Brookfield Kindergarten

✨ 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.

Our AKO journey: One more week of Learning Together

As we head into our final week of the term, we want to take a moment to celebrate all the AKO moments- where our tamariki and kaiako have been learning with and from each other.
Together, we have explored, created, propel solved, and shown kindness together.

Our tamariki have grown in confidence, curiosity, and friendship. We are so proud of each and every one of them.

We look forward to one more week together before the school holiday begin. Term 2 will start on April 21- we can’t wait for more learning and fun ahead!

We have a holiday program available for our working whānau

Ngā mihi nui to all our wonderful whānau for their ongoing support.

Kindergarten - “the children’s garden”.

The kindergarten movement was founded by Friedrich Froebel in Germany in 1837.

Froebel’s philosophy of early childhood education focuses on holistic education, nature, and movement-rich free play.

Key aspects include nurturing environments that support holistic child development, fostering connection to nature, and ensuring freedom with guidance from qualified kaiako. It emphasizes unconditional love, social participation, and community involvement.

Here are some photos from week 8 of term one which show this in action in our Brookfield ‘children’s garden’ and in our local Waikareao ngāhere.

"Whāngaia ka tupu, ka puāwai
That which is nurtured, blossoms and grows."

Kia ora whānau! 🌿
We wanted to take a moment to share the heart of our kaupapa with you all. In everything we do, we are guided by three core values that keep us grounded and connected:

🤝 Whanaungatanga
For us, it’s all about people. We believe in building strong, meaningful, and connected relationships. Whether you’ve been with us for years or are new to kindergarten, you are a vital part of our community.

💡 Ako
We embrace the concept of Ako, where we learn with and from each other. Every interaction is an opportunity to share knowledge, grow together, and create new ideas.

🌏 Kaitiakitanga
Our commitment to Papatūānuku is unwavering. We see ourselves as guardians of the environment, dedicated to nurturing the world we live in so that it thrives for our children's future.