Author: websites@emd.agency

Wheels Day at Play to Learn

Written by websites@emd.agency on July 14, 2026. Posted in General. No Comments on Wheels Day at Play to Learn

Zoom, Zoom! Play to Learn was buzzing with excitement for our Wheels Day! Our tamariki loved showing off their bikes, scooters and trikes. It was great to see them building confidence, practicing their balancing skills and navigating our obstacle course. We made sure to have our helmets on just like Ruben the Road Safety Bear taught us recently: “Helmets on right and tight!”

Waikato Museum Trip for our 4 year olds

Written by websites@emd.agency on July 6, 2026. Posted in Trips. No Comments on Waikato Museum Trip for our 4 year olds

Our 4 year olds took the bus into town today for a visit at the Waikato museum. What a fun experience as we walked through the new Microsculpture Exhibition and explored Exscite. We had some very tired tamariki on the bus ride home but a wonderful morning had by all!

Pyjama Disco & Fish n Chips Evening

Written by websites@emd.agency on June 1, 2026. Posted in Events. No Comments on Pyjama Disco & Fish n Chips Evening

What a fun evening we had as we put on our pyjamas and got ready to boogie. Our whānau brought some fish n chips where we sat down and enjoyed a meal together. After that it was time to party! The disco lights came on, music was turned up and out came the glow sticks. Our tamariki engaged in some line dancing to “Cotton Eye Joe,” “Witch Doctor,” and more! It’s great to see these older songs still about! We love our whānau evenings here at Play to Learn...

Observational drawing

Written by websites@emd.agency on July 25, 2025. Posted in Activities.

Observational drawing is such a fun and calming art project to do with the tamariki. It’s actually very magical, No picture was the same. Observational drawing is a process of looking for shapes and colors to encourage concentration and conversation about what the child see. This is exactly what the tamariki were doing when they used the picture of the transformer we copied from the internet as a guide to draw their own transformer. There were conversations about the shapes...

Matariki trip to Kirikiriroa Marae

Written by websites@emd.agency on July 25, 2025. Posted in General.

As part of our Matariki celebrations, we took our tamariki on a special cultural trip to Kirikiriroa Marae, supported by Te Kohao Health’s Kahu Taurima service. This was a beautiful opportunity for our children to connect with te ao Maori, learn about the significance of Matariki, and experience the warmth and tikanga of the marae. Tamariki participated in Star making, cooking decorating and a race to catch the stars! After all that hard work we sat down together to...

Hamilton Zoo here we come.

Written by websites@emd.agency on April 5, 2025. Posted in Trips.

Hamilton Zoo, here we come. Even though the weather forecast was for rain, we dressed for the weather and took the bus to the zoo. The animals were out and about, and we got to see all four tigers this visit. Trips give us the opportunity to spend time with whānau, and today’s group of parent helpers were amazing. Can’t wait to visit the zoo again next year.

Celebrating Holi at Play to Learn

Written by websites@emd.agency on March 13, 2025. Posted in General.

Holi is a popular and significant Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love, and Spring. It celebrates the eternal and divine love of the deities Radha and Krishna. On the first night of Holi, people light bonfires and throw roasted grains, popcorn, coconut, and chickpeas onto them. The next day, people of all ages go into the streets for fun and paint-throwing. Everyone gets involved! Hindus have fun by smearing each other with paint and throwing coloured...

Father’s Day Fish & Chip Evening

Written by websites@emd.agency on September 17, 2024. Posted in Events.

Father’s Day in New Zealand is a special day to recognise and celebrate the role fathers play in our life. Whether it’s your Dad, step-Dad, foster Dad, or just a special father figure who has helped you along the way, Father’s Day NZ is your chance to say ‘Thank You’. As part of our father’s day celebrations, we held an evening where the children could invite their dad, grandad, poppa, uncle and friend to Play to Learn for a Fish and Chip...

Dinosaur Day

Written by websites@emd.agency on September 17, 2024. Posted in Activities, Events.

Throughout the day at Play to Learn all children are developing ‘intense interest’ in things such as trains, planes, diggers or dinosaurs, books, puzzles and many more. This intense interest can lead to developing their knowledge, skills and abilities for their lifelong learning journey. Who doesn’t love playing with dinosaurs, or even engaging in pretend play where they’re the dinosaur – after all, what’s more fun than stomping around and...

Superhero day

Written by websites@emd.agency on August 6, 2024. Posted in Events.

