June 2013 - Little Einsteins Educare

Kia ora Whanau
The frosty starts are upon us! These wintery days are still wonderful to be out playing in
but do require a few extra layers. Warm hats and covered shoes are a minimum;
remember rooms are happy to have named hats and gummies that ‘live’ here. It is a
shame to have to limit learning experiences to ‘inside only’ if children haven’t got
appropriate clothing. To minimise the impact of the winter weather, we are utilising
our outdoor heaters- these operate on timers and ensure that our kai area is warm
while children are eating. The covered area continues to be a great resource for
rainy days with winter bugs far less likely to be spread amongst children when they
have space to play in fresh air. In our experience, children are much happier when
they aren’t cooped up and get to be busy outside!
Speaking of happy and busy children, this has been a pretty action packed month!
We have enjoyed a huge range of learning experiences (in addition to our usual
adventures) as we have been celebrating Matariki. These celebrations, marking the
beginning of the Maori New Year, kicked off with our own Fieldays. This was a huge
hit and it was fantastic to see the coverage in our local paper- The Cambridge
Edition. We also really enjoyed the opportunity to share our learning with our
grandparents and special people last week. It was our biggest turn out yet- must
have been something to do with Emily’s delicious scones From all accounts
everyone had a thoroughly good time and we will look to hold another one later in
the year or early next year. Photos from both of these days are on our facebook
page in the ‘Family Events’ album. Our final large event for Matariki is our much
anticipated annual Star Trail. Starting at 530pm this Thursday, the Star Trail is a great
family excursion (details are on the last page of this newsletter).
Thanks as always for your continued support! Have an awesome week and I’ll see
you out and about
- Jayne
Please bring in your Yummy Fruit Company stickers and cut-out
labels from your Yummy apples! These apples can
be purchased from New World, Pak ‘n Save and
Four Square. Each sticker or label helps us to earn
free sports gear The rooms here at Little
Einsteins are having a competition to see who can
bring in the most stickers and labels!!!
Current Policies under Review: Supervision Plan, Travel Permission, Travel; Staff Ratio
Planning, Display of Licence and Information, Evacuation – Care Plan, Excursions. You can
view these on our website, main foyer or Pukeko entrance

Kia Ora Kiwi Whānau.
We are certainly well into winter and some wonderful weather, with lots of rain and fabulous
fog and our little Kiwi’s are really enjoying getting outside and exploring as often as possible.
Rūma Kiwi would like to extend a very warm welcome to Skylar, Georgia and Mya who have
recently joined our whanau; we look forward to being part of their learning journey. We also
say a sad farewell to Oscar and Kalani who are off on new adventures; we wish them well and
will miss them. Morgan, Jayden, Charlotte and Henrik are beginning their transition journey
into Rūma Tui, we look forward to watching them grow and develop and know they will have an
exciting time next door.
This month we have had a change in our planning focus
from creative communication to ‘Nurturing Relationships’
and Contribution. With new children starting in Rūma Kiwi
and our older children beginning to deepen their social
skills, it is fantastic to see children fostering friendships
and relationships with each other and their teachers. We
have included lots of pics showing these lovely
interactions this month Remember evidence of
children’s participation and learning has been documented
in your child’s portfolio books and on the planning wall.
Please feel free to have a look at these or to take your
child’s portfolio books home to share with family and
friends.
As we are still venturing outside as much as we can, can
you please ensure your children have warm clothes and
shoes/gumboots.
It would be helpful if you
could name your children’s
belongings so we can ensure
they get put into the right
bags
Ka kite ano Whānau- Alaina, Laura, Alison, Alex,
Gabby, Ashleigh and Rachel.

