Holiday Program

Thanks to everyone who wished me well for my new job. I just realized that I didn't actually post when I am starting - it's the first week of February. So I still have a few weeks before I start, although I'm sure I will spend some time there before I do. I'm so excited!

In the meantime, I worked Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday this week for the Kindergarten Association at their Holiday Program. (Just a note: I was surprised to find that the "Holiday Program" ran from the 6th to the 17th of January, because to me, that's clearly after the holidays. I had to remind myself that here, they use the word "holiday" both to mean the specific days and to mean time off work or school, whereas I would use the word "vacation" for the latter.) The kindergartens, like other public schools, are closed from about December 20th to January 25th. It is both their Christmas/New Years Holiday and their summer holiday, and it is the longest school holiday of the year. Unlike the States, however, their longest one (this one) is only about 5 weeks, and they have 3 other 3 week holidays throughout the year, between their 4 "terms." When I have talked to people about it, they say that they like to have the holiday time fairly evenly spread out, because it gives them time off for both summer and winter sports, and prevents the children from getting overly bored and "out of practice" when they're not in school.

Anyway, I had a wonderful time working at the Holiday Program. It provides care for children whose parents need to work during the holidays, and it was at one kindergarten, but children from any kindergarten could come, which meant that it was a mix of children who didn't know each other, and no one teacher there knew them all. Knowing that, I was prepared to face rather a lot of chaos, and was pleasantly surprised to find only the normal amount of chaos that one finds when one puts 30 children under 5 in the same room. We did spin art, dug rivers in the sand pit, figured out how to build an airplane/submarine out of legos, buried marbles in playdough, and painted countless pictures. I got to lead mat time one day, and I took the opportunity to introduce the children to Chicka Chicka Boom Boom, which is a wonderful book. The teachers hadn't heard of it either, which was crazy to me, because it is a must-have in american classrooms. Maybe I'll start a trend here. Speaking of international books, it has been wonderful getting to read the Kiwi books that I find at the centres. There are fabulous books by Kiwi authors, many of them in English and Māori, and almost all of them beautifully illustrated.

As always, I felt welcomed and appreciated by the teachers and parents, and I was happy with my participation with the Kindergarten Association. I am glad that I will still be able to be involved with them one day a week when I start at Noah's Ark.