Waitohi Kindergarten

Check out our new trees for our fairy garden. 🌳🏠🧚‍♀️🌸

Kia ora Whānau
We have started learning about ANZAC day. Today we learnt that in the United Kingdom they call it Remembrance Day and they have 4 poppies. Red, purple, black and white. In New Zealand we see mostly red for remembering the people who died fighting in a war and purple for the animals that died serving in the wars.

Last week we had Ariel visit from Easyswim to talk about water safety in really fun ways. She read some big books, did a floating and sinking experiment and taught us some new songs. Tamariki had the opportunity to wear life jackets and practice floating techniques.

Eid Mubarak everyone. We began our Eid al-Fitr celebration today. Our festivities started with an educational YouTube video about Eid. We then crafted cards and sun catchers. This week, we will indulge in traditional delicacies like dates and samosas, and engage in more learning activities.

On Friday we had so much fun rocking our most colourful mismatched socks to celebrate world Down Syndome Day

Bula everyone,
As part of our ongoing literacy learning within our Community of Learning plan, tamariki explored how to express feelings using a face template and playdough.
The teacher read and explained the instructions, supporting the children to follow each step carefully. The playdough colours were chosen to represent the natural tones of our faces, encouraging thoughtful decision-making and creativity.
We then explored creating different facial expressions to show a range of emotions, just like the characters we read about in books. This hands-on experience helped strengthen our understanding of feelings, build emotional vocabulary, and develop our fine motor skills.
It was a fun and engaging learning experience that positively challenged the children and encouraged meaningful conversations about emotions.

你好 Ni hao families

We are continuing our celebration of Lunar New Year by creating a dragon 🐉. They wanted it red and gold as they are deemed lucky colours. Today they added sparkle ✨✨.
At the community walk today the children collected sticks so they could add them to the dragon and do the dragon 🐉🐲.
There are lots off opportunities to learn more about these celebrations in different countries.

新年快乐 Xīnnián kuàilè
恭喜發財 Gong Hei Fat Choy

As part of Lunar New Year celebrations a child dressed in beautiful clothes and brought in a lion puppet to share with us.
A teacher also shared a story from a you tube video explaining why and how to celebrate the Lunar New Year in China. We also watched lions dancing and saw the parade in Beijing. It was amazing and worth a watch.
Through the day the children have been making Lunar New Year cards and you will see a beautiful display on the wall at kindergarten. We have more learning experiences planned for the week.
I recognise that we are learning more about Lunar New Year and celebrating another culture celebration.

MetService - Te Ratonga Tirorangi

Kia ora whānau.

As part of our acknowledgement and keeping alive Te tiriti o Waitangi / The Treaty of Waitangi, we read stories in Te Reo Māori and share Māori legends. In the photos I had shared the Māori legend " How Maui found his whānau", "Kia hou tako tou/I need a new bottom" by Dawn McMillan in English and Te Reo Māori and finish with "Te Wairua o Waitangi" by Sharon Holt. The children are learning about the dual history and heritage of Aotearoa/New Zealand and learning more Te Reo Māori.

Ngā mihi
Katie

This morning the tamariki are learning to try something new and extend their drawing skills by giving a go life drawing of flowers 🌺.