Early Childhood Level Visits

Early Childhood Level Activities for Educational Visits

Come experience our city farm as an authentic context for immersing your learners in a dynamic natural setting that offers a safe and encouraging space for activities that challenge understanding and present opportunities for positive experiences in the real world.

Early Childhood visits are designed and delivered in line with Te Whāriki early childhood curriculum, to support your teaching programs that foster the development of competent and confident learners and communicators, promote health in mind, body, and spirit, and forge connections that affirm a sense of belonging through meaningful community participation.

Have a look below at some of the activities we can arrange for your group, to help you get your learners outside, observing & interacting with the natural environment, investigating key concepts, and practicing essential skills — all while having a great time! Choose from one or more of these to build your session, or get in touch for a bespoke experience tailored to your outcomes.

Activities on this page:

Curating Your Session:

Have a look through these activities, then use the booking enquiry form below to tell us about your group and choose the activities you would like for your tamariki, or to let us know how we can help deliver a bespoke experience that meets your goals and learning outcomes.

Early Childhood visits include a hot pot of herbal tea, picked and brewed fresh with seasonal herbs from the gardens, and served during the visit for teachers and chaperones!

Visit the School Visits main page for more information on our program, health & safety, and charges.

Sensory Expedition

🧩 Early Childhood Level

An essential activity at Kelmarna, and one of our most popular, this guided exploration of the farm gives learners the opportunity to slow down and really focus on the world around them, to observe and connect with details and patterns in nature that often ordinarily go unnoticed.

Learners will use all five of their senses to engage with the environment through focused investigation, getting to know the farm and its operations, and developing skills and interest in exploration that they can apply in any environment.

A staple of Early Childhood visits, this activity is highly recommended for all ages and levels. Never the same experience twice, there is always something fascinating and fun to discover in every season.

Duration: 30-45min

Te Whāriki

Exploration | Mana aotūroa
Belonging | Mana whenua
Wellbeing | Mana atua
Communication | Mana reo

Join us with your group

Newspaper Plant Pots

🧩 Early Childhood Level

Take the opportunity to get crafty on the farm by learning how to upcycle old newspaper into plant pots and then get hands-on with the soil to pot up and sow a seed.

Learners will practise observing and following instructions, and applying concentration and dexterity to manipulate newspaper into a sturdy structure, then use tools to attentively convey soil into their pot. They will learn an important rule of thumb for sowing seeds at an appropriate depth before focusing again to carefully dimple the soil and sow a seed of their own.

A fun challenge for small hands, this activity is recommended for getting hands-on in a controlled setting. All materials are provided, including certified organic potting soil and seeds, and learners get to take home their finished product.

Duration: 30min

Te Whāriki

Contribution | Mana tangata
Communication | Mana reo
Wellbeing | Mana atua

Join us with your group

Creepy Crawlies & Composting

🧩 Early Childhood Level

Take advantage of the unique resources on our farm to introduce your learners to super cool creepy crawlies, and safely handle worms and larvae while learning about the benefits of their poos and wees!

Learners will have the opportunity to observe and interact with tiger worms, used in vermiculture composting, and the larvae and pre-pupae of Black Soldier Flies, used in composting as well as for chicken feed. Both of these beneficial organisms are fun to handle, and they play an important role in generating sustainable natural soil conditioners and whole-food sources for our chooks.

This activity is recommended to provide learners with novel experience and perspective, to gently stretch their comfort zone and frame relationships with nature as positive and constructive.

Duration: 30min

Te Whāriki

Exploration | Mana aotūroa
Contribution | Mana tangata
Communication | Mana reo
Wellbeing | Mana atua

Join us with your group

Village Green Vacation

🧩 Early Childhood Level

The Village Green is our central community space, the only area where grass is favoured over cultivating food, and where we can gather together and spend time over kōrero and kai.

You are invited to make the most of your trip to the farm by taking the time to pause and relax in the space, park up on the Green for a picnic, or simply enjoy the farm outside of a structured activity. Learners are welcome to spend morning or afternoon tea breaks, lunch, or free time on the lawn and around the gardens.

This recreational opportunity is recommended to allow learners to connect with the environment on their own terms and at their own pace. Food and drink not provided. Certain organic scraps may be collected on site, otherwise all rubbish must be taken away.

Duration: 15-60min

Te Whāriki