Project Jonah comes to Kindy!

This morning, we were fortunate to welcome Project Jonah to Uxbridge. Their visit focused on helping children understand how we can all play a part in protecting New Zealand's marine mammals. The children learnt simple but important ways to care for our ocean friends, such as picking up litter at the beach and knowing what to do if they ever come across a stranded whale or dolphin – keep it cool, keep it wet, and call for help - 08004whale

The children were immediately captivated when Project Jonah arrived with a giant inflatable orca, which was set up in our sandpit. We gathered together on the mat to learn about the different types of whales, orcas, and dolphins, discovering fascinating facts about these incredible marine mammals.

To help the children visualise just how enormous these animals are, we used a tape measure to compare their lengths. Some whales were as long as our classroom, while the largest whale in the world stretched from our sandpit all the way across—and beyond—the other side of our playground! This hands-on activity helped bring the information to life.

Many of the children amazed us with their prior knowledge. They confidently shared that whales breathe through their blowholes and that dolphins use their dorsal fins to help them balance and swim. We also discovered some incredible facts about the blue whale: it is as large as three T. rex dinosaurs, its tongue is the size of an elephant, and its heart is as big as a car!

Inspired by everything they had learnt, the children eagerly headed to the sandpit to practise caring for the stranded orca. They carefully poured water over its body to keep it cool and wet, spoke in calm, gentle voices, and learnt the importance of staying away from the tail because it is incredibly powerful. It was wonderful to see the children applying their new knowledge through imaginative, hands-on play while developing empathy and respect for our precious marine life.

A huge thank you to Project Jonah for providing such an engaging and memorable learning experience. The visit sparked curiosity, encouraged environmental responsibility, and inspired our tamariki to become kaitiaki (guardians) of our oceans.

Some words from our friends.....

"We have to be careful of their tail becuase it is veery strong" - Josh

"We put water on them to keep them cold and wet" - Florence

"They don't like eating rubbish or people.  If they lick your hand they go yuk".

"It's bigger than a shark" - Elsie

"Orca is a whale, I have a toy Orca" - Alice

"Did you know jump back whales are as big as this kindy" - Myra

"You need to be quiet and gentle" - Blake