Our Learning Spaces
Kiwi Room
Our Kiwi Room is our learning environment for our infants and toddlers aged under two years. This creates a safe and unhurried space for our youngest taonga (treasures) to explore and develop. The kaiako nurture the tamariki through their ages and stages, celebrating their milestones, and fostering respectful and reciprocal relationships. The pēpi (babies) care routines such as nappy changes, bottle feeds and sleep times are recognised as valuable and important learning opportunities that kaiako peacefully foster – this is called “care as curriculum”.
Our Kiwi Room has an additional infants and toddlers philosophy, with the rhythm and routines being inspired by the beliefs and teachings of Dr. Emmi Pikler. Whakaute/respect is at the core of this philosophy, ensuring kaiako are in-tune with their pēpi body language, cues and gestures, and are responded to with aroha (love).
Our daily programme aims to nurture, enrich and foster our pēpi (babies) in healthy development, and meaningful learning experiences. Our programme embraces our nature-based and animal philosophy, supporting children to develop confidence, respect and empathy for others, animals and the natural world. Each day at Rural Scholars Early Learning Centre is unique and offers rich and authentic learning opportunities to challenge our pēpi/babies physically, emotionally and socially in their growth and development.
Pukeko Room
Our Pukeko Room is our learning environment for our toddlers, from two years to around 3yrs 8months old. This room has a team of kaiako who facilitate an environment that inspires, ignites curiosity and challenges our busy toddlers. The tamariki continue to enhance their social and emotional competence, and develop independence through the routines and rituals, with inviting daily mat/Whāriki times, predicable routines, and lots of free play in our out and in door spaces. Tamariki are supported with teaching strategies and resources that meet their age and stage of development, while additionally being immersed amongst our philosophy’s importance of exploring the natural environment, developing respect for the Papatūānuku, and caring for and nurturing our kararehe (animals).
This room also fosters the needs of individual tamariki, nurturing their hauora (wellbeing) offering their afternoon sleeps, unhurried nappy changing practices, and supporting toileting tamariki. This is worked in collaboratively with whānau aspirations and following their lead from at home.
Preschool Room
Our Preschool Room is for our young tamariki with a particular focus on nurturing their hauora (wellbeing) to enjoy their early childhood years, while developing important dispositions and skills that empower them on their journey to school. The curriculum is play based with kaiako intentionally creating learning opportunities to involve, challenge and inspire the tamariki physically, mentally, socially and emotionally. The kaiako foster dispositions such as independence, self-help skills, communication skills, along with the control and strength of gross and fine motor skills.
The curriculum includes regular excursions to our farm and within our local community building tamariki connections to the world around them. We focus on authentic and meaningful learning, building lifelong skills and knowledge. This occurs through our interactions and care of our māra (gardens), kararehe (animals), and the natural environment, providing cooking experiences from garden to table, building and creating with loose parts, and developing their understanding of processes and cycles that sustain life.