Halfway Bush Kindergarten

 This kindergarten operates all year, from mid-January until just prior to Christmas. We close for statutory holidays and five teacher-only days during the year.

Here at Halfway Bush Kindergarten, children can enjoy our relaxed atmosphere where they are free to explore and learn at their own pace. Whanau are made to feel welcome and encouraged to guide and be a part of their children’s learning. We are inclusive and flexible within our setting. We embrace all the cultures of our community and learning styles of our children.

We provide our children with an exciting outdoor natural environment, in all types of weather, and have a weekly excursion to our forest on our mountain, Whanaupaki. Children are encouraged to challenge themselves physically, creatively and mentally, while allowing them opportunities and time to self-assess risk and follow their interests.

Our Kindergarten Philosophy: –

• Our focus is to provide a welcoming, friendly learning environment which allows all children to:
• Develop a sense of belonging to our community
• Build friendships and relationships with others
• Explore our natural world and local natural environments, including Te Whanaupaki our local mountain
• Become independent learners, capable of guiding their own learning
• Shape their environment by using real life skills and tools, together with teachers and whanau
• Relax, play, enjoy their time, have fun and grow together
• Develop strong oral language skills

Nga ara Hikoi Te Whanaupaki – Forest Programme

The aim of our forest programme is to provide our children, their whanau and community, opportunities to explore and connect with nature and our local natural environments including our mountain, Whanaupaki.

We travel to our local forest every Tuesday, with our oldest 20 children, two teachers and our enthusiastic parent helpers. We are also regularly joined on our trips by groups of children and teachers from our local primary schools.

Together we discover, explore and learn about nature and our role in protecting and preserving our natural environment.

This valuable time together allows us to nurture our relationships with each other, our environment and our community.