Our Curriculum / Te whāriki
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- Our Curriculum / Te whāriki
At Tots on the Rock we believe that a comprehensive curriculum is one that builds on the foundation of the world acclaimed NZ Early Childhood Curriculum of Te Whāriki with our local curriculum; local adventures, knowledge, people and places.
We are very proud of our curriculum and the learning that comes from having an extensive local focus, however we also acknowledge that a strong sense of belonging is a prerequisite on which to build further knowledge and comfortable exploration. As such relationships between tamariki, their families and whānau and the teaching team form the basis of our curriculum and values.
Our curriculum is multi-faceted and features our own unique ways of learning, these include Talking Tree Hill and Tuakana-teina
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Talking Tree Hill
Our Planet. Kaitikitanga.
Every Friday our 3-year-old Tots load into the minibuses, Earl and Beryl, and drive out to Talking Tree Hill for an outdoor adventure, at the Talking Tree Hill outdoor education environment. The Tots tamariki spend the morning with Papatūānuku as their teacher, learning about healthy bodies, minds and spirits from a real green learning experience.
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Tuakana-tiena
At Tots On The Rock we respect all the relationships that mould and shape our young minds and recognise that we learn from everyone around us; we as teachers learn from the tamariki just as much as they learn from us, they also learn from and alongside other tamariki. We use a buddy style system daily to encourage the older tamariki to offer guidance, assistance, and leadership to the younger tamariki in our centre. The buddy system fosters our tamariki to grow strong relationships throughout age groups within our centre, whilst chances for leadership, empathy building and social competency are fostered.
