This time, our journey took us through China, Malaysia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Korea and Sweden, with lots of opportunities to move, create, build, dress up and discover something new.

Our first stop was China 🇨🇳, where the tamariki enjoyed dragon dance movements and made their own colourful paper fans. Next, we landed in Malaysia 🇲🇾, where the children built the Petronas Twin Towers with Lego and created artwork inspired by Malaysia’s national flower and animals.

Our adventure then took us to Vietnam 🇻🇳, where the tamariki had fun trying on traditional Vietnamese hats and learning a little about the culture. From there, we travelled to the Philippines 🇵🇭, where the children explored traditional clothing, the Bahay Kubo house and Mount Mayon. They especially enjoyed working together in the sandpit to create their own volcano and watching the “lava” flow down.

Our next stop was Korea 🇰🇷, where the tamariki explored traditional clothing, food, symbols and the Korean alphabet. We finished our journey in Sweden 🇸🇪, learning about the Swedish flag, moose, Dala horses and the beautiful Northern Lights. The children then created their own Northern Lights artwork using chalk on dark paper.

Te Whāriki, “Connecting links with the family and the wider world are affirmed and extended.”

This week, the tamariki in Kererū Nest have been busy travelling around the world, exploring Germany, South Africa and C...
21/08/2026

This week, the tamariki in Kererū Nest have been busy travelling around the world, exploring Germany, South Africa and China through fun, hands-on experiences. The children had opportunities to create, imagine, discover and learn about different cultures and places.

In Germany 🇩🇪the tamariki created their own Bavarian hats, made pretzels using pipe cleaners, and used the blocks to design and build their very own castles. Their creativity and imagination were shining as they worked together. The children created their own black eagle which is the national bird.

Our adventure continued in South Africa 🇿🇦where the tamariki went on an exciting safari through Kruger National Park. Using the binoculars they made themselves, they searched high and low for animals and enjoyed pretending to be safari explorers. They got involved in the rock pit and cooked some food on the braii.

In China 🇨🇳the tamariki explored the art of making fans. They enjoyed creating and decorating their own fans and participated in the dragon dance and moves.

Wonder where we are going to go next week ✈️

“Children and their families feel a sense of belonging.” ( te whariki)

Week Two – Cultural Month 🌏✈️What an incredible second week of our Cultural Month journey! This week, the Kererū Nest ho...
14/08/2026

Week Two – Cultural Month 🌏✈️
What an incredible second week of our Cultural Month journey! This week, the Kererū Nest hopped aboard our imaginary plane and set off on another exciting adventure, beginning with a trip with the Tūī and Pūkeko Nests. Our first international stop was the beautiful Cook Islands, where we explored creativity and culture through art. We made a colourful (fāgipani) to wear, created palm trees and designed our very own islands using playdough, shells and a variety of sea life. What an adventure!
For the next two days, we travelled to England, where we enjoyed a wonderful tea party and made crowns to represent our King. We talked about famous landmarks, including London Bridge and Big Ben, and one of our tamariki even created their very own Big Ben! We also designed double-decker buses and had lots of fun practising the famous royal wave.

Our next stop was Samoa, where we escaped the rain and immersed ourselves in Samoan language and culture. We learned how to count from one to ten, explored the names of different animals and sang songs in Samoan. Each of us received a beautiful lavalava, and we finished our Samoan adventure with a fun-filled dance party!

Finally, we returned to the Tūī and Pūkeko Nests, where we continued our cultural learning by exploring Fijian-Indian culture. We admired beautiful saris, learned about coconuts and created our very own traditional Fijian haar. It has been a busy, creative and enriching week filled with new experiences, language, art, music and cultural learning.

