Olive Tree Early Learning Centre

There is something truly magical about the way a child’s mind works—where a cardboard box is a starship and a backyard puddle is a vast ocean. Embracing that creativity isn't just about "keeping them busy"; it’s about validating their unique perspective on the world.

When we lean into a child's imagination, we help them build confidence, problem-solving skills, and emotional intelligence.

It’s so special to see the children full of wonder and excitement as they test out their ideas with their friends

Friends working together with a shared end goal ❤️ “let’s make it so tall!”

Science in Early Childhood involves nurturing children’s natural curiosity to explore, question and understand the natural world through play based and hands on experiences. It promotes critical thinking, problem solving, observation, reflection and is FUN!

When nature comes to visit, we love to be able to share these experiences with our tamariki. It’s so important that we can build our children up to be confident kaitiaki 🐝

The value of learning with real tools….
When a child uses a real tool, the stakes are higher! This naturally builds executive function, the mental processes that enable us to plan, focus attention, and juggle multiple tasks.

Patterns, counting, colours, ideas sharing and friendships all happening in one spot!

Making new discoveries ❤️

We have the ground running in 2026 and are loving seeing the children’s ideas come to life.
When kaiako ask open ended questions the children have time to think about their answers and we may discover some unexpected perspectives…

🎄✨Meri Kirihimete from all the
team at Olive Tree Learning Centre✨🎄

We wish you a happy and safe holiday break and look forward to seeing you in 2026

"Creativity is intelligence having fun." — Albert Einstein