Kia ora Rūma Tui Whānau
With the cooler weather upon us we continue to make the most of
our outdoor environment when we can. We are often out walking in
the paddocks, collecting leaves and visiting the animals. It was
fabulous fun when we celebrated the Fieldays with our own animal
trail, fun farm games and tractor rides. The day was thoroughly
enjoyed by all of our children. Here are a few of the pics,
remember to check out our facebook page to see more!
The children are often immersed in art and creative activities in our
room. The Tui children like to explore different ways of expressing
themselves and this is often through drawing, painting and creating.
This expression of self supports their emerging understanding of
literacy. Through recalling the stories of what is being created along
with describing the pictures/models they create, children extend their
vocabulary and their imagination. It is always interesting listening in on
our tamariki sharing these sometimes farfetched stories with their
friends!When sharing experiences, the children are developing ways to
interact socially, take turns and also to use their manners. Teachers
have been supporting the increased opportunities for children to be
using their manners and many of our parents have commented on their
child’s increased use of “please” and “thank you”. This is wonderful to
hear.
With Matariki upon us we have been creating sparkly stars and doing
weaving in our very own ‘Tui’ made loom. These are projects still
underway- you can see our progress up on our growing wall display! We
had a great time sharing our learning last week with our grandparents
and other special people and we are looking forward to our Evening Star
Trail this week. The teachers all love to share in the learning journey of
the children in Tui room, especially when family and whānau add
pictures and stories to the children’s portfolios. Please feel free to
take these home for a night to share them with your family and add to
them.
This month we farewell Riley, Hamish, Eleanor and Jacob to Rūma Pukeko- we know that you
will have fabulous adventures. Welcome Jade to Rūma Tui, it is great to have you join our
little whānau and we look forward to getting to know you and your family.
Don’t forget with the chilly mornings and damp days to pack plenty of snuggly clothes for
your child. Please don’t forget to name these to ensure that they are easily identified
Ka kite ano whānau, your Rūma Tui kaiako; Caroline, Janelle, Sarah, Rebecca, Shelly & Shirley.

Bonjour Pukeko families!
Aren’t the months flying by with half of the year already over!
This month we welcome to Rūma Pukeko Riley, Hamish, Jacob and Eleanor who have
transitioned through from the Tui room, as well as our newest baby Freddie who our teacher
Charlotte brought in to visit recently, much to the delight of our tamariki and kaiako.
As you are probably well aware our preschoolers have
been ` learning French, even having the opportunity to
try some French food such as croissants and baguette!
French lessons are taking place on Wednesday mornings
at 9.15am with our wonderful volunteer parent
Charlotte Godwin and her trusty sidekick Serge. As we
know children are like sponges and our tamariki have
been loving absorbing this new language, being found
singing Frère Jacques around the playground, and even
(as we have been told by some parents) coming home
and teaching their families a thing or two! This has tied
in nicely with the increased level of literacy and
communication we have been seeing within the
classroom with the children exploring a wide range of
ways to express themselves and share ideas using
language. If your child is not enrolled on a Wednesday
you are more than welcome to bring them in to join us
for these approximately 30minute morning lessons.
We have been seeing a great deal of collaboration and team
work taking place amongst the children lately, with large
scale projects involving lots of children occurring
frequently. The sandpit has been the prime spot for some of
these ventures with a recent multi day exploration into
volcanoes leading to our responsible preschoolers working
together to provide their younger Kiwi friends with a
volcano of their own in the Kiwi sandpit – check out the
display in our room of all this teamwork!
This collaboration is being extended upon through Matariki
activities, which as you may well be aware is a huge event
for us this month. As well as our upcoming star trail, and
trying our hand at weaving we have been singing group waiata
and learning about the haka, practicing and exploring using
the poi, and playing tī rakau (stick games)
together. These activities all involve the
children co-ordinating with one another,
listening and working in unison – as they
have all witnessed from watching Maori kapa haka performances. This is a great
build up to Maori language week which takes place at the start of next month.
continued next page

Both Bike Day and the Fieldays were a hit this month and we would like to make a special
mention as to how impressed we were with the riding skills of our tamariki, and thank the
parents for their awareness of safety – the turnout of helmets on the day was ka pai!
Lastly, a big farewell and good luck to Cooper, Dylan and Mason who are off on their school
adventures.
Till next month au revoir from your Pukeko teachers, Vikki, Anita, Jo, Carolyn and Dan.
Does your child love ponies ??
We have limited spaces available for riding lessons in Term 3. The cost is
$170 for a 10 week block. Classes are taken here at Little Einsteins with
qualified instructor Andie Suffield. Classes involve grooming, leading the
pony, learning the parts of a pony and its gear, saddling a pony up ready to
ride, and riding. Limited spaces available Monday to Friday.
Please see Nicki in the office for more info

To celebrate Matariki (Maori New Year) Little
Einsteins is hosting our Annual Star Trail, come
and join us for face painting, a light snack and
star gazing. Bring a torch and your
parents/caregivers to explore our paddock by
night.
Set aside Thursday 27th June 5.30 -
6.15pm for some fun under the stars!