54 children aged from 2 years to 5 years are busily engaged at Martinborough Kindergarten with no more than 40 at each session. Kindergarten begins at 8.30am but the teachers are there at 8.00am preparing for the day.
On arrival, lunch boxes are stowed on the shelves. The children find their name tags and look for the daily question. With Whānau help, they read the question and decide which picture is the one which best illustrates the answer. Then they choose their free play activity to start the day. Engaging with others in free play helps the development of social skills, taking turns, sharing ideas, and building independence.
The present theme directing activities is Kaitiakitanga and the Mountains to the Sea programme. The children are learning about their environment and the part they will play in caring or protecting it. They are learning about their mountains; the Remutaka and Tararua ranges, their lake, Wairarapa Moana, and their community.
As part of the learning experience twenty of the eldest children recently went on an excursion to the Lake Wairarapa Domain. Excitement rose when the children were given the task of releasing eels back into the lake. Each child, armed with a net, lifted an eel from the bucket and returned it safely to the lake. And then there was a surprise. Lance discovered one more eel in the container and he told Kara, from the Mountains to the Sea Programme, that it needed to go back into the Lake.
Sustainability and recycling are other themes strongly promoted. Food scraps go in the pig bucket or out to the worm farm. Plastic is recycled. Paper goes in the paper bin. When the bin is filled a small bin sticker is attached to a picture of a tree reminding the children that the paper waste will be recycled. When the bins reach to the top of the tree the kindergarten will be gifted a tree to plant. The worm farm provides the worm juice for the vegetable garden, where many vegies are grown for the children to care and look after and enjoy eating for their morning tea.
A treat to be looked forward to is the visit of The Toymaker, Martin Warenczuk, enabled by a grant from the South Wairarapa District Council. He comes once a week, well supplied with tools, safety gear, and materials. The children have made dolls, planes, buses, cameras, catapults, and a Māori Village out of wood. At the same time, they are learning to use tools safely, envision the finished product, and creating a robust product from wood.
The day is busy with many activities for the children to engage in and morning tea is available during the morning and then lunch at 12.00pm. Quiet activities, such as reading, painting, and drawing in the afternoon allow for the younger children to sleep while the more active children play outside.
Mat time finishes the day. Water bottles, lunch boxes and shoes are gathered up and the Whānau arrive to collect their children. Suddenly it is quiet.
