The time finally arrived this week for the great 2026 Art Celebration. We are feeling so grateful for all the ideas our students have been able to come up with, to make this story come to life. After all, it was all about thinking outside of the box and harnessing our imaginations to come up with wild and wonderful 'wonderlands'.
We are so grateful for all the help we have received from our colleagues, whānau and parents. It takes a village to put on a great show !!!
Ngā mihi nunui ki a koutou.
So what was our great narrative about ?
In a deep dark place, a little machine finds herself delivering a special parcel to a world where magic and imagination run wild. In this mystery land, far away from any civilisation, a suitcase waits. A humble parasol is found inside by the bugs, frogs, fairies and miniature mushrooms dancing and frolicking about.
The amazing wonderland changes pace and environment with the entrance of fire and dragons. The parasol becomes a bellow that helps our flames grow and flourish.
The energy shifts into the next child created wonderland. This world is full of ocular delights and night time creatures that inhabit the best of our spooky stories. They all come to life to dance the night away.
This whole process has been a very organic one. We aimed for as child centred as possible.
A few posts back we shared the creation of different worlds. A whole lot of oral language opportunities as well as Inquiry and other cross curricular links were made.
So how does this all connect to our refreshed NZ curriculum ?
NZ Curriculum links - Reading and writing :
Over the last term, we read our way through quality picture books, school readers and journals. This has allowed us to have some good discussions about lands and places, characters and creatures. We have been able to explore characters and their specific roles in a. story.
The reciprocal nature of reading and writing has come to life as we tried to use some of our reading skills and vocabulary to write our own stories. Good words and vivid vocabulary create great pictures in a readers mind.
Comprehension
Using what is stated in a text, along with their prior knowledge, to predict what might happen next
Using visual images in the text to check and support their understanding of ideas that might not be directly stated
Retelling the key details from a text in response to sequence questions
Identifying connections between the ideas expressed in texts and their own knowledge of topics, other texts, and their own experiences, and responding by sharing opinions about those ideas
Presenting to an audience
Using non-verbal communication to support the message being communicate.
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NZ Curriculum links - Oral Language
Lots of discussions, sharing of ideas and conversations bought us to where we ended up. We 'piggy backed' off each others ideas, adding more detail or making subtle changes or crazy ones !!
We had to get our messages across so our group members could understand our ideas.
Our map making required lots of opinions which we did not always agree with. We had some ground rules that we followed to make sure there were no 'bosses' and everyone could contribute as much as possible. It really was like playing on paper.
Listening and Responding to Others
Participating in conversations, taking turns, actively listening, and contributing
Respectfully agreeing, disagreeing, and adding on to ideas
Explaining reasons for their opinions and ideas
The Arts Curriculum Links
All of the above came to fruition with our Arts Curriculum as the main driver for us to express this learning.
NZ Curriculum links - Dance
Developing practical knowledge
Students will explore and identify, through movement, the dance elements of body, space, time, energy, and relationships.
Developing ideas
Students will use the elements of dance in purposeful ways to respond to a variety of stimuli.
Developing ideas
Students will investigate and develop visual ideas in response to a variety of motivations, observation, and imagination.
Communicating and interpreting
Students will share the ideas, feelings, and stories communicated by their own and others’ objects and images.
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