What's Happening in the Auckland Region for 2012!

Term 1 Newsletter***NEW***

Outing to Castor Bay beach- Nth Shore council pre-school play morning. 21/2/12

Several Nth Shore educators and nannies bought their children along to another one of Nth Shore council pre- school play mornings. There are lots of toys to try- bikes, cars, tunnels, tents, see-saws, treadmill and other cool things. We were also able to play on the playground and then skip over to the beach to have a paddle in the sea and play in the sand.

It was a fun morning for everyone.

Hillside and Buckley Rd Playgroups 20/2/12

Playgroups have commenced again for the New Year and it’s been great to catch up with everyone again.  The children have enjoyed painting and playdough, puzzles, waterplay, riding bikes, sand play and collage activities and we also did some dancing yesterday too.  It was a gorgeous sunny day which meant we could all sit outside for morning tea.  It’d be great to see some more nannies/educators and their children joining in the fun.  The next playgroup for central Auckland is at Buckley Rd, Mt Roskill, Tuesday February 28th.  Look forward to seeing you there.

West Auckland Playgroup

9th February 2012

Posted 14/2/12

It is great to be back into the swing of things and our first playgroup of the year was busy and fun.
The children were delighted to catch up and have a play and so were the educators!!
A very warm welcome to all our new educators, it was lovely to meet you and your delightful children.
Thankfully the weather was fine and everyone had a ball in the sandpit, on the bikes and climbing the huge adventure playground.
Please feel free to join us at our playgroup even though you may not be in the area , all is welcome!

Lake House Arts Centre – preschool art morning – 8 February 2012

The weather was excellent for an outdoor arts and crafts session and also for a lot of play with the community van toys. Jolize, Megan, Paige, Jaxon,, Leo, Gemma and other children enjoyed the roller painting on different textures, like  bubble wrap and  cardboard, and then they decorated their paintings with sand, this wonderful natural resource.
There was also a wide variety of outdoor equipment, like tents, balls, cars, hoops, trolleys  and even a treadmill for children!

This place is very beautiful with an amazing garden and sculptures that children can enjoy too. Nellie was very keen on climbing on and sliding down the wooden seal, which looked very shiny and polished.
Children experience an environment where their play is valued as meaningful learning and the importance of spontaneous play is recognised and they discover different ways to be creative and expressive (Te Whaariki, The Early Childdood Curriculum, Exploration/Mana Aoturoa Goal 1 and Communication/ Mana Reo Goal 4).

Mihaela

Valentines Day Art 11/2/12

Here are some pictures of Lorenzo and Sarah with their Valentine's Day art.  They made "heart people" out of cardboard and paper fasteners and collage hearts.  Something to share with other educators and nannies.

Cheers
Sam
(Auckland Educator)

Trip to Devonport

January 2012 (Posted 3/2/12)

Today there was a trip to the park in Devonport to explore the playground and the Auckland Council had set up a pre-school play morning at the park as well.  Some educators and their children drove to this event while others caught a bus or a train and then caught the ferry from Auckland central.  The trip over on the ferry was great we saw sail boats and fishing boats, cruise ships and cranes working at the container terminal and the children also spotted the sky tower too. 

Once at Devonport we joined the other nannies and educators, children and co-ordinators from the North Shore for morning tea and then a play at the park.  The children had a great time enjoying the see saws and bikes as well as the slides and swings too.  Then it was off to catch the ferry back to Auckland city.

Thank you to all those who attended this outing it was great to catch up again after the Christmas break.  We hope to see more and more people at our upcoming events as trips are a great way of meeting others on the service.
Belonging – Mana Whenua – Goal 1 – Children and their families experience an environment where connecting links with the family and the wider world are affirmed and extended.  Te Whaariki – The Early Childhood Curriculum.

Lynette

 Free Tax information session for Educators

You are invited to attend a talk given by Avneet from the IRD about all aspects of paying tax as a home based educator with HGK. She will talk for approx 1 hour and there will be time to have your questions answered. Avneet is our contact person from the IRD and is very knowledgeable and informative. Even if you are an established educator with us we highly recommend you attending as it may enlighten you further.
Date: Thursday 1st March
Time: 10.15am sharp – please be on time.
Venue: Windy Ridge Playcentre
21a Tamahere Dr Glenfield, North Shore

Normal playgroup session will go ahead and the children will be supervised by HGK Coordinators, nannies and educators not participating.

Please rsvp to your Coordinator by 24h February – Thanks.

Home Grown Kids visit to Ambury Farm

Mangere
December 2011 (Posted 24/1/12)

A group of nannies, educators, parents, co-ordinators and children visited Ambury Farm in Mangere just before Christmas.  What a great hands on day we had with the animals.  The children were able to get up close to touch the cows and to see how they were milked too, and how the milk goes along the tubes and then is collected at the other end.  If you felt the tubes they were really warm too.  We were also able to feed the sheep and the chooks as well.  We saw some goats too and rabbits and guinea pigs in their hutches and the pigs were having a great time enjoying the mud!  Everyone enjoyed a fabulous day at the farm thanks to our guide Meredith who was just fantastic with the children.  Great to see the children able to consolidate and build on their knowledge of the living world and what animals need for their well-being.  Ambury Farm is part of the Auckland Regional Council and anyone can visit at any time as it is open to the public all year round.
Exploration – Mana Aoturoa  – Goal 4 – Children experience an environment where they develop working theories for making sense of the natural, social, physical and material worlds.  Te Whaariki – The Early Childhood Curriculum.

Lynette

16/1/12

Photos above from the end of 2011 Nanny Dinner, thanks Lynette, looks like a great time was had by all

2012

Term One Newsletter 2011
Term Two Newsletter 2011
Term Three Newsletter 2011
Term Four Newsletter 2011 ***NEW***


Bird Barn Outing Download 24/6/11

HGK Auckland Xmas party- December 13th.

What a great turn out we had to our annual Xmas party. There were so many yummy treats to eat so thanks to everyone who bought a plate- fantastic effort.
Thanks also to our nanny Emma who did some awesome face painting and also to Sara (Singing with Sara) who put on a great interactive music and movement session. It was great to see everyone join in and what fun it was.
Santa visited us at the end of the party and everyone got a present including 3 week old Charlie-James- who is our youngest Home Grown Kid!

Merry Christmas everyone and have a safe and happy holiday. We look forward to seeing you all in the new year.

Teddy Bears Picnic 7/12/11

This year our Teddy Bears’ picnic at Mairangi Bay park proved to be a very popular outing, with around 47 children and adults attending. Children enjoyed a range of activities, from the physical ones, like riding bikes, climbing, crossing bridges and crawling through tunnels on the playground, to the quieter ones like listening to the stories Rea read and having morning tea.

