HeadStart Early Learning NZ

1 month ago

Sandpit play offers rich learning experiences for children at HeadStart. Through sensory play, children explore the texture of sand by digging, pouring, building, and engaging in messy play. Activities such as creating sand structures, pretending the sandpit is a campsite, or enjoying a “sand bath” similar to a beach experience support imagination and creativity. Sand play also encourages social interaction as children share tools, cooperate, and lead their own imaginative games. Conversations naturally develop as children express ideas, describe experiences, and relate play to family outings. These interactions support language development, problem-solving, and teamwork. Sandpit play promotes fine and gross motor skills, sensory awareness, and emotional regulation while providing a relaxed environment for children to explore, collaborate, and learn through hands-on experiences. ... See MoreSee Less

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HeadStart Early Learning NZ

1 month ago

What a perfect way to enjoy hot days at HeadStart! The water slide brought so much excitement and joy to the children. Using our large mat as a slide and adding a gentle mist of water made the experience even more refreshing. Children eagerly took turns sliding down as fast as they could, exploring different ways to enjoy the slide—on their tummies, backwards, or together with friends. The air was filled with laughter, giggles, and pure delight as they splashed and raced down. This playful experience encouraged confidence, creativity, and social connection, while keeping everyone cool and active. It was wonderful to see the children so engaged, happy, and adventurous, making lasting memories on such a beautiful day. ... See MoreSee Less

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HeadStart Early Learning NZ

2 months ago

Summer fun!
The water pump and river is always a big hit with the kids! The tamriki are always excited to explore how the pump works, taking turns pumping water and watching it flow. This hands-on experience encourages teamwork, curiosity, and problem-solving, while also strengthening their coordination. When the weather is hot, playing in the river is always a relief and so much fun! ... See MoreSee Less

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HeadStart Early Learning NZ

4 months ago

Water Play

Summer is on its way! As the weather has warmed up, we have been enjoying different ways to play with water. One afternoon, we filled up the lazy river in the sandpit so we could splash around in the water. We used sand to block up the waterfall and keep the river full. Another day, we used red and blue dye to make the water in the water trough purple! We added some bubble mixture and then used the hose to fizz up lots of bubbles. Water is great to help us cool off on hot days, and it adds a lot of enrichment to the children’s play. The tamariki can experiment with concepts such as weight, volume, and buoyancy. Changing the colours, adding sand or bubbles, changes how the children interact with and play with the water. We love water play on hot days! ... See MoreSee Less

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HeadStart Early Learning NZ

5 months ago

Mid-Autumn Festival
Mid-Autumn Festival, also known as Moon Festival, is celebrated by many of our HeadStart whānau and community. This year we celebrated through traditional arts, baking moon cake biscuits and story telling.
Our dragon project spanned over a few weeks, first tamariki helped to construct the dragon body. Our tēina enjoyed painting the body a deep red colour and sticking on embellishments. Our tuākana traced around their hands to make scales and to construct the fin that runs along the top. At group learning time, the tuākana learnt about the different parts of a Chinese dragon, including the horns, scales, whiskers, belly, claws and paws. This helped to build a vision of what we were trying to create. They further explored these ideas through drawing.
The finishing touches were placed on our dragon, then we explored the traditional art of dragon dance! Tamariki worked together as a team to move as one, while listening to the beat of the drum.
Celebrating the festivals and diverse culture of our centre fills our calendar with exciting events and always inspired us to engage in fun projects like this! ... See MoreSee Less

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HeadStart Early Learning NZ

6 months ago

Obstacle courses are fantastic for children’s development because they bring together physical, social, and cognitive learning in one fun challenge. Our kaiako designed fun and challenging courses for our tamariki to enjoy, even setting up undercover options on rainy days so the adventures could continue.

Tamariki are learning and extending:
Physical Skills:
- Gross motor skills: running, crawling, jumping, climbing, balancing.
- Coordination: combining movements smoothly.
- Strength and endurance: building muscles through climbing, pushing, pulling.
- Agility and flexibility: moving quickly and adapting body movements.
- Spatial awareness: judging distance, space, and body positioning.

Cognitive Skills
- Problem-solving: figuring out how to get through each part of the course.
- Memory and sequencing: remembering the order of tasks.
- Risk assessment: deciding how to approach challenges safely.
- Focus and concentration: staying on task to complete the course.

Social & Emotional Skills
- Teamwork: working alongside peers, taking turns, and collaborating.
- Communication: sharing strategies, encouraging each other.
- Resilience: persisting even when tasks are tricky.
- Confidence: gaining pride in achievements.
- Self-regulation: managing excitement, waiting, and controlling movements.

Links to Te Whāriki
Exploration – Mana Aotūroa: developing confidence and control over their bodies.
Contribution – Mana Tangata: practicing cooperation, fairness, and teamwork.
Wellbeing – Mana Atua: learning to take risks safely and manage themselves physically. ... See MoreSee Less

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