November 2025 | Kōrero from Curious Minds

Kia ora e te whānau,

We have had the best month here at Curious Minds Early Learning! From designing beautiful mehndi patterns, to dressing in the best Halloween costumes, to learning about earthquake safety, our tamariki have been so curious and excited to get involved.

Please enjoy this month's newsletter; we are excited for the start of summer and to go on even more adventures in the warmer months.

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Miramar

CMEL Miramar has been busy on all sorts of adventurous outings, Halloween fun, science based learning and exploring cultural traditions this last month.

The tamariki were so excited to go to the Kaicycle Farm in Newtown (urban farming and localised composting) and learn about how we can all be guardians of the land by practising kaitiakitanga. As we gear up for summer it is a great time to learn about composting our food scraps, and how to nourish the land and our gardens with the rich soil that is a result. Last Friday we went into town on a walking trip around the wharf, talking about Ngake and Whātaitai, Wellington's taniwha.

A lot of great hand washing related activities were had to celebrate Global Handwashing Day! The kids loved playing with the soapy water and learning about proper hand cleaning techniques. For Diwali we decorated the centre so pretty, and got to draw some fantastic rangoli patterns and colour them in. To finish off the month we celebrated Halloween with lots of fun spooky activities, like sticky spider webs and some crazy red sensory play!

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Johnsonville

A busy month here at Johnsonville, with tons of fun learning happening in and out of the classrooms! Our tamariki have been learning about earthquake safety. A highlight from last week's learning, we joined the New Zealand ShakeOut 2025. We practised Drop, Cover, Hold and learned what to do during an earthquake.

In the classroom our tamariki have been focusing on their wellbeing. They have been learning how to keep their bodies safe, learning about the importance of sunscreen and hats, listening to their bodies' needs (eating and drinking) and having safe boundaries. They have also been learning how to recognise feelings and emotions and how to respond to their own and others' feelings. The Nursery have been taking small groups out of the Centre visiting the local playground. This allows them to connect with the community around them and use their gross motor skills on the playground equipment. They have also been enjoying more nature play, exploring flowers, leaves and shells etc and using these natural resources in different ways. As a Centre we have been celebrating Diwali. We celebrated through music and dance, diya making and decorating, rangoli patterns, colouring and dressing up. We learned about Diwali, its significance and its beautiful art.

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Island Bay

We have had a very busy month here at CMEL Island Bay, from some spooky Halloween jelly sensory play to paint-based science experiments, our tamariki have been flat out!

For Diwali we celebrated by dressing in lots of colour, making rangoli patterns, and continuing to learn about Indian culture and its rich traditions around the Festival of Lights. Our Tūī tamariki got their creative juices flowing with a beautiful banner and trying their hand at mehndi! They are celebrating light over darkness by bringing more colour into their rūma. Our lovely cook Rachel even prepared us a special meal! Speaking of food, teaching and fostering self reliance skills is a huge part of our philosophy at Curious Minds. Practising patience, how to serve yourself kai and clean up afterwards is an important part of our mealtime routine. Mina visited us from Project Jonah (volunteer marine conservation and education) and taught us all about whales and how to save them if they are beached! The tamariki loved the giant inflatable whale she brought with her to demonstrate with.

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Queenstown

Down here in Queenstown we have had an active month, with lots of crazy weather and fun projects that our tamariki got stuck into.

We celebrated a beautiful Diwali by exploring colourful rangoli patterns, making lanterns, and practising our own mehndi designs. Our ever-changing weather meant we got to enjoy some stunning sunny days with water play and outside fun (everyone is ready for summer!) along with wet days for puddle jumping and some delightful (and surprising) October snow.

Halloween called for a spooky dress up party and we have been practising our fine motor skills by making bouncing spiders and other spooky designs. The costumes were wide and varied, and the staff all got amongst it as well with Minion, Witch and Star Wars outfits. For Daffodil Day we all dressed in kōwhai yellow and made daffodil cookies! The kids loved spreading the icing over the star shaped biscuits. Hide and seek has also been a favourite among the tamariki lately; they have been very creative in using furniture and other items to build new hiding spots.

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Ngā Mihi Nui from The Curious Minds Team!

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