We were all introduced to the special teddies or soft toys brought along. Some children, like Ethan, who is just 9 months old, were glued to the puppets “Goldilocks and the 3 bears”. Hannah was captivated by the story and I saw her laughing at the jokes. Matthew was so cute in his chicken dress-up and he was holding his special bear and listening to the stories in the front row.

Some of our nannies and educators brought their children’s journals along and we were so delighted to see their great stories and photos, some of them written by parents or grandparents. A big thank you to everybody who took part in this exceptional outing.

By Mihaela

West Playgroup 23/11/11

We are having a great time at playgroup; the children are having a ball in the very well resourced play centre.
All the children have formed fantastic relationships and the educators enjoy catching up once  fortnight.

Home Grown Kids Visit the Sky Tower Posted 30/9/11

Thursday September 22nd 2011
Today a large group of children, educators, nannies and co-ordinators met at the base of the sky tower for a trip to the very top of the tower.  We assembled by the fountain with everyone getting very excited, some children even remembered having been up the tower last year with Home Grown Kids too. 

Then it was off down the escalators or in the lifts to the base of the tower. Through the gift shop we went, it was very hard for little hands to resist touching all the exciting things that were for sale and there were also some very cool and very large models on display from the Weta Workshop.  We then split into groups to go up in the lifts as there wasn’t enough room for us all to fit in one lift.  Whoosh that lift travels very fast and we could see glimpses of the city rushing by outside.  Some lifts even had a glass floor too so you could watch all the mechanisms of the lift shaft as it ascended to the top of the tower.

Once at the top we all met up again and children were pointing out whatever they could see.  Some spotted the harbour bridge and the museum, others spotted the yachts sailing on the water or Mt Eden or Rangitoto or One Tree Hill and Jordan even spotted an ‘M’ for MacDonald’s. Good spotting Jordan! There was also some tug boats helping a great big container ship as it came into the harbour.  If we waited long enough there were also people doing the sky jump and they would stop right outside the glass and wave to us on their way down to the base of the tower.  They were very brave! Some of our children and adults were very brave too walking over the glass floor and some children even decided to lie down on the glass floor to see what else they could see below.  Everything looked soooooo tiny from way up there especially the cars and all the people.

Belonging – Mana Whenua – Goal 1 – Children and their families experience an environment where connecting links with the family and the wider world are affirmed and extended. Te Whaariki – The Early Childhood Curriculum.
What a great day visiting the sky tower. Thank you Sky City!  We will be back again next year I’m sure.

Lynette

Buckley Road Playgroup (Posted 28/9/11)

27th September 2011
Mt Roskill
What a beautiful sunny day we had with the children being able to explore all the outside activities at playgroup today.  There was waterplay to investigate with scoops and water wheels and watering cans too and buckets, spades and diggers in the sand pit as well as bikes to ride and we had playdough and collage activities up on the deck area too.  We were also able to having morning tea outside in the sunshine today too.   Thank you so much to all those who regularly attend playgroup.  It’s great to see the children developing friendships and looking forward to seeing each other each week.   We look forward to many more fun times at the plunket rooms on Buckley Road in Mt Roskill.   It’d be great to see you there.

Lynette

Glen Eden Playgroup 23/9/11

West Auckland

Our new playgroup is going so well, the children are really starting to get to know each other and they are developing some lovely relationships.  Today Sarah brought in a birthday cake for Maia who turned 5!

It was great to see the educators all bringing in their learning journals to share.  This was great as it provided for new ideas, plans and a chance to compare and discuss each other’s work; we will defiantly be doing that again.

Playgroup at Buckley Road 22/9/11

13th September 2011

Mt Roskill
We had another great playgroup today with children enjoying exploring all the resources in this new venue.   Children were able to play with cars and diggers as well as puzzles and playdough and we even managed to have some time outside in between the showers today to zoom down the slide or walk across the wobbly bridge.  Hamish explored crawling along the surround of the playground. Great for developing his large motor skills as he worked out how to alternate moving his arms and legs so he could crawl along the entire length of this surround.  Exploration – Mana Aoturoa – Goal 2 – Children experience an environment where they gain confidence in and control of their bodies.  Te Whaariki – The Early Childhood Curriculum.  Mat-time was great fun using the maracas to sing ‘The Wheels on the Bus’ and ‘I hear thunder” and a particular favourite ’Hammer, Hammer, Hammer.” We also celebrated Hamish’s 3rd birthday and Sylvia’s 2nd birthday today too.  Celebrating children’s birthdays encourages a sense of belonging. Belonging – Mana Whenua – Goal 3 – Children and their families experience an environment where they feel comfortable with the routines, customs, and regular events.  Te Whaariki – The Early Childhood Curriculum.

By Lynette

Balmoral Fire Station outing – By Karen 5/9/11

What a great outing we had today.  We went to the Balmoral Fire Station to learn about fire safety and to find out what the Firemen do.  The children were so excited when they arrived and all sat down while the “Boss” Fireman talked to us about home fire alarms and said that we should all have them in our houses to keep us safe.  Then one of the Firemen got dressed in all his Fire gear to show us what they wear to a fire, the fire suit is made of fire retardant material that helps them not get to burnt when they are fire fighting.  Karen also got dressed in the fire fighting gear too and nearly fell over because it was so heavy – the Firemen have to be very strong and fit to carry all the fire gear and fight fires. 

The children got to sit in the fire truck which they really loved.  Some of the children were in absolute awe of the whole outing.  They then drove the fire truck out onto the driveway and the children got to have a turn with the hose.  Karen also had a turn with this and accidentally wet one of the firemen.  Just as we were finishing up they got a call to go into the city to help with some flooding.  What a great outing to be able to learn what the Firemen do and to be able to sit in the truck and squirt water from the big hoses.

Te Whaariki – The Early Childhood Curriculum - Belonging/Mana Whenua Goal 1
Children and their families experience an environment where connecting links with the family and the wider world are affirmed and extended.

Buckley Road Playgroup 1/9/11

Mt Roskill
What a great day we had with the children exploring this new environment for our playgroup.  There was pink playdough to roll and cut shapes out of and a blackboard to draw on and blocks to build with as well as a great play area outside where children were able to enjoy  climbing the ladder to walk over the wobbly bridge and then to wizz down the slide.  Others enjoyed making sand castles in the sand pit whilst others enjoyed painting on the easel.  It was also very enjoyable to have morning tea outside in the fresh air on the deck.  We look forward to many more fun times at this new venue at the plunket rooms on Buckley Road in Mt Roskill.  It’d be great to see as many of you there as possible as it’s a great way for the children to get to know each other as well as for nannies and educators to network and share ideas too.  The next playgroup at this venue will be September 13th.  We look forward to seeing you there.

