Little Garden Fingers (Part Two)

Following on from Part One and with a plan in place to buy some new plants for our garden, a few of our tamariki gathered to get ready for a trip across the road to Mitre 10 Mega.

“What sort of plants should we get?”, one of our lovely Kaiako (teachers) asked and we engaged in a little brainstorm session which included ideas such as flowers, herbs and vegetable & fruit plants.

Every time we go on an excursion, we need to make sure we all are wearing our special hi-vis vests to keep us visible and protected whilst out in the community. Our tamariki are familiar with this process and independently put on their vests - eager to head out and explore.

Before heading out, we spoke about some important excursion rules such as staying with your buddy. We also carried with us some reusable bags for our plants, as we weren’t sure how many we were going to choose. 😊

On the way to Mitre 10, we explored our surroundings and one of our little ones proudly pointed out to his house as we passed by. Conversations could be heard between buddies about the things they could see and the experiences they have had relating to these objects.

Te Whariki the NZ Early Childhood Curriculum states that it is important for “children to experience an environment where connecting links with the family and the wider world are affirmed and extended” and excursions to local places are a great way to do this.

As we crossed the road, we spoke about road safety and many of our little ones remembered road safety messages that Dan the Puppet Man taught them when he visited our centre.

Taking turns to push the button, our little ones patiently waited and focused on the “little red man turning green” so that they could get closer to the big orange Mitre 10 Mega across the road.

Next to Mitre 10 Mega is the Gate Pa Domain and so before getting our plants, we thought it would be special to spend some time here, exploring the information boards that re-tell the great battle of Gate Pa. We also enjoyed exploring the pou (Maori posts) which have meaningful, intricate carvings on them.

Heading into the entrance of Mitre 10 Mega, many of our tamariki were familiar with this space as they often visit to pick up DIY supplies with their families. We noticed the “Plant and Garden” area straight away and headed outdoors to be met with a variety of different plants and flowers.

Walking around the aisles, we identified different types of plants and looked at their features as well as the “care instructions” to see if they would be ideal for us. We also used our sense of smell to identify different herbs and decided to choose a few of them to be part of our garden.

With a good number of plants in our basket, we decided we had enough for the planters and made our way to the checkout. “I wonder how much it will cost?”, one of our tamariki said and we encouraged them to have turns looking at the screen as each plant was scanned and added to the total amount.

With our plants in our bags, we headed back across the road - eager to get our gardening tools out and get our plants into their new home.

Let’s see what happens next in Part Three! 😊