Northland Kindergarten

Happy New Zealand children's books week where the theme is encouraging reading around Aotearoa! Wellingtons very own Pippa Keel Situ the illustrator came in with her new pukapuka Te Ngāhere i te Rā and it's prequel Te Ngāhere i te Pō to read to our tamariki. They enjoyed listening to the stories and colouring in the manu too!

Today we had a different type of mat time, kaiako Em told the tamariki that she had a pēpi-baby in her puku-belly. And we had a guess of the gender and we found out with magic playdough! The tamariki are already coming up with names for the baby 🩵

De-constructions and tinkering. Learning how things work, how to put them together and take them apart!

Kia orana tātou katoatoa!

This week, we have been excited to celebrate Te Reo Māori Kūki 'Airani – Cook Islands Māori Language Week.

The 2026 theme is:

“Me kite koe i te tuatua i tō'ou reo tūpuna, e tūranga rangatira tēnā nō'ou nō te uki āmuri atu”
"With our language as our foundation, we will embrace the future."

Throughout the week, our tamariki have embraced Cook Islands language and culture through fun learning experiences that encouraged curiosity, creativity, and a sense of belonging.

During our Wā Kotahitanga (mat time), we learned the names of different body parts through songs in Cook Islands Māori. Music and movement brought lots of smiles as the tamariki confidently joined in and practised new words together.

Tamariki also enjoyed making beautiful 'ei katu (flower crowns), exploring this meaningful cultural tradition while expressing their creativity.

One of the highlights of our week was making a delicious traditional Cook Islands dessert, Poke. As we prepared the ingredients together, tamariki practised counting, measuring, and following simple steps, strengthening their early maths and teamwork skills. The best part was sharing and enjoying our homemade treat together!

Celebrating Cook Islands Māori Language Week has been a wonderful opportunity for our tamariki to learn about another culture, develop an appreciation for language and traditions, and strengthen the values of respect, inclusion, and belonging within our learning community.

This week we had Martin the toymaker.co.nz come into kindergarten to teach the children wood working skills like drilling, using the screwdriver, persistence, and satisfaction of completing a goal!

The tamariki made wooden cameras which they have been enjoying in their imaginative play!

Martin will be back again next term to make wooden ball/bean bag stompers where they will learn different skills like sawing and hammering!

Today we celebrated Te Rā o Tumeke Tumuaki - Head Teacher Appreciation Day.

We are so grateful for our wonderful Head Teacher and all the amazing mahi she has done for our kindergarten. Her dedication, leadership, and care make a positive difference to our tamariki, whānau, and teaching team every day.

To celebrate, we invited our whānau to join us for a special morning tea, and our kaiako enjoyed a delicious lunch together.

Today was not only about showing our appreciation for our Head Teacher, but also about recognising that we are all in this waka together, working alongside one another to support the bright future of our tamariki.

He waka eke noa!

Kōrero p**i- storytelling with our student kaiako Meg out in the winter sunshine! Learning about the atua and how the world was created from a Te Ao Māori world view!

Mess or Play residue?

"If our memory is the residue of thoughts... 'Mess' is the residue of PLAY!"

It's cocoa husk season! 🍫