All About Children- Apollo Drive, Rosedale, Albany

One thing I love about early childhood education is that what looks like simple play is often some of the richest learning.

Today the children spent time pouring water between different containers and making bracelets with beads and string. To a child, they’re simply having fun. To us, we’re seeing children strengthen the muscles in their hands, develop coordination, concentration, perseverance, and problem-solving skills.

These are the foundations children need before they ever pick up a pencil and begin writing at school.

As we prepare children for their transition to school, it is important that we take a holistic approach to learning. While academic skills certainly have their place, we are equally focused on helping children develop the confidence to ask for help, look after their belongings, build friendships, make safe choices, and navigate social situations. Most importantly, we want children to be brave enough to give things a go, understand that mistakes are part of learning, and know that success often comes from not giving up.

These skills don’t come from worksheets. They come from everyday conversations, gentle guidance from teachers, consistent routines, and being supported by knowledgeable kaiako who understand how children learn best.

The best part? The children don’t even realise how much they are learning because they are completely engaged in the experience

Science, curiosity, and a little bit of magic! 🌪️

Today our tamariki became little scientists as they explored the fascinating world of water vortices.

Using bottles filled with water, the children experimented with different spinning speeds and discovered that a spinning motion could create a vortex, allowing the water to flow more smoothly from one side of the bottle to the other. The excitement on their faces as they watched the swirling water was incredible!

Through this hands-on exploration, children were developing scientific inquiry skills as they observed, predicted, tested their theories, and reflected on what happened. They explored cause and effect, problem-solving, and critical thinking while following their natural curiosity about how the world works.

Not only is this activity filled with rich scientific learning but it’s the learning alongside one another, taking turns, supporting each other, learning new language and having the confidence to try that really matters. Everyday the team at Apollo drive are creating new and exciting learning opportunities for our youngest citizens to develop a lifetime live of learning.

Our children are constantly curious, and they are incredibly lucky to have a teacher like Jing Hao who is willing to explore their theories alongside them and take their learning to a whole new level 🙌

What started as a simple question about communication quickly became a hands on science experiment, with children testing ideas, making predictions and discovering how sound travels through the cup and string telephone 📞

These are the moments where real learning happens, when a kaiako follows children’s interests, sparks curiosity and turns wonder into meaningful exploration. 💙

This morning our tamariki have been exploring outdoors with focus! 🌟

They have been making nature faces and getting creative while talking amongst themselves and their teachers 🌱

Our Tūī and Pūkeko tamariki have been investigating and experimenting all day every day ✨🎉

💕Kōrero Mai, Kōrero Atu, Mauri Tū, Mauri Ora 💕
Speak Up, Stand Together, Stop Bullying!

Yesterday we had the most amazing time celebrating the wonderful wāhine in our community. 💕

Thank you to everyone who came along and shared in such a special day with us. We appreciate all that you do and feel so grateful to be surrounded by such an incredible community 💐✨

Open day pics! (No we are still not over the most amazing day 😍)