Flatbush Kindergarten

Kia ora and welcome to Flat Bush Kindergarten

Our kindergarten has a professional, qualified teaching team with a passion for providing early childhood education in Flat Bush. Teachers work alongside the children and develop their individual interests and strengths, providing quality learning and growth opportunities for our precious little ones.

Inclusivity is a focus here, and diversity of all kinds is celebrated and valued. We believe that each person is unique and that we can embrace those differences as a way to learn from each other and about ourselves. A creative and innovative curriculum is a key factor in the kindergarten experience.

You are welcome to come and visit, get to know us and see what makes us different to your typical daycare in Flat Bush. Whanau plays a very important role in the learning of our children, and we encourage family and community involvement in our programmes. We follow the New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum, Te Whāriki. This is based around five principles of learning: wellbeing (mana atua) belonging (mana whenua), contribution (mana tangata), communication (mana reo) and exploration (mana aoturoa).

The centre in Flat Bush is a part of the wider Auckland Kindergarten Association, a longstanding organisation with a charitable purpose that has been in the business of educating young children for many years.

There are several key aspects of a kindergarten which differentiate it from other Flat Bush childcare options. We have a strong focus on learning, through a variety of different methods including targeted play. We are also community-based and encourage the families of our children to take an active role in their learning, with an aim to producing well-rounded kids who interact well with the wider world.

Strong links with local schools is another feature of the kindergarten experience, and our older kids are prepared for and guided through a smooth transition to school.

Our learning philosophy

For the past 110 years, the Auckland Kindergarten Association has been igniting young minds by encouraging them to explore their imaginations through play. For many of us, kindergarten was where we began our life of learning; it was where we started learning skills like sharing, tolerance, patience, respect and self-confidence.

We view children as capable, competent, life-long learners, and our philosophy encourages children to make their own learning choices, problem-solve and observe and explore at their own pace…with support from teachers, parents, wider whānau and their peers. We value the importance of child-initiated, play-based experiences. Our kindergarten teachers nurture your children’s interests and natural curiosity by working alongside them, expanding language and introducing mathematical and science concepts, as well as literacy, digital technology and sustainable practices.

Our centres have gardens and natural outdoor spaces where children can create, explore, be imaginative and expressive. There’s plenty of room to safely run about, being imaginative and physically active. In fact, the natural world is essential to free-range play. AKA encourages each kindergarten community to explore and enrich their diversity and uniqueness. Some have regular excursions into the local community; some are Enviroschool kindergartens that live and breathe sustainable practices; while others engage in long-term research on child interest-based programmes of learning.

As an organisation, we formally acknowledge the dual heritage of Aotearoa / New Zealand, and work to uphold the spirit and intent of Te Tiriti o Waitangi in each kindergarten. We are accessible, secular and welcoming to the wide diversity of tamariki and whānau who attend our centres, and value ongoing partnerships between teaching teams and leadership staff with families and whānau. We value ongoing learning for teachers, parents and whānau, and the sharing of knowledge, skills and attributes is fundamental to achieving the best learning outcomes for children. Teachers and staff can access collegial professional time to ensure that quality practice is enhanced so current theories of learning and development within New Zealand’s world-class Te Whāriki early childhood curriculum are shared and understood.

Children learn

Children in our kindergartens have the opportunity to:

• Feel confident, develop responsibility and a sense of independence
• Play meaningfully alongside other children and adults
• Develop effective communication skills
• Persevere, problem-solve and take risks
• Explore limits, boundaries, routines and conflict resolution strategies
• Practice fine motor skills such as threading, writing, cutting and grasping
• Develop gross motor play such as physical games like climbing, throwing, kicking, balancing and lifting
• Develop creative expressions through painting, music, collage, movement, dance, finger-painting, drawing, cutting, pasting and story sharing
• Develop early numeracy, literacy and science skills
• Learn techniques through trial and error
• Explore the world through experimenting, questioning and curiosity
• Develop confidence and celebrate both attempts and successes
• Develop a passion for learning and a love of life
• Have fun!

Older children will be supported in their transition to school to make this process as simple and seamless as possible. Book a visit here on Kindello today, we’d love to meet you.