Kiwi Explorers

Welcome to Kiwi Explorers Early Education Centre 

Thank you for considering Kiwi Explorers as the early childhood environment for your child to spend their very important early years of care and education. Kiwi Explorers Early Education Centre has been purpose built using the 'original' farm house to create a 'home away from home' feeling.

At Kiwi Explorers we provide a stimulating and safe environment that promotes challenges. Children are encouraged to learn through experiencing a range of activities. We believe in having small group sizes which enhance children's individual learning.

We have separate indoor spaces for different age groups that provide children with age appropriate programmes and environments that stimulate and develop their social skills.

Kiwi Explorers has large outdoor areas which allow for children to explore a natural environment freely. They will provide physical challenges that build children's confidence and develop important skills that lead onto children being capable formal learners.

All our teachers are open in communication, engaging active listening skills and building a shared understanding between children, whanau, colleagues and communities through positive, responsive, reciprocal and respectful interactions.

Kiwi Explorers Philosophy

We believe that when teachers nurture children's interests with warmth and caring, both adults and children grow and learn together. At Kiwi Explorers we provide a stimulating and safe environment that promotes challenges. We provide an environment which stimulates child initiated activities with uninterrupted periods of play alongside teachers acting as resources themselves, facilitating and scaffolding children's endeavours.

We incorporate our four guiding principles:

Empowerment

Our curriculum builds on developing the child by providing an environment where children have the opportunity to "create and act on their own ideas, develop knowledge and skills in areas that interest them and, increasingly, to make decisions and judgements on matters that relate to them.

Holistic development

"A holistic approach sees the child as a person who wants to learn and the task as a meaningful whole" (TeWhāriki, 2017, pg 18). We consider how the child's current learning focus "relates to and connects with other aspects of learning, how it builds on the strengths (Te Whāriki, 2017, pg. 19) and  take into consideration the role of family and whānau in their child's learning journey

Family and community

We foster children's well-being by supporting families, respecting their culture, knowledge and community and aiming to build strong connections and consistency among all aspects of the child's world.

Relationships

At Kiwi Explorers we work to establish high quality relationships. Teachers are open in communication, engaging active listening skills and building a shared understanding between children, whanau, colleagues and communities through positive, responsive, reciprocal and respectful interactions.... read more