Visiting Crestwood

This morning Ann and I took ten tamariki to Crestwood. This is a part of a new initiative for the children to join in activities and interact with the residents to create a great relationship within our community. We are planning to do this every fortnight.

First Aid Refresher!

This morning the teachers at Golf Road did their First Aid refresher course through Meditrain. It's always good to go over what we already know, as well as learn new techniques and knowledge to help promote health and safety in the workplace and in the wider community. This links in really well with our bi-cultural programme plan around 'taha tinana.'

I hope all our families are having a lovely weekend!

Our Visit From St Johns

On Friday, 23rd October we had a visit from St Johns who presented their 'Preschool Emergency Aware' programme. Their aim was to reinforce and add to the children's knowledge of emergency services, as well as increase their confidence when interacting with these services.

Self-Portraits

During Transition to School today the 3 year olds focused on creating self-portraits with the help of mini mirrors. Here are a few of their beautiful creations.

Fun with sand-dough!

This morning we experimented with a different type of playdough, we created a sand-dough using sand, flour, water and vanilla essence. We also placed different flowers, plants, toy animals and toy dinosaurs in the sand-dough and managed to create a dinosaur jungle.

By poking in objects and pulling them out of the dough it helps strengthen hand muscles and co-ordination. As part of simple, tactile play it can be squashed, squeezed, rolled, flattened, chopped and cut. Each one of these different actions aids fine motor skills in a different way, not to mention hand-eye co-ordination and general concentration.

With providing objects from nature with a wide range of textures, colours and shapes, children can have multi-sensory experiences and engage with the world around them in a whole new way.

Our Big Day Out!

Today was an action packed day! first stop, to visit Grandad Robin at Hiab Transport Ltd. The children were so excited to see all the different forms of transport such as a bus, forklift, a Hiab and Palfinger crane and trains that would go past every 10 minutes.

We said goodbye to Grandad Robin and made tracks further down the road to Extreme Edge Rock Climbing. For those who wanted to climb, they were fitted with a harness before the instructor explained how to attach ourselves to the climbing ropes and also how to climb up and come down. While some of us had a great time climbing, there were some that were content to watch their friends climb and have their own fun on the floor.

These trips out in the wider community give children firsthand experiences away from their regular Centre environment. For many it was the first time at a truck site and indoor rock climbing.

Thanks Grandad Robin for inviting us to Hiab, we hope you enjoyed the cake. Of course these trips couldn’t happen without the help of parents and extra caregivers who stepped up to ensure that the tamariki could safely enjoy exploring the wider community.
Thank you!

Making Orange Juice

Pyjama Day!

This year we held two fundraisers for the Auckland Cancer Society's 'Daffodil Day Appeal.' On Friday 21st August the tamariki and kaiako participated in a pyjama day. Here are a few pictures from the event.

Playing with Gloop

Today the children explored the wonders of gloop. This type of play encourages children to manipulate and mould materials, building up their fine motor skills and coordination. This activity also helps develop negotiation skills, turn taking, experimenting with soluions, sharing, imagintaion and creative play.

My Kitchen Rules (Learning Curves Edition)

Today our master chefs are busy in the sandpit creating a 23 course meal, inspired by the television show 'My Kitchen Rules.' 

Each child has a role to play from Executive Chef, to dishwasher. We also had judges that would rate the meals based on presentation and taste.

This type of play encourages children to be creative, interact socially with peers, working together, testing ideas/theories and shows aspects of tino rangatiratanga (leadership).