Sam, North Shore Educator 17/8/11

Sam from the north shore in Auckland is doing fabulous work! Sam is focusing on storytelling with the children.
Sam and the children make up stories using dolls and also use a whiteboard to assist them in telling their stories. 
The very young children have produced some amazing illustrations, it just reaffirms that children are capable learners given the opportunity and meaningful experiences.
Well done Sam!!!!

Fire Station Outing 16/8/11

On 10th August we met at Albany fire station for an exciting visit. The firefighters were very friendly and showed us how the smoke alarms work first. Then they took us to the fire truck and one of them got dressed in their special costume, with a gas mask on. Some boys and girls were very brave and touched the fireman in his costume, Carter was one of them, even though he looked different and a bit scary. Sebastian and Carlos shook hands and gave him Hi-5! How cool is that!
After that, children got very lucky and squirted the hose. Some cheeky children tried to wet people who were looking at them! But no luck with that, as we quickly moved aside.
Leo, Toby and Carlos rolled up the hose, using all their strength and power. Well done, guys! We are so proud of your teamwork!
It was then time for children to go up in the fire truck and check out the board, the steering wheel and other gear firefighters keep there.
The firefighters were very kind and generous and gave the children stickers and flash lights. I know some very excited boys who have used them at night, when going to sleep, under their blankets and in their dark rooms.
At the end, Sebastian was the only lucky boy who had a ride in the fire truck, just because Renee parked the car on the other side of the building.
This was such a good outing, children will remember it for a long time. The firefighters explained everything at children’s level, were very patient and funny. Thank you very much for a morning filled with laughter and fun!

Bayview playgroup- North Shore 10/8/11

What a great morning we had at playgroup – we invited Sara- from “Singing with Sara” along to come and do a music and movement session with us. Sara bought along her guitar and other musical instruments, scarves and rakau sticks. We danced and sang and followed the actions that Sara showed us. Babies through to the big kids all enjoyed this. Thanks for coming to playgroup Sara.

Glen Eden Playgroup 10/8/11

We all had a great morning at our new playgroup venue.  It was great to get everyone together and the children had a fabulous time exploring there new environment.

Look forward to many more great times!!

Developing Early Literacy Skills 2/8/11

On way to capture and encourage an interest in literacy events at home is to set up a small writing table.  The table can consist of pens paper scissors stickers notepads etc these items support and develop skills such as strengthening hand and finger muscles for writing.
Sarah from Auckland has set up her own table and all the children potter and explore different areas of literacy events, even the younger children enjoy imitating the older children – that’s what it’s all about, taking an interest.

Mihaela's visit wit one of our Auckland Educators Pam 26/7/11

Ryiah made a card for Pam to say she loves the time she spends there with Pam and Tatum, Pam's daughter.

Train Trip from Sylvia Park to Britomart

Thursday 14th July 2011

(Posted 22/7/11)

All aboard the train!   Despite the weather we had a great turn out for our train trip to Britomart.   All the nannies/educators and children waited at the station for the train to arrive.   It was raining but we all had our coats on and some children even had gumboots on as well.   Tyson had worn his ‘Thomas the Tank Engine hat’ especially too.  Once the train did come we all climbed on board and found a seat then paid the ticket lady as the train took off.  We watched as the world whizzed by and we went through some very dark tunnels but we still had lights on in the carriage so that was good.  We stopped at all the stations along the way and Darnelle, Tessa and Charlie boarded the train too when we stopped at the Glenn Innes station.   Then we were off again into the city. Once there we disembarked from the train and went up 2 flights of escalators to the coffee shop and had morning tea together and enjoyed a coffee, hot chocolate or fluffy.  Then it was back down to board the train for our trip back to Sylvia Park.   What a great adventure we had and the children had such a great time together and enjoyed each other’s company on our journey into town and back again, whilst also being able to experience a different mode of transport too.
A lot of the children had been looking forward to this train trip for a long time and we had discussed it and had a story about a train at mat-time last week too while we were at playgroup.   Thanks to all those who joined us on this very wet Auckland Day. 
Belonging – Mana Whenua – Goal 1 – Children and their families experience an environment where connecting links with the family and the wider world are affirmed and extended.  Te Whaariki – The Early Childhood Curriculum.

By Lynette

Charlie's Frogs 11/7/11

When I came to visit Charlie this month he was very excited to show me his 2 special frogs that his Grandi had give him. The green frog is called Ribbity and the brown frog is Hoppity. Charlie takes the frogs out of their tank and lets them hop around the floor and he also pretends to be a frog too! He is so careful when he handles the frogs and loves to say hello to them every day. I wonder how big the frogs will grow?? At the moment they are smaller than Charlie's little finger!
By Rea, Coordinator

Hamish enjoying his Home Grown Kids learning journal June 2011

Each time I visit Jenny has Hamish’s learning journal ready for me to read.  Hamish really enjoys looking at all the photos and recalling events and experiences he has had with Jenny and Home Grown Kids.  He points at and names places he has been to such as the Home Grown Kids playgroup, outings to the Lolly Shop and the ferry that took us over to the playground at Devonport plus the trains up at Whangaparoa too when his brothers came with us as it was the school holidays and there were even more trains when we visited Butterfly Creek last year too and don’t forget about the crocodiles we saw too.  He turns each page and we discuss each event and he will focus very intently on each picture and point at and name each person or object that he recognizes.

THE OLD LOLLY SHOP 17/6/11

Takapuna
Parkway Arcade
56-60 Hurstmere Rd
Takapuna
shop@oldlollyshop.co.nz
www.oldlollyshop.co.nz
09 4866706

Today we had our Home Grown Kids outing at the “Old lolly shop” in Takapuna.  What a fantastic turn out.  It was great to see so many Educators, Nannies and children attend, and it was nice to have Stacey one of our Directors come and join us too.

The children were very excited and we were all like children in a lolly shop.  They all climbed up onto the viewing platform and watched the man make some rocky road (unfortunately we weren’t allowed to taste test that – but it looked very nice).  He then started with the process of making lollipops.  First of all he had to heat the sugar to a very high temperature that he checked regularly with a thermometer and once that was the right temperature he added some glucose and then poured it onto the hot plates.  Before it began to melt he worked it very quickly with his hands.  He said it was very, very hot and he had to keep putting his hands into flour to stop them from burning.  The children were very interested in what he was doing.  He then cut the mix into 3 pieces and poured some colouring into them, red, orange and green, once he had mixed the green and red through he took the main piece which was orange and put it on a hook and stretched it over and over again to get the orange all through.  He then placed some red and green over the orange and twisted them until all the colours were twisted through, then cut them into long pieces and demonstrated to the children how to make lollipops.  He rolled the lolly into a round shape, then got a stick and put his hand flat onto the lollipop and pushed the stick in. 

