Brookfield Kindergarten

Ngā mihi o te tau hou Māori! 🌟 It’s been absolute bliss returning to kindergarten this week. The energy has been buzzing after our Matariki celebration on Thursday (a full wrap-up post is coming next week!).

In the lead-up, our tamariki have loved exploring the stories and significance behind each of the 9 Matariki stars. Pair that with the exciting opening of our new carpentry workshop and these gorgeous, crisp sunny days, and it’s been a week full of rich learning, play, and connection. 🪵☀️ Whānau, enjoy your weekend!

Over the past week we have continued exploring kaitiaki roles associated with two more whetu in the Mātariki constellation - these will become visible in early July signalling the start of the Mātariki Māori new year period.

Last week we explored Waitī and Waitā - associated with kai from freshwater and saltwater.

This week we explored Tupuānuku and Tupuārangi - associated with kai that grows in the ground (like the Kumara we harvested recently at kindergarten) and kai growing above ground and up in the trees (including manu - birds).

We will enjoy eating much of the kai discussed cooked in a hāngi here at kindergarten as part of this year’s Mātariki hākari (shared feast) that we are getting excited about!

✨ Welcoming the magic of Matariki ✨

There is a beautiful, calm energy in our space as we prepare for Matariki! Lately, we have been learning all about Waitī (freshwater life) and Waitā (ocean life). 🌊💧

From screen printing and games to singing waiata together, our tamariki are deeply engaged. With our kaiako intentionally present to scaffold their learning, it’s been wonderful to watch new concepts click and new friendships grow.

Roll on July—we are so excited for our upcoming Matariki celebration! 🌟

A missed opportunity - Media Release Updates, insights, research and tools to support and empower our ECE community.

Today I shared my experience of visiting NASA with our tamariki. We talked about how NASA is a special place where people learn about space — a place much higher than the clouds and airplanes
We linked this learning to literacy and early mathematics by exploring the different shapes we could see in rockets. Tamariki noticed squares, triangles for the top of the rockets, circles for the windows, and more triangles on the sides of the rockets. Together we used shape names, described what we saw, and created our own rocket designs using different shapes

Play is the foundation of learning, creativity, self-expression, and constructive problem-solving. It’s how children make meaning of the social world around them.

This is why we prioritise long uninterrupted periods of free play and learning within the day at kindergarten.

Our mixed ages programme provides rich opportunities for sociocultural learning and tuakana-teina relationships.

It has been a beautiful week of growth and connection at our kindergarten! 🌱 We found it almost impossible to narrow down the photos because there were so many special moments to capture.
This week we:
Welcomed new friends into our whānau.
Hosted kaiako from our local kura, who visited to build those important bridges for our tamariki.
Harvested a spectacular crop of kūmara with Nannie Wendy! 🍠
Celebrated our wonderful Rosie’s birthday! 🎂
From the garden to the classroom, it’s been a week of learning, laughter, and building our community together.

At Brookfield, we hold kaitiakitanga close to our hearts. It is all about learning to cherish Papatūānuku and taking active responsibility for the ngahere and the wider world we call home. This week, our learning environment expanded as we welcomed manuhiri from to talk about the local pests threatening our precious native rakau and manu. We frequently encounter rat traps on our weekly hikoi, but today we were treated to a closer look inside one and met the other preditors that threaten our forests. Understanding how these tools work gave us a deeper appreciation for the essential role they play in keeping our ngahere healthy and thriving. It was such a rewarding experience to see our community connect with the environment in such a practical and meaningful way.