Recently, there has been a lot of pretend play involving superheroes at Play to Learn and so we decided to have a superhero dress up day at the centre! Our little ones couldn’t stop talking about this and began sharing their ideas of which superhero they wanted to come dressed as. When the day finally arrived it was amazing to see all the effort our whanau and tamariki had gone to – it was like Play to Learn had become a centre of learning for the world’s...

Crazy Hair Day

Written by websites@emd.agency on July 17, 2024. Posted in Events.

It was Crazy Hair Day at Play to Learn, and we had an absolute blast! We love having fun, so this day was perfect for us. The hairstyles were wild and creative, with lots of colours, hair ties, and even some spiders! You could tell everyone put a lot of thought into their zany styles. ‘Fun days’ like these help everyone feel like they belong, as all the tamariki get to join in on the fun together. It’s a great way for tamariki, kaiako, and whaanau to bond over...

Matariki evening

Written by websites@emd.agency on July 17, 2024. Posted in Activities.

For us at Play to Learn, Matariki is a time for learning, but also celebration and togetherness. This whakatauki (proverb) tells of coming together during the winter months, as we will to celebrate te wā o Matariki. Kua tino matao te tangata, me te tahutahu ahi, ka panaina. People are now extremely cold, and so kindle the fires before which they...

Book Character Day:

Written by websites@emd.agency on May 27, 2024. Posted in Events.

Who is your favourite book character. Today the centre was humming with the different characters on display. Listening to the children talking to their friends about their favourite books and who they were dressed up in demonstrated that literacy is alive and well at Play to Learn

Mother’s Day Sip and Paint Evening

Written by websites@emd.agency on May 27, 2024. Posted in Events.

What a great evening to celebrate the wonderful mum’s in our lives. There was lots of chatter and laughter throughout the evening. We saw the creative side of our mums. We had options of canvas painting and diamond art. The final products were absolutely beautiful . Was a great night to relax, chat and have lots of fun

Pink shirt Day

Written by websites@emd.agency on May 27, 2024. Posted in Events.

Kōrero Mai, Kōrero Atu, Mauri Tū, Mauri Ora Speak Up, Stand Together, Stop Bullying! Pink Shirt Day is about working together to stop bullying by celebrating diversity and promoting kindness and inclusiveness. It’s about creating a community where all people feel safe, valued and respected, regardless of gender identity, age, ability, religion or cultural background. We love to be able to support these amazing days that promote and celebrate causes close to our hearts ta...

PJ and Movie Day

Written by websites@emd.agency on May 27, 2024. Posted in Events.

The weather was rainy and cold outside but the inside we were warm and cozy in our PJ’s. Wrapped up in our blankets, pillows supporting our heads, we set in for a movie with our vegie chips in our pop corn cups. Will need to organise another day like this especially as the winter months are approaching.

Grandparents’ Day

Written by websites@emd.agency on April 18, 2024. Posted in Events.

What a delightful morning we had, celebrating the cherished relationships in our lives! We warmly invited our grandparents and special friends to join us for a morning filled with joy and connection. We shared delicious kai and engaged in various enjoyable activities alongside their...

Easter Adventure

Written by websites@emd.agency on April 18, 2024. Posted in Trips.

For an Easter treat, we took a thrilling journey to Te Aroha, which was an unforgettable Easter adventure! With seven of our friends in tow, we embarked on a morning filled with excitement and wonder.

Wheels Day

Written by websites@emd.agency on March 21, 2024. Posted in Events.

Our tamariki had a ‘wheely’ good time at Play to Learn’s annual ‘Wheels Day’ event. Our tamariki brought in their bikes and scooters, along with their helmets, and had a great time outside in the parking lot. Our adorable tamariki cheerfully switched and shared their wheels with their buddies, demonstrating wonderful manaakitanga and whakawhanaungatanga. Tino pai to mahi, tamariki!!

Meri Kirihimete and a prosperous 2023

Written by websites@emd.agency on December 20, 2022. Posted in Events.

We are a multicultural centre and we participate in various different cultural activities. We had our centre Kirihimete party and our tamariki and whaanua had a lovely time together. I wish all of you a Meri Kirihimete and a prosperous 2023!...

Festive Season

Written by websites@emd.agency on November 30, 2022. Posted in General.

As our festive season is coming our tamariki are very busy doing various art activities based on the Kirihimete festive season. They made Hei Tiki as the decoration for the raakau Kirihimete, making Kirihimete cookies and later on decorating it with icing and doing other different art activities. Our tamariki really enjoyed doing all these different learning experiences. Well done tamariki ma!!

Maori Language week

Written by websites@emd.agency on September 22, 2022. Posted in General.