He then cut 5 pieces at a time for the children to make their own lollipops.  First we had to wash our hands (most important) and then it was time to make a lollipop.  The children loved making the lollipops and made some very interesting shapes. Then it was time to EAT them….yummm!  We headed to the park shortly after so that they could have a run around and some morning tea.  It was a really great outing and everyone really enjoyed it.

Children develop a perception of themselves as capable of acquiring new interests and abilities.  Contribution/Mana Tangata, Goal 2, learning outcome 3.  Te Whaariki – The early childhood curriculum.

Children experience and environment where they are encouraged to learn with and alongside others.  Contribution/Mana Tangata, Goal 3.  Te Whaariki – The early childhood curriculum.

15/6/11

Jodie and the children enjoy reading through their learning journals when I come to visit.
It's great for the children to retell and recall experiences from photos and stories.

Outing to Lollipops Playland 6/7/11

We had a great turn out to our outing to Glenfield Lollipops Playland. The bigger kids spent a large part of their morning on the climbing apparatus and big slide, racing each other and practicing their climbing, balancing, swinging and rolling. The ride on cars and trucks were well used as with the playhouse and kitchen- lots of cooking going on and dinners being made for each other. Some great building was going on with the large bricks and buildings were being demolished and re-constructed at great length. It is great to see our babies at outings too- they love to socialise and watch what the other children are doing - and can participate in their own way.

Trip to Western Springs 2/6/11

We were very fortunate to have a beautiful sunny day today for our trip to Western Springs.  All the nannies, educators and children met in the zoo carpark ready to go with their bikes, scooters and prams for a ride around the lake. We set off and were soon zooming down hills and up bridges and down the other side.  We stopped to feed some bread to the ducks and swans and there were even some eels after our bread too.  Lucky we had Angelique there to shoo away the swans if they got a bit too close.  Then it was off again on our bikes around to the other side of the lake where we were lucky to see some baby swans with their mother.  We had a quick look and off we went again to the top of the next bridge where we saw some more ducks and eels and pukekos in the water below.  Then it was back to the park for our morning tea and a play at the play ground.  What a great morning we had.  Thanks to all those who attended and made this such a great outing. 

Exploration – Mana Aoturoa – Goal 2- Children experience an environment where they develop confidence in and control of their bodies.
Goal 4 – Children experience an environment where they develop working theories for making sense of the natural, social, physical and material worlds.  Te Whaariki – The Early Childhood Curriculum.

Bayview Playgroup 25/5/2011

We had a wonderful time at Bayview playgroup yesterday, being our second session at this new location. It is a great venue, with wonderful resources, and we need to thank Bonny for facilitating this.
A lot of children, nannies and educators joined us, and we made the most of the big inside and outside/deck areas. The weather was sunny, so children had fun with bikes, push chairs and other outdoor equipment on the deck.
Inside we had an art table set up with collage activities, a play dough table, dramatic play area with cars, a kitchen corner with utensils, babies area on the mat and an obstacle course with hurdles and poles. We try to set-up defined areas, somehow similar every session, to give children a sense of stability and security, where they can revisit their previous experiences.

Thank you, Sam, for taking an interactive mat-time, where children listened to the story of Dirty Bertie and played musical instruments. Sam captured everybody’s attention with two very well chosen activities and babies were actively included in the musical time as well. We welcome everybody who would like to share ideas and actively participate in our mat-times.
And a big thank you to all those nannies and educators who helped at set-up and tidy-up time. We always need extra help, especially until we get used to the play equipment and the new environment. See you all there next time. The more, the merrier!

Milford Playgroup- 12/5/11

We had a great morning at the playground at Milford beach making concrete tiles to take home. We were supposed to find papatuanuku from the beach to collect to decorate the tiles but when we go there the tide was so high we couldn't stand on the sand. Luckily we had lots of other treasures that we had collected prior to use to decorate them. We had to mix the concrete powder in with water in our own container each to just the right
consistency- then before it dried we chose our decorations to add.
Everyone was so proud of their tiles and they took them home to decorate their gardens!

New Auckland Playgroup 26/4/11

We are very happy to let you know that we have managed to secure a location for our North Shore playgroup, starting this term with our first session on 10th of May. We will alternate Monday and Tuesday dates fortnightly this term.
Time: 10-12
Address: Bayview Community Centre - 72 Bayview Rd. Glenfield
Dates: May 10th, 23rd, June 7th,  20th, July 5th

We will set up the big hall with equipment suitable for all age groups, from babies to 5 year olds: babies and toddlers’ toys, books, puzzles, dress-ups, art work activities, play dough, bikes, to name only a few.
Morning tea will be available for adults. Please bring morning tea and a drink for the children in your care. Parents are very welcome to attend if their child/ren are not in the educator/nanny’s care for the day. Come along for a morning filled with learning and fun!

Home Grown Kids Auckland Easter Egg Hunt 12th April 2011 (Posted 15/4/11)

Today the nannies, educators, parents, children,  coordinators and friends of Home Grown Kids, met at Coyle Park, Pt Chev for our annual Easter egg hunt.  We were lucky to have a gorgeous sunny day. 

Jason and Alison from Dramarama first led the children in singing ‘Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes’ but Jason had the song all mixed up, he didn’t know where his eyes, knees or ears were!  Just as well we had some clever children with us who could teach him the right way to sing the song.  They then led the children on a fun filled adventure searching for clues all over the park.  We had to look for clues that were hidden up in trees and one was hidden somewhere around a ‘rock.’  

At first we headed for the small group of rocks but it wasn’t there so we had to listen to the clue again. Aha! It was a large rock we were looking for. The last clue led us all back to the dragon where the Easter bunny popped out of a treasure chest!  Everyone was then given a goody bag from the treasure chest to go and hunt for the Easter eggs that the Easter Bunny had hidden while we were busy searching for clues. 

Thank goodness we had a lively ginger kitten that was fending off the pigeons from our eggs and he seemed to enjoy playing with the children too.  The bubble machine was a great hit as well as children tried to catch the bubbles as they came out of the machine and some tried to work out what made it work and discovered the switch that turned it off and on. 

Thanks to all who came along to join in the fun.  What a fantastic turnout and a great day!  A huge thank you to Jason and Alison from dramarama too!  
www.dramarama.co.nz

Belonging – Mana Whenua – Goal 1 – Children and their families experience an environment where connecting links with the family and the wider world are affirmed and extended. Goal 3 – Children and their families experience an environment where they feel comfortable with the routines, customs and regular events.  Te Whaariki – The Early Childhood Curriculum.      

What works with Pre-schoolers for nannies and educators

(This is for nannies and educators and is at the Parenting Place in Greenlane which is highly regarded in Auckland for its courses.)

Tuesday May 24th 2011
7.30pm to 9pm
Parenting Place
300 Great South Road, Greenlane

Ph 09 524 0025

www.theparentingplace.com

Cost $10

Pre-schoolers are heaps of fun and also extremely challenging!  In this workshop Andrea offers a selection of Parents Inc’s top tips, presented specifically for nannies and home based educators on how to get the best out of working with little people.  Topics will include compliance, sharing, communicating, eating, sleeping, toileting and how to maximize your relationship with parents.

