A lovely welcoming note from Hayley from the Tui Room teachers!
It is so lovely to welome Nate to our Tui family! He is a beam of sunshine in our classroom and we are so excited to continue getting to know him and his interests. Nate's transition was amazingly smooth and he ventured over from the Kea room each day to spend time exploring the Tui classroom. Straight away I noticed that he was drawn to our colourful provocations: our jars of pencils organised by colour, and our rainbow blocks. Nate showed me how he could sort the pencils by colour by placing them back in their jars after the joy of tipping them out. Using the blocks, Nate worked alongside some of the Tui children to create tall towers. He loves the thrill of towers falling over and clapped his hands, laughing along with his new friends.
As Nate became more comfortable in the Tui room he began to spend time with the other teachers: Laura, Sara and Megan. He has begun to form relationships with them and will approach each teacher for support, guidance or fun when needed. He has been spending quite a bit of time with Laura during Friday's Playball sessions which is so lovely to see and they have begun to form a close relationship. Playball is a sport based programme which is run by coaches. The coaches come to Bear Park every Friday (except during the school holidays) and introduce the children to new gross motor skills through games. Nate has loved exploring these games alongside his friends and he has tremendous gross motor skills. He shows us how he can run, swing, kick, throw and hit, and also how he can follow instructions and use observation to understand what to do. It is so clear to see that Nate thrives during Playball sessions and I am sure he will continue to show us what he can do and the weeks and months go by.
During his transition, Nate began to join our investigation groups. He is able to choose for himself which group to join and it is lovely to see that he explores something new each time. Two weeks ago he worked with Megan to create a Father's Day card for his lucky dad, and he has also worked with Sara to read stories and sing songs. Today Nate joined my group which ventured outside to create and use an obstacle course. He followed his friends' lead and used chalk to make marks on the pavement. Nate's peers helped him to move objects and showed him where to put things, then helped him to explore the playground and the resources within. Nate showed his tremendous adaptability and trust as he went along with whatever was happening around him.
Nate has also been busily showing us his love of the playground. This is a great way for Nate to spend time in a familiar environment, as the Kea and Tui children share this space. Nate loves the climbing boxes, ramps and monkey bars and has joined some the Tui children to explore these resources. He loved hanging from the monkey bars and it was neat to see him watching what the other children were doing, as they lifted their legs up and over the bars. Observation is a fantastic way to learn and it is so great to see Nate doing this without any prompting.
It is so great to see how comfortable Nate already is in the Tui room. He has developed a strong sense of belonging and seems to feel that the classroom is his, which is so great. He happily explores it on his own, but also approaches other children to see what they are busy doing. Today when I was playing a game on the deck where I draped fabric over Akane, Nate ran over to join in the fun. I counted "one, two three" and then pulled the fabric off Akane's head and she and Nate cracked up with laughter! It was so magical to see them creating a bond already. As I kept playing, I tried to drape the fabric over Nate, and at first he didn't like this idea. He kept asking for "more, more" and pointed to Akane, telling me what he wanted. Eventually, he slowly wiggled his way under the fabric and began to join Akane underneath. His face lit up when I pulled the fabric off him and he was developing a great sense of timing, as I could see the anticipation building on his face while I counted.
The Tui teaching team is so excited that Nate has joined our family. We have been amazed by his seamless transition and can see that he has the confidence to join in with his new friends and teachers. This will be so helpful for him as he continues to explore our classroom and all it has to offer. We wish a very warm welcome to him and his whole family, and we can't wait to see where our collaborative learning journey leads us! Tena koutou everyone!
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