Members
|
What's Happening in the Canterbury Region for 2012?
 
Belfast Playgroup 23/2/12Our Belfast playgroup on Monday 13th February was focused on celebrating summer and being back together again after the holidays. Though we had planned to have ice creams out in the sun – the weather would not cooperate and it stayed grey and drizzly. However this did not stop us from having our summer goodies. As I made each ice cream in a cone, I put two strawberries on top. When everyone had one, I offered around the spare strawberries and was amazed to watch as each child took some strawberries and placed them back on top of their ice creams – how clever! It was also interesting to watch the children’s play after the ice creams especially at the play dough table as there was a lot of ice creams made with strawberries on top. There was a lot of group play today with the children working in together and sharing well. It was amazing to watch so many positive interactions between children and between children and adults. Belonging/ Mana Whenua. The children are experiencing an environment where they feel comfortable with the routines, customs, and regular events. Contribution/ Mana Tangata. The children are experiencing an environment where they are encouraged to learn with and alongside others. Exploration/Mana Aoturoa. The children are experiencing an environment where their play is valued as meaningful learning and the importance of spontaneous play is recognised. Te Whaariki - NZ Early Childhood Curriculum Antoinette Clark 
Double Decker Bus 21/2/12Thanks Sharon for send in these photo's of your Double Decker Bus Outing, although that is i think one of the cheesiest smiles i have seen for a while! 20/2/12How cute is this!
17/2/12
 Debbie purchased a new black board and Miriana has been writing her name and numbers ever since! 
Valentines Day at Leanne's 16/2/12(Posted today, but done on Valentines day of course!)Lee-Anne's children made some special Valentines hearts for their parents and iced Valentine's day biscuits. Lee-Anne is one of HGK's longest serving Educators, starting with us way back in 2006! And thanks to Sharon as well for the last three photo's! 
15/2/12Miriana drew these wonderful figures at one of our recent play groups and even wrote her name on the top of the picture. Great work Miriana!
Happy New Year...From Lauren 23/1/12This is Lauren, an Ex HGK Kid, and doing very well with her musical career as you can see...and hear. Thanks Lauren, we love it! 20122011 Term 1 Newsletter 2011 Term 2 Newsletter 2011 Term 3 Newsletter 2011 Term 4 Newsletter Brainwave Course Flyer...Here: 
Christmas Party - 5th December 2011What a wonderful turn out we had for our Christmas party today. Though the weather had threatened to rain all week we ended up having a beautiful, sunny morning. On arrival, all the children were offered face-painting with Anna. Once we were all there it was time to sit down to sing some Christmas songs, followed by a shared morning tea. There was great excitement when the ponies arrived and a very long line for a ride! Most children enjoyed at least one ride and many children were seen going round and round all morning - I think there will be a few requests to Santa for a pony for Christmas!! The only thing that was able to tempt the children away from the ponies was........ the arrival of Santa!! The big guy was seen giving out lollies and talking to the children and then in the twinkle of an eye, he was gone and it was time to go home and write our letters to Santa!! 
6/12/11
What a wonderful outing we had on Wednesday 10th November to Lesandres' farm. It was amazing to see all the different animals that she has there. The first stop of the morning was to see the puppies that Lesandres' dog had had. They were definitely a favourite and I thought we might have a problem dragging everyone away from them as they were so cute!!! And there was the budgie who made sure the children noticed him. However, we were all keen to get outside and see what else was in store for us. First up outside were the calves. Anna and Mary Rose really enjoyed having their fingers sucked and this encouraged many of the children to try this themselves or to at least try feeding them with the silver beet and grain Lesandre had ready for us. The next animals to capture our interest were the goats and once again we were able to feed them or pat them and for many just watching their silly goat antics was a pleasure in itself! Some were even able to give the goats a cuddle. It was so great to see children who can sometimes be a bit timid really coming out of themselves today! Next up we went to see the chickens and boy was there excitement when the children learnt that there were eggs to be found in the hen house with lots offering to collect the eggs for us!! We then went on to see all the wonderful birds Lesandre had in her avery. The children were all keen to get inside and see the birds up close and to wonder at their magical colours. Then... to finish the morning off we had time for a play, morning tea and Lesandre had one final treat for us........ Bubbles!!!! Thank you Lesandre for such a wonderful morning – We all enjoyed ourselves immensely and you were a wonderful hostess. I am sure the children will be talking about this for months to come!! Belonging/ Mana Whenua. The children are experiencing an environment where connecting links with their family and wider world are affirmed and extended. Contribution/ Mana Tangata. The children are experiencing an environment where they are encouraged to learn with and alongside others.
