Alphabet Magnets create positive educational opportunities

Early Childhood Education

To support the early childhood sector and inspire new learning opportunities for tamariki, New Zealand Tertiary College (NZTC) recently gifted a special set of uniquely made Alphabet Magnets to ECE centres across New Zealand.

Passionate early childhood teacher Angela Miller was excited to receive a set for her centre and says they are now a favourite resource amongst the children.

“The beautiful new magnets from NZTC caught the attention of tamariki immediately. Several of the children have recently been attempting to write their names to label their artwork.

“I saw these magnets as a great tool to assist the children to study the letters which make up their names and copy them. So many of the children were really enthused and excited to try it out – I soon had a queue lining up to have a turn.”

Utilising the magnets in such a way that is valuable to children’s education in the early years has provided Angela’s centre with opportunities to draw on relevant concepts explored in New Zealand’s ECE curriculum Te Whāriki.

The Communication Strand outlined in the curriculum says children “experience the stories and symbols of their own and other cultures,” and encourages learning outcomes including “recognising print symbols and concepts, and using them with enjoyment, meaning and purpose.”

“This is exactly what happened for our tamariki when they chose to use the Alphabet Magnets to practice writing their own names,” said Angela.

“Thank you NZTC – they have created opportunities for some truly wonderful learning in our centre and will certainly be enjoyed by all in the time ahead.”