They are valuable lessons learnt by children at the Mosgiel Central Kindergarten during the past year, after they had to move from their Irvine St site, while a new kindergarten was built in its place.
Mosgiel Central Kindergarten head teacher Paula Reynolds said the kindergarten had to move to a spare classroom at Elmgrove School last year, when it was found its 60-year-old building had a damp floor and needed earthquake strengthening.
''It was getting old and decrepit. It was more economical to demolish it and rebuild,'' she said.
Construction was completed late last year, and staff and pupils were delighted to be able to return home for the start of this year.
''It feels like we've been away on holiday and we've come back to a new home.''
She said one of the features of the new facility was that it had a lot more space.
''There's definitely more space for children to be able to learn and discover.
''The other feature is the outdoors. We've got a beautiful new outdoor area that is all natural, and includes edible gardens and worm farms.
''It's a delight to come to work each day and the kids just love exploring every nook and cranny in the new space, whether it's a peaceful area that they just like to sit in a bean bag and read a book, or the really active spaces outdoors.
''It's been fun for them to explore their new surroundings.''
Mrs Reynolds paid tribute to the staff at Elmgrove School for making the space available to the kindergarten in its time of need, and for making her staff and pupils feel so welcome.
''We didn't expect to be there for the whole year, but we did end up staying longer than we intended. They were really flexible.''
She said the school included the kindergarten in its activities, which strengthened the bonds between the two facilities.
It had developed a relationship that would help ease the children's transition from kindy life to school life, she said.
