Childcare options in Darfield

Annabel’s Darfield ensures your child's development by focusing on their strengths in the present so they can succeed in the future. We take pride in the environment that we offer our children as it gives them limitless opportunities to develop into their full potential.

We believe in providing quality early childhood education to our children and their whanau. Our teaching philosophies and commitment from the Annabel team are what makes early learning at Annabel’s different from the rest.

Our Preschool Space:

Our Darfield preschool offers the most of the country environment with our large outdoor garden and play area for our children to enjoy. Our welcoming homely feel gives our children a sense of whanaunatanga (togetherness) and lets them learn and develop in a relaxed environment. Our separate nursery and over 2’s area means our children can be with children their own age, helping them best develop their interpersonal skills. We are proud of our Christchurch preschools.

Why Our Darfield Preschool:

Our fantastic teacher ratios are well below the Ministry of Education requirements meaning each child is in the best hands to fully develop their skills and knowledge. Our enthusiastic teachers at Annabel’s Darfield are strong advocates of the free play philosophy. They encourage children to play how they choose, letting them develop their imagination and interpersonal skills. Our preschool has a mixture of ages, ranging from in and over 2’s. The children develop tuakana teina, caring relationships through supporting their younger peers.  Our philosophy strives for each child to reach their full potential and this starts at the beginning of their learning journey. We aspire to set each child up for the best learning journey possible in their coming years. If you are interested, we look forward to having you get in touch with our preschool in Darfield, Christchurch.

We believe in providing quality early childhood education to our children and their whanau. Our teaching philosophies and commitment from the Annabel team are what makes early learning at Annabel’s kindergartens different from the rest.

Our Kindergarten Space:

Annabel’s 3-year-olds Kindergarten is the perfect place for any developing toddler. Our worm farm and sandpit encourage hands-on learning in an outdoor environment. The backyard at our Darfield Kindergarten is full of activities to help your children develop. Our fruit trees and outdoor vegetable gardens enable us to have fresh produce at morning and afternoon teas as well as giving our kindergarteners real-life plants to care for.

Why Our 3-Year-Olds Kindergarten?

Our Annabel's Darfield kindy is most proud of being a fully sustainable kindergarten, using sustainable practices in all areas of kindergarten life. We encourage our children to take part in sustainability and have daily learning on how to care for the environment. Our early childhood teachers have woven manaakitanga (kindness, caring for others) through our learning programmes and work hard to help the children to celebrate all cultures and diversity within the kindergarten.

Our Close Community:

Annabel's Educare in Darfield is a close-knit, rural community. We are lucky to have the contribution of our whanau who have helped us plant and manage our vege garden. We love our family feel at our kindergarten and have open invitations for whanau to contribute and participate in pet days, matariki celebrations, cultural festivity days, spring fairs, skill-sharing sessions with sports, music and farming. Annabel's Kindergarteners are lucky enough to be taken on many excursions, including other early childhood centres, fire stations, the marae, shops, the vet and farms. The children’s favourites are the farms where they get to play with the animals.

We believe in providing quality early childhood education to our children and their whanau. Our teaching philosophies and commitment from the Annabel team are what makes early learning at Annabel’s different from the rest.

Our Kindergarten Space:

Our homely Darfield kindergarten has been built to help our 4-year-old children prepare themselves for their primary school years. We pride ourselves on having a strong sense of whanaungatanga (togetherness), and helping our children to develop close-knit relationships with one another. Our huge outdoor area at our kindergarten means we can make the most of the rural features in Darfield. Our children love being exposed to everything the outdoors has to offer in a safe environment.

Why Our 4-Year-Olds Kindergarten:

Our kindergarten only has 4-year-olds which gives us the ability to provide age-appropriate experiences that support their transition to school. We include a child-led programme that is planned around children’s individual interests meaning our children develop skills and learn around areas that they enjoy. We have developed our early learning centre to provide our 4-year-olds with an experience that will best help them prepare for their school years, we have 9am - 3pm class time with well resourced small group sessions. Our balance between structured learning and free play helps our children understand what life at primary school will be like and gives them the ability to take risks, in a safe environment.

Our Close Community:

Out in Darfield, we are lucky to be blessed with a country atmosphere and culture meaning we can enjoy outings are out to local farms where our children can interact with the animals. Our kindergarten has a close and good reputation with the community, so we go excursions in a safe environment. Our strong connections with the local marae and local schools also make for regular excursions and give our children the chance to see what the local culture is all about.