Bookings  either via phone or internet.

Playgroup March 24/3/11

Another great morning at playgroup today with children and nannies/educators interacting with each other during the entire session.  The children are all getting to know each other more and more each week as well as getting to know the nannies/educators as well and are feeling comfortable with others assisting them to wash their hands or undo wrapped food or interacting with others when playing with playdough or completing art work and taking turns with sharing toys too.   Today we celebrated Tess’s 5th birthday too at our mat-time where the children all enjoyed using shakers to copy actions to songs and rhymes and we enjoyed a story or two as well.   Great sense of belonging to the Home Grown Kids community being developed each week.
Belonging – Mana Whenua – Goal 1 – Children and their families experience an environment where connecting links with the family and the wider world are affirmed and extended.
Belonging Goal 3 – Children and their families experience an environment where they feel comfortable with the routines, customs and regular events.
Contribution – Mana Tangata – Goal 3 – Children experience an environment where they are encouraged to learn with and alongside others.  Te Whaariki - The Early Childhood Curriculum.

Lynette

 

Cornwall Park Outing 17th March 2011 – By Karen

What a beautiful sunshiny day for our Cornwall Park outing.  We set up an obstacle course for the children – Jakob and Luke were fabulous helpers putting the hoops part together with Mihaela.  Jakob and I had an egg and spoon race which was very funny and he finally beat me to the finish line, we were soon joined by others and there was some very intense concentration going on to keep the eggs on the spoons.

All of the children had a go at everything that was set up, it was good to see them all try the activities out, and the morning was a great hit.  We all had morning tea together which was fun and Hamish kept the Pigeons away for us.  Then we all headed to the parachute for some popping, popping, popcorn, this was fun and we counted to 5 waiting for the popcorn to pop in English, Maori, Romanian, Hungarian and Hindi – we had so many different people to share their language – the children thought it was great.

Belonging/Mana Whenua, Goal 1, Te Whaariki – The Early Childhood Curriculum
The children are developing interest and pleasure in discovering an unfamiliar wider world where the people, languages, sounds, smells and tastes are different from those at home.

Exploration/Mana Auturoa, Goal 2, Te Whaariki – The Early Childhood Curriculum
The children are experiencing an environment where they gain confidence in and control of their bodies.

Devonport Trip March 1st 2011

Today a group of nannies, children and co-ordinators met at the Downtown Ferry Terminal to catch the ferry over to Devonport to meet the other educators, nannies, children and co-ordinators at the park.  Some had travelled by train, bus or car to the ferry terminal and others had decided to drive to Devonport and meet us there.  On the ferry ride we saw all the buildings get smaller and smaller the further we went out to sea and we saw other types of boats with sails and we spotted the harbour bridge too.  The Auckland City Council had also set up their play morning with bikes, cars, and toys for the children to play with at Devonport.  We had a great morning with children challenging themselves climbing the stairs up to the slide, and riding the bikes and cars and playing with the trucks as well as catching up with the other nannies and children that belong to  Home Grown Kids.  Once we’d had a play it was time to head back to catch the ferry.  On the way back we saw cranes, and the ships at the navy base and we also spotted the sky tower too.

Exploration – Mana Aoturoa – Goal 2 – Children experience an environment where they develop confidence in and control of their bodies.
Belonging – Mana  Whenua – Goal 1 –Children and their families experience an environment where connecting links with the family and the wider world are affirmed and extended.  Te Whaariki – The Early Childhood Curriculum.

Playgroup St John’s Auckland February 24/2/11

A great time was had at playgroup today with children enjoying riding bikes and playing with the trucks and animals.  Some enjoyed using playdough to roll and cut shapes whilst others enjoyed art activities or used the pencils to practice their writing skills.  The trains were as always of great interest too with bridges and tunnels to drive the trains up and through. Mat time was fantastic with even the youngest child  joining in and using the shakers  to copy  actions and to keep a steady beat in time to the songs and rhymes  and we then had a couple of stories too, which kept the children involved and asking and answering questions too.
Communication – Mana Reo – Goal 3 – Children experience an environment where they experience the stories and symbols of their own and other cultures.
Learning Outcome – Children develop an expectation that words and books can amuse, delight, comfort, illuminate and excite.
Communication – Mana Reo – Goal 4 - Children experience an environment where they develop different ways to be creative and expressive. 
Learning Outcomes – Children develop skill and confidence with the processes of art and craft.
- Children develop an increasing ability to keep a steady beat through chants or movement to simple rhythmic patterns.  Te Whaariki – The Early Childhood Curriculum.

Auckland Playgroup 10/2/11

Some of the North Shore educators, nannies and children had a great playgroup at Onepoto Domain with their wheeled toys. The domain has a great "road" all marked out with give way signs and roundabouts- perfect for riding bikes, scooters and pushing any other type of toy with wheels. We went around the track several times, stopping at the give way signs and roundabouts to look for traffic and trying to stay on the left hand side of the road. What a great morning!

2010

Auckland Xmas 2010 Outing Flyer









Rehearsing for the 2010 Xmas party!

Auckland HGK Children's Xmas Party 20/12/10

Despite the weather we had a huge turnout for our annual end of year Xmas party. There was lots of yummy food to eat. Thanks to everyone who brought a plate. Our Whangarei coordinator, Kerri, came down to Auckland and entertained the children (and adults) with a puppet show. A particular favourite being the monkey puppet and the magic board that had children shrieking with delight. Thanks Kerri for driving all that way! We had a bouncy castle this year too thanks to one of our Auckland nannies. Thanks so much Adele for organizing this, and Santa came and handed out gifts to each and every child. Thank you Greg. Another great Xmas Party. Thank you to all those who attended and made this such a great day.

Merry Christmas to all families, educators, nannies and children.

Belonging – Mana Whenua – Goal 3 – Children and their families experience an environment where they feel comfortable with the routines, customs and regular events. Te Whaariki – The Early Childhood Curriculum.

Auckland Nanny & Educators Xmas Dinner 20-12-10

As you can see, our Educators & Nannies had a great time at their dinner at the Viaduct last week.

Mt Albert Farm Visit 26/11/10

On 23rd November, Home Grown Kids went to Mt. Albert farm. Although it was a bit wet outside, children had an interesting experience, getting closer to the farm animals, watching them being fed and feeding them. We saw pigs and piglets newly born, cows, chickens, sheep and the visit finished with the shearing of a sheep.
Some children fed the lambs, others helped at milking the cow or sat in the farm tractor. It is useful for children to find out where our food comes from and how to look after animals.
Children have experienced an unfamiliar wider world, where people, sounds and smells are different from those at home (Te Whaariki, The Early Childhood Curriculum, Belonging/Mana Whenua Goal 1).

