Extracurricular Activities and Child Development

Variety is the spice of life, and we believe in changing it up with lots of exciting extracurricular programs to encourage children to develop physical, cognitive and emotional skills. Here are some of the extracurriculars we have run at the centre, along with all the wonderful benefits for little bodies and minds!

Foreign Language and Cultural Exploration

Cultural diversity is at the core of our philosophy, and we embrace it by encouraging curiosity, respect, acceptance and celebrating our differences!

At The Strawberry Bush, cultural exploration is woven through all of our programming, and so we are very excited to be offering Mokotini as an extracurricular! Mokotini is a Maori performing arts or Kapahaka program that helps children to develop a love and understanding of the Maori culture.

Foreign language programs provide an excellent opportunity for children to develop critical thinking skills and creativity. Learning foreign language is not just for older children – research shows that it’s the earlier the better when it comes to learning new languages.

Music and Dance!

Kids love the creative arts, and music and dance are always popular. Exposure to music and dance can play an important part in assisting children to develop confidence, independence and creativity. Research has shown that early, engaging musical experiences could have an effect on cognitive skills, and increase ability to learn language.

At The Strawberry Bush, we have worked with Maggie Moo Music to provide engaging (and fun!) musical experiences. Music lessons provide a space for young children to grow in their abilities, becoming more confident while receiving a huge boost to their development.

Our extracurricular music lessons have now finished, but make sure you keep an ear out next year – we will certainly be running them again in the future.

Movement and Physical Activity

Playing sport helps young children to develop their physical abilities in an exciting environment, as well as helping children to learn healthy habits and attitudes for life.

At The Strawberry Bush, we offer tennis, soccer and yoga as extracurricular activities. These programs are an excellent way to assist young children with developing hand-eye coordination and improving fine and gross motor skills.

The national physical activity recommendations for children younger than five years include supervised floor-based play from birth, and at least three hours of activity every day past one year of age. Planned physical activity is a great way to make sure your child is getting active!

Gardening, Cooking and Life Skills

Cooking and gardening are always very popular, and the children really enjoy learning these practical skills!

Gardening comes with a variety of developmental benefits to children. As well as helping children learn to make healthy choices, research has shown gardening can help children to acquire skills they need to be successful, happy and confident. 

Our term of cooking and gardening has ended, however make sure you keep an ear out – we will run these again in the future! 

At The Strawberry Bush Early Learning Academy, we believe that extracurriculars are an important staple of quality care. Contact us today to learn more about our extracurricular programs!