We have two rooms in two adjacent buildings. In our Juniors Room, we accommodate up to 30 children aged from birth to 3 years, following the Pikler and RIE theories. We prioritise respect for each child, providing a secure, stimulating, and nurturing environment. We understand infants’ dependence and offer predictability and calm for their growth. Our approach fosters trust through responsive relationships with kaiako, promoting safety and secure environments. We maintain open communication with whānau, building strong reciprocal relationships. Children are encouraged to explore, take risks, and test their abilities within our supportive setting, gaining confidence. They have access to various resources and play spaces, indoors and outdoors, enhancing their environmental awareness and offering quiet, sensory experiences. We value outdoor time, using our natural backyard to develop skills and environmental care. Small group outings further connect tamariki with the natural world, and they actively participate in gardening activities.
The Preschool area caters for children from approx. 2 to school age. We understand that preschoolers are learning to make sense of the world, they’re developing literacy, numeracy, social and mathematics skills and they are especially discovering who they are; therefore, we provide a more complex learning environment for both individual and group experiences. Children are active learners and therefore the way in which the environment is set influences how a child will engage, play and learn. We present materials in a way that invites our children to interact with them, fostering curiosity, engagement and innovation. Our Preschool is set up in a way that promotes small group activities which allow the chance for children to get to know each other better, strengthening their social skills as well as allowing the teachers to work closer with them in promoting their natural curiosity and learning. We thoughtfully set up the environment to be full of provoking, open-ended objects and experiences which encourages spontaneous learning opportunities, both independently as well as through the shared opportunities with their peers.
Apples childcare & learning centre 