Fire Thursday

Once again this year we have began introducing fires into our programme. We hold the fires weekly on a Thursday. This has fondly been renamed as 'Fire Thursday' by our children!

The fires provide warmth and food but perhaps most importantly are a time for social engagement. Children have been known to sit around the fire for extended periods of time, gazing into the flickering flames and chatting away.

One of the highlights of ‘Fire Thursday’ is preparing the fire. The children have become experts at knowing which materials are needed to start a fire - scrunching paper, laying the paper and kindling into the fire and adding some pine cones for a delicious scent – all ready for one of the teachers to light.

Children work with purpose, direction and commitment; everyone is encouraged to make their contribution and to have their say (kotahitanga).

Sharing the task of building a fire. Being part of a group and working together

(Mana Tangata).

Developing leadership skills and learning from each other.

(Rangatiratanga/ako)

Over the course of this winter we have cooked many different types of kai, from smores, toasted marshmallows and sausages to delicious garlic bread (still a firm favourite!).

 

Sharing food together assists in building relationships with each other.

 (Whanaungatanga)

                                                                                                           

Thanks to Jaimee's dad - Walter - for gifting us some tea tree for burning. Sharing resources from home enables our children to feel a sense of belonging at Kindergarten and enables them to be involved in, and guide our programme.

Fire Thursday is a day that is very much looked forward to by all, and over the week the children often reflect on their fire experiences.

This wonderful drawing by Emma, along with her words enables Emma, to make sense of and amalgamate her experiences and feelings on our Kindergarten fires.

"I am cooking bread. We just get paddles and put some dough on the paddles. We just put it over the fire and it tastes like pancakes."

"There's the smoke coming out. Oh and we have a safety bubble" (Marcus).

"I like the bread. Don't go in the safety bubble. I think I know why you don't go in the safety bubble, cause if you walk in you might get burnt" (Claudia)

 Christine