The Pine Forest is our outdoor classroom, where we go on excursions every Friday. There the tamariki are given the time, space and freedom to explore the natural world around them and connect with Papatūānuku.

In the Forest there are trees to climb and swing from, uneven and muddy banks to scramble over, logs to balance along, and sticks to fashion into tools –supporting children’s balance, agility and fine/gross motor skills. Tamariki are learning to challenge themselves physically and persevere even when things are hard.

Walking around the forest, you come across little pockets of activity. Children sit with a teacher at the ‘yarn tree’ industriously creating with wool, whittling sticks with peelers; gathering clay from banks to make clay balls; sitting up in amongst the tree branches chatting away to each other; there are shouts of pure joy coming from the swings; there is a look of triumph at managing to climb to the top of the slippery slide and a little fairy house is being built in amongst tree roots. 

These are happy confident children and this is their Forest.