29/11/11
 This is Mary Rose (standing on the right, wouldn't want to get them confused on this posting), our South Island Regional Manager, and Anna one of our Christchurch Teachers and Chief Tester of our Safety Equipment Testing Department (Yes, we do have one), promoting HGK at the Parents Centre Baby and Kids Expo on Sunday, 27th November. Staff Safety Test And this is Anna in her above mentioned role, conducting one of HGK's many specific safety tests on new toys. We are often asked by the big toy manufacturers to conduct such tests due to our rigorous safety reputation in the industry (No gates will fall on our care kids). This particular test (#126 under section C, sub paragraph 3) is to make sure that larger children don't get stuck in equipment. I'm waiting for the results but my guess is a fail for this particular toy.  Updated 30/11/11Safety test passed, according to Anna, who denies it was a tight squeeze, despite photographic evidence to the contrary. Product approved for small children and for adults up to size 8. 
16/11/11One of HGK's obviously happy triplet families!Thanks kids for the great signs, we are thankful to have shared a small part of your growing up and wish you each the best for the future. 
Bike Park Outing 15/11/11What a wonderful turn out we had for our outing to the bike park on Friday 28th October. The weather eventually cooperated and turned on a beautiful Canterbury day. There was a wide range of bikes and scooters brought along and everyone joined in and fully embraced the new environment. There were many firsts for different children. Olivia rode her two wheeler without training wheels or anyone holding on, for the first time – Well Done Olivia! There were some lovely interactions to be seen between the children with lots of talking and cooperation happening. There were also lots of games involving fantasy play with the roads and signs being used as very realistic props in this play. Of course there was also time to talk and share while we were having our morning tea and the special Ice blocks Amanda went and bought for us all. Fern also found time to stop and count the daisies, as well as searching for other “treasures” in the environment! “....our lives are shaped by the discoveries we make....” Exploration/Mana Aoturoa. The children experience an environment where they gain confidence in and control of their body. They experience an environment where they learn strategies for active exploration, thinking, and reasoning. Contribution/ Mana Tangata. The children experience an environment where they are encouraged to learn with and alongside others. Te Whaariki - NZ Early Childhood Curriculum. 
Pet Day 28/10/11Today was pet day at Halswell play group and we all brought along our special pet photos. We had photos of cats and dogs of all different colors, shapes and sizes. We even had a photo of Emily’s pony. We all enjoyed looking at the pet photos while we had our morning tea together. It was great to hear some of the interesting names our pets had. We thought that the special pet of the day however was Lee-Anne’s lamb Larry. He came to play group and spent his morning being patted and running about outside with us all. For many of us it was the closest we had ever been to a lamb and our confidence just grew and grew and we were soon able to give Larry some nice big pats. Larry certainly had a very “high cute factor” and even walked really well on a lead. We all enjoyed taking turns to walk him up and down the grassed area. Lee- Anne told us how Larry enjoyed his bottles and eating her plants! We learnt lots of things about sheep while Larry visited with us. We learnt that they have wool not hair like us; the father sheep is called a ram while the mother is called a ewe, and babies like Larry are lambs. We noticed that Larry’s feet were not like ours he had a hoof divided into two toes…gosh we have five toes on each foot. When Larry grows up he will return to the farm and be able to enjoy time with other sheep. Thank you Lee-Anne for bringing Larry to play group. He made our day. Exploration Goal 4: Children experience and environment where they develop working theories for making sense of the natural, social, physical, and material world. Te Whaariki –The Early Child hood Curriculum Educator and Nanny Christmas DinnerTuesday 29th Nov @ 7pmCaesars, Northwood. Bring a $10 Secret Santa gift RSVP to your coordinator HGK Childrens Christmas Party!Monday 5th DecemberAt Belfast Playcentre 10am-12.30pm Please bring a plate of food to share. 
