August 2011

Roars of laughter filled the air at Makino Kindergarten in August thanks to some magical mayhem all the way from Zappoland. 

Dressed as a magical ranger, Zappo the magician provided camouflaged capers in an exciting, entertaining and educational morning of fun. Children learned about metamorphosis from Zappo as he explained how an egg turns into a caterpillar, which in turn pupates into a beautiful butterfly. With a wave of his magic wand, he illustrated the life-cycle by magically transforming an egg and ribbons into a huge butterfly picture.

Zappo's antics with his friends, including Professor RuRu the owl, The Oggly Boogly Worm and Lilly the Lady Bird, had the children in stitches. His uncontrollable magic wand finding its way up his nose was a particular favourite!

Zappo may have been hilariously silly, but through their laughter, the children learned some valuable lessons.  Oggly Boogly Worm taught everyone about the importance of worms and how they help the soil so that more flowers, plants, vegetables and fruit can grow in the garden. The children then helped Lilly the Ladybird to count her spots and they also discovered how they could help to save the bush by recycling their rubbish.

Head Teacher, Alison was impressed with Zappo, "The staff and children thoroughly enjoyed their morning with their guest and it's easy to see why Zappo was awarded the ‘Best Children's Entertainer' at the 2010 New Zealand International Magician's Convention".

Funny jokes and magic tricks are always a favourite, but Zappo finished his show by bringing out ‘Button' the baby rabbit, which turned out to be the most magical moment of all.


Above: Roaring with laughter at Zappo's antics.

Above: Zappo with Oggly Boogly worm teaching children about the benefits of a worm farm.

Special connections
July 2011

Children from Makino Kindergarten invited grandparents and special friends to share kindergarten experiences during a Grandparents and Special Friends Day held Tuesday July 12th.

Leading up to the special day many of the children participated in group baking, whipping up a selection of yummy treats for morning and afternoon tea.

Alison, head teacher at Makino Kindergarten, described the kindergarten as having "a strong focus on relationships".

"The children have been bringing in photos of themselves and their families for our whānau wall, so we thought Grandparents and Special Friends Day was a great way to finish the term and share what the children have been doing at kindergarten", she said.

Involving families and building links with the wider community is a major part of the Makino Kindergarten philosophy. What a wonderful example of that philosophy in action!

Above: Reading together on a special day at kindergarten. 

Above: A good book is even better when it's shared with a good friend. 

Above: Building a love of learning together. 

Above: Grandparents enjoy a special day of shared learning at Makino Kindergarten. 

Flying the flag for kindergarten
May 2011

Makino Kindergarten took out the top spot at this year's Manawatu Garden Festival Schools' Competition for their creative and colourful entry.

The annual competition is popular with Ruahine Kindergartens and this year's mission was to design a flag for the festival's 10^th anniversary. 

Children and teachers at Makino Kindergarten saved up all their Easter egg wrappers to create their winning work of art.

Teachers say aluminum/tin was chosen for its traditional link with 10th wedding anniversaries and the 10 beautiful flowers represent 10 years of growth.

Flags were displayed during the Manawatu Garden Festival at Manfeild Stadium on the 7^th and 8^th of May.

Makino Kindergarten received a $100 book voucher for their winning entry. Manchester Kindergarten also produced an impressive entry, which was awarded second place.

Above: Margaret from Poppies Bookshop presents children with books purchased using  the kindergarten's Garden Festival prize money.

Above: Makino Kindergarten children stand behind their winning flag. 

Hands-on learning
March 2011

Makino Kindergarten children enjoyed all the fun of the farmyard during their annual trip to Spring Grove Farm Park in Pohangina Valley.

Teachers say children at Makino Kindergarten have been showing a keen interest in animals, with many bringing in pets to share with their peers. 

Spring Grove specialises in the rare and unusual, offering children a chance to get up close and personal with animals they may never have seen before. 

"Children really enjoyed the unstructured nature of the trip", said Rhea, a teacher at Makino Kindergarten. 

"Because we had one adult to every two children, children had the freedom to choose which animals they wanted to spend time with or go back to."

Above: A brave child from Makino Kindergarten feeds Teddy the Highland Steer.

Above: Patting a donkey at Spring Grove Farm Park. 

Makino has the write stuff
March 2011

Children from Makino Kindergarten enjoyed a trip to Feilding Paper Plus recently where they purchased their own pens and writing books to use at kindergarten and at home.

Teachers organised the trip to extend children's interests in reading and writing and arranged for the Lollipops' Playland Van to transport children to and from the bookstore.

Above: Preparing for an exciting trip to Paper Plus. 

Above:  Reading and writing prove popular with children at Makino Kindergarten.

Above: Children test writing equipment at Feilding's Paper Plus bookstore.

Above: Makino Kindergarten children purchase their own pens and books during a trip to Paper Plus.  

An artistic excursion
February 2011

Art and creativity are ongoing interests for children at Makino Kindergarten, so teachers arranged a visit to the Feilding Art Centre where children were able to view a range of works created by people within the community. 

Following the visit, children walked to the centre of Feilding where they were able to take photos of things that interested them. 

Above: Cynthia teaches children about different pieces at the Feilding Art Centre.

Above: Creativity abounds at the Feilding Art Centre. 

Above: Giant coloured pencils capture children's imaginations during a visit to Feilding Art Centre. 

Makino's movie stars
December 2010

Children from Feilding's Makino Kindergarten experienced the glitz and glamour of life on the big screen during a recent excursion to Focal Point Cinema.

Photography and the recording of kindergarten events has been a growing interest for children at the kindergarten, enhanced by the purchase of a digital photo frame in Term 3.

This frame allows children to share their photos with other children, teachers, parents and whanau, and soon led children to begin experimenting with using the digital cameras to record mini movies.

Before long, rows of chairs became seats in a movie theatre and shells became popcorn as children gathered together to view the day's action on the digital frame.

Acting on this emerging interest, teachers arranged an excursion to Focal Point Cinema to view the mini movies on the big screen.

Real popcorn was prepared the day before, a bus was hired and children, parents and teachers had a whole theatre to themselves.

Makino Kindergarten Teacher, Marie, said, "viewing themselves on the big screen has proved to be a powerful learning tool for the children".

"Children were able to see themselves learning and mastering different skills, then reflect on how much progress they'd made throughout the term. It also motivated children to master the skills they'd seen other children using", she said.

What a wonderful way to celebrate yet another fantastic term of innovative learning and fun at Makino Kindergarten.

Above: Makino Kindergarten children watch themselves on the big screen. 

A fresh batch of learning
August 2010

Children from Makino Kindergarten have been learning all about supermarkets, hardware stores and their local library thanks to the Lollipops Playland community van service.

The Lollipops van has been available to Palmerston North kindergartens for many years, but has just recently extended its service to include Feilding.

This has made it considerably easier for teachers from Makino Kindergarten to take children to different places within the community, in support of their interests and learning.

A large group of children have had an ongoing interest in baking and café play, so teachers contacted the team at New World supermarket who offered to host a special behind the scenes tour.

Teachers described the tour as an "absolutely amazing learning experience".

"It was great to see children asking questions and developing a better understanding of the ideas they had been exploring through role play at kindergarten."

Since this visit, children from Makino Kindergarten have taken a special tour of Bunnings, Feilding, where they had the opportunity to sit on a forklift, and another group have visited the local library. 

Excursions are a great way of enhancing children's learning and teachers at Makino Kindergarten are extremely grateful for the support received from these amazing local businesses.

Above: Shoaib Khan, Shavahna Ashford investigate the dough making process at New World bakery.