Activities at KIDSPACE for Children's day 2012

Kia ora,

Activities at KIDSPACE for Children's day 2012

Please bring a baby photo of your children, and give to one of the teachers by Wednesday 7th March, as the teachers and children are going to play a guessing game with them!

The theme colours for Children’s day are purple, green, orange and yellow. Please dress your children up in these colours throughout the week (if possible).

Ainslee

Children's Day 2012

Kia Ora whanau

This Sunday 4th March is Children’s Day! This year’s theme is ‘treasure our children' which fits perfectly within our roles of teachers and parents every day!

You are doing the most important job there is. It’s rewarding, but sometimes it’s tough. This Children’s Day we encourage families everywhere to treasure their children. When you’re a parent that might mean:

- Making sure your kids have the things they need.
- Look after yourself so you can be there for them. It’s good to take time out to be you.
- If you’re a dad, there’s so much you can do to make your child feel like a taonga. -
- Learn about positive discipline. This job never came with a manual and knowing some tricks of the trade can make life a whole lot easier.


There are planned events happening all over NZ to celebrate this special day. Some events happening within the napier area are:

Plunket's Teddy Bears Picnic
Where: Anderson Park, by the playground, Kennedy Road, Napier
When: Sunday 4th March, 11am - 2pm
Activities: Bring a picnic and your teddy's and come on down to support Plunket. There will be bouncy castles, face painting, sausage sizzle, mini Hot Rod ride on cars and more!

National Aquarium Children's Day
Where: National Aquarium, Marine Parade, Napier
When: Sunday 4 March, 9am - 5pm (last entry 4.30pm)
Activities: Free entry to the National Aquarium for children aged 14 years and under with a paying adult. Lots of childrens activities and prizes to celebrate Children's Day!

Visit http://www.childrensday.org.nz/ for more information!

I'll be back soon to post a blog about how KIDSPACE is celebrating this day next week (5-9th March).

Na, Ainslee

KIDSPACE Christmas Party

Reminder: this Thursday 8 December 4.30-6.30
Bring all the family and join in the fun!

Teddy bears picnic

Click to enlarge

Ainslee

Tea party at Emily and Isabella's house

(Click to enlarge)

Ainslee

Great success

Thank you to everyone that contributed baking, or made a donation or purchase at our cake stall last Thursday. We raised $126.50, for the Royal New Zealand Foundation of the Blind.

Ainslee

Happy birthday Rochelle

Trip to Park Island

Making Canadian flags

In preparation for visiting the Canadian rugby team to watch them train, we made flags to show our support. I put red paint on the table and the laminated canadian flag for the children to use as a guide. Emily, Zoe, Hannah, Charlie, Isabella and Ruby took a real interest. The great thing about this experience is that the children showed individual creativity and varied perception of what a flag should look like.

Charlie decided to carefully look at the flag and paint slowly, to get it as close as possible to the printed one, even doing a Mabel leaf in the middle.

Zoe wanted to paint her whole piece of paper red, except for one of the corners that she left white.

Ruby wanted to make the red strips on the side much bigger, with a smaller 'flower' in the middle.

Once these had dried over night, we found some pieces of wood in the carpentry area, and stapled them to it, to hold as flags for when we watched the rugby. The children were very proud of what they made, and enjoyed taking them along to the game. For the children that didn't visit the rugby but made a flag, they have wanted them in their profile book.

Ainslee

A trip in to town...

On the 5th of January we had just a small group of children at KIDSPACE, so Ainslee, Kerry and Rochelle took Shaydn, Lyrique, Jaz, Aimee, Mollie, Jorja and Akasha for a trip into town! We packed morning tea and headed down to the bus stop. Our first stop was the Napier Library were we enjoyed our morning tea under a shady tree, waiting excitedly for the Council Chambers to open. Just before 10.30 we made our way up stairs and lifts, ready to watch Zappo the Magician!! We found a good spot, in amongst other children, parents and families. Zappo had lots of funny things to show and tell. He had a parrot puppet and told stories. Zappo invited some children one at a time up the front to play little tricks on them as well. His last trick was to cover a rabbit hutch with 'magic blankets' and after he said a spell, and pulled the covers off, there was a little fluffy rabbit! Shaydn, Jorja, Lyrique and Mollie were so intrigued and interested and were watching and listening all the way through. Jaz, Aimee and Akasha (the younger children), sat very well, and enjoyed being in the atmosphere of things and watching different people interact.

After the show had finished, we headed over to the Marine Parade playground, where we had our lunch from our lunchboxes and a big drink of water. We had a big play on the playground afterwards as well! Slides, tunnels, swings, ladders kept the children energised and happy! After we packed up from the park, it was nearly time to head back to the bus stop. But not until we had stopped for an ice cream at Lick-it!. The children chose their flavours and we sat outside in the sun eating ice creams before heading back on the bus.

Children develop interest and pleasure in discovering an unfamiliar wider world where the people, images, objects, languages, sounds, smells and tastes are different from those at home (Belonging, Te Whariki).

