Pukeko Preschool Philosophy

Pukeko Preschool has a Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education.

Our core values include:

For Children:

• We want to instil values of care, respect and responsibility in all of our children to equip them and prepare them for a happy and successful start at school.
• We believe in providing a calm and happy space that promotes the development of confidence and pride in each child so they can develop to their own unique full potential.
• We believe that each child is different and we welcome every child into our community regardless of race or ability.

For the Teaching Environment:

• We believe in a consistently clean and tidy learning environment.
• We believe in providing the children with a stimulating environment that changes and evolves with the curriculum.
• We believe in respecting and caring for our environment, our toys and resources, our food and our creations (art works, woodwork, sandcastles, huts etcetera). We see the environment as our third teacher and constantly try to utilise it to its full potential.
• We value natural resources and playscapes for natural play.

The Reggio Emilia philosophy is based upon the following set of principles:

• Children must have some control over the direction of their learning;
• Children must be able to learn through experiences of touching, moving, listening, seeing, and hearing;
• Children have a relationship with other children and with material items in the world that children must be allowed to explore and
• Children must have endless ways and opportunities to express themselves.

The Reggio Emilia approach to teaching young children puts the natural development of children as well as the close relationships that they share with their environment at the centre of its philosophy. 

Parents are a vital component to the Reggio Emilia philosophy. Parents are viewed as partners, collaborators and advocates for their children. Teachers respect parents as each child's first teacher and involve parents in every aspect of the curriculum. It is not uncommon to see parents volunteering within Reggio Emilia classrooms throughout the school. This philosophy does not end when the child leaves the classroom. Most parents who choose to send their children to a Reggio Emilia program incorporate many of the principles within their parenting and home life.

Reference: Reggio Emilia Approach (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reggio_Emilia_approach)

The Reggio Emilia Journey

This is a series of artwork showing the artists development over time - she is very talented

In this series of photos children were exploring different mediums to retell the story of the three little pigs.