Jodie from Waiheke 15/11/10

Jodie from Waiheke does an excellent job at with the children. Jodie often focuses on working together with the children in a small group, through the process of project work stemming from the children’s interests.

Experiences and opportunities like this assist in developing positive relationships as the children delve into rich conversations that consist of questions, answers, thoughts and ideas.

Fire Station Visit 10/11/10

Today we had a great turn out of nannies, educators and children for our Mt Wellington Fire Station trip. As soon as they lifted the doors “Fireman Alex” got dressed as a fireman and the firemen thought that he should become their mascot, Alex was so happy to be the mascot fire boy.

All of the children had a turn at sitting up in the fire truck and so did some of the educators. The firemen opened up the entire truck so that we could see all the tools and water hoses that they need to do their jobs of putting out fires. They were very helpful and informative.

It started to rain just as we were all moving outside to have a turn at squirting the fire hoses, so the firemen drove the truck outside and we all had a turn from under cover. The children really enjoyed this. The firemen then got up on top of the fire truck with a different hose and showed us how far it could squirt water – it was very, very far!
The fire station we visited is also the training station, so we also got to watch some of the firemen training up in the big tower.
They showed us around the station and we got to see how they all live while they are on their shifts. They have a gym to keep fit, a big lounge with a big tv and lots of little rooms with beds in for their night time shifts – when there is a fire the lights in the room come on which lets the firemen know it’s time to move fast.
We also found out that if you do not have fire alarms in your house, you can phone your local fire station and they will help you to decide which ones you need to suit your house and they will come to your house and fit them for free.
They gave us some stickers and some booklets to take away. We had such a good time, I’m sure we will be heading back there again at some stage.

Belonging/Mana Atua, Goal 1, Learning Outcome 6 – Children develop knowledge about the role of the wider world of work such as the fire service. Te Whaariki – The Early Childhood Curriculum.

Sky Tower Visit 21st October 2010

Today a large group of educators, nannies, children and all the Auckland coordinators met at sky city for a ride up to the top of the tower. We waited downstairs by the fountain for everyone to arrive and then went down the escalators and through the shop to where the lifts are. We then rode the lift to the top of the tower.

Wow that lift went fast we could even look through the glass floor to the lift shaft and could see glimpses of the city through the glass doors on the way up too. On disembarking from the lift one child said “wow you can see the whole of Auckland from here” and he was absolutely right what a view from the top.

We could see One Tree Hill and the Harbour Bridge, boats in the harbour, and one child spotted a swimming pool while looking through the glass floor and another spotted a helicopter landing pad on the top of another building. We could see many many tall buildings and the cars and trucks looked really tiny from so far up.

It was fun waiting for the next person to do the sky tower drop and some children started counting while we waited in English and in te reo too, tahi, rua, toru, wha, rima, ono.

Another great trip, we were so lucky to have such a clear day to view Auckland from this vantage point.

Belonging – Mana Whenua – Goal 1 – Children and their families experience an environment where connecting links with the family and the wider world are affirmed and extended. Te Whaariki - The Early Childhood Curriculum.

Bonny’s Fairy Garden 26/10/10

When I visited Bonny in September I did not know what a pleasant surprise I was about to discover in her garden.
After visiting the Ivy Cottage and Enchanted Garden in Greenhithe, Bonny was inspired and created her own fairy garden at home. The children and Bonny took me on a tour of their magical garden and I was very impressed by the way children were looking at all the gnomes, frogs, butterflies, bugs and fairies, giggling with excitement and discovering them again and again for me.
In moments like this, I wish I was a child again.
By Mihaela

Congratulations to Kim 19/10/10

It was great to see the smile on Kim's face as she was surprised at playgroup this week by our North Regional Manager, Rea with this gorgeous bunch of flowers. Why you ask did she get them? It was a simple 'Thank you' for all the great work Kim has been doing to spread the Home Grown Kids word around her community. Thanks again Kim!.

Auckland Train Outing 8/8/10

On 7 October, a large group of children, nannies, educators, mums and coordinators went on a trip to Whangaparaoa trains and farm.

The weather was superb and we all had such a great time there. We started with a ride on the train and then went to see the animals, donkeys, rabbits, guinea pigs and chickens. Some children enjoyed feeding the rabbits and guinea pigs. After morning tea, children jumped on the trampoline, played on the playground, enjoyed the sunshine and the beginning of spring.

Children develop interest and pleasure in discovering an unfamiliar world where the people, images, objects, sounds and smells are different from those at home. (Te Whaariki, The Early Childhood Curriculum, Belonging/ Mana Whenua, Goal 1).
By Mihaela

St John’s ambulance visit at Hillside playgroup 21/9/10

Today Jenny, from St. John’s ambulance, visited us at Hillside playgroup. She brought with her a miniature ambulance, made out of wood, with flashing lights and siren. It looked so cool.
Jenny talked to us about the emergency services, like the ambulance, police and fire fighters and what to do when someone gets hurt. Jakob and Tessa tried on the emergency fluorescent jackets, gloves and hat, Tessa already dressed up in a nurse outfit from home.
We rehearsed what we would do in case an ambulance drives behind our car with flashing lights and siren on. We remembered to make room for the ambulance to drive on. We even bandaged Angelique, who pretended not to be very careful when she was skateboarding and hurt herself. Jakob was very helpful, showing us how skillful he was, bandaging Angelique’s legs.
Jenny also showed us the mask emergency personnel use when they treat people with asthma. Tyson understood perfectly what this device is used for and tried it on, noticing the vapors of air floating away.
We all thought it was a very informative and interactive experience for all the children and adults. Thank you, Jenny!

By Mihaela

Auckland Outing to Ivy Cottage and Enchanted Garden- Greenhithe

23.9.10

We had a lovely outing this morning despite the on and off showers, at Ivy Cottage and the Enchanted Garden.
Children were hosted by Fairy Serena and Fairy Daisy. They were given the opportunity to choose a dress up costume from the wardrobe at Ivy Cottage to wear for the morning if they hadn’t worn their own.
They were given lot of clues both in the cottage and in the garden to hunt for and find hidden fairies and animals. They made a wish in the wishing well and sprinkled fairy dust in the garden wherever they chose. There were so many cool things to find and look for in the garden, lots of little doors to open and paths to explore.
Thank you Fairy Daisy and Fairy Serena for giving us a wonderful time at Ivy Cottage.
To visit Ivy Cottage website go to www.ivycottage.co.nz 
They do fabulous birthday parties and it’s a great place for an outing for young children. See what they have to offer.

