Stay Connected: Learning Stories & Weekly Updates

How We Plan and Document Children's Learning at Kidlywinks

At Kidlywinks, we are dedicated to fostering a learning environment where children’s interests and developmental needs are at the heart of everything we do. Our approach is centred around observing, recognising, and responding to each child’s unique curiosities, which allows us to provide tailored learning experiences that extend and challenge their thinking. By offering a stimulating and supportive environment, we help tamariki explore, develop, and grow at their own pace, all while nurturing their physical, social, and emotional well-being.

Our Objectives:

• To ensure all tamariki are receiving high-quality care and learning that meets their individual needs.

• To align our practices with the expectations of whānau, ERO, and our centre’s philosophy, as well as our own teaching beliefs.

• To continually improve our teaching practice through ongoing professional development, including attending external workshops and staying up-to-date with the latest research in early childhood education.

• To identify and celebrate each child’s strengths, needs, and interests, and build on these through our planning and teaching.

• To work closely with whānau to make connections between home and centre life, ensuring consistency and support for each child.
   

How We Plan for Children’s Learning:

• Diverse Learning Opportunities: We provide a wide range of experiences and opportunities both indoors and outdoors, encouraging tamariki to explore and learn in different ways — individually, in small groups, and as part of the larger group.

• Language-Rich Environment: Our centre fosters a language-rich environment, where verbal and non-verbal communication are encouraged, supporting language development and cognitive growth.

• Observation and Reflection: We actively observe and document children’s learning through formal and informal methods, recording their progress and identifying their evolving interests. These observations guide our planning and ensure that we respond to each child’s needs and developmental milestones.

• Individual Learning Plans: Every six months, we complete individual learning plans for each child, noting their strengths, challenges, and current interests. These plans outline key learning goals and the teaching strategies that will be used to support their growth, with input from whānau.

• Preschool Time Programme: For our four-year-olds, we provide a dedicated "Preschool Time" each day to help them develop school-readiness skills. This time is used to focus on specific learning goals, and teachers evaluate the progress of each child in relation to these goals.

• Group and Staff Planning: We engage in both formal and informal group planning. Informally, kaiako discuss daily experiences and ideas based on children’s current interests. Formally, we meet during staff meetings to assess progress and plan upcoming activities, such as field trips or new resource purchases, that reflect the children's evolving interests.

• Learning Stories and Evaluations: Each child will receive five learning stories over a six-month period. On the sixth month, we complete a comprehensive evaluation of the child’s learning, including an assessment of their development, successes, challenges, and the effectiveness of teaching strategies. We invite whānau to share their observations and feelings on the child’s progress.

• Family Communication and Involvement: We ensure that whānau are informed and involved in their child’s learning journey. This includes access to the child's profile books, regular updates through Story Park, and weekly posts on our Whānau Facebook page, where we share learning highlights and encourage parent engagement.

• Cultural and Te Ao Māori Inclusion: Our planning incorporates aspects of Te Ao Māori and reflects the diverse cultures of the children in our care. We ensure that tamariki’s cultural identities are respected and reflected in our teaching practices and learning stories.
   

By continually observing, reflecting, and responding to each child's unique journey, we create a learning environment that is flexible, responsive, and enriching. Our goal is to provide a holistic, child-centred experience that supports each tamariki’s development in every area, from cognitive and emotional to physical and social. Through collaboration with whānau and a commitment to professional growth, we ensure that our approach to teaching is always evolving and aligned with the best practices in early childhood education.