Reconnecting after the holidays!
20 February 2025
February has been another busy month here at Active Explorers Greenmeadows, as children have returned from their Christmas/January holidays. It has been great reconnecting with all our friends and there has been so much fun and learning happening!
We started the month off with our first whānau picnic at Anderson Park and it was a great success! It was so nice being able to come together outside of the centre, and for all of our families to reconnect with not only the Kaiako but other families as well. The children loved the face paint and bubbles! We will most definitely hold another whānau picnic at the park, as the feedback from this night was fantastic.
We have also been providing opportunities for the Tamariki to help Teresa, our cook with getting morning and afternoon tea ready. The children in Kōwhai Room had a great time helping us to make the scones for afternoon tea! They helped pour the scone mix into the bowl, and then helped Kaimahi Donna stir the ingredients in the bowl. That afternoon they were able to taste their baking and it tasted soooo good! Baking is definitely something we are going to continue to ensure that is happening, as the children absolutely love having this sense of responsibility.
Music and Movement
Is there anything more fantastic than seeing an infant, toddler or young child fully rocking to a beat with their own artistic movements, not a care in the world as they create, move and groove to music that sometimes only they can hear?! There are, of course many learning benefits for children when they engage in music and movement, these are just a few of them as well as some ways that you can bring music and movement to life for your child.
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Family and Dramatic Play
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?
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A month full of Cultural Celebrations and Learning!
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
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