Ainslee

Transtion to school evening

Last night (November 3rd) we hosted a transition to school evening at KIDSPACE. We invited principals and new entrant teachers from a range of different primary schools in Napier/Taradale and had a fantastic turn out! We started off the evening with Jess doing a formal greeting in te reo followed by her mihi. Monica extended a warm welcome and spoke about what we hoped to gain from this evening. Cold drinks, nibbles and brownie slice was provided as teachers and princiapls mingled, chatted and were introduced to unfamiliar people.

We wrote up questions on big pieces of paper and put around the centre, encouraging people to answer them, providing us with feedback. Some included, 'How are new entrants doing on entering the classroom?; How do you use children's profiles from ECE?; In what ways can we strengthen the relationships between ECE services and new entrant classes?; What unstructured activites are available in new entrant classes to ease transitions e.g. mobilo, painting etc? After we have collated the feedback given, we will email out a copy to schools that attended and will post a copy on the blog.

Christine Dew from the Ministry of Education came along and spoke about transition to school, as this was her passsion area. She is the regional manager for ECE services based in Waikato.

Sue, the new entrant teacher from Westshore, and the principal Martin, spoke about the transiton class they hold one morning a week. This gives young children the opportunity to come along and get a feel for the school and routines early on. They have 'letter of the week', and children are encouraged to join in and give new things a go, such as the climbing wall in the school hall, which provides enjoyment as well a challange.

Thank you to the parents that came along last night. We value your contributions.

Ainslee

Farewell Tyson

 

Happy last day for Friday to Tyson and whaanau, haere ra and we hope you visit soon to tell us of your adventures.
Jessie

Happy last day to Harry

Happy last day to Harry, we wish you well and lots of fun adventures too, your friends and teachers at KIDSPACE.

Maia turns five

Today Maia turned five and celebrated at KIDSPACE along with Taneesha and mum plus party food. Maia also graduated today, moving on to Greenmeadows School. We look forward to seeing Maia and whaanau when Taneesha is dropped off and picked up at KIDSPACE.

Planetarium Visit

Today a group of us went for a visit to the planetarium at Napier Boys High School. First we watched a video of a rocket taking off and some astronauts living in space. Then we all moved into anther room so that we could see the stars! We were shown exactly what the night sky would look like tonight (if it wasn't so cloudy and rainy) and we were shown a few different constellations. We then saw how the stars move across the sky in the space of a day and how the 'Seven Sisters' of Matariki rise in the morning.

Here are some of the things that the children liked about our planetarium visit...

Caelyn - "Eating lollies upside down in space".

Kian - "We saw two man's hanging upside down".

Netana - "Book".

Noah - "Moon, blue, black".

Maia - "The 7 sisters went round and round".

Paige - "Nana, car, twinkle twinkle".

Thanks to Kian's Dad and Paige's Nana and Aunty for bringing their cars and coming along to help out!

Jess

Whaanau Weaving Evening

On Wednesday 21st of July, from 7 to 8.30pm we had our Whaanau Weaving Evening at KIDSPACE. Thank you to the parents and grandparents who attended. We welcomed Rev Marie McDonald, who blessed our art room 3 years ago, to say a karakia to the group and share some of her knowledge and the tikanga around harakeke. Things like cutting it on an angle, returning the unwanted trimmings back to the flax bush, and not to step over harakeke, nor work with it while pregnant etc. Jess took a group to demonstrate making a ki (ball) and Rie took a group making putiputi (flowers). Tamara's dad helped Bridie, Tamara and Monica to make a kai bowl. We interacted and learnt by watching and doing (just like our tamariki do). We had some drinks and nibbles towards and the end, while sharing what we had made.

Ainslee

Teddy Bear's picnic

This is the day we had A Teddy Bear's Picnic. In preparation we made a sign with children drawing crayon bears, love hearts, shoes, a table cloth, a green lady and food. These drawings were to invite bears to attend our picnic. We baked muffins with Rochelle, biscuits with Ainslee and bread cases too all in bear mouth sized pieces. Bears made their own necklaces with Ann in the morning and after the picnic helped to build and paint a new ramp for Murphy and Jo-Jo to enter their hutch by. We also read "The Teddy Bear's Picnic" story all week.

"Children develop a playful interest in repetitive sounds and words, aspects of language such as rhythm, rhyme, and alliteration, and an enjoyment of nonsense stories and rhymes", Communication, Te Whaariki.

Jessie

Monica's birthday

On Sunday Monica had her birthday. Today we celebrated with song, kai and a gift.

Happy birthday to you.

Farewell Charlie

Friday was Charlie's last day at KIDSPACE. We celebrated with graduation gown, certificate, song and ice cream in cones.

Today Charlie starts at Napier Central School. Farewell Charlie and we wish you lots of fun and learning at your new school. Pop in to visit us soon.

Jessie

Matariki head bands

The children were looking at Maori designs to use for Matariki art work. Maia decided to make a head band and decorated it with Maori patterns. A lot of other children joined in, wanting head bands of their own. Everyone had a lot of fun making their own designs, measuring their heads to make sure they would fit and wearing the head bands around KIDSPACE. These photos show Caelyn finishing hers off with some help from Rachel. Libby and Alana are wearing theirs proudly while they play.

Rachel