The Childhood Magic of Play

We have been out and about in the sun this week whipping up all kinds of potions and measurements.  In Tautoru we know that having a playful element is important for learning.  Play can be such a powerful tool in a variety of ways.  We want to really emphasis that play isn’t a break from learning, it is learning.  Our role as teachers is to prompt and nurture discussions peppering in the learning we know our children need at different ages and stages. This last month we have been dialling up our hands-on experiences and it has been so rewarding to see our learning about measurement come to fruition.  

When our students start school we know that play has been so deeply connected to Te Whāriki, our early childhood curriculum. Te Whāriki emphasises the values of child-led exploration, celebrating the unique strengths, cultures, and identities of every learner. When we think about our children it is not so long ago that they were in amongst this ECE curriculum, embracing these values and qualities so It makes sense to hold on to these values especially with our curriculum refresh. 

We know that play isn’t just fun, it’s foundational. For our learners, play is how they explore, problem-solve, connect with others, and begin to make sense of the world around them. It builds the critical skills they’ll need for lifelong learning while developing the confidence they need to tackle the stuff that is perceived as the ‘harder’ stuff like reading, writing, and maths.    

As the refreshed New Zealand Curriculum continues to roll out, there is a renewed focus on wellbeing, identity, belonging, and deeper learning. Learning through play supports these goals beautifully by allowing children to follow their interests, feel confident in who they are, and engage in learning that is meaningful to them.

Play encourages:

• Curiosity and exploration aligned with the Understand, Know, Do framework

• Culturally responsive teaching that reflects each child’s identity, language, and culture

• A strong foundation for literacy, numeracy, and other learning areas in developmentally appropriate ways.  

In a time of curriculum change, it’s important we don’t lose sight of what works for children. Play remains a powerful, research-backed approach to learning in Years 0–3 (and beyond), helping children become confident, connected, and capable learners.   

When Life Throws You LEMONS !!

When life throws you lemons .......you make as many links to the curriculum as you can !! 

 

We have had some fun this past week putting our measurement maths learning into practise through baking and making.  We have been inspired to make lemonade, lemon slice, bliss balls and muffins.  We are grateful to our village for giving us the lemons and helping us make these experiences happen.  

There’s something magical about baking with children. The smell of fresh lemonade, the feel of different ingredients, and the excitement of sharing and eating what we have made. But beyond the joy, baking offers something else just as valuable,  a rich, hands-on opportunity to develop key mathematical ideas, especially measurement.

For 6 and 7-year-olds,  measurement can be a tricky concept. That’s where the baking comes in,  a real-world, sensory experience that aligns beautifully with the NZ Refreshed Curriculum.  

At this age, children are beginning to explore and understand the world in more abstract ways. Measurement,  including length, volume, weight, and time becomes more than just using a ruler or reading a clock. It's all about making comparisons, estimating, and using standard and non-standard units to make sense of real tasks.

Baking naturally incorporates all of these skills in a context that’s familiar, fun, and engaging.

Measurement isn’t limited to maths. Baking naturally brings in:

• Science (understanding change through heat and mixing)

• Health & PE (learning about food and wellbeing)

• Technology (using tools and making food for a purpose)

• Literacy (reading and following instructions)

Here are some examples of how we made further connections in writing. 

We wrote recounts and descriptions about our process of making lemonade.  Our writing needed to have an interesting hook as an opening sentence and of course, some 'juicy' describing words to build a picture in the readers mind.  

As an extension task we used these same pieces of writing to craft poems.   These poems were made from highlighting the interesting words that could be mixed up and thrown together as a poetic piece.   This was an example of how words can be used in playful ways, not neccessarily following a simple, compound of complex 'sentence structure'. 

These hands on tasks have allowed us to make connections across learning areas, fostering curiosity and exploration through rich contexts.

We are always being encouraged to bring learning to life in ways that are meaningful and connected to students’ lives.   Baking has been a perfect vehicle for this by combining mathematical thinking, collaboration, and real-world relevance.  

So next time you're in the kitchen don't under estimate a conversation or an opportunity to practise maths or even some story telling or writing too.  

             Enjoying our yummy Lemon Slice ....

Learning Celebration

 

Week 5 welcomed our annual Learning Celebrations.  We are so grateful for this home school opportunity where students can really shine.  By now students are well and truly thriving in their own individual ways. They prepare samples of work that they can talk to in some detail, related to their individual goals and aspirations. Yes, even little mistakes are included because we know this is an important part of our learning. When we reflected with students they were able to talk in depth about their learning. Writing was one of the curriculum areas we reflected on.

Goal setting and feedback is such an important skill for both teacher and students.

This year Teachers have been looking into the research from Helen Walls as part on ongoing writing PLD. Her work talks about the importance of goal setting and feedback and how these develop metacognition.  They help students develop the knowledge of oneself as a learner and the strategies to manage a thinking task.  Teachers are continuing to be really explicit about a single deliberate learning goal, providing targeted feedback for each student on that one aspect of their writing that will propel them forward tomorrow.  Writing goals in particular are referred to as micro goals. You will be seeing and hearing about this in your child's learning celebration.   You will see little visuals on their writing samples and these are usually in green.  

There is so much to think about as part of the writing process ! 

To guide our learning celebrations we prepared some prompts or questions to get our students thinking about their aspirations and their whole experience at school.  We know that so much happens during the day, socially, emotionally and academically.   We aimed to come up with questions or prompts that might give you a different insight into your child's day.  They also have a focus on embracing challenges, being OK with mistakes and applying GRIT and a Growth Mindset.  We also wanted to make sure that our students could celebrate their progress and learning.   

Here are the prompts we have been using: 

 

Working with the Experts ! Touching, Exploring, Observing and Noticing.

We have been so fortunate to be able to work with 2 experts in their fields this last fortnight. We met Bob Kerr, Writer and Artist. He shared his life's work with us and it was truly inspiring and fascinating to learn about his process of creativity, writing and painting the artworks for his books. He shared some beautiful watercolour paintings that feature in his book - Changing Times. He talked us through some of his work that showed changes in landscapes over time.  The kids were able to make lots of connections to Te Motu Kairangi and Whetūkairangi Pā.  

"Thank you Bob for inspiring us with your passion of writing and art.  We look forward to reading the new book about your Uncle and his adventures as a gold smuggler across the desert !"

We have also had fun across the school working in whānau groups exploring and observing our playground closely.  We explored drawing shapes, texture, and patterns.   We used our senses to see, touch and feel to explore a collection of found treasures from around ‘Our Place’.  Drawing with our left hand certainly blew our minds to the point where we were able to exercise our GRIT and perseverance amongst many other character strengths.  This is part of a much bigger ‘secret’ and we are so grateful to be working alongside Fiona - our resident artist who is encouraging us all to embrace the wonder and awe that is Worser Bay. 

"Ngā mihi nunui ki a koe Fiona !  We are having a blast exploring our place through a child's eyes.   Thanks for inspiring us to see the beauty, making the ordinary - extraordinary."