Joschua’s self portrait 

Joschua this morning at the start of mat time you were a little upset, so I took you out onto the deck and sat with you on the couch and explained that in order to help you, you needed to take some big breaths and try and stop crying so I could understand what you were saying. So together we started doing Tanemahuta breathing, taking big breaths in and big breaths out. Joschua I have discovered that this technique really helps you to refocus and bring a sense of calm and you are able to regain a sense of composure quite quickly. Joschua you were then able to tell me that you were upset because your Mum had left and that you wanted to do a picture but didn’t know where to find the paper. Joschua I explained that this was a problem easily fixed and that after mat time I could help you to look for the equipment you needed to create a picture, I also mentioned that it’s a good idea to come and talk to one of the teachers before you get upset so we can help solve the problem together. I could see that this reassurance made you feel much better and you were happy to return to the mat with me. Joschua after mat time I came and found you and suggested you might like to come and do your picture out on the deck where I was working with a small group of children who were creating self-portraits using some new pallet paints and the mirror. Joschua you were happy to join the group and began looking at yourself in the mirror as you were doing this I challenged you to look for details that you could incorporate into your picture, looking at eye brows, eye lashes and ears. Joschua you got straight to work creating an amazing picture full of detail with the vivid pen, every now and again checking your reflection in the mirror. Once it was time to paint I was delighted to see just how precise your painting was, taking great care to only colour certain areas and again checking your reflection, telling me that you needed orange for your shirt, that you were wearing a jacket today that needed to be black and that your eyes are blue. Joschua once you were happy with the end product I reminded you that it is really important to name your work to which you replied, you needed to go and get your name pebble. Joschua I love the way that you incorporate your creativity into your name by drawing a little happy face in the letter ‘O’, it always makes me smile whenever I see it. Keep up the great work Joschua I look forward to seeing your next creation. Written for Joschua by Cassandra, 10 May 2017

After discovering that Joschua responds to being taken to a quiet place away from looking eyes when he is upset and that by encouraging him to do Tanemahuta breathing he is able to calm himself down I was able to share this success with Dianne and Donna. I feel then we will all be able to support Joschua express himself more confidently and as he begins to feel more comfortable with us hopefully he will be able to initiate conversation before he becomes upset. As English is his second language he is still quite self conscious about making a mistake and not being understood. I feel by proving quite opportunities for him to express his feelings and needs greater supports his learning outcome.

Some of our Tamariki have been showing an interest in Taniwha since we introduced the song 'I saw a Taniwha'. I had been thinking about how to extended this interest so set up the art table with pictures that Harry and I had googled. This inspired some amazing pictures and encouraged lots of discussions about whether Taniwha are real or not, where they live etc. So then I began to wonder how to extend this further. I came across a post on Mairtowns blog about challenging tamariki to create 3D pictures and I immediately thought that our tamariki could give this a go. I contacted Christine from Mairtown to ask for some advice about how she went about creating these works and shared with her how inspirational her posts are to me. Then I was ready to give it a go, once I mentioned the idea I suddenly had a table full of eager tamariki ready to get started.
This activity was a real challenge and required tamariki to work on their pictures for most of the day as it was a lengthy process. 

I really enjoyed working on this activity with our tamariki, watching their pictures develop, seeing how proud they were of their creations, sharing ideas and techniques with each other and the discussions that formed around what a Taniwha might be and seeing the many different ways they interpreted it. Once I managed to display the art work it was so rewarding to see the tamariki proudly showing their whanau their achievements. Click here to view email from Mairtown

After brain storming our next steps at the conference it was exciting to get back to kindergarten and begin implementing some of them being aware that small steps are important for sustainability. The new mat time routines gives our mat times a more holistic approach and is reflecting a greater commitment to tikanga. by sitting in a circle we are all able to see one another which makes the experience more meaning full. Starting the day with our welcome karakia feels right and lighting the candle embraces the day ahead. Our tamariki have responded positively to these new changes.

At the end mat time I have thought for quite sometime that it was lacking as far as ending the day by just sending the tamariki off the mat so this week in consultation with the team I introduced our ka kite song which we sung in a standing up circle. the tamariki responded really well to this and I felt it gave a nice closure to the day.

At Nature Discovery we have begun to use the word Mihi when talking about the Atua in our morning ritual and raising our arm and saying tena koe to them. As this is new the tamariki did seem a little taken back at first but we have now done this twice and they are beginning to come on board with it. I do still feel it would be nice to Mihi back at the kindergarten to the atua at the start of our kindergarten day but feel that this isnt possible at the moment as mat time has gone under quite a change and is risking getting a little long if we add anything else. I will look into fresh ways of making the atua visible and are looking forward to hearing back from Paparangi Kindergarten about their atua waiata.

I am excited about George coming next week to help us create our kindergarten pepeha.

Today I supported Hannah with her interest in the Atua, she is very familiar with them as I speak about them with any opportunity I get, referring to them both at kindergarten and Nature Discovery. I could see that she has a developing interest in them but just needed some help with remembering their names. I made sure that I modeled correct pronunciation and linked each Atua to their guardianship. By doing this I was able to support Hannah's learning and desire to deepen her understanding. Through Hannah's interest I was also able to support the other children who joined the activity, encouraging them to share knowledge with one another.

Once I posted her story on story park it was really great to see this morning that her mum had posted a lovely comment about Hannah and this emerging interest. I was able to reply and say that I had noticed similar attributes in Hannah and how she is developing some wonderful nurturing skills and is showing a new awareness of other peoples feelings. Her mum said how much she enjoyed reading about how Hannah has been encouraged to learn about Maori methodology and culture and our commitment to biculturalisum.

I will continue to support Hannah's emerging interest in the Atua and support her developing skills in her artistic creations by helping her to look for detail in her art work by offering ideas and questions about looking deeper at her chosen subjects.




click to view story