Natural Magic 27/6/11The excitement was building, “when will the magic be here?” the children were all asking and then...... Natural Magic arrived! We gathered around, sat down on the ground and joined in with the two Pirates to sing songs. We had a great time singing some old favourites. Then the Pirates left the room leaving us wondering what would happen next..... they returned with their “Magic Box” and a wide range of characters. There was a mouse, a frog, a dog, a wizard and a crocodile and what wonderful tricks these “animals” could do. The mouse was able to balance cheese on her head, the frog had the coolest dance moves – once we had learnt to sing the frog song the way he wanted us too!! The crocodile was able to throw and catch a ball and many children enjoyed trying to catch the ball so that they could throw it back to him. There was so much laughter to be heard and the children thoroughly enjoyed the show, as did many of the adults I noticed. At one stage the crocodile got so carried away, he JUMPED out of the Magic Box and had to be quickly caught and returned to the box by the second pirate before anyone was hurt!! At the end of the show the children were able to pat the crocodile and the mouse. The mouse even came out and was carried about for the children to pat. Contribution/ Mana Tangata. The children are experiencing an environment where they are encouraged to learn with and alongside others. Communication/ Mana Reo. The Children are experiencing an environment where they discover and develop different ways to be creative and expressive. Belonging/ Mana Whenua. The children are experiencing an environment where connecting links with their families and wider world are affirmed and extended. Te Whaariki - NZ Early Childhood Curriculum. 
Balls Balls Balls 11/8/11Today we all took our balls to play group. There were balls everywhere. .We threw them, hit them, caught them, bounced them, squeezed them, aimed them and counted them .We put them into colour sets, we found the BIGGEST ball and the smallest ball, we even had a cat's play ball! We painted and coloured in rugby ball pictures and stacked the balls as high as we could. It is amazing what you can do with a ball..They are great coordination, fitness and play activity tool for all pre schoolers. (Te Whaariki - Exploration Goal 2. Children experience an environment where they confidence in and control of their bodies) 
Home Grown Kids goes to ‘The Shearers Quarters’ 5/8/11It was a beautiful sunny day in Temuka, a perfect day for our Geraldine Educators, children and whanau to come together for an outing at the ‘The Shearers Quarters’. Outside we met and fed the farm animals, there were hungry goats that pushed their heads all the way through the fences, ducks that were quacking for our attention, a pig that was snoring in the sun, two donkeys who greeted us with an ‘Eeyore’ and a little pony. Some children were keen to feed the animals by holding the pellets out on the palm of their hands, some children preferred to throw the food at the animals and some were happy to feed them with the help of an adult. As the children felt safer around the animals they became more confident around them and were happy to pat them to feel their soft fur. After feeding the animals we were a bit thirsty, so together we had afternoon tea, where we had fluffy’s for the children and coffee for the educators and mums. As we enjoyed the sunshine and our afternoon tea the children were able to explore the gardens and the playground. One of the children on her adventures found an egg hidden under the bushes, she safely put the egg on the table and as we were leaving she gave it to the cafe people who were going to look after it. I had a wonderful playgroup with everyone and I look forward to traveling down again to go on many more adventures with the educators, children and families of Geraldine. Belonging 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- New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum.
