Glendowie Kindergarten

Kia ora and welcome to Glendowie Kindergarten

At Glendowie Kindergarten we value tamariki as unique individuals and embrace the diverse cultures and experiences that they bring to our learning community.  We believe that relationships form a vital foundation in creating a welcoming, caring and safe learning environment where all tamariki and their whānau develop a sense of belonging.

We value and foster an awareness of sustainable practices within our kindergarten environment and wider community.  We are proud to have achieved both Bronze and Silver Enviroschool status and are currently working towards our Green/Gold. Our tamariki participate in weekly walks to the park across the road to extend their awareness and appreciation of the natural environment.  Walks to our local maunga and continued connections with our local Iwi and Marae develop an understanding of our bicultural heritage.

Glendowie Kindergarten was awarded the Healthy Heart Rito Award by the Heart Foundation to assist early learning services in creating an environment that promotes healthy eating and physical activity to children and families. Learn more about the Healthy Heart Award here.

Glendowie Kindergarten’s passionate and qualified teachers work with children to develop and sustain their interests.  We encourage our tamariki to have inquiring minds and use a range of strategies to deepen their learning.  Teachers foster tamariki holistic development and sense of self by nurturing their independence and social competence.

Our kindergarten has four fully qualified and registered early childhood teachers.  The teachers are dedicated to, and passionate about early childhood education and actively engaging in passionate and reciprocal relationships that foster a sense of belonging for all tamariki and their whanau.

Glendowie Kindergarten is an inclusive kindergarten with a learning philosophy based on free play through te New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum, Te Whāriki.

We are also joined and supported by our wonderful support staff, who are a dedicated members of our kindergarten family and community.

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.