Here at Play to Learn we participated in the Maori Language week. Our tamariki did various learning experiences based on the Maaori language such as making koru, doing poi dance, making kowhaiwhai head-bands, doing whurutu (fruit) and hua whenua (vegetables) collage pasting, and Te Reo Maaori number matching game. Our ngaa peepee learned waiata (counting and colour song), learned Old McDonald in Te Reo Maaori, made their own pounamu using green collage materials, and made a waka...

Celebrating India Independence Day

Written by websites@emd.agency on September 2, 2022. Posted in General.

Here at Play to Learn we not only sustain our environment but we also sustain our culture as well within our community. This month we celebrated India Independence Day and our tamariki had lots of opportunities to engage themselves in various learning experiences such as doing collage pasting, learning about the Taj Mahal and drawing pictures of it, and playing with green playdough. We dressed up wearing different colours (white, orange, green) representing the Indian flag and...

Using Bark and Mulch in the Play to Learn Garden.

Written by websites@emd.agency on July 26, 2022. Posted in Activities.

Here at Play to Learn our tamariki help to look after our garden. They topped up our garden with more bark. During this activity, we had a rich koorero about why we need barks in the garden. After putting the bark in the garden our tamariki spread the bark evenly everywhere to make our garden look neat and tidy. Great work, tamariki ma! “Barks and mulches serve many purposes, with the benefits reaching far beyond their immediate surroundings. Not just a decorative finish...

Planting silver beet seedling with trowel

Gardening in winter

Written by websites@emd.agency on June 28, 2022. Posted in Activities.

Here at Play to Learn our tamariki have been doing some gardening in the overs room. They have planted some silver beet and spinach. During this time they had a deep koorero about the plants and learned the names of the different types of plants being planted in the garden. After planting our tamariki watered the gardens as the plants need water for nutrients and growth. Great work tamariki ma!! “Children can learn new skills, have fun, play, and develop self-confidence...

Looking after the gardens

Written by websites@emd.agency on May 22, 2022. Posted in Activities.

Here at Play to Learn our tamariki look after our environment and surrounding. They help look after our gardens and front yard and when there are lots of weeds, they help to clear our gardens just to keep them nice and clean. We have been teaching our tamariki about weeds and why they should be removed from the gardens. Weeds are simply unwanted plants that grow themselves without anyone planting them. Our tamariki have learned that weeds harm the crops and they make the...

Our annual ‘Wheels Day’ event

Written by websites@emd.agency on April 28, 2022. Posted in Events.

Here at Play to Learn our tamariki enjoyed getting out and about for some ‘wheely’ great fun for our annual ‘Wheels Day’ event. Our tamariki brought in their bikes and scooters together with their helmets and had lots of fun outside in the carpark. Our wonderful tamariki happily swapped and shared their wheels with their friends showing wonderful manaakitanga and whakawhanaungatanga. Tino pai to mahi, tamariki ma!!

St Patrick’s Day

Written by websites@emd.agency on March 21, 2022. Posted in Events.

Here at Play to Learn we are a diverse centre and we celebrate the various cultural days of significance. We celebrated St Patrick’s Day and our tamariki participated in the various learning experiences. They did St Patrick’s collage pasting, doing painting where they made four-leaf clover, green chalk painting, making green pikelets, sensory play with the babies using green sparkling foam, and hunting for leprechauns. We were dressed in green as we celebrated this...

Planting some new flowers

Written by websites@emd.agency on February 14, 2022. Posted in Activities, General.

Here at Play to Learn ngaa tamariki love to explore their natural environment, including our Papatuuaanuku. Our tamariki helped plant some new flowers in the pots and garden as well. While doing this, they were careful not to harm the flowers or the plants. They have learned to care for the plants while doing the gardening. Tino pai to mahi tamariki ma!! Gardening can benefit children of all ages as it provides a great opportunity for children to learn, and equips them with...

Compost Worms and Composting

Written by websites@emd.agency on February 5, 2022. Posted in Activities, General.

All types of earthworms can do the same work, converting organic matter into valuable worm castings, but some breeds do a better job than others, so naturally, we choose the best worms for the job! The earthworms used in worm farms are in fact compost worms, which are different to the regular earthworms found in garden soil. Compost worms are surface feeders and don’t burrow deep into the soil as garden earthworms do. The various breeds of compost worms, such as Tigers, Reds, and...

Kirihimete Party

Written by websites@emd.agency on December 14, 2021. Posted in Activities, Events.

