Curriculum at Papanui Preschool and Nursery
Our objective is to see your child become competent, confident and secure in their ability to cope with the physical, social and cognitive worlds that they encounter each day. We care for your child’s interests and developing skills while encouraging your child's sense of well being, belonging, contribution, communication and exploration. We understand and embrace that parents and whānau are each child’s primary caregivers and first teachers, and we strive to foster respectful and positive partnerships as we share your child’s learning journey.
Intentional Teaching
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This is something that the teachers do every day with us. They are able to extend my thinking and actions though their interactions with me. They offer guidance and support and when it is needed, intervention.
The teachers plan and evaluate everything that I experience with my skills, abilities and needs at the forefront of their thinking. I am able to contribute my own ideas and work within different groups to gain new ideas and interests. |
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Community Links
Through these experiences I am able to learn about the immediate world around me, this includes home life, preschool life and also what is in my local community. I am able to link these three areas and gain an understanding of my part in the wider world and how I am an important person in all of this. To explore current events and the wider community we sometimes head out on walks to our local schools, the library, the park and the mall, or we invite the community (parents, local schools, emergency services) to come to us. These experiences can broaden my knowledge and understanding of the world around me.
Physical Exploration
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Physical Exporation enables me to gain an understanding of what I can and can’t do. The outside environment has space for me to run, jump, climb and slide. It has moveable equipment that enables me to create my own physical challenges and develop my gross (large) and fine (small) motor skills. I am able to extend skills like agility, coordination, cooperation and turn taking.
As I get older I am able to pass on my knowledge to my younger peers and support them to gain new skills. Dramatic and pretend play enable me to become something or someone else. I can dress up or move around in different ways to act out my new role. I am able to extend my knowledge of everyday experiences as I role play what I see, and I am able to overcome anxieties and fears as I act out these situations. |
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Languages and Literacy
Languages and literacy opens up a whole world of fact and fantasy for me. I love being surrounded in a language rich environment, where my communication skills are encouraged and enhanced. My receptive (listening) and expressive (verbal) communication skills are extended through being read and talked to, or with my teachers and peers. Being exposed to a range of languages like Te Reo, Spanish and the other languages from the cultures around me I am gaining cultural awareness and acceptance. Books enable me to develop an enjoyment of being on my own and using this time to process information, or escape into my imagination.
Routines & Regular Events
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Through routines and regular events I am able to predict what is coming next and in doing am able to take responsibility for myself. I am treated as an individual and supported to develop my independence and self help skills. Through the care routines (eating, toileting and sleeping) I develop a real sense of trust and security in my teachers and the environment. My physical and emotional health is of the upmost concern and they are nurtured though these everyday routines. Other regular events we experience at preschool are Tidy up time, mat time and transition group. Tidy up time enables me to take responsibility for my own experiences and when I put these away I am learning to sort, classify, match and organize. I learn to how to respect and look after the preschool environment. Mat time offers me a chance to be with all my peers where I can gain confidence being part of a larger group. Mat time offers opportunities to experience stories, songs, music and movement from different cultures and we also learn concepts like numbers, alphabet, colours and shapes. I get to learn from my older peers and can teach my younger peers. Transition time (4 year olds) I get to be in a smaller group with peers my own age. We look at how we can develop our skills to prepare us for school. I will learn how to hold a pencil, write and recognize my name, and I will extend my self-help skills. I will build on my understanding of numeracy and literacy and sometimes we visit new entrant classes at our local school.
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Music & Movement
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Music and Movement are what I love experiencing, especially when I am within a group of my like-minded peers.
I get to experiment using my body and voice in new ways and develop a sense of rhythm, pitch and memory as I explore instruments, music, dance and songs. |
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Science & Nature
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The world around me can be exciting and new but sometimes it can be a little scary. Science and nature at preschool I learn though using interesting objects, experiments and activities. I develop working theories for making sense of the natural, social, physical and material worlds.
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Numeracy & Puzzles
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Numeracy at preschool I get to develop my understanding of numbers, subtraction and addition, measurements, volume and fractions. This is something I can experience during any part of my preschool day. Counting the blocks in my tower, the number of sandcastles I have left, measuring the ingredients for baking and cutting up the fruit for our shared meals.
Puzzles enable me to learn about problem solving, extending my hand-eye coordination and concentration skills. I can enjoy challenging myself and be involved in solitary or parallel play alongside my peers. Group puzzles enable me to work together on a common task with a clear goal in mind, I am able to develop strategies for completing the puzzle. Turn-taking and Communication skills are important aspects I gain from working on puzzles. |
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Sensory Play
Tactile experiences, whether it is sand, water, slime, foam or gloop are where I spend lots of time working with and alongside my peers. I love the feeling that these experiences provide me and I can experiment with mixing, tipping, pouring and stirring these. Because each tactile experience feels different it enables me to extend my science and maths concepts as well as my working theories as I explore these.
Creative Arts
Art and Creative exploration are important areas for me to express myself. I am able to set my own goals and work out ways to achieve my masterpiece. I get to explore a range of mediums, from paint to felts, glue to celotape, chalk to glitter and anything in between. For me it is the process I am involved in that matter most, but I am certainly proud of the end result. This is where I am able to extend my fine motor skills as I manipulate the tools and objects in my desired way. Collage construction I can take myself into another world and explore challenges and different objects. I can rearrange object, fantasise and express myself creatively and cooperate as I construct 3d masterpieces. Playdough enables me to experiment and develop social and cooperative skills as I work with my peers. I am able to roleplay experiences I see at home, or create my own objects. When I talk to my peers or the teachers about what I am doing or have made I extend on my language skills.
Construction
Construction enables me to persist with challenges and solve problems. My imagination and self-confidence grow as I build towers, cities, rockets and castles, there is no limit to what I can create. This is an area where I can choose to create on my own or with my peers and I learn how to make different objects fit together to make my creation.