Chipmunks Outing 27/7/11On Tuesday 12th July we visited Chipmunks - Wigram with a large group of children, Nannies and Educator. This was our second outing there and it was great to see how much the children’s confidence had grown since our last outing. I was amazed at how many of the children went up on the big slide on their own!! The balls were a big hit with everyone as you could fire them into the pit or tip a big bucketful down on everyone – and to refill it you put the balls up a shoot. Some children were lucky and had a ride on the Rocketship ride. For the younger ones there was a ball pit and a little playground just for them, and then there was all the yummy food. While we were there, there was a big rainstorm but we were warm and dry, and by the time we were ready to go, the sun had come out again! This was a great way for everyone to get together and have a few laughs with a very enjoyable outing for all! Exploration/Mana Aoturoa. The children are experiencing an environment where they gain confidence in and control of their body. Contribution/ Mana Tangata. The children are experiencing an environment where they are encouraged to learn with and alongside others. Exploration/Mana Aoturoa. The children are experiencing an environment where their play is valued as meaningful learning and the importance of spontaneous play is recognised. Te Whaariki - NZ Early Childhood Curriculum. 
Halswell Playgroup 13/7/11“BOARD STORIES” It was Board story day at our Halswell play group. We all worked hard to colour our own special stories. Once completed Antoinette laminated them for us. Then it was time to cut them out and attach the magnetic strip. Wow next was story time….. We all counted and brought some yummy buns from the bakers shop and then became cheeky monkeys swinging in the trees teasing the hungry crocodile…………… Te Whaariki links: Communication Goal 2, Children experience an environment where they develop skills for a range of purposes. Communication Goal 3, Children experience an environment where they experience the stories and symbols of their own and other cultures. Communication Goal 4, Children experience an environment where they discover and develop different ways to be creative and expressive. 
It's Dress up Day at Halswell Playgroup, 16/6/11Guess who came to play..... It was great to see the children using their imaginations and acting out their dress up characters. Children between 0-5 years use 100% of their imaginations and children at 8 years of age use 12% of their imagination.... Te Whaariki link: Children develop increasing confidence and a repertoire for symbolic, pretend or dramatic play. 
Belfast Playgroup 13/6/11Who is that walking through the Playcentre door? It’s Fairy Antoinette, Pirate Amanda and Mary Rose the friendly cat. It’s so exciting to have some special visitors this morning; I can’t wait to see who will arrive next. I can someone wearing red and blue, wow it’s Spiderman, and there is Superman. It’s going to be a fun and exciting morning, here comes, some animals a bumble bee, a fluffy cow and some beautiful princesses. To our surprise we had a visit from a ‘Space Man’, his costume was super shiny and had a big shiny star on the front of his hat. Our focus this morning at the Belfast Play group was ‘Dress up’, it was great to see the children and coordinators participating in the fun, by coming dressed up in a character that they have chosen from home. The children role played their character as they engaged in dramatic play experiences either independently or with and alongside their peers. As the children changed their costumes, their play also changed to match the costume they were wearing. One child was being Spiderman and then changed into a firefighter costume and was fighting fire. It was a great morning and next time it will be exciting to see what the educators will come dressed as Linked to Te Whaariki, Exploration – Goal 1. ‘Children experience an environment where their play is valued as meaningful learning and the importance of spontaneous play is recognized.Children develop increasing confidence and a repertoire for symbolic, pretend, or dramatic play.
HGK Branded ClothingThis is getting a fantastic response from the public. These are 3 of Megan's HG Kids dressed to head out with her. She has already had several inquiries from the public about her business as a direct result of the T-Shirts. We think this is just about the best way for you to advertise your services. It's visual and loads of fun for the kids!
Gumboot Walk - The Groynes 27/5/11What a wonderful day we had on Tuesday 17th May for our Gumboot walk, so nice that we didn’t even need our gumboots! The ducks were so happy to see us and crowded around us looking for food the moment we got out of our cars. Luckily we had all brought bread for them and they ate until they were all full and walked off! We had fun crushing the leaves beneath our feet and gathering sticks as we walked. Mary Rose had a Nature Hunt for us and we all had great fun collecting everything on the list. Crossing the bridge was very exciting and some of us wanted to stay on it looking into the water all day! We found the most amazing spiders’ web to look at and take photos of. To think such a small creature can weave something so magnificent. When we reached the pond we saw a miniature yacht was being sailed around by remote control which we watched for a while – then it was time for something to eat and a play on the playground. It was great to see everyone there and to talk and play with our friends and meet new friends. 
