Wheels-a-thon 2018

There had been a sense of anticipation building at Mairtown Kindergarten in the last few weeks as we approached one of our most loved annual events – Wheels-a-thon! We had been taking the opportunity to count down the days on our calendar when we came together at whānau time each day. Many of our children also have memories of attending this event last year, or have had older siblings at Mairtown Kindergarten and had attended a Wheels-a-thon with family previously. For those who were first time attendees (like myself!) we had been watching a video from Wheels-a-thon 2017 which has given us a good idea of what we might expect and allowed our own excitement to build!

The New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum Te Whāriki  empahises the importance of this process for children:

“Kaiako talk with children about upcoming events … so that they can anticipate and be comfortable with them” (Ministry of Education, 2017)

The biggest learning on the day came in the form of an unexpected challenge … It rained – quite a lot! I had been reliably informed that it never rains for Wheels-a-thon, but this year Ranginui, the sky father, had other ideas!!

Our children and their families were wonderful role models for resilience – it would have been easy to look around at the weather and think negatively about the situation. But in the famous words of Pete the Cat, “Did they cry? Goodness no!” All of the families and children showed up in the rain, with beautifully decorated bikes, scooters, balance bikes and even push chairs and made the most of being with their friends, racing around the wet track with their eyes bright and shining. We were so proud of their positive ways of being.

                “Life is not about waiting for the storm to pass, it’s about learning to dance in the rain”

This event allows us to generate much needed fundraising money for Kindergarten so that we can continue to deliver a quality experience for our children and their families. The support from our whānau both through participation on the day, and gaining sponsorship is invaluable to our Kindergarten and so so appreciated by the Mairtown team!

                “Alone we can do so little, together we can do so much” (Helen Keller)

We hope you enjoy the beautiful video of the day below, which has been cleverly prepared by Christine.

Arohanui,

Amy