Here at Play to Learn we celebrated our Kirihimete party with ngaa tamariki. We had a yummy feast for lunch, we sang our Kirihimete carols, and had a special visit from Hana Kookoo. It was an awesome Kirihimete experience for...

Gardening at Play to Learn

Written by websites@emd.agency on November 14, 2021. Posted in Activities.

As it’s getting hotter, this indicates that we are coming closer to our summer season. It is around that time of the year where we start doing our gardening and planting of flowers and vegetables. Here at Play to Learn one of our whaanau gave us the lettuce seedlings and we planted these in the box. After planting the lettuce seedlings, we watered the garden using the watering can. All we needed to do was to wait for the seedlings to grow bigger. Well done, tamariki ma!!...

Planting sunflowers

Written by websites@emd.agency on October 22, 2021. Posted in Activities.

Here at Play to Learn our tamariki participated in doing some gardening. Recently they have planted the sunflower seeds in the box. Using the spade, they dug into the soil and put the sunflower seeds in it. Then they covered the seeds with soil. Once the planting was done, they watered the garden using the water can. Now, all we need to do is to wait for the shoots to appear. Awesome work, tamariki ma!!! One particular flower that tends to bring joy wherever it is found is the...

Pacifica week

Written by websites@emd.agency on September 22, 2021. Posted in Activities, General.

Here at Play to Learn our tamariki have participated in the Pacifica week. During this time, they have made a Pacific Island mat through weaving. “For thousands of years, finely woven mats have been both everyday and formal items. They have been used as clothing, bedcovers, and room dividers, as well as ceremonial coverings at births, weddings, and funerals. Considered a marker of status and wealth, finely woven mats were also given as diplomatic gifts and were important trade...

Manaakitanga

Written by websites@emd.agency on July 28, 2021. Posted in Activities.

Manaakitanga is the heart of everything we do at Play to Learn. We look after our tamariki, whaanau and each other. We have celebrated Matariki annually, and the best way we know how is through kai – it brings us together, living our kaupapa -whakawhaanaungatanga. Ngaa kaiako have always shared a special whaanau kai for Matariki, and we relay the stories of this special kai with ngaa tamariki. Over the years, I have made star cookies, boil up, chop suey and last year, we...

Why pull weeds in your garden?

Written by websites@emd.agency on April 19, 2021. Posted in Activities.

Here at Play to Learn ngaa tamariki love to explore our natural environment and our Papatuuaanuku. Our tamariki help to look after our vegetable and flower garden through weeding. They also ensure not to pull the vegetables or the flowers from the garden. Since there have been weeds growing in our garden, we decided to teach our tamariki about why weeding is important to our gardens. They have been learning about what a weed is and why it should be removed. They have also learned...

Sustainability education

Written by websites@emd.agency on February 17, 2021. Posted in General.

Here at Play to Learn we strive to positively educate tamariki about the importance of sustainability for our environment, and the longevity of active sustainability within our world. When we actively and intentionally care for our Papatuuaanuku with aroha, she feels safe and cared for and in return, she blesses us with aroha and nutritional kai. Ngaa tamariki loved harvesting their cabbages, spring onions, and herbs from our sustainable gardens in preparation for cooking our...

Children learn connecting to natural world

Written by websites@emd.agency on February 5, 2021. Posted in General.

At Play to Learn ngaa tamariki love delving deep and connecting to their natural world, our Papatuuaanuku, and our atua. Through experiences such as gardening, tamariki develop authentic connections that enrich and nourish their own kaakano, as well as learning how to being kaitiaki of their land and their surrounding environment. With the wonderful growth from our gardens, we are able to not only nourish ourselves but our worms too. With a solid knowledge basis, ngaa tamariki are...

child colouring a poppy as part of learning about ANZAC Day

Marking ANZAC Day at Play to Learn

Written by websites@emd.agency on April 29, 2018. Posted in General.

To commemorate ANZAC Day we talked about the service that soldiers carried out during the war and still do around the world. Our tamariki made poppy necklaces and baked ANZAC biscuits. We also listened to the Last Post and discussed what it meant. We were lucky that some whanau were able to share photos and stories to show what their own relatives did. Despite their young age, our children show a lot of understanding and empathy for what days like ANZAC Day represent. Marking...

children taking part in messy play which has many learning benefits

The benefits of Messy Play

Written by websites@emd.agency on April 3, 2018. Posted in Activities.

