The Forest ECE: Play based learning in action By Abby Iremonger Nestled away amongst the Te Miro ngahere (forest), on the banks of the Waitakaruru stream is The Forest ECE, a bush programme centre for tamariki aged 3-6 years. A small whānau focused centre, with approximately 30 ākonga, and a tight-knit group of kaiako and kaimahi, we very much feel as though we are our own beautiful community learning, growing and thriving together. We believe that there is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothing. Our kaiako and tamariki come prepared to explore outdoors undeterred by the weather. Only on the rare occasion when the weather can cause potential safety issues (high winds/thunder and lightning) will we avoid exploring the ngahere. This approach and attitude allows us to embrace that fact that our beautiful ngahere provides us with an ever changing landscape of learning opportunities involving ecosystems, weather patterns, seasons, flora, fauna, kararehe and life cycles, ensuring there is always something new to be explored and encouraging the tamariki natural curiosity. Our curriculum is holistic, culturally aware and based upon current research. Play based learning is our curriculum. Nature is our curriculum. Manaaki (support) and aroha (love) are our curriculum. A typical day at The Forest ECE starts out like most when our tamariki are dropped at our centre, often welcomed by their key kaiako with aroha and manaaki (all tamariki regardless of age are supported with a key kaiako). They are then able to explore the indoor and outdoor environments of our centre base. Our open plan indoor space has lots of thoughtfully designed spaces encompassing an array of open-ended resources and some carefully selected objective resources. We have two main indoor spaces, one with lots of special areas to play such as art, family play, science and construction, and another with opportunities to relax, have a quiet moment, enjoy a pukapuka (book) or puzzle, share some peaceful time with a friend or kaiako and explore with our extensive heuristic play resources. Our outdoor area remains open-ended but also provides opportunities for our tamariki to enjoy sandpit play, bike riding, ball kicking, loose parts building and water play. Our tamariki explore these areas freely, with kaiako, at a ratio of 1:7, always nearby to engage, support and extend when needed. March 2024 { 14 }
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