Kia OraWhat a busy week in our under two's room! We have had so much fun, both indoors and out. Despite the rain, we have rugged up warm and made the most of our outdoor area, with experiences such as sand play, with both wet and dry sand, play with natural resources such as wood, bark, pumice and water, and even painting and collage outside with various materials. Inside we have enjoyed play dough play, with additional props such as feathers and ice block sticks, to promote development of … [Read more...]

Each child brought their own bike or scooter  one Friday. They excitedly rode on it. Some proudly described how their bike/scooter look like, the colour/design was. Others proudly show how fast they could ride on it. Then it was so delightful to hear them formulating their own rules. “Remember not to park bikes/scooter in the middle of the ground. Patiently wait for turns.”Later, they were having fun doing pretend play. Some were pretending to be a police car/ ambulance. They were helping … [Read more...]

Carpentry play- Hammer, saw, nails….. Painfully, it maybe about an image of a crying child with a hammered finger or one child hurt himself by accidentally dropping a tool on his foot.I’m an Asian teacher. When I walked to preschool centres in New Zealand for the first time and saw the carpentry area, I walked in with fears, questions and concerns. After watching the children explore and observing them developing skills, my fears were eventually eliminated.The truth is, looking on the … [Read more...]

At Play to Learn, we go to the library once a month, each month we choose a different day so all the children have the opporunity to go. Children/Tamariki learn how to keep themselves safe by holding hands and checking for cars/vehicles to keep themselves safe before crossing the road. They also love singing songs while on a trip.There are many benefits of going to the library. Reading is very beneficial to children. Research suggest that introducing children to the library at a very early … [Read more...]

Te Reo in Play to Learn Early Learning Centre   Within Play to Learn Early Learning Centre we believe that it is important for us to incorporate the Māori language and culture within our everyday environment. Over the past few weeks we have been extending the Māori language through incorporating Te Reo Māori more through the verb song. This song is an action song which allows for the learning of Māori words that the children may already be familiar with in English. While outside … [Read more...]