March update from the Kea Room, Bear Park

Nate continues to adore his days at Bear Park. He really does benefit from the caring and supportive teachers they have there, and the exposure to other children, and the great educational 'provocations', as they call them! Whether it's painting, singing & signing, playing with suction cups, or in the sandpit, our boy loves it all! He can still get a little upset at drop-off and pick-up, but settles quickly once there and once home. Overall we are just so lucky to have found such an awesome spot for our little man.

Here is the March update from one of his Kea Room teachers, Gabriella.

Nate, the Kea Whānau welcome you with open arms! It has been an absolute pleasure getting to know you during your transition period and more recently as a new Kea boy! Although you found it a little unsettling at first with the change of face and routine, you have definitely become content and confident in your new surroundings with your new friends and teachers.

Your love of stories and music is so clear at mat times when you will happily hum and clap along with songs with that beautiful smile lighting up your face.

Speaking of lighting, it's great to see your interest in the light box provocations, especially the coloured suction cups that had you in fits of giggles, or at the moment with all of the brightly coloured shapes on it. You love looking at each shape individually as well as creating patterns with them altogether.

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  • • You navigate your way around the playground with such confidence and love to watch your friends climbing which has inspired you to try some really difficult challenges! You quickly went from climbing the planks on your hands and knees to trying it standing up with a little help! How wonderful!!

      

      

      
      

      You fearlessly tackled the rope ladder despite it being pretty tricky and I was amazed to see you climb up the large metre high boxes using the foot holes with only a little help from CC to begin with. I was even more astounded to see you courageously take on the monkey bars! You held on for a few seconds before dropping to the bark in fits of giggles!
      

      

      

      
      

      • Nate, you are an absolute joy to be around and nothing seems to hold you back from becoming the most awesome little adventurer! We are already so proud of you and we look forward to getting to know you better and to seeing what new challenges your time in the Kea room will bring! Kia ora!

       

 

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Easter 2016 Weekend Fun

Easter was a fairly quiet one for us this year. We did spend a nice morning at Paul & Ashley's house, with their two kids Ruby and Oliver, and other friends Leigh and Allie with their kids Addison and Henry. It was also Nate's first Easter Egg hunt! Unfortunately Nate wasn't so happy with the unfamiliar venue and people, so it took quite some time for him to settle enough that we could stay. He was interested in the trampoline so that helped, and eventually we managed to coax him into one of the quieter rooms in the house and he was content to play with some toys in there. It was nice to get out and see friends, but can be bit hard on both us and Nate. The developmental differences between Nate and other young kids, is also apparent at those times - evident in Nate's speech, social interaction, anxiety, and even concept of things like an Easter egg hunt. Still that isn't a surprise, but it can be confronting at times. We are hoping to get to the top of the waiting list to see a behavioural specialist at some point soon, and maybe get some tips that might help him and us.

We had plans to visit Mum and Dad at Waiheke for a day or two, but unfortunately that got canned after Robin did his back in doing a spot of landscaping out the front! So instead we had a few days hanging with our little man, doing things that make him happy, and loving that! Here are some of our latest pics of our little three year old.....

A late afternoon visit to the local park.....always a happy boy when a swing is in sight!

A morning visit to the zoo with Mummy while Daddy landscaped - not so interested in the animals today, but very keen to keep moving and explore the zoo!

Morning tea in one of the little parks at the zoo

Stopping again, this time for a coffee and a custard bun!

Playing at the band stand!

Nate enjoying a talent show, featuring a few music acts. He LOVES music, so much so that we hope to be able to manage some music classes for him this year. Research has shown a link between speech and music, so anything that helps speech has to be worth a shot!

Here are some more shots from a lovely little park on the shore, really neat place that Nate just adores!

The holiday weekend also brought with it the opportunity for an early morning cuddle with my BooBoo! Only after he gets his morning bottle though!

And of course, you always need a few ice-creams to make the most of our last summer days. Nate is a BIG fan and can just about demolish one off all by himself! Especially when he gets to take a few selfies at the same time (loves pics of himself!). All in all a delightful weekend with our perfect little chap! X

 

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Nate's third birthday - Party Part 2

We ordered a special birthday cake for Nate this year, following a tradition set from year one, featuring his favourite animals - cow (says 'moo'!), sheep (signs 'sheep'), pig (signs 'pig'), and chook (says 'duck'!). He was delighted with it as you can see!

Year 1 Buzzy Bee cake, Year 2 Elmo cake, Year 3....Old MacDonald's Farm cake!

First sighting....I see a pig!

And a cow...and a sheep...and a chook (duck!)!

Can I touch it?!

Nate was a bit shy when it came to hearing everyone sing happy birthday to him though, cutie :-)

Given we had his party in the morning, Nate true to form was ready for his nap by lunchtime, so shortly after 12 he signed 'sleep', waved goodbye, and toddled off to his bed! Our little man does like his quiet time, probably heightened by the excitement and sensory overload of the morning fun! Not long after, everyone went on their way, with the kiddies armed with a little thank you bag of bubbles, a bunch ball, stickers, and some Cadbury chocolate :-)

Of course the day wasn't over then, Nate re-appeared not long after and it was all on again in the backyard! Although this time we ditched the long shorts in favour of some more climbing-friendly red undies! While not the cheapest to hire for the day, our little man just LOVED it!

Two Big Kids!

And a spot of playing with Mummy too....although the more gentle, serene type!

And after that BIG day, our little man was pooped out! Here he is chilling with his Grandparents....

All in all, a pretty fun day for our gorgeous, big three year old! Love you Boo-Boo xxxx

Two cheeky boys!

Finally, a big thank you to everyone for their birthday wishes for our Nate - he is blessed and spoilt as always! :-). Here is the little thank you card, coming soon to you all! Xxx

Front....

And inside....

 

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