Tuatara Preschool Room

We want to make the transitions to school as smooth as possible and to empower your child with a lifelong love for learning.

In this room, we offer your child a more in-depth approach to learning experiences and opportunities; we recognise that primary school learning environments are different to early childhood settings. Our aim is to bridge this gap between the two and to prepare your child emotionally, socially, cognitively, and physically for school. 

The Tuatara Preschool Room is set up to encourage self help skills, independence, responsibility, confidence, language skills, concentration span, numeracy and literacy skills, respect for teachers, self, peers and equipment.

We follow the children’s interests and extend on them through on-going projects of discovery and exploration of the world around them with input from families and the wider community.

We support healthy eating and healthy food choices from their lunch box for morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea. Please ensure your child has enough food for the day. We will provide opportunities for food preparation (baking and cooking), which encourages children to experiment with food – taste, textures, cooked, uncooked, etc –  helping children to gain an understanding of what it means to take care of their bodies.

We have a morning mat time that focus on  the interests of the children, extending their knowledge and understanding; this can lead us to many interesting and varied topics. This mat time aims to be fun, interesting and interactive for the children while they learn across the curriculum.  We come together before lunch and afternoon tea for a story, singing or other activity inspired by the tamariki.

As children get closer to five, parents will need to arrange school visits with the school of their choice.  We talk with you about this.

Philosophy - Tuatara Room

Our Tuatara Room is a place where tamariki can explore their world and grow their potential through an inclusive and friendly environment.

When tamariki transition into the Tuatara Room we work closely with them and their whānau. We love to learn about each child and create connections with them.  

We are strong advocates for supporting our tamariki to be independent, so they learn to manage themselves.

We foster respectful relationships and social skills to empower tamariki within relationships, so they can build and maintain these. We know these skills are the key to life, so we are supporting their foundations for   success.

We teach tamariki about feelings and how to identify them, so as to reassure tamariki that feelings are normal and okay to express. They learn strategies to help with self-regulation.

Developing a love for learning is key to all that we do. Tamariki have opportunities for physical and cognitive development, problem solving, exploration, basic number and literacy understanding, leadership roles and innovative thinking.

These opportunities are nurtured throughout play and at group times. This means we can respond to ‘teachable moments’ and also follow children’s interests in more depth.

Our Whānau is a big part of our world, and we acknowledge this with open responsive, communication and sharing times which welcome whānau input. We love to learn from Whānau and tamariki to gain knowledge of their culture and values. We want to build a strong sense of belonging for all tamariki - from home, to centre, to community.

We have built close relationships with the surrounding schools to ensure we are supporting smooth transitions and are meeting the needs for the life long learning of our tamariki.

We celebrate together, have fun together and grow together.

Pukeko Room (2-4 years)

In the Pukeko Room, we provide a caring and supportive environment for your child, where your child will have a sense of belonging and be able to build positive reciprocal relationships with all those around them.

We are rich in resources to stimulate, challenge and extend on your child’s learning through fun filled activities. Our back to nature outdoor area has forested trees to climb and explore as well as an eco friendly playground. All activities are centered around the children’s interests. We extend on these interests to stimulate their learning experiences through fun and exciting activities. We offer a homely environment to support transition and settling into our room.

To ensure we provide a nurturing environment, we have a ratio of 8 children to 1 teacher (instead of the standard 10 children to 1 teacher).

Our bright, well equipped, friendly centre is divided into four main play spaces that allow for uninterrupted learning. These areas include: our dramatic play area to encourage our children’s imagination also art and crafts to support your child’s creativity. Our Whanau room offers resources to promote fine and gross motor skills where children are given the opportunity to grow and learn at their own pace with free choice of activities. A quiet library space provides children the opportunity to read, either on their own or with an educator. We come together as a group once a day for a fun planned singing, dancing and storytelling adventure.

These education areas support holistic growth and development of our children. We aim to provide a lifelong love of learning that will carry on and support your child’s transition to school and community.

Philosophy - Pukeko Room

Our Pukeko kaiako support and foster the individual development of tamariki through building respectful, reciprocal relationships and providing daily routines that promote independence.

We strive to nurture tamariki dispositions to promote healthy, confident individuals who actively participate in and contribute to their environment.

We endeavour to provide an environment in which tamariki have the right to feel safe and respected as unique individuals. An environment where inclusive        practices and interactions are encouraged, and culture is valued.

We aspire to provide smooth transitions between rooms and from home to centre. We believe this is best done through building trust and a sense of belonging with tamariki and whānau alike.

We acknowledge whānau aspirations for their tamariki and endeavour to work in participation with them to support their tamariki learning and development. Tamariki progression is made visible in their individual  profile books which supports  programme planning.

Our Pukeko Kaiako are dedicated to empowering tamariki independence, igniting their natural curiosity, encouraging active exploration, and facilitating a positive  attitude to learning through play.