Thursday, February 20, 2020

 Whānau Koru at Potters Park

Our long hot summer continues...

Today we packed up Whanau Koru and walked to Potters park for a picnic and play. Thank you so much to all the wonderful parents and grandparents who were able to come with us today-you did an amazing job!


You may have heard us talk about the concept of the Environment as the Third Teacher. This is a key part of the Reggio Emilia approach which has influenced education theories and practice worldwide for many decades. (The first teacher is the parent; the second, the classroom teacher). 


At Balmoral we are working at the moment on understanding how we can create learning environments with the children which are responsive to their interests and developmental stages. We want our environments to to promote relationships, curiosity and exploration, communication and collaboration. 

Our learning environment is not confined to the classroom. Learning outside the classroom is a powerful, dynamic and challenging third teacher. We discover new things, have new experiences, build new relationships, transfer learning from inside to out and explore, take risks, solve problems and have a huge amount of fun. 


A trip such as this helps to fulfil aspects of the Health and Physical Education curriculum, for example, children develop a wide range of movement skills, using a wide variety of equipment and play environments.


Children participate in creative and regular physical activities and identify enjoyable experiences.




Children learn to demonstrate respect through sharing and co-operation in groups.



 They learn to use safe practices in a range of contexts and identify people who can help.


Our morning was full of learning, meeting so many different aspects of not only the NZC but also Te Whāriki. When we plan a trip, we consider the learning which may take place, its purpose and value and whether it meets the many needs of the children. This trip met many goals within the Te Whāriki strands of Wellbring/Mana atua, Belonging/Mana whenua, Contribution/Mana tangata, Communication/Mana reo and Exploration/mana aotūroa.



 A magpie was watching us, so we watched the magpie.



We had a wonderful morning in our local environment at Potters Park- so much to do.  Children collected feathers, seeds, cicada shells, chestnuts, chased bubbles and went on a treasure hunt.

Then we came back for a cool down!
Have a great weekend.
Ngā mihi nui.






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