Category: Hanga | Create

Nevaeh’s Recent Learning Adventures

Over the last couple of weeks, Nevaeh has enjoyed many exciting learning opportunities and experiences.

A special highlight was a visit to Marilyn’s house, where Nevaeh had the chance to play on a real piano with Marilyn. She walked in confidently like she owned the place and knew exactly what she was there to do. It was wonderful to see her curiosity and confidence shine as she explored the piano and enjoyed making music.

Nevaeh was also very lucky to receive a beautiful new pair of sparkly slippers from Jackie and her daughter. Nevaeh absolutely loved them and could not stop looking at them, especially when they sparkled in the sunlight.

Imaginative play continues to be a big interest for Nevaeh. She has been spending lots of time caring for her doll and using the crib setup, and this week she also started showing interest in pushing the baby pram around. Looking ahead, we are planning to create a mock bedroom setup in the sensory space to help extend this imaginative play even further. This may include activities such as opening and closing curtains for baby at bedtime, turning the lights off, and playing soft lullabies to create a calming bedtime routine experience.

Nevaeh has also been enjoying sensory learning activities, including colour matching and counting games. Some of these resources were brought back by Amy from a recent visit to the Vision Resource Library in Christchurch. We are hoping to visit again a couple more times this year, as the library has an extensive range of learning materials and resources covering almost every topic and area of development imaginable.

Nevaeh continues to grow in confidence, curiosity, and imaginative play through these experiences.

 

Welcome to Term 2!

This week marked our first week back, and Nevaeh has had a really positive start to the term.

She’s spent a lot of time doing what she naturally enjoys—drawing and coloring with a wide range of colors. We’re using those moments as part of her learning, pairing each color with its name and the corresponding sign. This has been a key focus in her speech and language sessions with Olivia, and it’s been a nice, natural way to build that connection without taking away from something she already loves.

Nevaeh has also been connecting well with her classmates, with more shared interactions throughout the week. She now has a display area in her classroom where curious peers can see what Nevaeh gets up to each week.

A highlight activity this week was an outdoor scavenger hunt with Olivia, where they explored different objects, textures, and colors on a sunny day. It was a great opportunity for hands-on, sensory-based learning.

We’ve got some exciting plans lined up for the term, including volunteering at RDA, a visit to the Kiwi Centre, and opportunities for Nevaeh to create music with her peers as a way to connect and communicate through a medium she is strong in.

We also had our termly visit from the BLENNZ team, who shared some helpful ideas. One option we’re looking into is a visit to the Visual Resource Centre in Christchurch, which Amy will hopefully be visiting later this term. We’re also exploring the possibility of working with resource teachers for vision, particularly around their Learning Through Music programme, to see what we might be able to incorporate into her weekly routine.

Overall, it’s been a steady, positive start, and we’re looking forward to building on it as the term progresses.

 

End of term wrap-up

As Term 1 comes to an end, Nevaeh has been busy with a range of hands-on activities.

She has spent time exploring art using paint and pens, building her confidence and fine motor skills. She has also been using button toys where she presses a button and it names the colour, helping her with colour recognition.

Nevaeh has enjoyed playing with cars, sorting them into colours and groups. She has also been learning about size, exploring the concepts of small, smaller, and smallest through play.

Nevaeh also had her final physio session with Sam to wrap up the term. As always, music has been a real highlight, and we’ve gotten to hear Nevaeh’s beautiful voice a lot more this term. It has been great to see her progress, and we look forward to settling in with a new therapy team in Term 2.

Overall, it’s been a productive term with lots of practical learning and development.

 

Hello 2026 :)

We’ve had a busy first couple weeks of school, and Nevaeh is getting back into the swing of things. She’s been spending time with her new classmates and teacher Miss Lang, playing music with Marilyn and Amy, attending her first RDA session of the year, and having a swim with Sam. She’s also resumed her daily learning with Jackie and Olivia, and has been all smiles. Next week we go on a fun small group excursion to the Industrial Heritage park where will we ride the trains and tractor sled, and explore some old artifacts from days gone by.

Looking forward to a great year! Lots more learning to share along the way…

 

End of year wrap-up and thanks!

With our last blog post of the year, I wanted to extend a heartfelt thanks to Nevaeh’s entire team, and all those that she has interacted with this year. We’ve seen incredible growth and maturing in Nevaeh, and it has been truly inspiring to watch her explore and learn alongside her amazing, fun, and deeply caring team.  Happy holidays to all and we look forward to making more memories with Nevaeh in 2026!

 

A snapshot of learning

This week I wanted to share a few of the learning activities Nevaeh has been exploring with her team this term. She has been performing simple pieces of music with Amy, and trying out different writing and drawing tools like pens, paint pens, and chalk with Olivia, which she really enjoys.

She’s also had lots of fun with cars- counting them, talking about colours, and watching them zoom down the ramp with plenty of excitement. On the iPad, Nevaeh is practising two-dimensional matching, sorting, and answering questions, and her engagement and confidence in these activities are growing each week.

It’s been wonderful to see her curiosity and enthusiasm shine through in so many different areas.

 

Church Organ Inspiration

Last week, we were lucky enough to be invited to the Anglican church to learn about and play their incredible church organ. Nevaeh absolutely loved it, and we can’t wait to go back for another visit. Helene treated us to a performance, and Nevaeh got the opportunity to play her very best “Mary had a little lamb.” She loved exploring the different sounds, and dancing and singing along while Helene played.

First swim of the term

Nevaeh had her first swim for the term last week, and will be in the pool with Sam weekly during term 4. She was excited from the moment she started getting ready, and stayed that way throughout the session. The pool time was filled with chat, smiles, and laughter — a calm and happy start to the term’s swimming sessions.

 

Welcome back to Term 4

It’s been a wonderful first couple weeks back! Nevaeh spent some time outdoors collecting nature art supplies for her kiwi art project. Nevaeh absolutely loved being out exploring with Olivia and Chelsea — searching for little treasures among the leaves and branches.

She also had a lovely meeting with Sam and Amy Galvin, Nevaeh’s new Speech and Language Therapist. It was great to see her feeling so comfortable and engaged.

One of the week’s highlights was seeing Nevaeh back in the swing again — pure joy on her face! A great start to the term, with lots more adventure to come including weekly swimming with Sam, a trip next week to play the organ at the Anglican church, and a group social outing to the Heritage Park to ride the trains and tractor, and have a look around. Stay tuned!

 

 

Adventures with friends at the Library

Today Nevaeh and friends, along with Sam and Olivia, enjoyed a wonderful visit to the library. They explored the upstairs space together, and Nevaeh did an excellent job managing the stairs with a little help from Jasper. Once upstairs, she was captivated by the beautiful hanging artwork and spent time gazing up at the colors and shapes. Nevaeh also joined Sienna for some colouring activities, which she really loved. It was a calm, creative, and inspiring outing for everyone.

We hope everyone has a relaxing school break! See you in term 4.