He Kaakano Early Learning Centre

20/05/2026

Yesterday we made some reka banana bread after Ellen shared that she had lots of overripe bananas to use up.

The girls loved spending time in the kitchen measuring, mixing, mashing and pouring all of the ingredients together. It was such a fun, spontaneous experience, with lots of kōrero and teamwork along the way.

The best part was enjoying the delicious banana bread together for afternoon tea. There were lots of “mmm’s” and big thumbs up from the tamariki. It was definitely a tasty treat enjoyed by all!

20/05/2026

We have been so lucky to have an abundance of mandarins growing on our mandarin tree this season.

Our tamariki have absolutely loved watching the mandarins grow from tiny green fruit into bright, juicy mandarins ready to pick. They checked on them regularly noticing the changes in colour and size and excitedly waited for the day they were finally ripe enough to eat.

We have been enjoying getting to pick and taste them together! The smiles on their faces says it all as they enjoyed the sweet, yummy mandarins straight from the tree. Such a special hands-on learning experience, helping tamariki connect with nature, learn patience and see where food comes from.

06/05/2026

Ata mārie e te whānau, on Tuesday we were lucky to have a very special visitor Leyla from Kiwi North come and spend time with us. She shared her knowledge about our kiwi, read us a story and even brought along a real kiwi egg for us to see, it was amazing!

We learnt about some of the predators that can harm our kiwi as well as the insects they love to eat. The tamariki were fully engaged, asking questions and showing great curiosity about our native taonga. To top it all off we got to give the kiwi a big awhi before he headed off.

Experiences like this support our tamariki to develop a sense of kaitiakitanga (guardianship) and deepen their connection to the natural world. It was also a great way to connect to our wider community.

Ngā mihi nui to Leyla and Kiwi North for such a memorable visit!

03/05/2026

Kia ora e te whānau,

We’ve got a quick and easy road safety quiz for you to try

https://trafficquiz.com/child-safety-quiz-for-parents-level-1/

Road safety is so important for keeping our tamariki safe especially when travelling to and from our centre each day. Making sure tamariki are in the correct car seats, properly secured and that we’re all following safe driving practices can make a huge difference.

Take a few minutes to complete the quiz and test your knowledge! To go in the draw to win a prize simply-
✅Screenshot your result
✅Post it in the comments

Ngā mihi for helping us keep our tamariki safe on the roads

Road safety & traffic rules awareness.

01/05/2026

Today after lunch, we made some delicious doughnuts! The tamariki took turns mixing, measuring and following the recipe.
We have been learning about the letter D so this was the perfect opportunity to make a yummy treat for our Friday afternoon.

This hands-on experience supported early maths learning as tamariki explored counting, measuring and sequencing in a fun and meaningful way.

Ka pai tō mahi tamariki ma, I wonder what we could make for our next letter E?