Feathers Early Learning Centre

A highlight from today…

During moe time some of our older tamariki were engaged in play outside, the majority of tamariki were busy building huts. Emily came over to me and held me hand, leading me to the stairs. She wanted to show me a little honey bee that had stopped to take a rest.
Emily was worried that someone would stand on the bee and might get hurt, so I suggested that we move the bee onto one of the flowers in the planter so that the bee can rest safely and maybe collect some pollen. It wasn’t long before we had gained interest from lots of tamariki who could hear and see what we were doing.
I sat back and listened to what tamariki thought about bees and what they had to say.

“He's got wings on his back” - Tawhiri

“He will fly” - Keaton

“Like a princess” - Tawhiri

“Or like a fairy” - Keaton

“And a unicorn” - Tawhiri

“He will sting you” - Matiu

“He's looking at us” - Emily

“A bee eats flowers” - Mason

“He's washing his hair guys” - August

“He's putting sunblock on” - Tawhiri

“He makes pollen” - August

“I'm hungry give me some flowers” - Tawhiri

It was amazing to hear what ideas they already had about bees! We had a little chat about bees flying from their home called a hive, to collect flower dust called pollen to take home and create honey! We also talked about why the bee was “washing his hair”… the bee used her body to gather pollen and then was using her back legs to collect the pollen!

He aroha whakato
He aroha p**a mai
If kindness is sown
then kindness you shall receive

Here at Feathers learning centre we love to embrace all cultures. We see ourselves as an inclusive practice that celebrates the diversity we have here!
Celebrating other cultures in early childhood education is important because it helps children develop a variety of skills, including:
Open-mindedness
Children learn that there are many different ways of thinking, living, and expressing oneself, and that all are equally valuable.

Respect
Children learn to respect and appreciate the differences of others.

Self-esteem
Children from minority cultures feel seen and respected, which boosts their self-esteem.

Global citizenship
Children from the dominant culture learn about other cultures, which helps them develop a sense of global citizenship.

Cultural intelligence
Children and teachers develop the ability to adapt to different cultures, and understand cross-cultural issues and differences.

Our recent cultural experience was focused around the Indian celebration of Diwali (the light festival) where we had the opportunity to experience making Diya, rangoli, henna as well as dress in Indian cultural dress and eat traditional Indian food.