Childcare options in Martinborough

At Busy Bees Early Learning Centre, we believe that as an Early Education Centre we have an important part to play in our community and a valuable opportunity to positively impact young children’s lives in the early stages.

With a safe and nurturing environment, we provide children with a range of experiences that inspire and excite them to become confident and capable learners, fostering their self-worth and discovery of their own identity. We deliver an engaging environment with both teacher initiated and child-led opportunities for children and kaiako to explore alongside each other.

Kaiako foster learning for children by engaging them in fun and exciting experiences to guide their development. Your child will love the thoughtfully created play areas, consisting of a whanau play area, a creative arts corner as well as spaces for construction, reading, reflection and more. We encourage the use of natural resources and provide a seamless indoor/outdoor flow to foster both child-led and intentional learning opportunities. We also take every opportunity to get out and about in our community, going for walks and other excursions.

Our team is made up of passionate, experienced kaiako who are naturally warm and welcoming. Our kaiako bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the centre and their special relationships with tamariki and partnership with whanau are cherished and supported.

Our rooms

Infants

0 – 2 years

In our Up-to-two’s Room, we provide a nurturing and caring ‘home away from home’ environment to ensure that our littlest ones feel safe and secure in their own space, as they begin to explore and discover the world around them.

Toddlers

1 – 2 years

Our Up-to-two’s transition to join our preschoolers. We support childhood learning with a curriculum that is developmentally appropriate and supportive of all children during this age of discovery and wonder.

Young Children

3 – 5 years

Our Preschool Room offers our older children 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.

Sustainability

We introduce sustainable habits and practices to our children by encouraging them to reduce, reuse and recycle.  We also grow our own vegetables in our centre garden, teaching our tamariki about the garden to table process.

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. At Busy Bees, 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!

Bell St Early Learning Centre Martinborough is privately owned. The co-owners also operate Bell Street Early Learning Centre in Featherston. The teacher-led full-day centre caters for a diverse range of families from South Wairarapa.

The centre is licensed for 22 children, including ten up to two years of age. The centre is organised as a mixed-age setting.

Since opening in 2015, the owners have carefully established a small size sustainable centre in line with the stated philosophy. A key element of the centre's philosophy is to provide a warm, happy, homely environment. The converted bungalow style home supports this.

Our kindergarten on the Martinborough school grounds welcomes all families from our beautiful village and surrounding area. Our tamariki enjoy a calm and nurturing environment which supports their well-being.    

We have respectful relationships between kaiako, tamariki and whanau and we support each child’s individual learning journey, upholding their mana. We have a strong emphasis on Te Ao Maori and a bicultural approach to teaching and learning.      

Our tamariki feel safe and nurtured.  They enjoy fun and meaningful learning experiences - from rippa rugby to athletics on the school field, there’s something for everyone.     

We promote sustainability and tamariki enjoy learning about kaitiakitanga (guardianship) of our environment, through planting, looking after our vege garden and feeding our hungry worms. 

We use technology to support children’s learning and encourage them to investigate and research. We foster independence, confidence problem solving and creativity.     

Children make great friendships here that continue on into school.   We welcome new families to come and have a look around and see for yourself!