Halswell Playgroup 11/5/11Today we all enjoyed play group at our new Halswell venue. There were lots of different toys for us to try and plenty of room to play. During the session the children were given the opportunity to work with some natural resources. It was great to see the children exploring the materials and developing an understanding of the natural world. Some of the children used the pencils and leaves to make leaf rubbings while others used the shells and stones and made exciting collage pictures. Great work everyone. For more information on Natural Resources check the Ministry of Education Web site. Te Whaariki link: Exploration Goal 4 Children experience an environment where they develop working theories for making sense of the natural, social, physical and material worlds. 
Easter 14/4/11Today was our first playgroup after the February earthquake, it was so nice to see our friends and celebrate Easter. It was a busy playgroup with children cooking fudge eggs, making Easter baskets and bunny masks. We were very lucky to also have a visit from the Easter Bunny, who hid Easter eggs outside in the garden. We all went on an egg hunt where we found yummy chocolate eggs with marshmallow inside. Below is Mary Rose’s mums Fudge recipe that was a favourite for everyone! I packet plus 3-4 Super wine biscuits ¼ 1b butter ¼ 1b sugar Tablespoon cocoa 1 egg Small teaspoon vanilla essence Walnuts (optional) Crush biscuits. Put sugar, butter, cocoa, vanilla essence and beaten egg in a pan. Stirring bring to boil slowly. Add crushed biscuits. Press into a lightly greased Swiss roll tin, leave to cool then ice with chocolate icing. Cut into pieces, eat and enjoy. You can download this as a PDF file Here
Train Outing 14-4-11On Wednesday the 16 March we were able to hold our outing to the miniature trains in Halswell. It was so nice to get together after the earthquake and we turned it into a bit of a community event, by opening it up to friends and family of HGK. Thank you Management for your contribution to this. We had a fantastic turnout to the trains and everyone enjoyed themselves immensely. It was wonderful to see everyone again and I thank everyone for travelling quite a distance to come. The train drivers were happy to take everyone on as many rides as they wanted - we even had two trains going at the same time!! What a great distraction for both young and old!! The Pool Party that turned into a Picnic 28/3/11(This was just before the quake, which is the reason for the delay in posting here. Great to have the Sth Girls back up and running and sending pics in!)On Friday 18th February we planned to have a pool party at the Botanical Gardens; however the weather did not cooperate!! Though it was warm enough for a picnic, it was NOT swimming weather, so have a picnic we did and what a fun time we had. Helen and Lauren fed the ducks and then the ducks decided to help themselves to everyone else’s food. It was great to see everyone again after the holidays and the children had a wonderful time playing in the playground. We were not about to totally give in to the weather, so the children had ice creams in a tub – these were well enjoyed though using the flat wooden sticks to eat it, instead of spoons was a challenge for some – though not an insurmountable one!! Everyone enjoyed the outing and the chance to catch up with old friends and make new ones. Belonging/ Mana Whenua. The children are experiencing an environment where connecting links with their family and the wider world are affirmed and extended and they know that they have a place. Te Whaariki - NZ Early Childhood Curriculum.
