Loose Part Play
You may have heard the term loose parts (or open ended resources) used within your child’s Early Learning Centre but what exactly is it and how are they beneficial in your child’s learning journey?
News
September 2024
August 2024
Supporting your Child's Early Literacy
There are many ways that whānau can positively impact their child’s early literacy development by creating opportunities during day to day interactions. Here are just three of the ways you can help support your child on their literacy learning journey.
July 2024
Maths in Action
Everyday in lots of different ways, opportunities present themselves for our children to engage in mathematical concepts.
June 2024
The Magic of Playdough
No doubt over the years we’ve all had a wee dabble playing with play dough- whether it be the commercial play-doh brand that was first marketing as a play product in the 1950’s or the homemade version that has been whipped up in kitchens all around the world. There are many reasons why playdough is so popular and the skills developed through playing with this medium go far deeper than just imagination and creativity!
The many learning benefits of blowing bubbles!
There’s no denying the delight that bubbles can bring for children and adults alike! As an adult it comes naturally to us to be able to blow bubbles, but have you ever thought about the different skills it takes?
May 2024
DIY Chalk paint
Find out how to create your own DIY chalk paint for endless hours of fun for your child!
March 2024
Chinese New Year comes to Glenfield
Happy Chinese New Year! Here at our Active Explorers centres in Glenfield, our tamariki had so much fun during our Chinese New Year celebration.
May 2023
AESL- Mother's Day Cards & Planters
All our tamariki have engaged in learning activities related to Mother's Day this month!
April 2023
AESL Easter Crafts
We had some Easter craft activities this month! Tamariki were invited and encouraged to work on age-appropriate Easter-related crafts. Some toddlers demonstrated fantastic cutting skills with scissors already ;)
Childcare Assistance Update
Effective 1 April 2023, more people will be eligible for subsidy and the hourly subsidy rates will increase.
March 2023
AESL Happy St Pats Day
This month, we celebrated St Patrick's Day. So happy to see our tamariki dressed in green!
February 2023
Renewal of the Treaty
In light of Waitangi Day, our tamariki were encouraged to participate in Māori-related learning activities
January 2023
New Year Exploration
So glad to see a lot of exploration happening in our classrooms from the very beginning of the year 😉
December 2022
November 2022
Trampolines and Builders
We went to Jump Trampoline Park and the Apprentice Builders Competition. It was such an exciting experience!
July 2022
May 2022
April 2022
Easter Hat Parade & Show
Tamariki really enjoyed sharing their Easter hats and making Easter eggs!
March 2022
St Patrick’s Day celebration
We all dressed up green and celebrated with a variety of green activities in the centre!
February 2022
Treaty of Active Explorers
For Waitangi Day our children were invited to wear a korowai and sign a Treaty of Active Explorers.
December 2021
Chinese Language Week Fun
Supporting cultural diversity, inclusion, and an opportunity for students to connect to our global community!
February 2021
February update - Playball 🎾⚽🏀 is back
Our tamariki are so excited and happy to be back out enjoying playball in the sunshine!
December 2019
Local Fire Station Pays a Visit
A visit from the local fire station was a source of much excitement for the children at Active Explorers Blockhouse Bay.
November 2019
Much to be Learned from Chickens and Eggs
The Living Eggs Programme provides a unique hands-on opportunity for children to get up close and personal with the chick hatching process and this month, the children at Active Explorers Blockhouse Bay were treated to an inside glimpse of nature at work.
Active Explorers Richmond's Budding Florists
Showcasing your work at a local A&P show is a BIG DEAL. And today, the children at Active Explorers Richmond poured all their creativity and focus into crafting beautiful sand saucer flower gardens to enter in this weekend's much anticipated show.
Diwali Dress-up Day
Active Explorers Glenfield celebrated Diwali in style this year with a dress-up celebration day bursting with fun and colour.
Diwali at Active Explorers Mayfair
What a fun day we had celebrating Diwali, the Indian Festival of Lights on October 22!
Parent Child Expo
Active Explorers Blenheim and Pascals Blenheim joined forces to host a special Parent and Child Expo, showcasing their first-rate programmes and facilities to the local community.
Diwali Brings a Taste of Bollywood
Bollywood music and dancing has taken the world by storm and for the children at Active Explorers Blockhouse Bay, it was one of the many highlights of Diwali 2019.
October 2019
Active Explorers Henderson Annual Art Show 2019
Creativity and sustainability converged last night at Active Explorers Henderson's 2019 Art Show.
September 2019
Rugby Fever
Active Explorers Mayfair got in on the World Cup action with a special visit from two Hawkes Bay Magpies, Deven and Stacey.
Fire Truck Fun
Active Explorers Mayfair and Nurtured @ Active Explorers Mayfair were treated to a visit from local fire fighters and two fire trucks.
Glenavon School 'Festival of Colour'
A trip to the recent Glenavon School 'Festival of Colour' was visual feast for tamariki at Active Explorers Blockhouse Bay.
Active Explorers Central City Welcomes Spring
This week the Prep Room children from Active Explorers Central City learnt a lot about Spring, thanks to a journey of exploration to one of Canterbury’s rural communities.