Tip Top Factory Trip - 7th September 2010

Today Home Grown Kids went on a trip to the Tip Top Factory in Mt Wellington. The children and their nannies and parents were able to view the process involved in making ice cream from the beginning when it’s sugar, milk and cream to when its mixed with flavours to produce the finished product, yummy ice cream! There was enough ice cream to fill a huge swimming pool. We saw orange chocolate chip ice cream being packaged and boxed and then going along a conveyor belt into the huge freezer storage room which is the size of a local supermarket. The people working down on the floor in the factory had to wear white overalls and hats and masks and white gumboots too. We were then ushered into a room where we got to choose an ice cream out of the freezer and watched a video on the history of Tip Top ice cream.
Belonging – Mana Whenua – Goal 1 – Children and their families experience an environment where connecting links with the family and the wider world are affirmed and extended. Learning Outcome-Children develop knowledge about the role of the wider world of work. Te Whaariki – The Early Childhood Curriculum.

25/8/2010

We all had such a great time today at Lollipops!
Some of the children went down the two huge slides, with giggles and excitement. Hailey built an enormous dinosaur hop scotch out of plastic blocks and Leo helped her towards the end of the project. Some of the children went on the merry-go-round, surrounded by soap bubbles. What a magical time!
There was also a lot of climbing, running, jumping and playing on the different attractions around.
In the arts and crafts room, Aoife made a birds’ nest, out of play dough and beads, and then helped her brother Leo to design a happy face. Leah and Sarah were very busy drawing, colouring and cutting butterflies out of paper.
We will come back here some other time, for more fun and games!
By Mihaela

All aboard the Waiheke Island Bus - 1/9/10

India, Francis and Owen had a great morning at Petra's today on their Waiheke Island bus- India organised the chairs to make a bus and it quickly filled up with passengers. Francis was a great driver and we went for a tour around the whole island- singing all the verses from "The wheels on the bus go round and round."

















A typical fun Morning at Petra's on Waiheke Island. Playdough and music are very popular with the children who go to Petra's for care- they spend long period of time engaging in these activities both alongside each other and with Petra.

Imaginative play is a huge focus for the children and they like to dress up and role play as well as act out scenarios that they have been involved in.

It is great to see their independence and social skills developing through this play.

Picture of the Alleged Offender Below

Free Community Playgroups
Sunnynook Community Centre, Tuesdays 11:00am - 12:30pm
August 3rd, 10th, 17th, 24th and 31st
September 7th, 14th and 21st
October 12th, 19th and 26th

Campbells Bay - Anglican Church of St. John, Fridays 10am - 12pm
August 6th and 27th
September 10th
October 1st and 15th

Milford - Milford Baptist Church, Wednesdays 10am - 12pm
August 18th
September 15th

Takapuna, Taitamariki Hall , Wednesdays 10am - 12pm
August 11th
September 1st and 22nd
October 6th and 20th

Westpac Helicopter Outing 9/8/10

The Auckland H.G.K team had a fantastic visit to the Westpac Rescue Helicopter base down at the Auckland port. We were shown around by Tinny and Paul who were fantastic and told us lots about the helicopters and their work. Some of the children were able to tryout the harness and a helmet. They were able to look inside the helicopter and see how everything fits.

There was also a police helicopter there and several other different helicopters. Tinny and Paul also showed us around the police and rescue boats.

We really appreciate being able to visit this special place, thanks Westpac!

Home Grown Kids Tram Trip
Western Springs
15/7/10

Today we met the nannies/educators/au pairs and their children in the Zoo carpark so we could go and ride the tram at Western Springs. We had to wait at the station for the tram to pick us up. Jordan got very excited when he saw the tram coming and then we all hopped on board and paid our fare and received our tickets. We watched the cars whizz by on the road and saw the lake at Western Springs and the trees out the window as we rode up and down the track. The driver switched to the other end of the tram to drive it from that end when we got to the far end of the track and we picked up some more passengers. We then rode back along the track and got off at the middle stop so we could walk through to the playground. There were many pukekos on our walk, and ducks, swans and eels too who were swimming in the water underneath the bridge. We had a lovely picnic at the park in the sun and the children enjoyed the slides, swings and climbing frames too.

Belonging – Mana Whenua – Goal 1 – Children and their families experience an environment where connecting links with the family and the wider world and affirmed and extended. Te Whaariki – The Early Childhood Curriculum.

Butterfly Creek 29/6/10

On 29 June we visited Butterfly Creek. We were very lucky, as it did not rain and the sun was shining. We started the visit at the little farm, watching the goat and piglet feeding. Some of the children had a go at holding the bottle and patting the animals. Saskia and Alexander really enjoyed patting the soft fur of the rabbits and goats. One little boy was even trying to catch the goat’s tail, which was moving very quickly! So funny! Outside, there were donkeys, lamas, chickens and goats as well.
It was very hot in the butterfly house, but the children had so much fun! Some butterflies were landing on us, and Hailey thoroughly enjoyed looking at a butterfly on her hand.
The highlight of the visit was watching the crocodiles. We saw two enormous ones, Goldie and Scar, and two babies, princess Fiona and lady Cheryl. The big ones were very lazy, but one of them opened a huge mouth and kept it open for quite a long period of time. We found out they do this in order to regulate their body temperature. We were so excited to be able to touch princess Fiona and lady Cheryl. Hailey, Brooke and many other children were not afraid not touch the cold skin. We like the fact that even the scariest animals have cute babies as well. We were also impressed by how many teeth they have.
At the end of the visit, children had a ride on the train and then morning tea, a well-deserved break, after so many exciting experiences! We all enjoyed the visit immensely and the company of each other as well, big and small.

By Mihaela

Nth Shore outing to the Rothesay Bay Fire Station- 16 June, 2010.

We had a great time this morning visiting the fire station at Rothesay Bay on the Nth Shore. Leo, Aoife and Anna bought their dad along too. We all had a turn of squirting the fire hoses and got inside the cab of the fire truck to see what it was like. The firemen showed us how the fire truck can squirt water from the top of it really high into the air. We heard the siren and saw how the doors of the fire truck's garage open and close.
Thanks very much to the firemen at Rothesay Bay station for showing us
around.

Auckland’s Trip to Lollipops in Ellerslie

June 16th, 2010

We had a great trip to Lollipops today. The children enjoyed climbing and sliding, riding bikes and cars, dressing up and playing on computers. Charlie, Archie, Taagh, Charlotte, Tess and Tyson also enjoyed riding the merry go round. Chloe enjoyed sliding down the huge slide with her mum and Florence enjoyed dressing up to play on the playground. Jess and Claire really enjoyed riding the car down the roller coaster again and again each time seeing how much faster they could go.
Lollipops is a great place for encouraging the development of large motor skills as children climb to the top of the slide and squeeze themselves through the foam rollers or dive into the ball pits or challenge themselves riding the cars down the roller coaster.
We were lucky enough to have a party room all to ourselves and so I set up some playdough and puzzles which Tess and Tyson particularly enjoyed. These activities are good for encouraging hand eye co-ordination and fine motor skills.
The nannies and mums all enjoyed a coffee and the children each had a fluffy and a good catch up with each other at morning tea time.
Exploration – Mana Aoturoa – Goal 2 – Children experience an environment where they gain confidence in and control of their bodies. Te Whaariki – The Early Childhood Curriculum.
Lynette

8/6/10

North Shore H.G.K playgroup is often held at our local Lollipops indoor playland. Today we had a special room all to ourselves where we could do art work, puzzles ,read books and hang out. It was a great morning with lots of
cool activities to do as well as enjoying the physical play area .