2010All term 4 playgroups and Outings are through the navigation box to the left. Canterbury Term 4 Newsletter Here Spreydon Baptist Church - Christmas GrottoSunday 12th to Friday 24th December 2010 Time: 9.30am - 9.30pm Dates: Every day, Sunday 12th–Friday 24th December 2010 Venue: Spreydon Baptist Church Venue Information: Corner of Lyttelton and Cobham Streets Official Website: www.christmasgrotto.org.nz Pricing: $2 under 3s free Contact Phone: 03 338 4163 
Teddy Bears Picnic 1/12/10If you go down to the park today......... On Thursday 18th November, a group of Teddy Bears were seen roaming around Abberley park with some children following along behind. They frolicked around the playground, having great fun climbing on the frames and the netting, sliding down poles and the slide. At times it all got too much and they had to have a lie down or when that didn’t help then they found a nice shady tree to sit beneath and had a bite to eat. There was lots of talking and laughing to be heard under the trees. There were stories of past picnics and plans for future outings. The Teddy Bears and people who were there, enjoyed the beautiful sunny day and knew that it was a sign that summer was on its way. It meant that there were holidays on the way and many more occasions to gather together to eat, talk and play.... Contribution/ Mana Tangata. Children experience an environment where they are encouraged to learn with and alongside others. Exploration/Mana Aoturoa. Children experience an environment where thier play is valued as meaningful learning and the importance of spontaneous play is recognised.Te Whaariki - NZ Early Childhood Curriculum. 
Christchurch Educators Evening 26/11/10Recently our very sociable ChCh Educators again got together, and all the evidence of a great girls night out is now up here for all to see...some of the photo's are a bit messy, probably due to the photographer possibly indulging as well!
Playgroup – Water Play 22/11/10  At our playgroup on Monday 8th November our focus was water play – however the weather decided to work against us and was too cold for the trough but not raining so that we could not play outside and class that as water play!!However, Mary Rose has frozen some flowers and leaves in ice for us to watch melt – not that it was warm enough for this to happen quickly!!  We did however have a great time inside with the play dough and baking and when it was nearly time to go home we got a quick play outside on the bikes and cars  which we all loved. As it is only the beginning of the warmer weather, I am sure we will have lots of opportunities in the future to really get into some fun water play!
Chipmunks 9/11/10On Wednesday October the 13th we visited the new Chipmunks in Wigram to see what it was like. It was a wonderful setting with all new equipment. It was nice to see some familiar activities but there were also some new ones to try. Of course the large slide was the first thing that we all noticed and there were lots of children going up the ladder however a few needed a bit of reassurance so it was great to see some adults up there as well – Amanda enjoyed it so much she was seen on it a number of times. The balls were a big hit with the older children as you could fire them into the pit or tip a big bucket full down on every one – and to refill it you put the balls up a shoot. For the younger ones there was a ball pit and a little playground for them, so it was great that their needs were met also. We were also lucky enough to be given a free ride each on the merry go round and this was a big hit with everyone. It was great to see everyone’s confidence grow over the morning and to see everyone playing together so well. A very enjoyable outing for all! Exploration/Mana Aoturoa The children are experiencing an environment where they gain confidence in and control of their body. Contribution/ Mana Tangata The children are experiencing an environment where they are encouraged to learn with and alongside others. Exploration/Mana Aoturoa The children are experiencing an environment where their play is valued as meaningful learning and the importance of spontaneous play is recognised. Te Whaariki - NZ Early Childhood Curriculum.
Messy Play Day at Belfast Playgroup 11.10.10
|
Today at playgroup it was Messy Play day. The children enjoyed exploring the slime, shaving foam and finger paint. It was great to see the children experimenting with the materials. The shaving foam made a wonderful white beard while the slime could be poured from one hand to the other. Some of the children were a little tentative to start with but they soon became involved and enjoyed the sensory experience.
experience an environment where their play is valued as meaningful learning.
Wednesday 1st September was not only the first day of Spring but it was our “Wacky Wednesday” at playgroup.
Some children were a little hesitant, but before we knew it we had most children fully engaged in the session, especially when the adults stood up with the parachute, and the children all went underneath and lay down.
game of memory together while others had lots of fun painting with Lynda’s’ special Microwave Puff paint.
http://www.ehow.com
Lee-Anne, one of Mary Roses Educators and all her children's profile books
Matthew (18months) concentrates on setting up the furniture in the doll's house.
