A message from the team

Term 2 2012
A message from the team...
Welcome back to the new term. We hope you all had a lovely Easter with
your families/whanau and the gorgeous weather, we know we did!
3 & 4 year old programme
Progress Report
Welcome to Term 2, 2012! Our 3 & 4 year old programme starts again on Monday 23rd April. Last term we
had a few children leave to venture their new journey in the school environment. This has given the next
group of older children an opportunity to become new leaders and role models of the group. With the
environment the children are able to experience open-ended exploration and play in an environment where
they are comfortable to connect with other children’s experiences and activities. The children have been
learning about caring for the environment, different types of birds, insects and their life cycle, practical life
skills, co-operation within a larger group, and a growing appreciation for books and stories. The programme
assists in the development of our children’s general knowledge. They have also taken part in activities that
assist in developing their fine motor skills, mathematical concepts and stimulate creative confidence within
a large range of fun arts, crafts and also painting activities. Activities are provided to encourage problem
solving and co-operation in a larger group which helps children to develop confidence and respect, in
working with and alongside others.
Here are some of the activities the children participated in last term:
Gardening, learning about healthy food and vegies (planting, caring for gardens), creative crafts, bugs and
birds in the garden, visit to the bush, plants and trees, making bird feeders, Sea Week including re-visiting
Moko, worm farm care, library visit, fun at Rex Morpeth park, mask and bird making, mural painting, baking
with Tui and Easter activities.
Focus for this term
Science is our focus this term; this will explore children’s learning strategies for active
investigation, thinking, and reasoning to foster curiosity and the scientific understanding.
Children will learn about exploring with a variety of materials, baking, colour, magnets,
texture and patterns, natural materials, experimenting, environmental seasons, construction
and group activities.
Playgroups for Term 2
Playgroups are a great opportunity for children to play together, interact with children they
may not see every day and develop their social and interaction skills while doing fun
activities in a friendly environment. We’d like to let you all know that parents are MORE
than welcome to attend any playgroups they wish as well as attend playgroups WITH
their child even if the child isn’t in care that particular day. We’d like to encourage you
to come along and bring your children to the playgroups, the more the merrier!
It’s a great chance to meet other parents and Educarers and to see how your child is both
developing and interacting in a fun and social environment.
(Parking for Playgroups and 3 & 4 year old programme will still be at the Bridge club or at the
office).
Whakatane Playgroups
April 24th Tuesday Autumn Activities
10am at the office. Bring some bags of autumn leaves with you if you can for fun and crafts.
May 2nd Wednesday Thornton beach
Meet at the reserve for morning tea @10am. Bring your bags and buckets to collect shells and umbrellas if it is
raining.
May 8th Tuesday Mothers Day Activities
At the Office at 10am. Scones jam and cream for morning tea.
May 16th Wednesday Gymnastics
Meet at the Hall in Lovelock St. at 9.45. Session starts at 10am sharp. $2.00 each for children over 18months.
May 22nd Tuesday Dental Health
At the office at 10am.
May 30th Wednesday Maraeatotora Reserve:
Meet @ 10am with your picnic morning tea.
June 5th Tuesday A Morning with Ponies
AT the Office at 10am. Children will learn about care for these ponies and a ride around the yard.
June 13th Wednesday Gymnastics:
Meet at the Hall in Lovelock St. at 9.45am. Session starts at 10am sharp. $2.00 each for children over 18months.
June 19th Tuesday Mataariki Celebrations
At Ritihia’s whare (110 Rewatu Rd Poroporo) at 10am. Meet at the rowing club@ 9.45am to convoy out to
Poroporo.
June 27th Wednesday Educarers Choice Day
The Educarer’s are the lucky ones organising playgroup for today!
Opotiki Playgroups
May 23rd Wednesday Messy Play & Clay
10am at Maria’s whare (34 Waiweka Road). Bring spare clothes.
June 20th Wednesday Mataariki Celebrations
10am at Hayley’s whare (128A Richard Street).
Children LOVE bubbles & they’re good for them too!
Check out what our Bizzy Buddyz children have been doing with bubbles,
you can try it with them at home!
Helping children experience fun, engaging activities is important. Not only
does it keep them happy but it also creates positive bonds between children
and their family and encourages healthy development. In a child’s first few
years, providing a variety of stimulations encourages brain development. No
wonder bubble-blowers are one of the world's oldest and most popular toys!
Bubbles not only involve children in learning, but they are fun, easy to use, and
ever-changing.
It is thought that toddlers who blow bubbles learn to speak earlier. Because
language is a complex set of behaviours, it involves much more than learning
words and their meaning. A child needs to have the psycho-motor skills to be
ready to learn languages. Playing with bubbles encourages a variety of
opportunities to coordinate breathing and movements with the mouth and tongue.
It also allows children to practice eye-hand coordination as they point at the
bubbles and try to catch them.
Best of all - there is really nothing to explain. Most children will pick up bubble
blowing by watching someone else blow bubbles. They naturally copy and
engage themselves, allowing the fun and excitement to encourage their
curiosity and learning. Look at how much fun our Bizzy Buddyz children had
with bubbles! The wonder, stimulation and amazement that bubbles provide
represent an exciting way to help your child! Try it with your children at home!
Here are 4 things you can do to help the Bizzy Buddyz team to make sure
your child is safe, happy and healthy all day long:
1. Call your Educarer if your child is going to be late: If your child is going to be late into
care please make a courteous phone call to your Educarer. This helps them to plan
their day so they are not waiting around for children to turn up. Also make this phone
call if your child is going to be away for whatever reason
2. Keep children who are unwell at home to avoid passing any bugs on: With winter
approaching please remember to keep any sick children at home, your Educarer is
not obliged to have ill children in care and if your child becomes ill while in care you
may be required to collect the child immediately. Furthermore if your child has
diarrhoea or vomiting they may not attend care for a minimum of 24 hours after the
last episode.
3. Ensure your children are dressed appropriately and ready for play: We would also ask
that when you are dropping your child/ren to care that they are dressed and ready for
play. Please do not bring you child still in their PJ’s or with unchanged nappies. If
they have not yet had breakfast then you need to ensure that your Educarer is aware
of this and that they are happy to be giving them their breakfast.
4. Ensure your child’s bag is packed with everything they will need to last them the day:
Please ensure you pack your child’s bag with enough nappies and wipes to last them for the
day. If you would like to send these along in bulk please do so. It’s not the Educarers
responsibility to supply these.
We welcome any feedback you have about your child at Bizzy Buddyz. If we don’t know about
it, we can’t do anything about it so please keep us in the loop if you have any concerns or
queries. We love hearing all the great stories about your children as well! Let us know by
calling 07 308 4314 or check out our facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/BizzyBuddyz-Ltd
Thank you,
From Maree and the team at Bizzy Buddyz!