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.
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!
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.
After our visit from BLENNZ recently, we’ve had the chance to dive into our new BLENNZ resources, and it was wonderful to see how much Nevaeh enjoyed the activities. She was especially drawn to the new books, spending time looking through the pages and engaging with the stories. The simple, clear visuals made them inviting and accessible, sparking her interest.
Another highlight was using the block and container activity. Nevaeh loved pushing the block into the container again and again, all while Olivia chatted about the different colors. This simple game turned into a rich learning opportunity, encouraging skills like turn taking, helping, and practicing everyday language in a fun, natural way.
The BLENNZ resources are proving to be a valuable addition, offering both structured and playful ways for Nevaeh to explore, learn, and connect.
We recently had a special visit from a Department of Conservation (DOC) representative who came to talk with us about the Kea. She shared lots of fascinating information about this clever native bird and set up stations filled with pictures, facts, and interactive activities. Nevaeh especially enjoyed wandering around and exploring everything on display, with the laminated Kea picture quickly becoming her favorite part of the experience.
Joy creates beautiful, sensory-rich sessions with Nevaeh, and the pair really flow well together during their time. One of these sessions began with some gentle push-and-pull play on the swing, before exploring different textures like feathers and other materials. The pair shared a fun moment with a luxurious hand cream that Nevaeh enjoyed smelling, and Joy took things a step further by removing Nevaeh’s shoes to give her a calming foot rub. Nevaeh not only tolerated the experience but also showed signs of genuine enjoyment, relaxing into the moment. To make the atmosphere even more special, Joy added music that Nevaeh loves, which brought warmth and joy to the session. It’s been so nice having Joy on the team and we look forward to Fridays each week to see what will transpire!
Nevaeh and Amy had a great jam together today, perfecting their rendition of “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” Nevaeh’s ability to tune in and listen intently is really deepening- when playing along with a guitar and singer, she can match rhythm and tune, and when she misses a note she instantly recognises it isn’t quite “right” and finds her way back while staying in rhythm which is a really impressive skill.
She is also really enjoying dynamic changes, and often switches the pace of the rhythm or the “feel of the song” altogether by choosing different chords or notes. She always laughs when I play loudly, stop suddenly, and then play quietly. Piano is still her instrument of choice, and she is loving playing with all of the different instrument sounds the piano makes.
Nevaeh has had quite a social week! On Wednesday, Nevaeh along with class friends Jasper and Sienna spent time at the public library. They all enjoyed reading and creating together, and the group is looking forward to the next visit in September. On the playground at school, Nevaeh and Chelsea had a great time making music with our fantastic outdoor equipment. Great to see you all enjoying some time together outside of the classroom.
Nevaeh had a blast at music with Marilyn this week! Without prompting, Nevaeh decided it was time to get her left hand involved. She’s figured out that if she turns the keyboard to the “Strings” setting, she can hold long lovely notes with her left hand while playing melody with her right hand. We’re so proud of your musical and physical growth Nevaeh 🙂 Ka pai!
Nevaeh has started term 3 with a bang, and is very engaged with everything on offer. She is meeting weekly with Sam, and alternating between visits to the library and physiotherapy in our sensory room. Our newest addition to this space is our very own sensory swing, and Nevaeh has been exploring this Sam.
Her music lessons continue with Marilyn, and they have been doing lots of improvising this term. They’ve even attempted a piano version of her favourite Ed Sheeran song, Azizam 🙂
Keep up the great work Nevaeh!
