We have had a fantastic start to the school year!  What a wonderful group of inquisitive and friendly children we have making up room 4 this year.  The tamariki are settling in well and are already busy with their learning activities - take a look at what we have been up to so far!

Play and exploration are a vital part of learning here in Room 4 - the tamariki are given opportunities to problem-solve, test ideas and theories, revise and revisit.  Construction has many benefits including the development of fine motor skills, hand-eye coordination and developing creativity.

Aveer and Cameron are also honing their fine motor skills with these rubber band boards - just the type of activity required to develop their pincer grip which helps in holding a pencil.

Pippa and Georgia are enjoying our classroom Home Corner.  Family and dramatic role play is beneficial for learning problem-solving, learning to communicate and helping to express feelings. 

The tamariki did a great job making paper lanterns for Chinese New Year.  We learnt that this year was the year of the tiger!  The tamariki are practicing their scissor and glue skills and are learning to follow instructions, step-by-step.  Don't the finished lanterns look fantastic?

Pippa and Kira are exploring one of our many big books available for browsing.  They are discovering the joy that books can bring and establishing their understanding that words convey meaning - this is the start of a life-long love of reading!

What a busy week we have had in Room 4.  The tamariki began swimming this week and thoroughly enjoyed it - I was so pleased to see so many enthusiastic learners giving their best!  

We have also been exploring loose parts.  Engaging and experimenting with loose parts allows our tamariki the opportunity to develop their creative and critical thinking skills.  Loose parts is an 'open-ended' activity with no right or wrong answers - only ideas, and this allows freedom of imagination as children become confident in their own decisions and abilities.

You can see that we have had some very creative tamariki - and take a look at all of these marvellous creations!  There is a jewellery box, a flying car, a robot and a special bed for a princess among many other amazing items.

The tamariki have really been enjoying swimming, we are lucky that our swimming slot is in the afternoon, after lunch, and it is a great way to cool down on these hot days!  We have been focusing on water safety and confidence.  Using their pool noodles, I have been so impressed to see the children starting to float, kick and even to blow bubbles in the water as they move across the pool.  Take a look at the photos below.

Pause, Breathe and Smile.  Pokeno School has a school-wide focus of mindfulness and we have begun in Room 4 with some simple meditation each day.  Closing our eyes, focusing on our breathing and our tummies rising and falling we are able to tune in to the moment.  Afterwards, the tamariki have told me that they "felt nice", "are relaxed" and "almost fell asleep" - everyone was much calmer and also more focused on their next learning task.  What a great addition to our day!  I wonder if the tamariki have been bringing this practice into their home life as well?

Room 4 have also been enjoying their new construction resources - the tamariki watched eagerly as they were delivered and then helped to unpack them.  They couldn't wait to get started and to discover and create!  Take a look at a few examples of what they got up to!  

This week has been national 'Sea Week' and the tamariki have been enjoying the story of The Rainbow Fish - they have spent some time with Miss Fale making some beautiful rainbow fish of their own!  What an incredible effort - ka pai everyone!

This week the tamariki have enjoyed creating at our carpentry table.  We are very safe practitioners and always have our safety glasses on and are learning to hold the hammers and other tools correctly.  Carpentry has so many wonderful benefits for our learners including the opportunity to gain control over their bodies, hand-eye coordinaton and and manipulative skills.  It also enables them to solve problems and understand length, size, balance and force.  Take a look at what they have been making!

In Room 4 we are well on our way with Structured Literacy and have begun by learning the 'm' sound and how to write this letter as well.  We have so many clever learners in Room 4 - look at these amazing m's that we practiced outside!

The tamariki loved wearing their pyjama's to school today to raise money for Totara Hospice.  Look at all of these excited faces!

This week, we have been enjoying learning about some new tools at our carpentry table.  We have a special new vise grip to hold the wood and a new saw to cut with.  We have been making sure that we are safe practitioners and have been learning to create a groove with the butt of the saw first, before we begin making our deeper cuts.  What successful builders we are!

HAPPY EASTER!  The tamariki have been making their own special Easter Baskets today, and have also brought home a special treat.  This has been lots of fun and there have been plenty of excited voices talking about Easter plans and the impending visit from the Easter Bunny!

Have a safe and happy Easter and a restful term break everyone!