What a journey it has been! We can’t wait to see where our Kererū Nest plane takes us next week. Watch this space! 🌺🌏✈️

All aboard for a journey around the world! 🌏✈️Our annual Cultural Month is underway in the Tūi and Pūkeko nests! Through...
07/08/2026

All aboard for a journey around the world! 🌏✈️
Our annual Cultural Month is underway in the Tūi and Pūkeko nests! Throughout this special time, our tamariki are exploring and celebrating the diverse cultures, traditions, languages, music, art, and stories that make up our community.
🇳🇿 Aotearoa New Zealand
We began our journey by exploring Māori culture and our beautiful Aotearoa. The children learned about the North and South Islands, explored te reo Māori and NZ Sign Language, enjoyed waiata and poi dancing, discovered weaving and koru designs, created pounamu inspired taonga, and enjoyed nature based experiences and traditional games. We were also lucky to welcome Geoff, who shared te reo Māori through fun games, waiata, and movement.
📖 Our Cultural Passports
On Wednesday, our tamariki created their very own passports, ready for our cultural journey around the world! They enjoyed personalising their passports and getting ready for the exciting adventures ahead.
🇮🇳 India
On Thursday and Friday, we travelled to India! Our tamariki explored Indian culture through traditional clothing and jewellery, colourful Rangoli art, henna inspired designs, Indian spices, yoga, music and Bhangra dancing, creative art experiences, and Indian restaurant role play. They discovered the Taj Mahal, explored Indian symbols and languages, practised counting from 1 to 10 in Hindi, and enjoyed our Elephant Adventure through India. Their curiosity, creativity, and enthusiasm made this cultural journey truly special!
We can't wait to continue our cultural journey and share more wonderful experiences from the Tūi and Pūkeko nests with you over the coming weeks! 🌏
"Children and their families experience an environment where: Connecting links with the family and the wider world are affirmed and extended" (Te Whāriki, Belonging, p.32)

Kia Orana and Happy Cook Island Language Week where the offical theme is “Me kite koe i te tuatua i to'ou reo tupuna, e...
07/08/2026

Kia Orana and Happy Cook Island Language Week where the offical theme is “Me kite koe i te tuatua i to'ou reo tupuna, e turanga rangatira tena nō'ou no te uki amuri atu” (With our language as our foundation, we will embrace the future).
Today, the Kea Nest learned how to say hello in the language, which is Kia Orana. The children then got to make turtles. Turtles in Cook Island mean wisdom, longevity, endurance, and peace. This was a great activity in the morning and when they woke up to use their fine motor skills to place each piece of collage paper onto their plate.

This week in the Kererū Nest, we began celebrating Cultural Month. The children proudly came dressed in clothing that re...
06/08/2026

This week in the Kererū Nest, we began celebrating Cultural Month. The children proudly came dressed in clothing that reflected their culture and heritage, creating a wonderful opportunity to celebrate the rich diversity within our learning community. It was a meaningful experience that encouraged children to share and appreciate each other's unique backgrounds and traditions.

Today our tamariki were so lucky to enjoy the sunshine ☀️. They happily played alongside their peers, demonstrating thei...
31/07/2026

Today our tamariki were so lucky to enjoy the sunshine ☀️. They happily played alongside their peers, demonstrating their skills and engaging in lots of imaginative play. It was wonderful to see their creativity, hear their lovely conversations, and share in their laughter throughout the day. What a beautiful day of learning, friendship, and fun! 💛

Te Whāriki link – Communication | Mana Reo: Tamariki develop confidence in communicating with others through conversations, imaginative play, and sharing ideas and experiences with their peers.

Indoors or outdoors, it doesn't matter, we LOVE reading in the Kea Nest 📖 📚 🙌😊Reading together in a caring and responsiv...
31/07/2026

Indoors or outdoors, it doesn't matter, we LOVE reading in the Kea Nest 📖 📚 🙌😊
Reading together in a caring and responsive environment gives our young tamariki the opportunity to build early language and literacy skills while nurturing their imagination and curiosity. Sharing books encourages conversations, supports listening and concentration, introduces new vocabulary, and strengthens relationships. 😁 👧🏼 🧒🏾 👧 🧒🏻

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113 Harbourside Drive
Papakura
2113

Telephone

09 298 4199

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