Childcare options in Milford

Milford Kindergarten is a magical place with hidden treasures, where children love to explore, be imaginative and learn. At Milford Kindergarten there is an “at home” feel – a sense of belonging where everyone feels welcome.

It’s a place of learning, providing the best in early childhood education through the use of both long-established and proven methods, and innovative teaching. Our kids love to explore, to be creative, and to learn along the way in our welcoming environment, where they can belong and feel at home, included and nurtured. Located beside the beautiful Lake Pupuke and Sylvan Park Reserve in a coastal area of the North Shore of Auckland, we are proud to have a focus on nature and sustainable practices in our programmes. We are a proud Silver Enviroschool.

Kindergarten offers the best way to prepare your child for school and equip them for a lifetime of successful learning. Family and community are an integral part of the experience here, and we encourage parents and whanau to be involved in every possible way.

Milford Kindergarten feeds into Milford and Campbells Bay Schools.

Kindergarten provides your child with a different experience than other Milford daycare and childcare options. We are a part of the Auckland Kindergarten Association, a charitable organisation with a long legacy of educating Kiwi kids and setting them up for the best start in life and learning. Kindergartens are community based and place a lot of emphasis on families, encouraging parents and other whānau to be involved in all aspects of learning. We also provide a lot of support for a smooth transition to school as our children draw closer to that big change.

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.

With a focus on the holistic development and learning of each individual child, our main goal is to provide a creative, interactive and nurturing environment where each child is supported to explore and discover the wonder of God’s created world.

We are a fully licensed, all day, sessional kindergarten operated by the Milford Baptist Church as a service to our community.

We exist to prepare children for life by providing an environment that stimulates their curiosity and learning. We are proud to deliver high quality pre-school, Christ-centered education, which is supportive of families and our community. 

Opening our doors in 1985, we are committed to providing a safe, loving, caring and nurturing learning environment, for young learners, through creative play, exploration and social relationships.

We operate under a Board of Trustees (MBKT), which aims to have oversight and governance, ensuring a safe, warm and caring environment where parents can readily bring their preschool children to learn through the provision of excellent staff and quality resources.

Looking ahead together ensures we continue to move forward with all children experiencing the best care and education at Milford Baptist Kindergarten.

We believe in having the right people, skills and alignment of vision, mission and values. Milford Baptist Kindergarten staff bring a diverse range of knowledge, culture, expertise and care to best serve our children and families. 

Our philosophy

We believe children are unique, with God-given potential to grow as confident and competent learners. Developing healthy minds, bodies and spirit, our approach ensures each child is respected as an individual, and is encouraged to reach their full potential. We nurture children’s holistic development and learning through play, interaction with and exploration of our environment. Modelling, purposeful teaching and repetition, in collaboration with parents and our centre vision, values and Te Whāriki underpin our education philosophy.