Matariki Marae

Today we visited our Marae, and had a discussion about the  heke (or the horizontal beams 'ribs').  We learnt about the first waka called Tainui that visited this part of Auckland, each beam had beautiful paintings and designs that told a story each signifying different guardians.  Some of these were familiar to our children, and their knowledge was extended through a story told by Whaea Sue about all the guardians.  We listened  to the story about   Papatuanuku, (Earth) and Ranginui (sky) and how they were separated.  We visited Tane in the ngahere (bush), and collected some Kawakawa leaves together to make some special cream for Whaea Sue's daughter. The children listened intently as we chatted about how we needed  to only take what we need and  leave some for others.  This emphasizes one of our kaupapa around respect, nature, and the responsibilities they carry as guardians in their own environment. What a great opportunity this was for our children to learn about how nature can be healing.  Our children are participating in this  program , where they are learning about Maori Cultural traditions and stories through song and dance and connecting this to their learning at Uxbridge. 

                                                   Waiho i te toipoto, kaua i te toiroa

                                               Let us keep close together, not wide apart

                                            

Let us keep close together, not wide apart

Sand letters

The children had a blast exploring a different medium to practice their writing skills. Sand proved to be a hit, providing a unique and tactile experience that helped develop their early literacy skills.  As they wrote and scribbled in the sand, they strengthened their fine motor skills. 

Decorating pots and planting seedlings

Yesterday we were busy turning over the garden getting it ready to do some new planting.  Today we decorated our own pots, adding seeds in the hope that with a little love, water and sunlight we can soon transfer them to our garden to grow and flourish.  Silverbeet, cucumber, lettuce and flowers...... How tall will it grow, what colour will it be, what do we need to do for them to grow? These were all great questions.  We have put them on our windowsill to watch the process, lets see what happens!!  We added a little touch to our pots with a flower just to look over our seeds.

Getting out in the community

It was the perfect day to walk to the local supermarket. The reason? We needed to buy crackers for late snack and a tub of icecream!! We had been given a big bag of pears... and teacher Dani had prepared them for stewing (she had lots of little helpers with the peeling!)  We thought that stewed pears with icecream would  be a nice treat. Six friends and two teachers set off on an adventure. Before we left, we talked about how to keep ourselves safe. We also wondered, what would we see? What would we hear? I'm not sure what was the most exciting thing to happen during our Woolworths visit, but our children were quick to spot some chocolate Easter bunnies and that certainly caused enthusiasm! Once we arrived back at Uxbridge, we could hardly wait for our icy treat! After lunch, we did indeed, all have a small bowl of stewed pears and vanilla icecream! Some friends weren't sure about the taste or texture of the pears...but we know that sometimes it can take a child several times to try something before their taste buds adjust. What a wonderful Wednesday!