Yendarra Kindergarten

Kia ora and welcome to Yendarra Kindergarten

Nau mai, Haere Mai.  Afio Mai, Susu mai , Maliu Mai. Malo e lelei, Kia orana, Fakaalofa lahi atu. Welcome! We are proud of the strong sense of whanaungatanga offered at our kindergarten in Yendarra. Everyone belongs, and children (tamariki) and their families (whãnau) are valued.

Our diverse team of teachers embrace the rich multicultural nature of New Zealand and our local area, and we work alongside family and whanau to ensure we deliver top notch early childhood education in Yendarra. Our garden environment provides opportunities for tamariki to learn about the value of growing our own kai, from seed to table. This is a creative, sustainable process where children become competent gardeners and chefs – important life skills, and some of the many that are taught here.

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). We are proud of our latest Education Review Office Report which says our ‘learning programme has a special sense of wairua and respect for the mana of children and their whanau’. Our centre is more than just another Yendarra daycare facility, it’s a place to belong.

There are plenty of options for daycare in Yendarra, but a kindergarten which belongs to the Auckland Kindergarten Association offers something a little different. The charitable organisation has been integral in educating children for more than a century, and we are happy to be a part of that legacy.

A community and family focus is one special part of the kindergarten experience, as well as smooth transitions to school for our older tamariki. Along with providing top quality, innovative academic teaching, we help to grow well-rounded little ones who can confidently interact with the wider world.

Our team at Yendarra Kindergarten works closely together like a family. We are very passionate about our community. We have a lot of alofa and aroha (love) for our children and families.

We have one Samoan teacher who speaks fluent Samoan and a Cook Island teacher aide who speaks Cook Island Maori. Our head teacher is from the UK and of British/Jamaican descent, our third full time teacher is Maori and we all speak some Te Reo Maori.  We love working in partnership with our tamariki and whanau – our children and families – and learning is alway full of laughter and fun.

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.