Why choose Kindergarten?

With so many options for early childhood educantion today from Kindergarten, Playcentre, Education and Care centres, Kohanga Reo, Montessori, Steiner parents can find making this important decision a bewildering experience.

The Ministry of Education has been conducting a study into the long term benefits of early childhood education and have identified the aspects of early childhood education that translates into academic and social success for children and young people in the future. The participants are now 16 years old and results show quite clearly that quality early childhood education is a strong factor in the success of children through primary and secondary school.

At kindergarten we respect the diverse needs and aspirations of families and whanau and recognise that different early childhood philosophies and centres will meet those needs in different ways. We encourage parents to explore all the options available before making this important decision.

The key philosophies, practices and benefits of Kindergarten are:

We believes that all children and their families/whanau are unique and reject a 'one size fits all' approach to education, believing instead that a child's individual learning plan should be tailored to the child's individual needs. Parents, as experts on their child, work with teachers, the experts on education to assess each child and ensure programme design provides opportunities for the child to extend their existing knowledge and skill and develop attributes such as perseverance, resilience and curiosity that are critical to learning. We believe that children deserve nothing less than the best qualified, most competent teachers available. We know that the quality of interactions between children and our highly skilled teachers is one of the most important factors in a childs learning and furture educational development.

Your child will experience a range of stimulating, challenging and  learning environments and learn a range of life skills including:

* Taking responsiblilty, developing independence and confidence

* Being involved in groups with other learners and teachers

* Sharing and exploring their understanding of people, places and things

* Expressing ideas and feeling and having theses acknowledged and extended

* Early reading, writing, science, maths and social studies

* Social skills - negotiating, turn taking, co-operation, conflict resolution

* Respect for other cultures, languages and traditions