Pancake Pleasure!

In Discovery today we offered the opportunity to make pikelets.  The children enjoyed mixing the batter, helping to cook and eat the delicious morsels with Mrs Lesley Testasecca, our wonderful teaching assistant.   Lesley is with us each morning of the week from 9-12pm and does awesome activities helping the children, with all sorts of things. Plus Lesley also helps with the formal small group learning, such as reading and handwriting. She is priceless, and we are so fortunate to have her in Ahuriri.

Look further down for our Pancake Poems!

Pancake Poems

Creating the Classroom Treaty

Over the last few weeks we have been exploring what makes a happy classroom.  The children came up with their own rules, which surprisingly, was a very long list!  We then whittled them down to our five main rules.  The children have done an amazing job.  All the children have signed the treaty and will make sure that everyone abides by the rules!

"The Blue Stuff" includes bricks and cylinders, accented with chutes, channels, and parts that suggest motion or connectivity. They inspire children to design their own inventions, environments, and activities.

These blocks are easy to stack, line up and move around. Children enjoy an endless variety of play patterns including construction, pretend play, role-playing and inventing their own games. Most importantly, they are deeply engaged, active and have lots of fun. As teachers we love the way they encourage the children to work collaboratively, developing the skills of sharing, negotiation, planning, and discussion of ideas.

Scooters are an excellent tool for developing children's balance coordination, motor skills. Scooters encourage cognitive development each time a youngster must make decisions and think for themselves when they reach a corner, encounter an obstacle or are asked to decide which direction to take. Ahuriri children love scootering on Fridays during our Discovery time - If your child would like to bring their scooter to take part, please remember they need their helmet too!

Term 1 Mihi Whakatau

Today was our mihi whakatau, our official welcome to Halswell School.  It was a great occasion followed by some sharing of kai afterwards.

We have also been sharing with the children our cultural narrative.




The New Entrant studio is named after a significant lagoon that was situated in the low lying land just north of modern day Motukarara in the lower Huritini/Halswell River that was a major mahinga kai, food source. This area was situated in the low lying land just north of modern day Motukarara in the lower Huritini/Halswell River.

This swampy area was drained in the past. Plans are now underway to restore the lagoon and wetlands by Environment Canterbury, working in partnership with Ngāi Tahu and the wider community. 

The best comparative local features are the Quarry Ponds close to Kennedys Bush Road.

Therefore as a studio Ahuriri connects with the following:

• Landscape feature - Ahuriri Lagoon or wetland, swamp
• Colour - Waiporoporo/ Purple
• Creature - Pākura (Pūkeko), Swamp Hen
• Plant - Raupō, Bulrush 

The children have helped to create this wonderful display.

Play in Ahuriri

In Ahuriri we start each day with ACTIVE play.

When the studio doors open at 8.30am the children are encouraged to come in, put their reading folder away, sign in on their T Group sheet and begin playing. You are welcome to stay and create with them. We love having volunteers to stay and help the children explore new things.

“Play is an essential part of a child’s social, emotional, physical and cognitive development, play is a vital part of every child’s development. It allows them to test ideas, work through uncertainties, explore social interactions and make sense of the world around them. Play has no predetermined outcome or time limit. It is not about an end product, but about a process. It’s the exploration of ideas that is crucial. Play is children’s work.” http://www.discoverytime.co.nz/