Puanga Kākaho -PK ECE

In the Raupō room, our tamariki have shown a great interest in sports. With this in mind, we have decided to hold our very own Raupō Olympics!
Each day, our tamariki are taking part in a different Olympic event. Yesterday, they had a fantastic time participating in their very own boat race. The children first decorated their boats, expressing their creativity and individuality, before lining up to race against their friends.
There was plenty of excitement as the tamariki cheered each other on and watched their boats travel across the water. Through this activity, they developed skills such as creativity, perseverance, friendly competition, and turn-taking, while also having lots of fun.
We are looking forward to seeing our tamariki continue to challenge themselves and enjoy the many events planned for our Raupō Olympics.

Last week in the Raupō Ruma, we celebrated Samoan Language Week. Throughout the week, a variety of art activities were available for the tamariki to explore, including making sea turtles, creating tapa-inspired designs, and crafting Samoan ulas. These experiences provided opportunities for tamariki to learn about and appreciate aspects of Samoan culture through creative expression.
On Thursday, we were fortunate to have a parent share some delicious paina popo with us to accompany our sua fa’i (Samoan banana soup). The tamariki thoroughly enjoyed helping to make the sua fa’i, taking part in mashing the bananas, adding the sago pearls, and watching the soup come together. They were engaged throughout the process and excited to see how the ingredients transformed into a traditional Samoan dish.
This was a wonderful week of cultural learning, exploration, and shared experiences, helping our tamariki develop an appreciation for Samoan language, traditions, and food.

At Puanga Kākaho we love supporting student teachers on their ECE journey 🌱

With support, our nursery student teacher has been providing fun experiences for our tamariki — full of curiosity, creativity, investigation and play! ✨

We value learning through provocations that follow tamariki interests and encourage exploration, discovery and joy ❤️

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

Earlier this month, we had a very special visit from Mickey and Minnie, the most adorable little bunnies 🐰

Kaiako and tamariki were so excited to meet our fluffy new friends! We loved feeling their soft fur, watching their twitchy little noses, and learning all about them from their caring owners.

It was such a beautiful hands-on experience filled with curiosity, excitement, and plenty of smiles.

🍁🍂Autumn babies🍂🍁

Over the last couple of weeks, our tamariki in the Haumata room have been enjoying the freedom to go off exploring outside. It is such an amazing time of the year, with all the leaves changing colours (rau ka huri te tae) and falling off the trees with the wind. The children have been intrigued (whakahihiri) by how the leaves feel, how they sound when being crunched up in their hands.

Through outdoor play, the children are learning about being curious (pākiki) within their environment. Through a sensory-rich environment (taiao-a-aroaro), they are exploring the textures, the smells, and the sounds.

Poipoia te kakano kia puawai
Nurture the seed and it will blossom

This past couple of weeks the Oīoī tamariki have really been feeling the change of seasons.
Our beautiful big rākau (trees) have been dropping their leaves so we have been able to reuse them for so many different activities.
We have loved watching our outdoor environment change by the day and fill with all the hues of autumn.
We are making sense of our world by playing, imagining, inventing and experimenting with the resources that nature provides us.
Autumn glows upon us like a splendid evening. It is the very sunset of the year. - Mary Russell Mitford

The tamariki in the Raupō Ruma have been having a fantastic time exploring the road and road signs we recently created. They’ve extended their play using cars and magnetic tiles, building houses and structures to turn their road into a vibrant, realistic town. Ka pai, Raupō tamariki, what awesome creativity and teamwork!

This month in the Raupō ruma, our tamariki have been exploring the topic of transport. They have especially enjoyed learning about different road signs, what they mean and how they help keep us safe on the roads.
The tamariki also had a wonderful time expressing their creativity by making their own road signs. They did an amazing job recreating a variety of signs, showing both their understanding and enthusiasm for the learning.

Over the past weeks our tamariki have had a wonderful time exploring a range of Easter provocations in the Pūkio Rūma. Our tamariki have enjoyed exploring, creating and working alongside their friends.
Working with sensory play has allowed tamariki to explore texture, pre-maths skills such as pattern and matching were encouraged through adding Easter Egg halves to gloop as well as having them hidden in the playground to encourage exploration and teamwork.
Feeding the rāpiti his carrots was a clear favourite, sparking excitement and caring interactions between tamariki.
It has been lovely to see our tamariki's creativity, curiosity, and social connections flourish through these experiences.
Our tamariki have returned from their Easter break full of exciting stories to share, it sounds like a lot of fun and chocolate was shared over the break!

Last week, inspired by International Mathematics day, our Nursery hub tamariki explored the curriculum area of mathematics.
Through play and everyday experiences, tamariki explored shapes, measurement, size, numbers and counting, while also incorporating te reo Māori. It was wonderful to see the children learning and discovering early mathematical concepts in fun and meaningful ways.