January 2026 | Kōrero from Curious Minds

Kia ora e te whānau,

A brilliant way to kick off the first month of the year, we have been so busy at Curious Minds Early Learning! From learning our letters to giant jenga, new murals to flooding the sandpit, it's been all engines firing here!

We hope you enjoy the January edition of the CMEL newsletter.

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Island Bay

We have been all go here at CMEL Island Bay, with our tamariki learning about growing and caring for their plants, having a blast with waterplay (including flooding the sand pit!) and spending some well deserved time out in the summer sun after all that crazy weather! Sandpit play is a great way to introduce tamariki to new textures, encourage imaginary play and build up those fine motor skills. Picture books are brilliant for introducing young tamariki to reading, and we have been exploring the different sounds that letter combinations and whole words make.

Our Pūkeko tamariki had wheels week last week, and got to zoom around on the boardwalk and turf to their hearts content.

The plants are the tamariki's responsibility, and they have to tend to them to make sure they are getting enough water and light, and no caterpillars are going after them! This teaches the children about responsibility in a low-stakes but tangible way. When their plants flower they get so excited! Picture books are a great way to introduce young tamariki to books and reading, especially when the pictures are of your friends and kaiako in the centre! Can't wait for all February has to bring!

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Johnsonville

There is nothing sweeter than watching kids turn imagination into adventure. Recently the Classroom have been camping! We set up a tent, created a 'campfire' and made some marshmallows out of paper and popsicle sticks to toast. Who doesn't love camping over summer! Our Nursery tamariki have been enjoying sensory powder paint to celebrate the New Year together. They have been experimenting with different textures and colours as a way to express their creativity.

Recently we have had the addition of a big mural in our sandpit! With lots of native New Zealand birds and flora, our tamariki are transported to deep in the NZ bush overlooking the blue blue water! Can you spot the 6 different birds?

We have been breaking out the sprinklers when we get sunny days! The tamariki have been having an absolute blast running through the water.

What a wonderful first month of 2026, here's cheers to 11 more great ones!

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Miramar

This month our tamariki have been enjoying their different mat times, each thoughtfully designed for their stage of development. Our Pepi mat time with our under-2s has been full of music and movement, often enjoyed outdoors as we soak up the fresh air. Kiwi Hui supports our 2–3 year olds to come together, share ideas and build confidence in a group setting, while our Kererū mat time has seen our oldest tamariki practicing letter recognition and beginning to write their names, developing pride and confidence in their emerging literacy skills.

We are also celebrating the country of Slovakia this month as part of our cultural learning. We feel very lucky to have Rebeka's whānau visiting this week to share Slovak songs with us, helping bring this learning to life in a meaningful and authentic way. Making the most of the beautiful sunshine, tamariki have also enjoyed outdoor water play, including a water slide, supporting sensory exploration, joy, and lots of laughter as we learn through play together.

Looking forward to some proper summer to come, maybe we need to do a little sunshine dance!

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Queenstown

Now that we have made it through the fun of the holidays and are back to a regular routine, life couldn't be more exciting! We've been having some wonderful days in the sunshine, playing in the sand pit, riding our bikes, drawing with chalk, donning our superhero capes and flying headlong into the new year!

Giant Jenga has been a favourite of late, with our tamariki practicing their balancing and stacking skills. Not to mention the colours are great for addition and bolstering those maths skills. We have been exploring sensory play with playdough as well, as the malleable matter lets us create anything we wish. Great for big imaginations! Dance parties have been on the cards this month, with even the littlest of us moving and grooving around. Practicing those fine motor skills with marbles, and big movements with learning to hula hoop!

All in all it has been a great way to kick off the new year, and we are so looking forward to all the good and fun that 2026 is to bring.

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Ngā Mihi Nui from The Curious Minds Team!

‍Stay Connected: Island Bay, Johnsonville, Miramar, Queenstown