Exciting and Fun-Filled Term 2 at The Early Years Whānau Centre!

We have been growing our skills at the Early Years Whānau Centre by learning about Matariki and the Māori New Year. In Sumner, we learned about where our food comes from. We visited the community gardens and went on a pumpkin hunt, where we found all the pumpkins that had been growing in the garden. We made the most delicious pumpkin soup and dipped in chunks of homemade bread. It was yummy! We have been learning about Rapanui Shag Rock and Tuawera Cave Rock, which we drive past on the way into Sumner. Story books this term have been 'Handa's Surprise', 'The Little Red Hen', 'Row, Row, Row Your Waka', and 'The Kauri Family'. These books are rich in language and theory of mind and link well with learning about food sources and native animals in New Zealand.

We visited the Christchurch Library and joined in the Matariki Storytimes. Thank you to the team from Christchurch Library for supporting each of these visits, growing their knowledge of using NZSL, and bringing books to life.

We had a special Zoom video call with Emma Meema, who lives in Australia. We all got to speak to her and sing some songs. What fun!

We farewelled Jorja Steele from her role as NZSL Tutor and welcomed Benazir Black on Tuesday and Thursday mornings. We value having the NZSL Tutors on our team as they are fantastic role models for us and our whānau, helping us grow our knowledge and use of NZSL.

We welcomed six families to our Preschool Residential Course (PRC), which was held in Weeks 3 and 7. The PRC is always a busy, fun, and invigorating few days with lots of time to focus on goals each whānau has identified. We also spend time in our Playgroup meeting other children and making connections with whānau.

Look out for more information about the Virtual Preschool Group, starting early in Term 3, 2024.

We wish Evie Ford and Miliama Waites fond farewells as they transition to school at the beginning of Term 3. We wish you both many happy school days. Farewell to Jonty Gould, Imogen Gould, and Ellie Woodhouse, who will leave Playgroup to attend preschool. We will miss you all!