5 September 2018 Teacher: Liz

Kia ora, Mohamad,

I am still getting to know about your interests, skills,

depositions and abilities. Today I noticed that that you were becoming a little bit frustrated about
the other boys not giving you a turn to kick the ball, this lead to you seeking my help. I talked with
you about making sure that you tell them you were wanting to play too. Again you attempted to
join in the play, but soon came back over to me saying “they are just too fast for me!” they are very
fast aren't they! I asked if you could choose another friend to play to play ball with you, but you re-
ally wanted to join in the group and you became increasingly upset that they were faster. I sug-
gested we practice running together “that’s how the other boys got very fast” so we ran and run,
up & down, up & down! “I’m I fast enough now?” you asked. We talked together about everyone is
very good at something, the other boys are very fast runners, but you are the best bike rider, you
are fast and have great control dodging obstacles and watching out for other children. You agreed
that you are fastest on the bikes and beamed at the idea that you too are fast and have a special
skill. You quickly jumped up ran over to a bike jumped on and zoomed past me, yelling out “I’m
fast”
Empowerment – Whakamana, understand their own individual ways of learning and being creative.
Mohammad, I love that you are persistent in your at-
tempt to join in, I love that you are recognising your
own and others skills and abilities, and that you rec-
ognise you have to practice to improve, you under-
stand that you are learning and that you can achieve .
I love that you view teachers as a resource to help you
when you have big emotions. I love that you took
pride in yourself and were able to accept a compli-
ment. I love that you showed understanding of the
concept that everyone has their own special skills &
abilities and you could accept that you might not be
the best at everything, that is a very positive attitude
to have and will serve you well in your learning fu-
ture.
I will continue to work with you, in ensuring that you
can join in the group play and that there is equitable
opportunity for you to participate. I will be encourag-
ing you to practice skills you have not yet accom-
plished and take ownership of just of special you are.
“children have an understanding of what they can and
cannot yet do.” (Te Whariki, 1996)
Contribution goal 2 (Te Whariki, 2017) “Children
experience an environment where they are affirmed as
individuals, Awareness of their own special strengths
and confidence that these are recognised and valued. “