DSCN1124

our whānau Manaaki Pepeha.......

kindergarten friends working together!

social competency... our local procedure about developing this area of learning......

 As you see it will be renewed later in the year so if you have any questions or suggestions do let us know so we can include your ideas in the review process.

Being a Kindergarten teacher....

• You must have a warm, smiling face that makes every child feel special and loved.
• You must be able to laugh at jokes that you don’t understand, or you don’t find funny. Child humour can be a confusing minefield to navigate.
• You will preferably have a little bit of quirkiness. If a child requests that you be the captain of a pirate ship, you will be the best pirate captain you can be.

• You must feel comfortable telling everybody in the same room as you, that you are going to use the bathroom.
• The ability to sing in tune is not necessary, however the ability to sing out of tune in front of a crowd is essential.
• Some knowledge of Frozen, Minions, Spiderman, Ariel, Peppa Pig, Octonauts, Thomas the tank engine and Sofia the first would be advantageous.
• A high level of multitasking is essential. If something would normally take 5 minutes to achieve, you must be comfortable with it taking 15 minutes or longer.
• You must be able to distribute warm hugs as required.
• Possessing the skills required to rapidly count the heads of numerous moving small people is of utmost importance.
• Must be comfortable entering public places on the way home from work with unknown substances on your clothing.
• You must have a high level of comfort around talking about bodily functions. You must also have a strong sense of smell to enable you to respond swiftly to said bodily functions.
• You preferably do not have an aversion to an environment that at times resembles the aftermath of a tornado.
• You must be able to remain focused in environments with high noise levels.
• Pretending to eat playdough creations realistically is required, this is a skill that may develop with time and experience.
• The ability to remember the names of 40+ children, their parents, siblings, grandparents, pets and special soft toys is a key component of this job. Again, this is something that will develop over time.
• You must feel comfortable sitting on furniture that does not contain all of your behind.

• A high level of comfort with being asked personal questions by children is essential. You will regularly be asked questions regarding what you are having for lunch, whether you are willing to share said lunch, whether or not you are married, and if not, why you are not married, where you are going (as you walk into the toilet), and what you did in there (the toilet).
• You must have an understanding that the small people you have a strong relationship with during the week, may completely and utterly refuse to talk to or acknowledge you when they see you at the local store. Your feelings must not be easily hurt.
• You must have the ability to read a ten page fairytale with at least one interruption per page.
• Authentically showing an interest in and curiosity for bugs and creepy crawlies is essential, even if they are your biggest fear on earth.
• You must be prepared to have a lot of fun in the workplace. Laughter is something you can expect to engage in for a large part of your working day.
• Finally, you must be prepared to feel loved, special, and important to many young children and their families. There is simply no other job quite like this one

Being safe at Kindergarten.

An added complication to a Friday afternoon nearly end of session at kindergarten is a smoke alarm.... signalling an unscheduled fire drill! Thanks to all the families who indulged us as we evacuated to our usual space and ensured we were all safe. Some families wondered about how their children knew what to do.... we practice a fire drill during less contentious times of the day every month! It's great to know the procedure holds up during more complex times of the day! :) we evacuate to the top point of the top gate and roll call after the signal. well done tamariki and families who humoured us as we did it.... .good news?  no lasting fire damage of any sort!

Rocking the food technology!

 Have you been wondering why your children are asking to bring whole apples in as part of their lunchbox repertoire? At Northland  Kindergarten we have a designated kai space where we all eat our morning tea or lunch kai. We have available an apple peeler and corer machine that the children get a kick out of using to prepare their apples. It's so much fun! A while back ours broke so we were without it for a few months... and this term we are 'machine capable' once more! So many apples to peel and slice into rings or springs! As we enjoy the transformation of the apple, it gives us a great context to talk about healthy food and the physics of a simple machine in action.... so keep on going keen investigators!