About Us
Caring and Learning For Life
We were established in 2015 in Rotorua, set up to fill the hole in the market where children and educators are the priority, not the sharemarket. We place strong importance on providing top quality care and education for our children; providing regular support and guidance to our educators; and keeping parents and whānau informed and involved.
Children are provided with an authentic safe home environment, where small ratios mean that educators can tailor their day to meet children's specific needs and unique personalities. Routines from home are often able to be maintained and our educators develop strong connections with the children in their care and their whānau.
Our services are licensed with the Ministry of Education which means we have rules and regulations that we must adhere to, including strict health and safety guidelines. We ensure children's safety with home safety checks, Police vetting of all adults living in the home aged 17 years and over, and a thorough recruitment process which aligns with the Children's Act 2014. Educators receive both spontaneous and planned visits from our qualified and registered visiting teachers while children are in care, and communication between the educators and our office staff and visiting teachers is regular.
All preschool children in our service have a programme of learning developed for them which is based on their strengths and interests. Each child has a record of learning kept in a profile book, or on Storypark (an online portfolio) which holds observations, photos, stories and artwork.
We value children's play as the way in which they learn about the world around them.
Playgroups
Every week during term time we hold a playgroup, which is a great opportunity for our children and educators alike to socialise with the other children and educators in our team. We incorporate a music session, some Jiggle Jam, a story, activities and free play time.
Playgroups are held at the Lynmore Playcentre in Rotorua, and at the Eastbay REAP community playgroup building in Kawerau. We provide a variety of activities for the children to participate in. The children always have loads of fun, and don't realise that we've snuck some learning in there!
Gymnastics
Gymnastics is provided regularly because it provides the equipment and opportunities for children to develop a variety of movement skills that they wouldn’t otherwise learn, like essential motor skills, building confidence, self-esteem, and body awareness by working on coordination, strength, flexibility and hand-eye coordination.
They learn how to climb, slide, balance, jump, crawl, hang, swing, and experiment at their own individual pace. We have a qualified gymnastics instructor who takes the sessions so our children can learn to be safe with their movements, ie landing safely when jumping off high pieces of equipment etc. There is an increasing number of children starting school without adequate core strength and movement skills which really affects their ability to learn at school. Some schools are having to introduce fundamental skills development programmes to build children’s strength and movement skills for this very purpose.
Our aim is to make sure our children already have these skills before they start to school to avoid potential learning difficulties. It is surprising how much children’s physical development can impact their learning in the class room.
The gymnastics sessions are held every Friday during term time at 10am at MIGS (Mid Island Gymnastics) on Te Ngae Road in Rotorua, and every second Tuesday during term time at EBOP Gymnastics Club on Lovelock Street, Whakatane.
Flappy Birds - preparing children to leave our nest
'Flappy Birds' is what we call our school readiness programme for our three to five year olds. All children enroled in our service who are three, four and five will automatically become part of this programme.
The programme consists of a range of activities and experiences all specifically designed to develop a skill, or range of skills, for children to become life-long competent learners. We do not teach children how to read and write per se, we offer fun activities and experiences which give them the foundations required for reading and writing, so that when they enter formal education, they're ready to go.
More information about this programme is available on request.