Aloha Hawaii

As a teaching team we have been extremely lucky to have been successful with our application to the Joyce Barnes Travel Trust.

Ashleigh and Tracey will be representing the kindergarten in Hawaii in March ..
They are speaking at a conference in Maui as well as visiting Waikiki Elementary School finding out more about the Habits of Mind and our cultural connections as well as sharing our journey exploring the HOM in an Aotearoa context . 
The panel acknowledged our interest and passion for Habits of Mind and the significant influence of our work over a long period of time and it's potential to enhance teaching and learning across the network. We are very grateful to the trust and NZK for this incredible opportunity.

Making Chapati

This morning we were lucky enought to have Hanna's Mum spend the morning with us making Chapati. Initially Bhuvika began making some herself and children watched her roll the dough into balls, roll it our flat and then cook it over the hot heat.

As the lovely aroma of the chapati filled the Kindergarten children began to show an interest and in their own time cut, rolled some dough into balls and used specially made rolling pins to flatten the dough for cooking. The children used the same techniques as they had watched Bhuika use as the prepared the dough for cooking.

Jed talked about the different shapes he had made as he rolled out the dough, trying very hard to form a circle.

"I made a square, but then I folded the corners in and made a circle" he said proudly.

Once the chapati had been made we gathered around the table to try them. As we all sat around the table trying the chapati Hanna took much pride in telling everyone "you need to roll it like this" as she rolled her chapati up.

It was a pleasure to have Bhuvika come in to share the making of chapati, something that we know she and Hanna enjoy making at home for their meals. Kia ora mo tēnā - Thanks for that.

Striving for Accuracy

What does striving for accuracy look like? Well, our afternoon children demonstrated some wonderful examples of showing accuracy and taking time to complete their tasks. Kathy repeated three puzzles over and over, each time practising and perfecting where she placed the pieces. She is learning that practise   helps us get better at things. Ka nui ake to matauranga, your knowledge increases.

Charlotte took careful, quiet, precession to carefully balance blocks and then even more carefully position  teddy bears around her creation. Such concentration!

And again such careful concentration from Tyla and Maddie as they threaded tiny beads and buttons onto thin wire for this artist creation.

Children are demostrating pride in their work and as teachers we acknowledge, encourage and have high expectations for our children's learning and development. Children can reach their full potential   and develop important habits when surrounded by activities that promote this type of learning.

Bungy Jumping!

Over the last couple of days the children have been taking responsible risks on the slide and bungy jumping! This has been sparked by several children watching sky dive and bungy jumping videos on the iPad. The children have transferred their knowledge of what they have seen into creative play. We looked around for some rope but found a rubber bungy instead. This is very creative, he tino auaha tēnei and shows flexible thinking.

Children worked interdependently by helping each other to tie the bungy cord around each other and turn taking. Decisions about safety had to be made such as where to place the bungy, either around their feet or waist and making sure no one else was on the slide as they went down. This is all part of making responsible decisions around risk taking. Children were stepping out of comfort zones and being brave! Making a decsion about going feet first or head first was exciting and brave to try! Kia manawanui, be brave!

Ukulele Jam Session

Today we had a wonderful visit  from local ukulele players,  Fi and Hugh. They always come in with great enthusiasm and a great range of songs for the tamariki.

Everytime they come, it's always a little different. Today, several tamariki used poi and swung them in time to the waiata/songs. We also had a row of enthusiastic children strumming along with our ukulele and even some drummers at the back.

Sharing music is a great taonga/gift and we always appreciate the time and talent that Fi and Hugh share with us.

Their creativity doesn't stop there.  Fi and Hugh are also the faces behind the design and production of "News and Views" our Geraldine Kindergarten magazine. 

So we thank them both for enriching our daily programme when they visit and for their contributions to the Kindergarten.

Nā tō rourou, nā taku rourou 
ka ora ai te iwi.

With your food basket and my food basket 
the people will thrive.

Self Portraits with Rebecca

This week George's mum, Rebecca, came in to take a workshop on self portraits. Rebecca is a wonderful artist and brought in her art work to show the tamariki. 

The children used mirrors to study their unique  features and transfer what they saw onto paper. Everyone practised on paper first before having a go on a canvas with water colours. 

Rebecca asked the children to look for shapes they could see in their faces. Ovals and circles were the predominate shapes. She discussed how eyes have an iris and a pupil and the children had to stop and think carefully as they drew these features. 

We value whānau bringing in their expertise. It encourages whanaungatanga/relationships between kindergarten and home. Children learn in an environment where their unique skills are valued and families gain a sense of belonging when they are invited in to share their culture. 

  Kia maumahana tau mana ake. Remember your uniqueness.

Exploring number

At the end of the day our afternoon children explored number ,counting up to 5 and counting back using the fun , interactive song " five little speckled frogs"

It required us to manage our impulsivity because having a turn immediately was everyone's priority.

We also worked together problem solving , working out and predicting , if one frog was removed how many would be left .He kaha koe ki tatauria, you are good at counting !