In Te Rūma Pūkeko we believe that every child is a capable, curious and unique learner. Our learning programme is thoughtfully shaped around the interests, strengths and developing abilities of our tamariki, creating opportunities for them to explore, discover, challenge themselves and grow in confidence.
Whānau are an important part of this journey. The knowledge that you share about your child helps us build a deeper understanding of who they are and what is important to them. We value hearing about their interests and experiences at home, whānau adventures, culture, values, traditions and aspirations you have for their learning and development. These connections help us create a learning experience that feels meaningful, familiar and connected to home.
Our curriculum begins with the interests of each child. From there, our kaiako thoughtfully extend and challenge their thinking, encouraging tamariki to wonder, question, investigate and develop their own working theories about the world around them.
Adventurer Time
While our older tamariki enjoy their Pūkeko Explorer Time, our younger tamariki come together for Adventurer Time – a special opportunity to learn, connect and have fun in a small group setting.
We explore learning through singing, dancing, rhymes and movement, while naturally introducing colours, counting, and shapes in both te reo Māori and English. Our kaiako use rākau, bean bags, scarves and other engaging props to support learning and active participation. We also intoduce letterland – our letter of the week, giving tamariki playful exposure to letters and the sounds they make within works.
Adventurer Time is a joyful opportunity for tamariki to be themselves, build confidence, develop a sense of belonging and enjoy learning alongside others.
Pūkeko Explorers
The Pūkeko Explorers are our 4-5yo tamariki. This is an exciting stage of growing independence, confidence and readiness for the next chapter.
Each morning our Pūkeko Explorers come together with their kaiako for a special 10-30minute group experience. These experiences are guided by the individual strengths, interests and emerging skills of our tamariki, providing opportunities to explore, question, problem-solve and challenge themselves.
Our programme supports the six key areas of school readiness within the Moving Smart approach: memory, language, social, visual, auditory and physical.
We naturally weave letterland phonics throughout our programme, introducing a new letter every fortnight and helping tamariki become familiar with letter names and sounds. This learning is supporting alongside whānau aspirations and goals, helping to build confidence and a positive foundation for a successful transition to school.
Pūkeko Explorers are also given opportunities to take on extra responsibility and develop their independence. These include choosing a job for the day, learning to apply their own sunblock, and using the metal spades in the sandpit. Our pikiniki-nui or picnic style kai times also encourage independence as tamariki practice opening their own lunchboxes and packaging, managing their own kai and developing confidence with everyday routines.
Connecting With Our Community
We believe some of the richest learning happens when children can experience the world beyond the preschool environment. We regularly venture into our community, following the interests of our tamariki and creating real-life opportunities to extend their learning.
Our adventures may take us to the Ashburton Library, Art Gallery, local schools, Ashburton College, kapahaka and local resthomes, as well as other places that spark curiosity and connection. We also welcome parents, whānau and visitors into the preschool to share their knowledge, culture, experiences and skills with our tamariki.
Our relationships with local contributing schools and New Entrant teachers are an important part of supporting a confident transition to school. Where possible, we visit schools and connect with teachers, and we also welcome New Entrant teachers to visit transition tamariki here at preschool too.
Being on the Ashburton College campus comes with amazing perks such as having a great outdoor area to explore in the school holidays – but more because we have great links with the college classes where students often visit us throughout the day as a part of their learning and as a part of ours. Child Development students visit us as a part of their course requirements observing how children learn, planning experiences for them, bringing over resources they have made – this enriches both the college students curriculum and our own.
Closer to home, our large vegetable garden provides another wonderful opportunity for learning. Tamariki can dig, plant, nurture and harvest, developing an understanding of where their food comes from while building a connection with nature.
Through all of these experiences, our kaiako create a programme that is exciting, purposeful and responsive, building on the individual strengths and interests of each child and supporting them to become confident, capable and enthusiastic learners.
