Toitū te marae a Tane Mahuta, toitū te marae a Tangaroa, Toitū te tangata, If the land is well and the sea is well the people will thrive.

We have been able to get back to our Wednesday Gymnastics sessions over at the School of Gymnastics. Each week a group of ten children and two teachers head over in the school van. In fact, I think the van ride is as much fun as the excursion itself. 

This extension to our physical education programme is always a highlight of the week for the tamariki. It has been exciting to see the persistence in our young learners, as they experiment and gain confidence on the various gym equipment. This article explains the value of using our larger body muscles in order to support the foundation skills for later success, including writing. It is all about the muscles! 

https://movingsmartblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/m-is-for-monkeybars-getting-ready-for.html

We have also been planning a few incursions (visitors) to support our emergent programme.  The Wildlife team at Willowbank will visit us with a real Tuatara early in September.  Then a visit from St John Ambulance and Amby (the miniature ambulance) will keep our resident Doctors in check, as we seek to learn more about helping sick people in our community. This follows on from lots of imaginative play and plenty of pretend Doctors appointments. 

As usual lots of busy, exciting learning and fun happening at preschool. We have also enjoyed having our recent graduates visit us from big school. We love that the pathway to school also includes visits back to us.

Enjoy those spring flowers and sunshine!

nga mihi

Lyndell