We all belong at the Early Years Whānau Centre by Ko Taku Reo Deaf Education NZ
We all belong at the Early Years Whānau Centre
Lydia Heard - Early Childhood Resource Teacher of the Deaf — March 20, 2024
We have been revisiting Ko Wai Au (Who am I). With new whānau and existing whānau, how do we belong, who is important to us, and what places are important to us?
In the Early Years Whānau Centre, we feel a sense of belonging to two communities in our two playgroups: one is in Prebbleton, and one is in Sumner. In Term 1 2024, we have been revisiting and introducing the Ko Wai Au (Who am I) concept by crafting and adding to our whānau tree. Tamariki and whānau can, therefore, see that they belong to our large Early Years Whānau Centre community.
We took new and existing whānau on a history walk in the Sumner Campus, amongst the site's rich Deaf history, including the old boarding house and museum. We picked apples from the 100 year old apple trees and used them to make apple pie to share.
We have been exploring other cultural narrative aspects by looking into the māori names of our unique area ōhikaparuparu (Sumner) location. The children created Rapanui with collages, and we have displayed them.
Repetition of our stories using NZSL, spoken English, and drama has supported familiarity for our tamariki's developing language and imagination. Our stories ("Who's in the Shed", "The Very Hungry Caterpillar", "The Little Red Hen", and "Handa's Surprise") are a regular part of our routine. Their predictable, accessible, and repetitive language supports a sense of belonging.
It has been a very busy term so far!
