Kia ora, whānau,

Welcome to term four and to an exciting, busy one at that!

Our Discovery provocations, relating to nature and the environment, have been welcomed with keen interest and creativity. During week one we introduced 'Creepy Crawlies,' followed by 'Habitats,' in week two. If only there was more time in the day to research and explore, as it is proving to be a very strong interest for many.  Building bug hotels, bumblebee sketching and creating a variety of other little critters, are just a few of the recent 'Learning Through Play,' activities.

'Bring a soft toy to school' has been a hit this week! Thank you for the variety of boxes that were brought in. There were beds, houses, vehicles (some fancy enough to have TV screens), and other comforts, imagined and created. Measuring and comparing each toy created a fun way to strengthen mathematical knowledge. In the Junior years, measuring length is introduced by measuring in units (such as cubes) versus centimeters, so for the larger toys that was a lot of counting!



































Tino pai, tamariki. It has been a fun two weeks!

Thank you,

 Elizabeth, Jo, Kristika and Stacey

Week 4

Wow, almost half-way through Term 3 already!
The provocation of 'Change' has filled our recent weeks with a busy variety of topics. Some of them have been about the change of temperature (freezing versus heated objects), colour and growth.

Look out for ordering your child's Calendar Art, these are great for Christmas gifts.  This too has filled the afternoons with expression through creativity and lots of hard work.

Our new outdoor space is beginning to show more colour and plant life with each passing week.  We are still on the look out for any large planters or containers for the transfer of seedlings.  A big thank you for the donated containers and baby plants so far.

Creating at Discovery Time

Focussing at writing time

Working as a team at Discovery Time

Skip and Bounce handwriting

Making potions

Literacy time

Calendar art preparation

"Look at my handwriting, Kristika!"

More team work

Caring for our plants

Proud of our new hanging baskets

Seed sprouting experiment

Friends showing We Care

Preparing for the seed sprouting experiment

Quiet time in the Chill Zone

A Discovery Time challenge

Roctopus fun!

Mindfulness activities

Experimenting with vinegar and baking soda

Look at our amazing volcano!

The result of changing runny yogurt into frozen yogurt - yum!

Experimenting with colour mixing

More experimenting with colours

Who would have thought you could change the colour of a flower? How does this happen?

Showing We Care for our learning spaces

Showing We Care by tidying the book shelves

Showing We Care by stacking the chairs

Showing We Care by cleaning and tidying the children's teaching station

Creating our very own experiments with food colouring

Preparing the pots for seed planting

Planting the seeds (sunflowers)

Making truffles: what sort of change is this?

Kia ora i te whānau,

The chilly start to winter at Beckenham te Kura hasn't stopped the tamariki from having fun and exciting days of learning.
The frenzy of interest at learning how to skip during Discovery, has kept many children physically and mentally challenged. What an amazing improvement has occurred with regular practice and perseverance.
Other interests across the hub have been rich with creativity, especially at the Creation Station. Thank you to the parents who regularly contribute bits and bobs for this area. It is amazing what creative minds can create from boxes and empty containers!
With Kōmanawa fully open now, tamariki have enjoyed exploring their new learning space. During Discovery, there are three places to choose from now, Pūkaki, Kōmanawa and the courtyard in front of Kōmanawa.

We look forward to learning and transition conferences with you and your child  next week.



















Ka kite,

Jo, Stacey, Elizabeth and Kristika

Koru's pillows