Puketapu Kindergarten Pictures

Wow, I am finally posting the long-awaited Puketapu Kindergarten pictures. All 29 of them. I realize that that is a lot, but part of what I love about NZ Kindergarten environments is that there are lots of different areas for the children to play and explore. So I thought the best way to share that was to take pictures of all the different areas, so you can see the amazing variety of choices that the children have available. The pictures move from outside to the veranda, to inside.

Outside:

Here is the front of the building. Not that exciting, but don't worry, it gets better.

Here is one view of the soft-fall section of the playground. The big fort and awesome slide are actually taller than current regulations allow, but they have been "grandfathered in," thank goodness! They are so much fun!

Notice the beautifully carved rock - our head teacher made that! How cool! And there are several small feijoa trees spread around. Yum! 

Another view of the soft fall area. The children love the big "boxes," which have a bridge going in between them.

Grassy area for running, obstacle courses, the see-saw, or whatever strikes your fancy. Also, it's hard to see in the picture, but there are a bunch of swings behind it, which are great.

This is our kaitiaki. He is the guardian of our gardens and trolly track, and he lets the teachers know if children are being disrespectful or dangerous.

This is our trolly track, weaving through some of the gardens. Our kindergarten won an environmental award last year for this area, which is planted entirely with native plants.

Isn't it magical?

Another view of this area. 

Next to the trolly track are the compost bins and worm farms. We have tiger worms in the worm farms, and the children bring their food scraps and add them to the farms every day. It is wonderful for them to be involved in this process. We sell the nitrogen-rich "worm juice" and "worm dirt" from the farms as a fundraiser for the kindergarten, which is neat because the parents buy it and then the children get to use it on their own gardens at home, bringing it full circle.

This is the "messy play" area. The blue tubs are huge and really fun to fill with coloured water, sawdust, paper, goop, moonsand, cloud dough, etc. This area usually has a shade cover over it, but it got taken down for repairs.

This is the sand pit, with the herb garden next to it. Somehow the sand pit doesn't look very big in this picture, but it is quite big in real life. The red shed door to the left is for the trolly track materials, and the sand pit shed is to the left. They both stay open for the children to access materials as they choose.

Here are the vegetable gardens, which are looking a bit bare right now, as the fall harvest was done just a week or two ago. However, we still have some strawberries producing, and we planted some green onions last week. 

The house on the left side of the picture is a work in progress, but the children are enjoying it already.

The Veranda:

This is the view looking from the grassy area towards the veranda. You will notice that the "walls" can be rolled up and down, which is quite nice. They are almost always open, unless it is very rainy with a lot of wind.

Here is the comfy couch on the veranda, with the painting easels behind.

This is the kai (food) table. The children can get their kai any time and bring it to the table to eat. They usually come in groups with their friends. 

The different buckets are for worm food, rubbish, recyclable yogurt containers (used for art), and spoons.

This is the natural materials area. The children explore various natural things that the teachers have collected, and then every so often, we put out hot glue guns and they get to make them into artwork.

There is a big emphasis on using natural materials in NZ Kindergartens, which I love.

This is the block area. We have two big cabinets of blocks, and lots of different props and materials to go with them. We also have live "play plants," which are miraculously sturdy, and which the children use as props for imaginative play with the animals.

This is the carpentry area, with hammers, nails, wood, string, mesh, plastic, stickers, safety goggles, etc. There are also drills and saws, which are available on request with teacher supervision.

Sometimes we pull the block shelf table over and use it with cushions for Legos or Mobilos or pyramids or other building materials.

Inside:

This is the sign-in table. While the parent writes the time they dropped the child off, the child finds his/her magnetic name and sticks it to the white board. They stick their names here if they are just staying for the morning or afternoon, and there is a different white board where they put their names if they are going to stay all day.

This is our Trading Table. The parents donate items (clothes, food, shoes, accessories, books, etc.) that they don't need any more, and anyone can take them. We also for a dollar donation if they want to give it, otherwise they can just take it. There is information above it explaining how reusing things is good for the environment. Lots of parents bring in things from their gardens, which is awesome.

This is the puzzle/game table. It is also used in the morning for the children to sign themselves in by writing their names, although I didn't take a picture of that set-up.

This is the writing table. There are a variety of worksheets and other materials at this table, based on the children's interests. In the yellow box is a writing book for each child, where they keep their drawings, worksheets, writing, etc.

This is the science area, which includes different materials (in the basket) for children to examine under magnifying glasses. It also includes a variety of books (we have small bookshelves and book boxes in several places around the room).

This is the "Family Corner," (it is not a corner, but if you try to call it an "Area," the children will correct you every time). We have dress-up clothes, dog leashes, dolls, medical equipment, food, dishes, a bed and blankets, etc.

This is the other side of the "Family Corner," with the kitchen and couch. Also, notice the awesome pushchair (stroller).

This is the mat/flex area. The children use it for a lot of higher-energy activities like dancing and making music, and it is where we come together for group activities.

This is the other side of the mat/flex area. 

This is the "Making Table." The green part tends to be for painting, while the blue part tends to be for everything else. I really like that it is called the "Making Table" rather than the "Art Table," because it is so open-ended and exciting sounding! We have paper, paints, tape, fabrics, plastic bottles, stickers, chalk, cardboard boxes, glitter, ribbons, glue, markers, staples, scissors... everything! You should see some of the cool things the children create!

Last, but not least, is the playdough table. It is next to a shelf with lots of materials on it, and by the oven/stove, because playdough just lends itself so nicely to cooking.

Well... can you see why I love my job? Who wouldn't want to work at Puketapu Kindergarten? And you know the amazing thing is that this is what most Kindergartens in NZ look like - there is an expectation that the places where children learn and play should be beautiful, intriguing, exciting, and inspiring. And they are!