The Community Koru

Growing Together – Birth to Seven Years Rudolf Steiner Education

Tui Whare . Kowhai Whare . Rimu Cottage . Miro House Kindergarten

25th June 2015, Kia ora koutou, It was wonderful to see so many families venture out for the Kindergartens’ Lantern festival on Saturday. We were very relieved at 3.30pm when the last heavy shower passed over; leaving a hurried bunch of gnomes to light the candles and deliver the magic. Despite the weather, the spirit of the festival was alive and well. Thank you all for supporting us to bring a magical experience to the children. We round this term off with Kowhai’s very special Matariki Celebration tonight - Thursday 25th June. Jack Frost has appeared already and is heralding the arrival of the winter months. Slippers, warm jackets, and woolly hats, once again become more valued belongings to each child. The winter season brings another wonderful quality of life to the children. The many soul-warming smells that come out from kitchens across our centres, delight our senses and help ‘warm us up’ for mornings of busy and productive play sessions! During the Kindergarten term break, seven of our teachers (from Rimu Cottage, Kowhai, Tui and Miro House) will be attending the International Kolisko Conference, which is being held from the 8th - 12th of July in Cambridge. The topic of this year’s conference is Trauma in Childhood. The keynote speakers are r Michaela lo ckler & Christof Wiechert who we are very excited to listen to and be inspired by.

Nga mihi nui, Carol Webb ECE Principal

Doll Making Course The Craft Group will be running a Doll Making Course on Saturday 29

August from 10 am until 4 pm. Come and make a limb doll (Steiner doll with

skin fabric). Your completed doll will be sold at the Carnival, but you will take

home full instructions and some of the necessary supplies to make your own

doll. Places are limited and cost will be $10.00. For more information, talk to

Mieke or Mere (0211460966).

The History of the Waikato Waldorf School Star Logo – By Warwick Hutchinson

The Waikato Waldorf School logo was designed by Mike Linklater in the early days of the school to represent the central place of the child in the Waldorf educational impulse as pioneered by Rudolf Steiner. The logo depicts the concepts expressed in:

“Receive the child with reverence, educate him in love and let him go forth in freedom” and

“It takes a community (village) to raise a child”

The child at the centre of the star is represented by an unfolding koru. Each of the 5 points of the star represent the bodies which support the child’s education; the teachers, the Board of Trustees, The Proprietor’s Trust, the College, and the community.

The 5 points of the star can also be seen as values surrounding the child; love, warmth, care, nurture, and protection.

The next Rudolf Steiner Early Childhood Trust meeting will be held on Tuesday 14 July

at 7.15pm in Kowhai Whare. All welcome!

The minutes from each monthly RSECT Trust Meeting will be displayed on the notice

boards in each Centre.

Wanted to Rent: 3+ bedroom house for a family of five City or Rural Contact Alex 021-238 0527

Miro House Kindergarten

Just lately we have been blessed with these

wonderful sunny clear winter days. The children

make the most of getting outside and we are

always impressed with their innovation and

imagination in their play.

The children have been enjoying making huts and camping with a campfire. There has been a

real interest in ‘potion making’ mixing with leaves, sticks, dirt, berries, and a sprinkling of dry

sand. There is talk of dragons, circuses, and even a maimai that the children have been

putting together to camouflage themselves as they watch and wait for deer and ducks to pass

by.

We have new stumps which the children have been busy carting around from one place to

another. Plenty of good activity to help warm up on these cool, fresh days.

Rimu Cottage

The chill of King Winter is now in the air; gumboots, slippers and woolly hats are now our wardrobe necessities. Our outdoor environment is now taking on a new look as the plants and trees prepare for their winter hibernation. The children work alongside the adults to care for the garden and are always willing to lend a hand in sweeping and raking up the fallen leaves.

There is always some light in the darkness of winter and we have found that through subtly

celebrating Matariki. This has been done through songs, stories and simple imagery and scenes

within Rimu Cottage. The children have enjoyed decorating lanterns and making their own at

home. Our story of kiwi sharing nga whetu (the stars) with te marama (the moon) to light up the

night sky has helped the children further explore the wonder of light.

We have had a successful start to our newly established Playgroup.

Our lovely group of six children have all settled in beautifully.

