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Flying High

28 June 2019

This week children from Active Explorers Leeston’s Enquiry Class learnt how to make manu taratahi kites, with the help of Coby’s talented mum, Karen Quinn.

The popular triangular kites are named thanks to the single plume of toetoe at the narrow end of each kite. In Maori, tara means point and tahi means one.

“It was a fun learning experience for all,” says centre manager Janene Prendergast.

“We very much appreciated Karen’s time and patience, not to mention all the resources she contributed so that the children could make several manu taratahi kites.”

Young children are learning their place in the world every single day in multiple ways. The ideas that they form from observing the world around them will often show up when children are engaging in family and dramatic play, but what exactly is family and dramatic play and what are the benefits of your child engaging in it?

Kia Ora! This month has been full of exciting activities and cultural celebrations at our preschool! We celebrated Cook Islands Week and Tongan Language Week by learning about greetings, colors, numbers, and the days of the week from these cultures. The children enjoyed making Tongan “Otai” and learning some Cook Islands language from one of our dads. We also had a visit from the librarian who entertained the children with puppet stories and songs. A highlight was our parent evening where we discussed raising resilient children. Parents learned about language development and strategies for managing common behavior issues. The children had fun with our homemade Olympic Games, where they created and awarded their own medals. We also raised awareness about asthma with the Sailor Asthma Show, presented by Aimee Gaestro. The Kapa Haka group from St Mary’s School performed for us, and it was a fantastic experience. Be sure to check out the videos! Our oldest children visited St Mary’s School to see what primary school is like and what they can expect. It’s been a busy month, and we look forward to more enriching experiences for the children. Connections to Te Whāriki (ECE Curriculum) Learning Outcomes: Belonging: Connecting with people, places, and things in their world Contribution: Using skills and strategies to play and learn with others Communication: Enjoying and creating stories

Lollipops Auckland Central was awash with colour as staff, children and families celebrated Diwali, the much-loved festival of lights.

Flying High

Family and Dramatic Play

A month full of Cultural Celebrations and Learning!

Diwali Celebrations