Curriculum

At Evolve, we are firm believers that a child’s work is play. Throughout each day our children are presented with invaluable opportunities to direct and lead their own learning, based around their current interests.

Free play includes unstructured, child-initiated activities that allow children to develop their imaginations while exploring and experiencing the world around them. Spontaneous play comes naturally from children’s curiosity, discovery and enthusiasm.

Our centres offer the ideal balance of child-led and teacher-led experiences. Each day our expert teachers will set up an exciting and challenging array of experiences to engage your little one and build their skills in a fun and supportive environment.

With children varying in their abilities and needs cognitively, socially, emotionally and physically, having a flexible approach to teaching and learning – including free and guided play - is essential. This provides well-balanced information for assessment and planning.

We value and respect cultural identity and recognise and celebrate New Zealand’s dual heritage. Our commitment to te Tiriti o Waitangi guides our tikanga and te reo Māori practices for an authentic commitment to Te Ao Māori.

The natural process of early childhood learning and development begins with the body. Movement primes the brain for learning, fostering the neural pathways that form the foundations for cognitive, physical, emotional and spiritual learning. Physical activity builds the body for health and wellbeing, the brain for learning and the confidence to face and conquer challenges.

Evolve’s purpose-built early learning centres feature fantastic outdoor spaces where children can swing, climb, run, jump, and build their physical skills. From dancing and yoga, to playball and bike riding, our indoor and outdoor physical experiences are designed so your child can have fun while developing all the skills they need to thrive.

Ask any child under 5 what their favourite activity is, and the chances are, they’ll shout out “water play”! At Evolve, our teachers enjoy this almost as much as our children, and during the summer months many happy times are spent sprinkling, sloshing, squirting and splashing. Waterplay gives many opportunities to develop fine and gross motor skills across the ages. Water is a natural material that provides hours of fun, development and learning opportunities. Children benefit from the relaxing and repetitive nature of scooping, pouring and running their hands through the water.

Messy play gives children the opportunity to experience a wide range of sensory experiences such as finger paint, slime and gloop. Sensory play supports language development, cognitive growth, fine and gross motor skills, problem solving and social interaction. Squishing and squeezing can help pre-writing skills and gives children the freedom to explore and have fun.

What child doesn’t enjoy a trip to the beach or having fun in the sandpit? Sand play is fantastic in aiding  development by improving the coordinative, interactional and creative aspects of your child’s brain. Sand play promotes creativity and imagination, brings delight and develops social competence. The repetition of filling up a bucket and tipping it out over and over is about perseverance and skill. Children learn strategies for active exploration, thinking and reasoning. Sand play even helps develop basic math and science concepts such as exploring, estimating, experimenting, measuring and constructing.

Literacy and numeracy skills are woven throughout all aspects of our curriculum to ensure that by the time your child leaves our centre, they have gained the literacy and numeracy skills they need to succeed in the next stage of their learning journey - primary school. Literacy and numeracy skills are the foundation for continuing learning and provide access to other parts of the curriculum. Literacy is learning to communicate. It is important children have a broad and open-ended environment where literacy is embedded into everyday activities. Numeracy is about counting, sorting, pattern making, sequencing, size, weight and volume. Math can be found and supported in every area of play, fun and repetition.

Introducing children to music at an early age can kick start their learning and offer lifelong benefits. Listening to music and participating in musical experiences forges neural connections which will help your child in almost every area of their learning, including rhythms and rhymes, language development, maths and reading. An integral part of our programme, music also provides an opportunity to dance, sing and learn about different cultures.

It has never been more important than now to take care of our environment, and here at Evolve we take great pride in teaching our children to love, respect and care for the world around us. Our natural environments connect children with nature. We encourage recycling, teach them about sustainability, and many of our centres have composts, worm farms and even their own vegetable gardens which our children plant and tend.

We believe the natural world is the ultimate teacher. Children develop a sense of respect and caring for the natural environment during the early years and this gives them a sense of wonder and joy of discovery. Children show appreciation and respect for natural environments and other things living in it. Having opportunities to be outside or learning about the way their world works intrigues children and they want to be involved and take part when they can.

Family and dramatic play provides invaluable opportunities for children to express their feelings, ignite their imagination, and build empathy and understanding. By acting out different roles, children learn valuable real life skills such as communication, sharing, and caring for others.

Dramatic play is a great way for children to learn to self-regulate their emotions and actions. It is a type of play where children accept and assign roles, and then act them out. They break through the walls of reality, pretend to be someone or something different from themselves. Children have the freedom to express their feelings through dramatic play, through toys, props and materials.

Many Evolve centres have their own construction area – a dedicated space where children can develop their problem solving skills and learn concepts like balance, force and measurement as they learn to use tools and materials to build amazing creations.

Construction play makes a difference to the way children think and complete tasks through creativity, problem solving, cooperative play and fine / large motor skills. It builds self-esteem and feelings of success, encourages children to think independently and make decisions based on what they are learning. Using construction play helps make early education fun and engaging.

Technology provides opportunities for learning at all levels of education – and this journey starts in early childhood. Digital resources can create interactive environments where children are engaged in mastering specific skills at their own pace. Technology plays a positive role in children’s learning and development and it provides an active learning environment for children. Teachers play a vital role in ensuring children use technology in a safe way that contributes to the diverse learning that is valued.

A child’s emotional wellbeing is our top priority, and that’s why we practice primary caregiving in our nursery. By allocating a special teacher to each child, children are able to form secure attachments, develop trust and build confidence. These are the foundations all children need to thrive.

Transition to school is an important time for children and their families. The early childhood curriculum Te Whāriki  provides a base for children to be able to build on their learning and become confident and competent in school. At Active Explorers Hokitika we are developing a transition to school programme to ensure children’s next learning steps are as smooth and comfortable as possible. Identifying children that require assistance in the process is essential for the transition to be successful.