In Support of Daffodil Day
The staff and children at Active Explorers Blockhouse Bay played their part in supporting the one in three Kiwis affected by cancer with a special fundraising event, which included face painting, daffodil making and a picnic lunch.
August 2019
Building Skills at Omnigym
A recent trip to Napier's popular Omni Gymnastic Centre boosted skills and confidence for a group of 3 and 4 year olds from Active Explorers Mayfair.
Look who visited Mana Active Explorers this afternoon!
A wee seal pup wondered into our car park looking for a bit of care. So all the children went out to investigate.
Matariki Soup and Pyjama Day
At the end of June Active Explorers Mayfair held a Matariki Soup and Pyjama day to mark the end of Matariki and to support their local Jammies for June initiative.
July 2019
Matariki at the Museum
This year as part of their Matariki celebrations tamariki and staff paid a visit to the Auckland Museum, where they attended a magical Matariki education session, specially crafted for preschool children.
Matariki at Mana
To celebrate Matariki at Mana this year, families gathered together under the star-spangled evening sky, to share kai and celebrate our children’s art gallery.
And the Magic Continues...
As well as an awesome trip to the Auckland Museum, Active Explorers Blockhouse Bay celebrated Matariki 2019 through a wide and diverse range of learning experiences - from planting new seeds in the garden and bringing a vegetable for Soup Day, to exploring Maori patterns through visual arts.
Active Explorers Richmond Celebrates Matariki
After a foggy start in Nelson, the day cleared to present a spectacular night sky for our Matariki celebration at Active Explorers Richmond.
Tunnel of Fun
This week Nanny Deb created endless hours of fun with a few (quite a few actually) cardboard boxes. She built a giant tunnel that stretched its way across the outdoor play area, filling it with balloons and other hidden surprises.
June 2019
Flying High
This week children from Active Explorers Leeston’s Enquiry Class learnt how to make manu taratahi kites, with the help of Coby’s talented mum, Karen Quinn.
Underwater Antics
The tamariki at Active Explorers Blockhouse Bay have been fascinated by sea life recently, and a trip to Kelly Tarlton’s Sea Life Aquarium was a great way to get up close and personal with some of the creatures they’ve been learning about.
Getting Back to Nature
Children, teachers and whanau from Active Explorers Richmond took a walk on the wild side last week, with a visit to not-for-profit conservation park, Natureland Wildlife Trust.
Jammies for June
Yesterday, Active Explorers Greenmeadows wore PJ’s for the day. This is to support the local initiative, “Jammies for June” where pyjamas, hats, socks and cash are donated in order to provide warm PJ’s for children who may not have them.
May 2019
Healthy Hearts at Active Explorers Richmond
Staff and children at Active Explorers Richmond have never been healthier, and now, thanks to special recognition from the Heart Foundation, they have an award to prove it.
April 2019
Active Explorers comes to Helensville
Enrolments are now open at Active Explorers Helensville, a modern, purpose built centre on Commercial Road.
March 2019
Wheels on the Bikes Go Round and Round
Trikes, bikes, scooters, skateboards – and even some rollerblades – descended on Active Explorers Glenfield recently for the much anticipated Wheel Day.
Home grown salad sandwiches
Today we picked some of the lettuce out of our garden and made some sandwiches for afternoon tea.
February 2019
Big Heart Day
Valentine’s Day has long been celebrated all over the globe – but this year on February 14 Active Explorers Richmond took our annual day of hearts to a whole new level.
November 2018
Rubbish Scarecrow the Pick of the Bunch
The creative and environmentally conscious kids at Active Explorers Farnborough have taken out second prize in the much-anticipated Hamilton Gardens Scarecrow Festival.
September 2018
Celebrating Maori Language Week at Active Explorers Tai Tapu
Te Wiki o te Reo Māori (Maori Language Week)
August 2018
Snow Day at Active Explorers Glenfield
The snow has arrived at Active Explorers Glenfield on a gorgeous blue day. All our children Infants, Toddlers and Preschool were so excited and had so much fun.
Active Explorers Victoria visits a Marae
Some of the children and teachers from Te Puawai tots room at Active Explorers Victoria visited Te Hotu Manawa o Rangitane Marae.
Active Explorers Building Money Smarts with BNZ
The financial literacy skills of children across the country were given a big boost yesterday, and pre-schoolers at 12 Active Explorers centres (36 of Evolve’s early childhood education centres) were some of the lucky recipients.
July 2018
Snow Day at Active Explorers Blockhouse Bay
Active Explores Blockhouse Bay had a Snow Day on Thursday 12th July.
May 2018
Making Pancakes
Earlier this week the preschool children made pikelets and pancakes for afternoon tea.
February 2018
August 2017
Matariki ‘Wearable Arts Evening’
Celebrating Matariki with a ‘Wearable Arts Evening’ has become a tradition in our Palmerston North centres.
Active Explorers Kaiwharawhara Juniors Room
As part of our latest programme planning at Active Explorers Kaiwharawhara we invited parents to speak in front of our tamariki in the Juniors Room.