May 2010 Police Visit

On 11th May, police officers Paul and Gabriel, from Glenn Innes police station, visited us at Hillside playgroup.
It was an exciting morning! The officers told the children how to keep safe on the streets, what to do if they get lost, how to cross the street and why it is important to always wear seatbelts.

Then they showed us their handcuffs, pepper spray and walkie-talkie. Archie asked them if they have guns- they don’t - and they wear bullet-proof vests only when they go on special missions. We asked them if their job is stressful and police officer Paul said that it is not as stressful as a nanny job! We all laughed at this remark!

The most exciting part was when we went out to see the police car. Children were allowed to go inside, with the police hats on, and then the siren went off (with a little preparation beforehand for children). Paul and Gabriel gave us stickers for being so polite during the visit and in the car.

Thank you so much, Felicity Buche, for initiating this visit, and thank you Glenn Innes police for visiting Home Grown Kids playgroup! We felt really privileged. (by Mihaela)

Auckland Easter Egg Outing

30 March 2010

What a fantastic morning we had in the sun at Coyle Park in Pt Chevalier with children, nannies, educators, coordinators and friends of Home Grown Kids.
Our wonderful friends Janna and Jason from Dramarama came along and took us on a fun –filled adventure across the park looking for scrolls which had clues on for us to follow. We then ended up at a special place in the park where there was a magic box.
Inside the box there were empty goody bags which every child received. These were so that everyone could go searching amongst the trees in the park to look for Easter eggs that had been hidden by Easter bunny when we weren’t looking!!
It was so exciting following the trail and searching all over the big park for Easter eggs. The goody bags were soon filled up and yummy chocolate eggs eaten for morning tea.
We were also very lucky to have Kara from Painted Faces come along and transform the children into Easter bunnies, chickens, fairies, butterflies, Easter eggs and flowers with her fabulous face painting .Everyone looked fantastic.
Thanks to everyone who came along and supported our great morning. We hope you had fun!!

Check out Dramarama at www.dramarama.co.nz, 135 Ponsonby Rd, Ponsonby , Auckland.
Check out Kara at Painted Faces- www.paintedfaces.co.nz
or email her at kara@paintedfaces.co.nz

Dramarama 18/3/10

(See their booking details on the main news page)

What a great morning the children had at Dramarama! There was so much enthusiasm as the children joined in on songs, games, art and craft and of course the most exciting “magic box”.
This experience is a fantastic way for children to be involved in an experience that assists in developing verbal communication skills, imagination skills and an opportunity to play and have fun with words, repetitive sounds and stories. The drama teachers are very effective in motivating the children to join in and prompt the children into communicating their own ideas.
What a fun way to learn.

Hillside Playgroup 16/3/10

We have been organizing the playgroup at Hillside Community Church for about 10 years now and we still love it. Yesterday it was a very busy and exciting day.
At the “art table” we set up an activity with beads of different shapes and colours: beads with letters, wooden and metallic bell beads, pipe cleaners, a special fluorescent string, plus scissors with animal prints on them. Straight away, the table was full of children ready to make a necklace or bracelet. Which most of them did and they came out beautifully, with names like Charlie, Tadgh, Ilona, Luca or Grace.

Thank you, nannies Janette and Sarah, for giving me the inspiration for this activity. And thank you to all the nannies who involved the children in this beautiful activity. Threading helps the development of small muscles and eye/hand coordination. The beads with letters on introduce children to early literacy activities. They were very proud to wear their bracelets and necklaces.

While the bigger children were involved in the above activity, Lottie and Saskia were playing with the trains and Alexander was pushing a baby in a pram.

At the end, after a yummy morning tea with hot chocolate for some of the nannies (thank you, Sarah, for organizing this), we had great fun with bubbles. We gave children ice cream sticks and they popped the bubbles with them. The concentration, laughter, fun and delight on their faces were priceless. We saw “double decker” bubbles, as Tessa calls them, huge bubbles and tiny bubbles. If it wasn’t time to tidy up and go home, we would still probably be there.

In this activity, children develop their eye/hand coordination and the novelty factor was the stick. But best of all, I like the warm and friendly atmosphere at our playgroups. (by Mihaela)

10/3/2010

Auckland’s trip to the playground at Mission Bay

A great morning was had at the playground at Mission Bay this morning. Hamish enjoyed exploring the sand and discovering how it ran through his fingers while Luca enjoyed challenging himself on the climbing frame. George and Matilda enjoyed digging in the sand pit and Luca and Grace decided to have a close look at the bubble machine to see if they could discover how it worked.
Nannies, Educators, Children and Coordinators all had morning tea together and enjoyed a catch up and a coffee in the sun.
Exploration – Mana Aoturoa – Goal 2 – Children experience an environment where they gain confidence in and control of their bodies. Te Whaariki – The Early Childhood Curriculum.

North Shore Auckland-playgroup at Kell Park, Albany - 16/2/10

A great morning was had by children, nannies and educators at Kell Park. In fact the outdoor toys were just about ignored today by some of the children who preferred to play in the fantastic park on the "fairy tree", completely involved in their imaginative game. Leo, Aofe and Mariella made great fairies.
Climbing up the steps cut into the tree then jumping down was a great favourite of Miller's. The swings were also popular for Amy and Ashleigh.
Finn and Leo enjoyed practicing their driving skills on the ride- on bikes and there was such a huge area that they could ride on.
We had story time later in the morning and all the children were really interested in the books. Aoife and Mariella wanted every story in the bag to be read and they could have stayed there for the rest of the morning.
Outdoor playgroups are a great way to encourage children of all ages to interact and make use of their surroundings to enhance their play.

Ferry Trip 9th February 2010

What a fantastic morning! Nannies, educators and children went on a ferry trip across the harbor and had a teddy bears picnic at Devonport on the north shore. It was a great turn out and a chance for everyone to catch up after a long break over the holidays.
While on the ferry the children were very interested in the big ships that were in dock and some of the children were looking out for whales and dolphins, it was a great day!!
“Awareness of connections between events and experiences within and beyond the early childhood setting” Te Whaariki, Early childhood curriculum.