They work together well and there is already a sense of belonging

and unity amongst them. Together the children are learning to

share, take turns and lend a hand to a friend in need.

There is a lovely mix of children at Play circle. The range in

ages enables tuakana/teina to be evident. (The older child

caring for the younger). There is a very settled and familiar

feeling within our groups. The relationships between

children and adults alike has blossomed and created a warm

and welcoming environment. It is a joy for me to see happy

children and happy adults sharing a lovely experience at Play

circle together.

Kia puāwai koe ki te ao, ka kitea ō painga

So you shall blossom into the world and the world in turn is transformed.

Kowhai Childcare Kowhai Whare

Nau mai haere mai, o te tau TAKURUA

The last of the warm weather seems to have created a burst of physical energy for climbing,

running and digging. The children have been creating various obstacle courses and have

helped the teachers to tidy the gardens and pathways. Outside play is always a highlight for

our children.

As Winter settles in, the tamariki continue to keep

themselves busy outside, raking the fallen leaves

into piles and clearing them from the pathways.

Some of them decided to empty their piles over

the fence ready for compost. Oh the joy of the

leaves scattering everywhere! Our children are

also using the fallen leaves in their imaginative

play for baking trays and table settings. Nature at

its best!

A big thank you to Clare Hutchinson who knitted

some beautiful warm slippers for the tamariki.

They are being relished by our children as Jack

Frost makes his presence felt!

Now we are all preparing for Matariki and hope to bring a magical evening to all the whanau

that come.

Na mihi nga Kaiako o Kowhai Whare

Tui Whare

Hasn’t Jack Frost made his presence known to us! The children at Tui Whare have been busy exploring the nuances and experiences of winter taking advantage of the sunny days to get outside and get into it.

The Kakano (baby) group at Tui are experiencing their growing independence through contribution and participation. They have been enjoying the many wonders of the winter sensory world, particularly drawn to puddles and mud and most recently ice that Jack Frost has left behind. Language development is also very evident and the teachers of this group have brought songs that not only support their language acquisition but also have included finger plays and other movements to support and encourage their fine motor development.

The Pakiaka (toddler) group are making the most of their outside play since the weather has given us lots of driving rain that sometimes curbs our opportunities for extended outside free play. Once they get outside however, it’s all about being physical with their bodies, climbing and running and expending lots of energy in an outward gesture. They have also been very interested in finding bugs of all kinds (i.e. worms, spiders, and praying mantis). When their play brings them inside, play is focused on taking care of nga pepi, and domestic tasks like helping Val in the kitchen and helping to prepare the morning buns, using their developing fine motor skills to spread jam and vegemite. The Putiputi (older children) group has been busy out and around the community as they help Lynne build a fire pit, collect pumpkins and squash from the community garden for Val to use in the kitchen and in sharing morning tea and play time with the older children at Kowhai Whare. They have also been very physical in their outside play and visiting Kowhai Whare allows them to venture into a bit of tree climbing with their friends. There is a definite need to mention the glorious mud and all it’s attributes! This group has also taken advantage of the big meadow, often going out for big movement runs and then slowing down to explore the multifaceted environment of the meadow itself. As our Matariki celebration comes closer, our Tui children and teachers have been singing Matariki songs and telling Matariki stories, creating seasonal table displays and decorative items that reflect the theme of the celebration itself.

Ngāmihi o te tau hou, from all of us at Tui Whare!

Story Time

Rata’s Waka

One day Rata went into the forest wondering what to do about retrieving the body of his father, who had just died. He decided he needed to make a waka, which is a big canoe, so he went in search of a tree

He selected a Totara tree, cut it down and then went home to rest, planning to come back and finish the job.

The next day he returned and found the tree wasn’t lying on the ground where he had left it, but was standing as if it had never been chopped.

He chopped the tree down again, this time trimming and shaping the tree and scooping out the inside. Then he went home to rest.

He decided to sneak back during the night to see what was happening. When he approached the tree in the dark he saw to his amazement that birds and insects were picking the twigs and bark to put back to its original state. Rata vowed to never chop down another tree.

A voice near him told him he may, but he must first ask permission from Taane Mahuta. As Rata returned home he came across a mighty war canoe sitting on logs in the forest and he asked if it was his? The voice said, “Yes, Rata’s Waka!”

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