Sadie lives with her mother Jo and school-age brother Alex during the week and stays with her dad Ben and teenage sister Ruth most weekends. Sadie’s mother and father are both Pākeha of European descent. 

Sadie has been attending Playcentre since she was 2 years old and now attends 4 days a week, including one day a week with her mother.

This series of short learning stories tracks Sadie’s interest in expressing herself through drawing and her expanding understandings of print and writing her name from 3 years, 9 months to 4 years, 6 months. The stories are written by Playcentre kaiako, Sadie’s mother Jo, and her father Ben.

As you read these four stories, you can find more information about how Te Whāriki and the Emergent Literacy section of Kōwhiti Whakapae: Oral Language & Literacy area have been drawn on to foster Sadie’s learning, and to understand and respond to her growing capabilities over time.