Over the past two weeks our tamariki have enjoyed visiting the Life Education Mobile Classroom.

Life Education is a trust that works in New Zealand schools to educate and inspire tamariki. The trust provides a variety of interactive programmes focused around health and wellbeing. This year our Year 1&2 tamariki focused on the topic 'How can I be a good friend?'. 

Together with Jo and Harold the Giraffe, the tamariki discussed what it takes to be a good friend and how to create strong and positive relationships. They practiced identifying bug and boost behaviours and looked at how these may impact friendships. Bug behaviours are things like pulling hair or snatching toys. Boost behaviours could be actions such as using kind words or taking turns. Looking at behaviours in this way helped tamariki work out what a good friend looks like. 

On top of their learning, the children loved looking at the colourful lights and laughing at Harold the Giraffe's jokes. Here are some quotes from the tamariki in Room 2.

• "I liked learning about how to be a nice friend. I went and sat by B at lunch time because she was on her own." - Millie
• "We learnt that shouting at our friends was a bug behaviour and being kind was a boost behaviour" - Jenevieve 
• "Harold the Giraffe was really funny when he told jokes and did silly dancing" - Alesha 

We are very thankful for Jo and Harold visiting Merrin and letting us learn in their interactive classroom.