Māhuri Room

Kia ora and welcome to the Māhuri room!

In the Māhuri room, we cater for children aged roughly 2.5 to 3.5 years old. Our Māhuri Kaiako provide fun and stimulating learning experiences that ignite curiosity, imagination and a love of learning through discovery within a natural environment.

We assign each child with a buddy teacher in the Māhuri room, whose focus is to work alongside your child, as they learn new routines and assist them with feeling a sense of belonging in their new environment. The buddy teacher will also communicate with parents, develop a secure relationship and tamariki feel welcome and supported.

We support our children to develop a sense of self and sense of belonging within the Māhuri room. When our children feel a sense of belonging, they have the confidence to engage in new experiences, build social competence, learning important self-help skills and develop their independence. Children's self-help skills are very important at this stage and children are supported to go the toilet on their own, wash hands, dress themselves, and sever up their morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea.

Our space is filled with natural and recycled materials and open-ended resources to provoke a sense of wonder and curiosity. Everything is clean, organized and efficient. We strive to set an inspiring and provoking learning environment, where children are empowered to use all their senses as a form of expression and exploration. The outdoor environment is large, and the children are allowed to explore in their own time and pace, getting dirty, climbing and creating memories to share with their friends and families.

My Learning Journey (Hard copy and Story park) is a living document that highlighting moments & celebrations of your child's achievements, successes, and development during their time at the Active Explorers St Lukes. Their stories link with the Early Childhood Curriculum document Te Whariki and are inspired by the principles and practices of Reggio Emilia and The Curiosity Approach. They reflect their interests and passions observed by teachers & are then extended on through curriculum planning and individual planning by the teaching team. Contributions from home are encouraged and welcomed - creating connections between the home & centre environment.

We value parents as first teachers and will work alongside you to formulate a developmentally appropriate learning journey for your child.

Settling process

We have a recommended pre-visit plan that encourages three short pre-visits to help you and your child transition to our centre. Settling visits will commence approximately 2 weeks before your child's start date.

1st Visit

30 minutes to 1 hour with you in centre

2nd Visit

20 minutes in the centre with you, followed by 20 minutes without you, your child is in our responsible care. You will need to sign them in and return all your complete enrolment forms. But, you will also need to remain in the centre.

3rd Visit

1 hour in the centre without you. As with visit 2, your child is in our responsible care. You will need to sign your child in and ensure all of your enrolment forms are completed and returned to us before you leave.

What to Bring

Please provide:

Enough nappies for your child's session (Approximately 5 for a full day)
At least one complete change of clothes and a wet bag
Warm clothing for winter, including a coat and hat
A sunhat (compulsory to wear outside in summer)
If your child arrives before 8:20am we can serve them breakfast that you will provide
A drink bottle
A family photo/ photos
If your child has special attachments to cuddly/toy/blanket you are welcome to bring these
Please ensure all belongings are clearly named

All About Me:

Please fill the All About Me form.

Sleep:

Please fill sleep agreement if your child needs to sleep, and sleep records are available daily. Please let the teachers know if your child has any medical issues/treatments, allergies and food preference we need to know about.

Warm regards, Māhuri Team

Māhuri Room Routine

7:30am	Welcome whanau and tamariki/breakfast ritual/settling in nga tamariki with calming morning activities (Māhuri and Pohutukawa combine in the morning. The tuakana-teina relationship is fostered)
8:30am	Care moments as per individual needs/inside and outside flow/meaningful conversations/social play, free movement (child's preference)
9:15am	Morena Hui (Morena waiata, count the tamariki, Yoga & Kaiako News and Farewell waiata)
9:30am	Morning Tea (Kai Ritual) Tamariki washing hands and feeding their taste buds
10:00am	Investigations - Experimental and inquiry-based learning/Provocations set up by Kaiako to extend Tamariki interest
11:15cm	Māhuri Hui: Greeting - Pepeha, Waiata & pukapuka and Farewell waiata
11:30am	Lunch begins (Kai Ritual)/Washing hands & having a peaceful unhurried meal time
12:00pm	Nap time as required; quiet activities are planned for non-sleepers
2:30pm	Afternoon tea (Kai Ritual) Tamariki washing hands and feeding their taste buds
4:00pm	(Pohutukawa combine with Māhuri) Care moments as per individual needs/spontaneous activities and learning experiences/Restful reading/Inside outside flow/whanau engagement with sharing information
5:15pm	Late snack for Tamariki still in attendance at the Centre
5:30pm	Quiet exploration and learning experiences/getting prepared for next day/resetting/informative chats with parents/Farewell
6:00pm	Centre closing