Hello, Kia Ora, Talofa Lava, Kia Orana, Namaste,Bonjour,Ni Hao & greetings to all our followers of the blog. We have had a busy time at kindergarten with Breakfast & Pyjama Party here. We have also been actively involved in contributing to our programme with active movement, music, stories,games, art & lots of learning taking place.Our delicious spread included toast, cereals ,milo & fruit just to name a few. Here are a few photos for you.
What is being created at the carpentry area this week? Have a look at our children at work in this area, developing their skills with carpentry tools, literacy (using descriptive language, letters for names etc)) and numeracy (measuring, counting) and experiencing a sense of achievement on completion of their projects
Tinkerbell, Bella and Toby, our guinea pigs receive gentle care and loving attention. Some of our children have little or no experience with pets and animals so learning how to care and look after them and our canaries, Whistler and Michael Jackson, is important for building childrens knowledge as well as giving them confidence to handle animals.
We have also been exploring the dinosaur world this week, with the discovery of 'dinosaur eggs' and 'bones' in the sand as well as learning about them through books and discussion.
Thanks for visiting our blog and sharing in our learning. See you again soon!
Our children have always demonstrated a fascination for bugs and small creatures and these are again a hot topic. With heavy rain earlier in the week the ground is wet and easy to dig so we collect some in a tray and gently trawl through it to see what can be found.........slugs, worms, centipedes, beetles.........and then we investigate how they live, what they eat, etc 
Mr Turnbull and his class from Concord School arrive on Wednesday morning to share stories and experiences. What great role models - sharing quiet quality time talking and interacting with our children. Thank you for taking the time to walk up that hill and visit us. 
Our world map/globe is out for us to check out Rarotonga (Gerry is there this week) and also Turkey (where one of our families has gone for a month to visit relatives) Safe travels to you all.
Thanks to Jude's crocheting skills there are now 5 Little Monkeys causing trouble for Mr Crocodile and as you can see the children are developing some great skills using finger puppets as well as extending and experimenting with language and literacy. This learning was enhanced even further on Friday when one of our Mums sang for us. We were all spell bound by her beautiful voice as she shared songs and waiata with us all. 
Of course the recent royal events stirred interest in weddings for us all but even more importantly we had a wedding of our own during the term break.
Congratulations from us all to Gerry and Rob. We wish you every happiness.
Hello again, friends, families, children & followers of our blog. Time flies and it is only a little over a week till the end of term. Here are a few more pictures of our fun, learning programme and some of the busy happenings taking place here. Kia Kaha.
With books in hand about 25 children from Concord School visited us to read to small groups and individual children - what a great way to enhance literacy learning, language and communication skills, and promote relationships with older children and their school. We hope this will become a regular event.In preparation for our trip to Woodside Glen, children are practising how to walk together in small groups holding onto the rope. The track up into the bush is steep and we want to be well prepared to keep everyone safe. This is part of our bi-cultural learning journey and children will be able to experience our native flora and fauna... hearing and identifying birds and learn about the history and landmarks of our local area - the Taieri, Maungatua and Saddle Hill. 
Welcome back. It is already halfway through March and the learning fun continues as we further explore painting. Hand/finger painting is a frequent activity so this time we try using our feet - a new sensory experience for our children which also involves mixing colours, balancing (have you tried standing on a slippery surface?) co-operation and communication.
Our ongoing project making mosaic pavers has reached the final stage as we begin to grout our creations. This must be the messiest part of the process so aprons, masks and gloves are used for protection.
Thursday 10 March, was 'Grandparents and Specials Friends Day' and we were delighted to welcome a number of visitors. Our children took great delight in showing them around and sharing in our programme and their were even 'a few tears' when it was time for them to go.
There is great excitement this week as the first 3 butterflies (kahuku)hatch from their cocoons/chrysalis....what a fascinating experience for us all as they emerge, stretch and slowly pump up their wings eventually building enough strength to make those first tentative attempts to fly. Eventually they are off, fluttering over the bushes to explore their new world. What a fabulous learning opportunity - witnessing the complete life cycle of the monarch.. .....egg > caterpillar > cocoon > butterfly!