At Play to Learn we love messy play and it is always a favourite amongst our tamariki, especially in our under-2s room. We also know that parents are sometimes keen to avoid messy play – who wants to be cleaning stuff off the carpet. So it is great that we can give children the chance to make a bit of mess and it lets us explore different things. Sometimes it is as simple as mixing water and sand outdoors or it might involve play dough. Sometimes the team will make a special...

Kiwiana Day

Written by websites@emd.agency on February 28, 2016. Posted in Events.

Sometimes we have Kiwiana Day to celebrate Waitangi Day. To help the children learn about the Treaty of Waitangi we purchased Sharon Holt’s book “Te Wairun o Waitangi”. Our Kiwiana Day involved a number of “kiwi related activities” these included dressing up in your favourite New Zealand inspired outfit, fish and chips for lunch, jandal throwing and pass the kete. We also created our Treaty which we will call our Care Code as it is about how...

Carpentry Play and Early Childhood

Written by websites@emd.agency on July 19, 2013. Posted in Activities. No Comments on Carpentry Play and Early Childhood

Carpentry play Carpentry play and activities can offer rich, diverse and exciting opportunities for skill development for young children. It is not about how pretty or how perfect a child can make their unique creation. The process, not the product is more important. It is about learning how to handle tools properly. Also, they learn hand/eye coordination, problem-solving, sharing, exchanging ideas, cooperating, socializing and sense of pride and achievement. Why...

World Mud Day!

Written by websites@emd.agency on June 28, 2013. Posted in Events. No Comments on World Mud Day!

As a child I have fond memories of making mud pies in the back yard with my siblings and cooking them in the play house we had in the back yard, I remember playing in mud as a joyous time and getting outside as often as we could. This year I was excited about Mud Day, because it fell on a weekend we decided to celebrate a few days early. We had a great time with the mud, celebrating using clay and even learning about the other properties of mud as a face mask and eating mud pie...

boy is arranging wooden tree block toy on table

Manipulative Play

Written by websites@emd.agency on June 27, 2013. Posted in General. No Comments on Manipulative Play

What are manipulative skills? Manipulative skills are a set of skills needed and developed over time by young children; these are the fundamental skills for each movement with small apparatus before moving onto larger movements and bigger apparatus. Manipulative skills are developed over time and help to develop motor skills involving an object, small motor skills to hold and grip smaller objects such as a pencil or pen. Over time larger gross motor skills begin to develop...

Vegetables! Let’s shop and plant!

Written by websites@emd.agency on June 26, 2013. Posted in General. No Comments on Vegetables! Let’s shop and plant!

At Play to Learn we acknowledge the importance of cherishing and nurturing the growth of ourselves, as kaakano. To extend our learning around te kaakano, growth and nourishment we enjoyed gifting new strawberry and beetroot plants to our kaitiaki Papatuuaanuku to protect, nurture and grow. Ngaa tamariki have enjoyed with the help of kaiako to make a new garden bed which will become our new strawberry patch. Ngaa tamariki carefully poured new soil into the garden bed and ensured...

Matariki Celebrations

Written by websites@emd.agency on June 10, 2013. Posted in General. No Comments on Matariki Celebrations

What is Matariki Matariki is a constellation of seven stars in the sky and is visible between the end of May and the end of June. Matariki can be translated as (Tiny Eyes) and Mata Ariki ( Eyes of God). This is the time of year in which we celebrate the Māori New Year, During this time, we remember the year that has gone, our ancestors, growth and signals of new beginnings. Matariki is also a time we celebrate language and culture within New Zealand. We remember myths and...

Bikes Day

Written by websites@emd.agency on May 20, 2013. Posted in General. No Comments on Bikes Day

Each child brought their own bike or scooter one Friday. They excitedly rode on it. Some proudly described how their bike/scooter look like, the colour/design was. Others proudly show how fast they could ride on it. Then it was so delightful to hear them formulating their own rules. “Remember not to park bikes/scooter in the middle of the ground. Patiently wait for turns.” Later, they were having fun doing pretend play. Some were pretending to be a police car/ ambulance. They...

Te Reo

Written by websites@emd.agency on April 10, 2013. Posted in General. No Comments on Te Reo

Within Play to Learn Early Learning Centre we believe that it is important for us to incorporate the Māori language and culture within our everyday environment. Over the past few weeks we have been extending the Māori language through incorporating Te Reo Māori more through the verb song. This song is an action song which allows for the learning of Māori words that the children may already be familiar with in English. While outside for mat-times we have been...

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29 Tasman Road, Te RapaHamilton, New Zealand

Author: websites@emd.agency

29 Tasman Road, Te Rapa
Hamilton, New Zealand