Childcare options in Riverhead

The Early Years are an age of discovery - of one's Surroundings, one's Self and one's Choices.

Happy Hearts is a bright, purpose-built centre, staffed by highly-qualified teachers dedicated to quality education and nurturing practices for babies, toddlers, and pre-schoolers.

Your child will enjoy their own separate, age-appropriate room - each with their own Head Teacher - where an educational focus makes learning fun.

The early years are a special time, and we ensure all children are genuinely cared for by passionate teachers who have the well-being of your child as their priority.

Whether it be Experimentation, Exploration or Play, our focus and themes are always child-led. The children let us know what they are interested in, and we explore that topic through song, music, drama, art, movement and the natural world.

All our spaces provide the opportunity for physical and imaginative play. The outside play environment includes wet-weather areas for children to engage in outdoor play and breathe fresh air, even on rainy days.

Our custom Transition-to-School programme is a hit with both parents and children.

As they approach school age, Room 3 offers a unique programme involving numeracy, literacy, social skills and preparing children for school-level expectations. This includes school visits, thus helping ease the transition when they turn 5.

All Happy Hearts graduates celebrate with a graduation ceremony marking this special transition in their life.

We are proud to be family owned and operated! 

He taonga te mokopuna, kia whāngaia, kia tipu, kia rea.
A child is a treasure, to be nurtured, to grow, to flourish
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Riverhead Montessori is a preschool in Auckland for children aged 18 months to 6 years. Our kaiako bring extensive experience and Montessori training to our tamariki who come to us from all around the North West Auckland region and beyond.

Our Vision

For the love of the child... Without this; there is nothing.
Every adult at Riverhead Montessori must have this above all else

Our Mission

We promise to provide a nurturing and loving environment where a child feels safe, valued and has a secure sense of belonging. Only then can we begin our role of facilitator and guide

Our Philosophy

'To ignite the flame within'
Riverhead Montessori learning centre proudly offers a progressive quality montessori philosophy interwoven with the strands of the New Zealand Curriculumte Whāriki. To value our

- To foster within the child an intrinsic sense
of self worth, independence and “I can do it” attitude.
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- That it is “Ok” to experiment and make
mistakes, from this magic opportunities of growth arise.
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- To give the child the respect and space to
“work things out for themselves” without adult interference.
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- To guide when appropriate.
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- To recognise that a child has more capabilities than we can even imagine.

- To trust that the child will show you the
way forward.
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- Only through true observation without bias does the next step become clear.
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- To value the child as a holistic contributing member of society who is so much more than a “result on a score card”.
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- To foster the following three self beliefs in each and every child at Riverhead Montessori… Our aim is to help prepare the child for an amazing and fulfilling life journey.

- We believe in a balanced and holistic learning approach that caters to the individual learning styles and needs of the child.

- Maintain and promote positive relationships with children that respect their individuality, culture and place in their community.

- That the child’s learning is a collaboration between the child, their whanua, and wider community. “It takes a village to raise a child.”

- That all aspects of the child’s character, skills and potential have been optimized to the best of our abilities.

- To foster in the child a love of learning, independence, motivation, persistence, problem solving and confidence in their own abilities.

- To provide an enriched and fun learning environment that follows the child’s individual developmental needs.

- To provide opportunities of freedom of choice within a prepared environment. “Freedom within safe boundaries.”

- This helps the child to develop an intrinsic sense of self to fulfil their own needs and aspirations. To utilise all current educational models… teach with passion, intellect, innovation, flexibility and effective practice.

- That our educators continue to develop competent practices in facilitating children’s engagement in learning.

- Demonstrate effective positive guidance.

- To provide the best possible opportunities for the child so they are well prepared in all areas for their next life adventures.

Children love to explore!

They love to investigate every nook and cranny of a new house, a new garden or a new cupboard.

They love to prospect the vegetable patch for slugs and snails and worms. They love to hunt for treasure, play dress ups and figure out just exactly which stick makes the best fairy wand or pirates sword.

When encouraged to explore, children become confident in their abilities to investigate, examine and achieve. This is what we witness every single day in our private kindergarden. Children making little discoveries and through these discoveries, they have victories all of their very own.

Why are we different?

At Nature's Explorers we are focused on learning in a natural enviroment.

When you send your child to Natures Explorers, you send him or her to a centre that is not driven by a bottom line or a corporate head office. Because of this, your child will be sitting on real wooden chairs and working on real wooden tables.

They will run through real grass, capture real bugs, pick real fruit from our real trees and even go on nature walks at least once a week.

When you send your child to us, he or she will have every opportunity to experience a program and learning environment where they will develop a love of discovery, inquiry and problem solving.