In the little red school house
with my book and slate
in the little red school house
where I was often late...
This year for our Learning Centre trip we boarded a bus for Darfield to visit the Fairy Forest. We went for a big walk through the forest. The children loved exploring and finding all the little fairy houses. We also had a big picnic together. It was a magical day!
Another successful Pirate Day. There were some fantastic costumes and the children all looked wonderful. During the day we had some pirate art. We played pirate games and even had our own pirate ship where some children had to walk the plank! We finished the day off with a treasure hunt where the children had to find the buried treasure.
This year Kaia, Brax, Holly and Malachi from the Learning Centre are in a Ripper Rugby Team playing for West Melton. The centre sponsors West Melton Rugby Club annually but as there are our Learning Centre Families in this team, we wanted the sponsorship to go to this little team this season, providing the children with their own hoodies. I went down to watch their game last week. It was wonderful to see them so enthused about playing. They were also playing another West Melton team so it was great to some of our past Learning Centre children play too. Morning tea was a highlight too.
Go West Melton Rippers!
Pen
Each year we participate in the ANZAC Service at West Melton School on ANZAC Day. The Nursery, Kindy and Learning Centre all make something for it. This year they made wreaths and poppies. Thea, Alex and Gabe presented these at the service and lay them at the remembrance monument. It was so lovely to see some of our Nursery, Kindy and Learning Centre families there to support such a special day.
The Learning Centre had their annual trip on Wednesday 20th March. This year they went to the Antarctic Centre. This tied in nicely with our current topic which is exploring the ocean and all the different sea life. As part of this topic we looked at the Antarctic Ocean therefore the Antarctic Centre seemed like the perfect place to visit this year. We set off on the bus which was a first for many of our tamariki. They excitedly looked out the window and we discussed all of the things we could see. Once we arrived we were met by a guide who looked after us for the day. We saw penguins swimming, watched videos, met Husky dogs and explored the centre. We even played in the snow room, which was -8 degrees therefore all of the children had to put on the warm clothing. This was the favourite part for many. We made snow angels, hid in the igloo and tried out the snow speeder. The Centre was filled with amazing interactive activities, a snow cave, snow hut, mock camp site set up for the Antarctic and huge TV screens covering the whole wall showing us Antarctica with all its snow and ice. Once our busy day was over we hopped back onto the bus. We had many tired children after such an adventurous day with a few having a nap in the bus on the way back to Learning Centre. Thank you so much for all of our parent helpers for making our trip so successful.
We love celebrating St Patricks Day here at the West Melton Kindergarten, Nursery and Learning Centre. This year we had to celebrate it a day early as it fell into the weekend. Many of us dressed up and we all got into the Irish spirit. Everything was GREEN! We had face painting, we iced green biscuits, made four leaf clover art and we even listened to Irish music and practiced some Irish dancing. It was a wonderful day.
We love Christmas Time here at The West Melton Kindergarten, Nursery and Learning Centre. We have had a Christmas dress up day, busy making decorations, Christmas baking and lots of Christmas artwork. Our annual Christmas Concert was held on Friday 7th December. It was a wonderful day, the sun was shining, the children were excited and even a man in red showed up. All of the children contributed by singing songs and putting on an amazing performance for their families. After the concert Santa arrived to bring gifts to the children. This was followed by ice blocks, pony rides, lolly scrambles and a bouncy castle. We are so grateful for everyone who came to spend the morning with us. It was a fantastic event surrounded by family and friends.
On Thursday 1st November we had another successful ‘Wheels Day’. Children bought along a range of items from home with wheels including bikes, scooters, cars, tractors and skateboards. Although the day started with a little rain that didn’t stop the ‘Nursery Biker Gang’ from riding their bikes and cars inside. Luckily though, the weather cleared and all the children were able to get outside for a fun filled day. In the Kindy the children loved Millie’s tractor that she bought in. She let the children have a go on it and they all took turns driving and being carried in the trailer. The Learning Centre had bike races around the playground and they learnt about helmet safety and its importance. This was a day all about sharing. The children were so paitent and caring when it came to sharing their bikes with others. It was great for them to have a go on something different than what they bought and to try out bikes of different heights. Around the centre you could find wheel related activites such as making vehicles, vehicle tracks, painting with wheels etc.
It was an awesome day, the children had so much fun. We are already looking forward to next year.
On Wednesday 19th September 2018 it was Pirate Day. We celebrate this day annually at the centre and we love seeing the children dress up each year. This year we had a range of pirates enter our centre both big and small. They came dressed in hats, eye patches, stripes and many carried a sword. They played in boats, went fishing and some even had to walk the plank. The children had a treasure hunt which meant they needed to follow a map to see where X marked the spot. After exploring the playground they finally found the treasure but first they needed to dig for it as it was burried in the sandpit. Once it was uncovered all the children were very pleased to receive their own chocolate bar to eat. It was another successful Pirate Day, everyone had a fantastic day and we can’ wait to do it all again next year!
The Learning Centre had a Teddy Bears Picnic on Wednesday 15th August 2018. The children and teachers came dressed in their pajamas and bought along their own favourite teddy/stuffed toy and story book. At mat time we got to read some of the childrens favourite stories. We made masks of Goldilocks and the three bears and even acted out the story. Best of all we had our own Teddy Bears Picnic. We got to share some yummy treats that we had made through the week including teddy shaped cookies and tiny teddies in cars. To finish off the day we had a teddy bear treasure hunt. It was a wonderful day, the children had a great time and it was lovely to see everyone participating in the teddy bear fun!
