Ko Taku Reo Preschool in Kelston was closed from 11:59pm Tuesday the 17th of August. How did the teaching team, whānau and ākonga keep learning and playing together at Level 4?

At Ko Taku Reo Preschool in Kelston, our team priorities were well-being/ mana atua, communication/mana reo, and relationships / ngā hononga. Going into our fifth lockdown closure, we knew we wanted to keep in touch with our Whānau Whānui. Using whatever means and modes of communication available, we wanted to maintain our relationships and support their well-being in any way we could from our bubbles. It's tough being at home day after day, especially with limited options for keeping very young children happy and learning through play. And the last thing families need is another source of stress. So we used our online platform Storypark to give families a daily smorgasbord of optional activities!
These included signed picture books, links to songs and stories online, and lots of suggestions for activities to try at home. This meant some new learning for the Preschool team as we recorded and edited videos at home. We also did team Zoom meetings, and 1:1 Facebook Messenger video calls, and Zoom meetings when families wanted some face-to-face time for themselves or their tamariki.

At the time of writing, Ko Taku Reo Preschool is in Level 4 lockdown for another week. We are all missing seeing the children in person, and are looking forward to Level 2 when the preschool community can start to reconnect kanohi ki te kanohi.