Our Team
Our kaiako (teachers) are wonderful and amazing people, who have been selected based on their experience within the Early Childhood Education field, their professional knowledge of teaching and nurturing young children and their philosophy of education and knowledge of child development.
We value professional development, and encourage our team to participate in a variety of courses, in order to grow and keep up to date with new developments in the educational field.
At Greendale Kids Preschool, happy and content staff are as important as happy children. We work at keeping our staff for long periods to ensure stability for the children and a consistent learning environment.
Sister Centre
Our sister centre, Greendale Kids Nursery, located at 55 Osier Road is walking distance of Preschool. Nursery caters for children from birth to around 2 and a half years old. Children transitioning from Nursery will have regular accompanied visits to get familiar with their new environment and meet their new friends, ensuring this is a positive step in their learning journey.
Curriculum
We are committed to follow the aspirations of the New Zealand National ECE Curiculum, Te Whāriki,
“For children to grow up as competent and confident learners and communicators, healthy in mind, body and spirit, secure in their sense of belonging and in the knowledge that they make a valued contribution to society”.
Te Whāriki envisages kaiako in early learning settings working in partnership with parents, whānau and community to realise this vision. The expectation is that, in their early years, children will experience a curriculum that empowers them as lifelong learners.
Te Whāriki supports this work by providing a framework of principles and strands. The principles are the foundations of curriculum decision making and a guide for every aspect of pedagogy and practice. The strands are 5 areas of learning and development, where the focus is on supporting children to develop the capabilities they need as confident and competent learners. Each setting takes these principles and strands and, in partnership with parents and whānau, uses them to ‘weave’ a curriculum whāriki that is specifically designed for their children.
Philosophy
At Greendale Kids our teachers are committed to providing a rich curriculum inside of an engaging physical environment that provides children with opportunities to learn physically, socially and emotionally.
Through establishing strong relationships with important adults in a child’s life we can create a holistic approach to their individual learning journey that will eventually carry them through life.
Connection, communication and contribution are our priorities. We work proactively alongside the children, whānau and support networks inside our community. We do this by recognising and responding to the needs of each child’s whānau (Family Health), Tinana (Physical Health), Hinengaro (Mental Health) and Wairua (Spiritual Health), only then can we create a path to success and achievement.
We are committed to consistently evolving our practice and creating opportunities to share our knowledge with others.
A Day At Greendale Kids Preschool
Our Preschool offers opportunities throughout the day for children to be involved in contributing to the curriculum helping to make decisions about what is set up, and sharing their ideas. Teachers work alongside the children to set up an environment which is challenging, provides curiosity and active exploration.
Children’s self-help skills are very important at this stage and children are supported to go to the toilet on their own, wash hands, dress themselves, serve up their own morning tea, lunch and afternoon tea as well as get involved with tidying up their areas of play.
The preschool children have sessions throughout the day where they learn songs, stories and are encouraged to share things with the other children.
Some of our group learning times arise from the children’s own participation in incidental moments when we are play with the parachute, outside games, at the playdough table or gardening. We value that each child learns at their own pace and when they are ready, and that play is children’s work.
For new children, we encourage 3 settling visits, approximately 2 weeks before your child’s start date to ensure a smooth and settled transition for both you and your child. Our Transition Policy is available by asking a member of the team.
Sustainability
We introduce sustainable habits and practices to our children by encouraging them to reduce, reuse and recycle. We supply all of our food scraps to a local pig farm.
Using Storypark significantly reduces the amount of paper used for forms and newsletters.
We use local suppliers and partners where possible, supporting the sustainability of businesses in our community.
We believe every little bit helps to ensure sustainability for our precious future generations!
Connecting Children with Nature
The natural world is a giant, open-ended learning laboratory. Children are innate scientists and love to experience the sights, scents, sounds, and textures of the outdoor environment. We are always looking for learning opportunities that embrace nature.
Through free play, children spontaneously connect with nature right here in our own playground and outdoor environment. For example, children are often busy building masterpieces with dirt or sand, searching for twigs and sticks, watching worms wriggle through the soil, gazing at clouds, jumping in puddles, or listening to the birds sing.
Our toddlers and pre-schoolers thrive on using their imagination as they become ‘explorers’ in their own environment, doing this means they are encouraged to investigate and learn names of animals, insects, plants, and their purposes on our earth. We love seeing the children learn to care for their centre environment, their community, and the great big world we live in!
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we’d love to hear from you!
We understand that your child’s education & care is a priority and that choosing the right centre can be a big decision. We would be delighted to share in your child’s learning journey. Feel welcome to contact us in whichever way is most convenient for you, or visit our centre and meet our Teaching Team!