Oratia Kindergarten

Oratia Kindergarten has an emphasis on creating opportunities for children to lead and explore their own learning. We have outdoor areas that provide moments for children to play, discover, and experience physical challenges. There are also spaces for quiet play.

We are committed to our philosophy:

Supporting children to develop positive attitudes, skills and knowledge, guided by the principles and goals of Te Whariki.

Building responsive reciprocal relationships/whanaungatanga our children, their whanau, and our local and wider community.

Valuing and respecting the diversity of all cultures while validating the Treaty of Waitangi and incorporating bicultural practices within our daily programme.

Encouraging children to respect themselves, others and the world around them within an inclusive, stimulating and safe environment that encompasses sustainable practices.

Teachers acting to deepen children’s knowledge, understanding and skills through play, in a fun learning environment, that follows the children’s interests.

Empowering children by giving them opportunities to be advocates for their own learning. Through these experiences they are able to develop resilience, self help skills and take responsibility for themselves and their learning.

At Oratia Kindergarten we value cohesive partnerships between teachers, children, parents and whãnau and the local community. We have developed a strong relationship with Oratia District Primary School and delight in our visits to its school library, classrooms, and hall for invited events. This also helps support children’s confidence as they transition into school.

A shared focus between our Kindergarten and Oratia District Primary School are our teaching practices of sustainability and helping children foster nature and sustainable living. We thoroughly enjoy our visits to the school’s garden-to-table programme which is ‘all about learning how to grow, harvest, prepare and share fresh, seasonal food’.

We are proud to be part of the Enviroschools programme and children are actively engaged in learning ways to protect and preserve our environment. Children and whãnau participate in litterless lunchboxes, recycling, composting, feeding our worm farm and watering gardens from our newly installed grey water tanks. Planting and harvesting from our own vegetable garden is thoroughly enjoyed as well as growing the tallest sunflower from seed.

At our kindergarten the teachers are dedicated to, and passionate about, early childhood education. We enjoy helping children foster nature and sustainable living and creating opportunities for children to lead and explore their own learning. Quality learning programmes are based on the New Zealand Early Childhood Curriculum, Te Whãriki.

We look forward to welcoming you soon.

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.