Kakano Room
Nau Mai Haere Mai
Welcome to the Kakano Room
Kia Ora Whanau and Caregivers, Thank you for choosing Active explorers St Luke's for your child! Kakano (Baby) Room caters for children from three months to 2 Years. We have two wonderful teachers - Catherine and Harsha in the Kakano Room, we practise primary support practice which means one teacher will carry the main responsibility for care of your child during their time with us. This teacher will change your child's nappy, feed and assist your child while eating, put your child to sleep and care for their individual needs. Once your child has settled with us, value the subsequent relationship they will eventually develop with the other teacher in the team.
In the Kakano room Kaiako (teacher) practice the New Zealand Te Whariki curriculum and respect the philosophies of Magda Gerber, Emmi piker and Reggio Emilia. Please have a look at our Philosophy board in the hallway that will have more information about how we allow children to play in safe environment, open ended play and resources to extend their interest.
Settling in
The following are only guidelines for your child's settling for the first week. It is important that we make their start to early childhood education a very welcoming and exciting one, and that they feel safe and supported from the very beginning. This means we work to guidelines, but we are happy to adapt procedures to the next stage when we see that the child is ready (rather than setting a time limit). It may take a few days, or a few weeks - but most of our children settle quickly and positively. During the first week, you and your child will have designated one-on-one time with your child's primary teacher to ensure that a strong relationship can start to be formed.
In terms of settling your child into their life at Active Explorers, here is a rough outline to help your child settle in remember that this is flexible!
Day 1
A first visit of 30 - 45 min from 10.15am-10:45 am where both you and your child can spend some time here together getting to know the environment. This is a time where you and your child will spend time with the primary caregiver as you - will get to know one another, and your child's routine and interests.
Day 2
A second visit of half an hour from 10.15-10.45 am where both you and your child can continue to spend some time together. We ask you to change your child's nappy in the presence of their primary teacher, so we are able to see how you do things. This will ensure that we can support your child and help them to feel more relaxed. We will ask you to leave the room for 10 minutes and we may see how they go with the teacher. We ask you to say goodbye to your child. This will help your child to understand that you will be returning and will enable the primary carer to build a stronger bond.
Day 3
The third visit from 10.15 am to 11:30 pm. Your child will have lunch with us which begins at 11am, and you can come and pick up your child by 11:30 pm.
From here it is flexible, and we just take each day as it comes. Your child may require more time, or they might be well and truly ready to start life at Active explorers the following day. If your child has a comforter or a special toy that they are attached to, we would recommend bringing this along, as sometimes having a transitional object from home, makes learning to be away from mum and dad a little easier.
The above are guidelines only, and we cater each settling time to the needs of each individual child, as many factors can affect their settling; age, previous experience in a day care centre, being a second or third child, parent's anxieties, language, temperament and social skills. We encourage you to discuss your child's progress with your child's primary caregiver, and/or any member of the team at the end of each day and how you're feeling about everything too; and make plans for the next day together.
You may also have your own concerns or anxieties about leaving your child, and this is completely understandable and normal. We take pride in how we settle our children in and the experience we have to make this an easier transition for all involved. Young children are very flexible and adapt quickly to change and settle quickly into the new environment. We help our children work through the changes with respect, love, support, lots of talking, while teachers gently encourage independence and a child's sense of self and belonging. Please be reassured we will support you both as much as possible during this settling time.
Appropriate Clothing: Please bring at least three changes of clothes everyday (labelled if possible, to avoid misplacing!)- including a hat (summer/winter depending on season), comfortable cotton clothes that allow free movement, a jacket and comfortable footwear according to the weather. We have messy play and water play when weather permits, so please do not send your child in their best clothes and do expect them to get messy!
Nappies: Please send at least 4 nappies each day for your child, or alternatively you are welcome to leave a packet with us, along with a labelled container of your preferred nappy rash cream. All nappy changes are recorded, and we will let you know when the supply is low. We do provide wipes, but you are welcome to supply particular wipes if you have a preference due to sensitive skin. Nappy changing is a very important learning experience for children, rather than treating is as a chore, our teachers endeavour to turn it into an opportunity to connect, communicate and co-operate.
Bottles, Formula & breast milk: We provide cow's milk (Dark blue) to our children in the Kakano room. However, if your child requires formula please provide a bottle that will remain at the centre along with a tin of your child's formula. Bottles are sterilised after each use. We will let you know when we are running low on supply. If your child requires a bottle before nap time, please let us know.
To encourage plenty of water intake: In the Kakano room we believe all the babies are very capable, so we give them water in the small glasses and encourage them to pour out of the small glass jug, teachers always stay next to them to avoid accidents or breaking of glasses. If your child likes drinking with the Sippy cup, please write down your child's name and provide.
Breakfast: If your child arrives before 8:30 am, we can give them breakfast provided by you. We will supply the milk, except for special milk if required by your child. We are a nut free centre so please avoid anything that contains nuts, and foods like sweets, chocolate muffins, cakes, biscuits and potato chips in order to keep breakfast healthy.
Food: We have set Menu for the whole centre and it is based on Healthy Heart Recipes. If you want to provide something else that your child like to eat please let the teacher know, so she can give it to your child at suitable time.
Birthday Celebration: We would love to celebrate with you on this special day. You are welcome to join us for afternoon tea. Please do not bring birthday cake, however you are welcome to bring fruit, or a cake made of fruit.
Family photograph: We value our children's families and want to celebrate all the special people in their lives. The children love seeing their whanau/family as part of their environment helps foster a child's sense of belonging. So please email us a family photograph at catherine.fenwick@eeg.co.nz at the earliest.
Portfolio: Every child has their own portfolio to document their learning and experiences while at Active explorers St Lukes. In the book we document the child's journey of exploration and discovery, special interests and strengths. We look at the child's individual skills and abilities of development as we are providing support and practice these as many times as necessary to allow children time to develop their own theories about the world around them and their interactions with it. The child's portfolio can be taken home so they can read it with their extended family however we do like them to bring it back so we can continue to add to the portfolio.
Storypark: We will be creating an online profile for your child on Story park, where they will have a learning story uploaded every month, along with snippets from his/her time with us in the room. We encourage your participation through comments and stories from home! Your child's Story park profile will be accessible to you lifelong,Jree of cost even after your child has left the centre. So please contribute as much as you can as these are memories to be cherished by your child down the line. Also keep an eye out for our community posts which will contains important information like newsletters and reminders and updates. Nothing encourages us more than parent comments so please keep it interactive!
We hope this helps to give you some information to prepare your family for your time here in the Kakano room at Active explorers St Luke's. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any further questions or queries.
Transitions are the time of change and adaptation for children, their families/whanau and teachers. It involves forming new relationships, roles and responsibilities, and the time between preparing for the move to a new environment, to when the child and family/whanau are more fully established members of the new room. A child does not adapt to and cope with the change in isolation. Parents, whanau, siblings, peers, and teachers in the child's world all plays an important part in facilitating the process of change with children.
"Waiho i toipoto, kaua i te toiroa" 'Waiho i toipoto, kaua i te toiroa'which means, 'let us stay close together and not far apart'.
During transition, it is important that the team around the child including, the parents/caregivers, whiinau and educators work closely as a collaborative team to ensure a smooth transition for the child.
We are looking forward to our journey together!
Nga mihi nui- Harsha and Catherine.