On a cold and wet day Thursday at the end of last term, Pīwaka braved the elements and went on a Tūrangawaewae road trip around our favourite op shops in Rangiora.

Whāea Jess has discovered that not only do the tamariki at our kura LOVE op shopping, but they are very good at it.  Quite gifted at op shopping, actually!

We have a great ability to find bargains with just a few dollars in our pocket to spend.  

We are able to thoroughly search around in the boxes, bins and goodies of pre loved goodies, think about our budget and choose our items carefully.  

We always start at the Hope Op Shop, and Tracey the Manager likes to prepare 50c and $1 bags of little goodies and toys for us to rummage through.  Did you know that our very own Whāea Megan Pohio-Marsh works at this op shop during the week too!  

Our tamariki found shoes for their cousins, lego, clothes, games, stationary for their siblings, books and trinkets of all shapes and sizes.  We have formed a very good relationship with the Hope Op Shop, and their manaakitanga towards us is exceptional every time.  Ngā mihi ki taua whānau! 

The next stop on our trip was the Salvation Army Op Shop in the middle of town.  This op shop has a colour coding system using stickers which shows you the price of each item.  This supports our tamariki to be independent consumers, with the 50 cent, $1 and $2 items being very popular.  There are always excellent discussions and debates between our tamariki as to a quality purchase, or one that probably will never be used once it gets home.

This time around, we found vintage kiwiana items, clothes, shoes, toys (a LOT of toys - all different shapes, sizes and kinds).  We uncovered porcelain figurines,  prints, cushions, earrings for our sisters and mums, handbags and purses, ceramic bottles, antique cups, knives and forks, travel mugs, beanies, sparkly sequined dresses, and even more shoes.

A special mihi to our lovely whānau at home, who are so supportive and positive with the treasure hauls that their darlings bring home after a mission like this...we could not do it without your support!