As with our Centre Philosophy, our learning programme is underpinned by Te Whāriki, The New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum, and recognises the uniqueness of The Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi).
The Treaty of Waitangi (Te Tiriti o Waitangi)
We acknowledge that the Treaty is seen as a commitment to Māori and all other New Zealanders living together in the spirit of honourable relationships, with the promise to work together in partnership, participation and protection. We are dedicated and committed to honouring the Treaty, and we place significant importance on being an Early Childhood Education service that weaves core kaupapa Māori into our own core values and centre philosophy.
The natural environment is important to us.
We draw inspirational influence from the work of Pennie Brownlee and from the teachings of Reggio Emilia, Italy. The natural environment is important to us, hence we have started our own sustainability journey and include these practices into our learning programme. This includes growing our own vegetable and herb gardens, fruit trees, worm farms, compost bins, and collecting rain water.
We view the environment as a crucial element in triggering children’s curiosity.
We take pride in our environments by thoughtfully considering the use of space, colour, light, learning resources and by creating beautiful invitations for children to explore and navigate through their play. We provide an abundance of natural and authentic resources offering unlimited learning experiences for the children.
Three thoughtfully designed indoor learning spaces.
Our beautiful villa houses three thoughtfully designed indoor learning spaces catering to different age groups and developmental levels of children. These rooms are fondly named Sweet Peas, Bluebells and Cherry Blossoms, and each have an adjoining outdoor play area. The Sweet Peas have their own separate outdoor area, and the Bluebells and Cherry Blossoms Rooms share 2 large outdoor spaces. Our outside cottage houses our Atelier room (Art room).
(under 2’s)
Our Sweet Peas enjoy a peaceful, unhurried learning environment, where primary caregiving, ensures all interactions are filled with kindness, consideration, and respect. Two teachers will be assigned to each child in the Sweet Peas Room to complete the majority of all care rituals from feeding, changing, settling to sleep and daily transitions into the room. This creates a consistent, and nurturing atmosphere for each baby, where their natural rhythm and routine is followed. Intimate and trusting relationships are important for our babies and their emotional well-being.
The partnership between the teachers and the child’s family is a collaboration of care and a way of ensuring that we fulfill the family’s aspirations for their child. We treasure each child; their gifts, passions, and curiosities, and make work out of knowing each child deeply. We have a familiar rhythm each day, creating a safe and predictable environment for our youngest children to blossom and grow.
Our Sweet Peas enjoy an open-plan room filled with natural light, and an indoor-outdoor flow into their beautiful playground. A separate sleep room with calming music allows for a peaceful slumber. Enriched with an array of open-ended natural, cultural and play resources, our babies are empowered to explore the wonderful world around them, whether independently or with their friends.
(2 – 3 year old’s)
Our Bluebells experience a space where play is seen as precious and valuable in the search for knowledge and meaning. We promote a culture of curiosity through a literacy rich environment and unlimited access to a wide range of open-ended resources. We explore, construct and share our ideas through discussions and through the many languages young children use to express themselves. We offer endless opportunities to explore different art mediums including painting, clay, drawing, ephemeral art, and in the process our children develop confidence with these expressive tools.
The environment and learning moments are carefully planned and implemented to appeal to all senses and to encourage hands on experiences, thus developing their identities as autonomous learners. Independence and self-help skills are fostered through offering children choices and opportunities to take responsibility.
Through role modelling and gentle coaching, our loving teachers encourage interactions of kindness, empathy and respect.
Together we learn to manage ourselves, express our feelings, and develop resilience. People literacy, or social competence, is an important life skill and includes learning to take turns, problem solve, negotiate, develop empathy, along with other social skills, thus supporting our Bluebells to develop and maintain friendships. In the process we learn about ourselves and others.
We have a flexible rhythm to our day, with a rest or sleep offered after lunch. Our Bluebells and Cherry Blossom Rooms are joined by a barn door, which is open at certain times in the day. This encourages the children to interact with their peers, both indoor and outdoor in their shared multi-leveled play areas. By the time your child is ready to move to the older room, they will be very familiar with the children, teachers and environment which eases the transition process significantly.
(Pre-schoolers)
Our Cherry Blossoms experience a thoughtfully designed environment that invites them on an investigative journey of learning and self-discovery. Through posing open-ended questions and thoughtful learning experiences, our teachers guide the children to wonder and question about the world, and explore their interests. Through self-directed projects, group discussions and by multiple methods of self-expression, our children develop the skills to synthesize, interpret and evaluate their thoughts and theories. We focus on the process of learning, rather than the outcome of learning. We believe when children are empowered by the methods they use to explore their interests, a deep level of thinking, learning and motivation is activated.
We encourage our children to be part of our programme planning, as we know that when children choose their learning focus, or project, they are more interested in learning and committed to achieving the goals they have set for themselves, with support from their teachers. Our experienced and skilful teachers meaningfully incorporate all curriculum areas into the chosen projects, ensuring that the children experience a rich and holistic learning programme. Our vision for our Cherry Blossoms is to experience a learning programme that fosters curiosity and instils wonder, so that they develop a lifelong love for learning.
A strong focus in our room is the importance of relationships and how we interact with one another and the environment in which we live. We have a culture of kindness and respect, and we guide the children in understanding the need for compassion and empathy. Equally, we support children on their quest to building resilience, so that they are set up for dealing with challenges and change.
