Ngā tamariki at Ōtorohanga Kindergarten were very lucky to have a mud kitchen donated by Jordy, one of our fabulous mums. Jordy makes and sells these, and also owns her own car mechanics business and works as a mechanic. She’s amazing! This was her son’s ‘old’ one (he has two bigger ones so didn’t need it anymore). Jordy gave this another coat of varnish before giving it to us. Our tamariki absolutely love it. To support their mahi in this area, we have also planted a herb garden for them to collect herbs to ‘cook’ with. Many thanks to Jordy from AutoTricks! The post New mud kitchen at Ōtoroha ..read more

David Henry Kindergarten recently had the grand reveal of our Kōrero Tautoko, or supporting statement. We have worked with whānau over the past year to create a statement that is an authentic representation of what our kindergarten looks, sounds and feels like for tamariki. We were privileged to have Larn Wilkinson, father of one of our kaiako, bless this for us, followed of course by delicious kai. We really appreciate Larn travelling from Paeroa to support us with this. Kia ora to whānau, who also shared this celebration with us. This is our Kōrero Tautoko: At Central Kids David Henry, relat ..read more

Ngā tamariki at Laughton Kindergarten have been learning about Diwali and how to celebrate the festival of lights. We created fireworks, paintings and paper lanterns. We read books about Diwali to learn more. We were very fortunate to have Cheena – one of our Mums – come in to kindergarten for the morning to share butter chicken curry and rice, as well as a delicious mango lassi drink! It was lovely to celebrate together. The post Diwali celebrations at Laughton Kindergarten appeared first on Central Kids ..read more

The sun’s out at Pūtauaki Kindergarten which means we can use the new pōtae that have just arrived. Ngā tamariki were so excited to have these bright new pōtae for the summer ahead. Everyone wants to wear one while they play happily outside. Ka pai tamariki! The post New pōtae at Pūtauaki Kindergarten appeared first on Central Kids ..read more

Rāwhiti Kindergarten is feeling grateful for the Waikato Regional Council education team and their road safety mascot, Ruben the Road Safety Bear. We were very lucky to have a visit from Jade, Alyssa and Ruben, it was an awesome opportunity for our tamariki to learn road safety messages and for our kaimahi to develop our relationship with the regional council. We were super proud of ngā tamariki, who were very excited and made Ruben feel so welcome. Thank you for bringing these experiences to our tamariki and for the great resources! https://www.centralkids.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/ra ..read more

Ko a te whenua, ko te whenua ko au | I am the land and the land is me. This whakatau informs our kindergarten philosophy at Ōpōtiki Kindergarten, and grounds what we do and how we do it. Kaititakitanga is embedded within our practice as we encourage our tamariki to explore their world in ways that protect and enhance the natural environment. At present, our tamariki are having fun exploring the natural world of simple and complex patterns that surround them. They are inspired by what they see and are encouraged to translate this creative energy into artistic expression. The richness of their n ..read more

At Tūrangi Kindergarten many of our whānau are hunter gatherers and go by the seasons for different kai, as manawhenua. As it’s lamb’s tail season, tamariki have been bringing them in for us to cook and eat. We also joined in on New Zealand Shake Out Day 2023 and Te Taiopenga Tuwharetoa kapa haka festival, which our tamariki worked very hard to prepare for. Ka rawe! The post Springtime fun at Tūrangi Kindergarten appeared first on Central Kids ..read more

Central Kids was acknowledged for its early childhood education and social services mahi by being awarded two prizes at the Waikato Business Awards on 17 November. The For Purpose category celebrates businesses that apply commercial strategies to maximise improvements in community wellbeing, reinvesting surpluses to achieve their social mission. The People’s Choice award was won because the public voted for Central Kids ahead of 20 other finalists, which Central Kids Kaihautū | Chief Executive Christine Hall says is the best validation of the difference the organisation makes for whānau every ..read more

Ōtorohanga Kindergarten had an awesome day celebrating Diwali! We had fresh flowers in our water trough, and we decorated the entire environment to reflect the colour and light of Diwali. Rutvik and his family brought in some beautiful dresses and sari for the kaiako to wear. Tamariki enjoyed creating rangoli patterns on the concrete. Rutvik’s Nan, Ladysa, helped us prepare some delicious semolina ladoo for our morning tea, alongside some pakora and peda. We finished the day learning the story of Sita and Rama, a Diwali story about light winning over darkness, good over evil. The post Colour a ..read more

Tamariki and kaiako at Golden Sands Early Learning Centre have been busy making lanterns, painting diya, dancing, singing, cooking, reading and having lots of wonderful kōrero about what Diwali is all about. We have had the lovely Kushbu (Neal and Aarya’s Mum) in to help us with rangoli and cook some delicious ragda petis with the tamariki. Our kaiako Shruti gave us some salwar kameez to wear and showed us some great music to dance to! Our tamariki are already talking about doing it all again next year. The post Diwali at Golden Sands Early Learning Centre appeared first on Central Kids ..read more