Tamariki start kindergarten from two years old.

Kindergarten is open from 8.30am to 2.45pm for all children over 2 years of age.

We are open from mid January through to late December.  We are open during the school holidays during the year but closed for the Christmas holidays.

We encourage three settling visits before your tamariki start kindergarten.  This will give all of you time to start your relationship with your child’s key teacher as this will support a successful transition to starting kindergarten in your new environment.

We look forward to meeting you and showing you our great kindergarten.

At Birchwood Kindergarten we foster warm, supportive, and responsive interactions between teachers, children, family/whanau, and the wider community.  Positive guidance is modelled to children in a respectful and caring manner to support their emotional competence.  The outcome of this is evidenced in independent, calm, trusting and skilled learners.

Birchwood Kindergarten has a magnificent outdoor learning environment, enriched by well established trees and open spaces.  The area is used to explore, challenge, excite and to develop children as kaitiaki/guardians of our environment so that they can develop an appreciation of the natural world.

The experienced teaching team bring a wide range of skills and knowledge with particular strengths in empowering children, extending children’s thinking and developing strong relationships.

Birchwood Kindergarten is an Enviroschool.  Being in nature brings our senses alive.  Research shows it has proven benefits for creativity, physical and psychological wellbeing.  We learn to love the natural environment through our interaction with it so at Birchwood Kindergarten children are engaged daily in caring for, having fun in and exploring in the outdoors.

Birchwood Kindergarten children have access to a wide range of materials and equipment to develop their understanding of mathematical concepts such as size, shape, space, how two and three-dimensional objects fit together.  They pose and solve problems, exploring maths on a daily basis.  NZ Ministry of Education document Effective Pedagogy in Mathematics states, “to optimise children’s mathematical learning there needs to be sufficient opportunity for them to experience and explore maths in both formal and informal settings.”

“Your bucket holds all the love and happiness you receive each day.  When your bucket is full, you feel happy.  When your bucket is empty, you feel sad.  It’s good to have a full bucket.  What can you do to fill a bucket today?” – We use the ‘Fill a Bucket’ story to heighten awareness of feelings.  Our own and those of others.  This book highlights the many ways families, teachers and caregivers use to fill the buckets of children.  It also gives our children ideas on how to be a ‘bucket filler.’  Fill a bucket language is used within many conversations during the kindergarten day.