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Literacy
We had a big laminated board from a photo frame which Lucy decided to use for children to write on with white board markers. Children currently have a big interest in letters and writing, and practicing their fine motor skills and writing. Interested children were able to practice writing the alphabet over a template that has arrows to encourage the correct formation of the letters.
In the art area is our playdough table, which through manipulation of rolling, and kneading the cutting, and using the tools, helps develop children’s fine motor skills needed for writing and fine motor control.
Helping fine motor activities, and opportunities for writing, helps children gain confidence in their own abilities and encourage more confidence and an interest in literacy.
Links To Te Whariki: Mana reo – Communication: Recognising print symbols and concepts and using them with enjoyment, meaning and purpose – he korero pangarau.
Kaiako: Lucy
Happy New Year 🎉
To start off 2020 we have been having fun revisiting favourite activities at HeadStart. The children have been asking for sand and water play, bikes, and the safety mats out to swing on the monkey bars. It is wonderful to see children continue their interests and test their skills and abilities to see them play alongside their friends they have missed over the holiday period.
While inside reading books with friends and teachers has been re-settling, and reassuring for old and new children. While in the piwakawaka room, the cars, trains and their track have had extensive use, and children are able to ask for the car mats to zoom and race cars together. This is allowing children to share interests and develop relationships.
Links to Te Whariki: Principle Nga honohga – Relationships:
Children learn through responsive and reciprocal relationships with people, places and things.
Mana tangata – Contribution: They are encouraged to learn with and alongside others.
Mana aoturoa – Exploration: Their play is valued as meaningful learning and the importance of spontaneous play is recognised.
Kaiako: Lucy
Christmas Party 2019
It was really great to see all the HeadStart family at our Christmas party. We hope you all enjoyed your time with the HeadStart team and your friends (HeadStart Whanau). We are so glad everyone had a good time. We hope you all enjoyed the atmosphere, the food, our special entertainer Popcorn the Clown, and our very special guest SANTA!!!! It was a great pleasure to see our children's joyful moments, especially when they sat with Santa and received a gift with a big smile.
We wish everyone a very happy and safe holiday and can’t wait to see you all again next year!
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all!
Links to Te Whariki: Principles: *Whanau tangata -Family and Community The wider world of family and community is an integrals part of early childhood curriculum.
*Nga hononga -Relationships - Children learn through responsive and reciprocal relationships with people, places and things.
Sure was a lovely time! Thanks to all you parents for making our Christmas a little brighter with great memories and lovely treats!
Our spontaneous Christmas concert was triggered by Ava and Zara's request for Christmas music. Soon the dancing stage was brought out, followed by the jingle bell instruments, tinsels and Santa costumes. April, Amiee, Darran, Skye, Lothar, Indy and Yi Ke, all excitedly joined the fun, dressing up in their Santa hats and shaking their jingle bells along to the Christmas Music CD.
This activity provided the children with opportunities to express their creativity, interact with and alongside their peers, as well as developing the confidence to perform in front of others. Furthermore, the children were able to gain a sense of self worth and a perception of themselves as capable and competent learners, knowing their spontaneous ideas were recognised, valued and responded to. Te Whariki Communication/Mana Reo
Kaiako: Mi Hee
Monday 9th December
Today one of HeadStart's ex pupils Charlie and her mother Janelle visited us and helped us to refresh our vegetable garden. Janelle and Charlie brought a variety of herbs and vegetables for us to plant. Janelle has helped us to plant vegetables every year, and this year she offered to help us again. Our children carefully handled herbs and vegetables under her guidance while planting them in the garden. A pleasure during gardening is that children can discover insects in the soil. Our children worked hard on gardening today, and the result is we were able to complete a great vegetable garden.
Thank you so much Charlie and Janelle for bringing us the plants and helping us – we love seeing you again!
Through this experience, our children were able to develop their own working theories for making sense of the natural world and a sense of responsibility for the living world and knowledge about how to care for it. Exploration / Mana Aotūroa.
Kaiako: Mi Hee
Jessica is our dance teacher, and comes every fortnightly to do a dance class with our children. Today the children learnt a new dance routine to dance along with a Christmas song medley, involving a variety of dance moves with Jessica's instructions. The children learnt and performed a hip-hop dance with a variety of movements such as shaking arms, waving legs, jumping, hopping, and waving hips. Our children were very excited to have the opportunity to showcase their dance skills.
Te Whariki states children discover different ways to be creative and expressive by understanding and familiarity with music, song and dance from a range of cultures and recognition that these media can amuse, delight, comfort, illuminate, inform and excite. Communication / Mana Reo
Kaioko: Mi Hee
Christmas Tree 2019
With the arrival of the Christmas tree at HeadStart, our children began preparing for the joy of Christmas. After we secured the Christmas Tree into it’s stand, many children sat around to decorate the Christmas tree. The children chose the ornaments they wanted and took turns to hang them up one after the other. Climbing the ladder to hang the Christmas decorations on top of the tree was very exciting to the children. Next stage of decorating was adding tinsel to the Christmas tree and finishing with lights, the children were delighted by shouting that the Christmas tree was completed. Our beautiful Christmas tree shows the greatness of our children's team effort. An exciting and fun year-end begins!
The children had the opportunity to think about cooperative skills as they participated in the Christmas tree decorations. The children learned that they should consider each other's turn when decorating a tree with many people, and they should work together with others. The children also experienced that the fun multiplied when they completed the Christmas tree decoration with many people.
Te Whariki Contribution / Mana Tangata
Kaiako: Mi Hee
Brake Aotearoa created Beep Day to encourage Early Childhood Centres encourage road safety awareness and road safety, so we planned a Bike Day.
We used this opportunity to talk about safety when we drive in a car with family, when we walk on the pavement with mum/dad or ride on our bikes in the park or sidewalk with mum/dad. We always need our safety helmets when we are on our bikes.
We had such a fun day with very excited tamariki, who were eager to show off their wheels and riding skills. Thanks to our helping parents; the day went so well and our tamariki had an awesome time!
Kaiako: Mi Hee
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