Ko te tamaiti te pūtake o te kaupapa - Children are at the heart of the matter: Our culture is based on a foundation of love and kindness.
We believe fostering strong, trusting, respectful relationships is the foundation for living and learning. Ko te tamaiti te pūtake o te kaupapa - Children are at the heart of the matter: Our centres culture is based on a foundation of love and kindness, and we believe that fostering strong, trusting, respectful and reciprocal relationships is the foundation for living and learning. Whanaungatanga
- Relationships: We believe the relationship is all. The strength of the tapa toru (triangle) of kaitiaki, tamaiti and whanau, and the transfer of trust between them. This underpins the value of why we place building relationships as our primary focus. This provides our Three Bears community with a sense of belonging. Whakamana - Empowerment: We trust the children to become capable and competent directors of their own learning through exploring open-ended resources, experiences and opportunities. Our curriculum then empowers the child to learn and grow by supporting them to become inner-directed and competent learners. Kotahitanga - Holistic Development: We see Three Bears as a family and a home and support children’s learning through experiences and involvement in all aspects of daily life and living. Our curriculum reflects the holistic way that children learn and grow through acknowledging and valuing each child and their learning as unique. Taiao – Environment: We set our place up to reflect the world we want to live in; beautiful, calm, refreshing, eco-friendly, inviting and full of wonder and opportunity. How we deliver our philosophy
Ko te tamaiti te putake o te kaupapa - Children are at the heart of the matter:
We show love and kindness as we share care moments.
Our relationship is reciprocal and respectful.
We are here for the children; we are present for them, we listen to them, we trust them and we respond to them.
Our environment is designed for them and we put children first. Whanaungatanga - Relationships:
We don’t enrol a child, we welcome a family.
Through being responsive and caring in relationships with tamariki.
We focus with a primary care/key teacher approach - promoting consistency and security for children and families. Whakamana – Empowerment:
We provide an environment with open ended resources and loose parts which extend learning and don’t limit it.
PLAY underpins our curriculum, and both children and adults demonstrate a passion to explore and learn.
We regularly hold excursions, following the ideas from the children on where they would like to go.
We reflect on the provision, respond to the children’s interests and where they want to take their learning. We follow their lead, support their ideas and offering them support with how to get to where they want to go, but allowing them to find a path to get there themselves.
We have a flexible timetable so as not to interrupt children’s flow.
We believe learning, leadership and responsibility should be shared amongst everyone in the Three Bears community, including teachers, parents, whanau, children and others.
We provide a ‘same - same’ approach, meaning that the setup, expectations and approach of the kaitiaki are the same for and from all. Kotahitanga - Holistic Development:
We set up homelike rhythms and rituals which promote an understanding of care and contribution, like putting bins out, setting the table, folding washing and feeding the garden.
We celebrate birthdays, graduations and transitions in a consistent and predictable routine that is the same for all, as well as including special features for them.
We strive to foster each child’s physical, social, emotional, cognitive, spiritual and cultural well-being, within an environment that allows space and time for children to grow and develop naturally.
We show children how to learn to take care of and look after others as well as themselves.
We encourage the learning experience of living. Taiao – Environment:
Caring for our environment starts at our centre.
We Recycle what we can, we use our food scraps in the worm farm, we preserve water by providing alternatives to daily water play, our excess water goes to our plants, we enjoy our food from the garden, we give sustainable gifts to our children in celebrations, we encourage waste free lunches.
12/04/2026
✨ Small Centre. Big Heart. ✨
At Nurturing Hearts Early Learning Centre, we offer more than childcare ,we offer connection, care, and a true sense of belonging 💛
Our small centre environment allows us to maintain excellent child-to-teacher ratios, meaning every child receives:
🌱 Individual attention
🌱 Meaningful learning experiences
🌱 Strong, trusting relationships with our kaiako
We take pride in creating a calm, nurturing space where children feel safe, valued, and empowered to grow 🌿
Because at Nurturing Hearts every child’s journey matters ❤️
📩 Book a visit today
14/08/2023
What a lovely Matariki event we had this year. The most amount of returning past families and tamariki ever.
A wonderful opportunity for everyone to meet and mingle, Aidan reading myths and legends, Anastasia guiding the poi dance and flax weaving and myself leading waiata singing and the Haka.
The kai!! The wonderful meal, prepared by Shipra, Jennifer and the tamariki, blessed by a karakia from one of our past students, truly made this a magical experience.
We also began our preparation for the year ahead by inviting families to mark their top 5 learning priorities they value most on a prepared survey board. This will help guide our practice and strategic plan over the next year. If you did not make it to Matariki, we invite you to come and please add your Top Learning Priorities located just inside the Teina room
Aroha nui
Nurturing Hearts Kaitiaki team
27/07/2023
With our Matariki celebration being tomorrow, we have received from whanau loads of lovely kai contributions.
The tamariki began the preparations for this key event today by ensuring their hands were washed and listening to a safety discussion on using a peeler away from the body.
All those who came over to contribute, we observed some very persistent, determined and enthusiastic participants. The huge amount of kai was soon being worked through and if lunch time hadn’t interrupted us, I’m certain the tamariki would have just continued peeling.
We can feel the excitement growing as during kai we talked about all the interactions we will be participating in. The Haka, waiata, myths and legends, kanikani dance and poi, eating, talking, flax weaving and enjoying each other’s company.
22/06/2023
Roti Cultural experience 22.6.23
What an awesome experience in the kitchen baking today. One of our beautiful kaitiaki began making Roti, very quickly this was noticed and attracted numerous tamariki wishing to contribute and be involved. As the numbers grew, patience and communication became key from the tamariki to express their thoughts and wishes.
Ingredients were gathered and properties examined. Proportion amounts were then mixed, stirred, and squished together, before rolling pins were introduced to flatten out into circular shapes. Finally, a little oil and a fry and they were ready.
Kai time couldn’t come soon enough as the delicious smells floating from the oven top, tempted everyone after their hard mahi.
Whakamama/empowerment- trusting tamariki to be competent and capable directors of their own learning through exploring experiences and opportunities.
Kotahitanga/holistic development- supporting learning through involvement in all aspects of daily life and living.
Mana Tangaroa/contribution- using a range of strategies and skills to play and lean with others.
06/06/2023
Art is a form of communication, where the child is able to express their ideas, feelings and thoughts in another medium. Tamariki are able to display great dispositions like being engaged at the art tables, deep in concentration focused, repetitive practicing, confidence, curiosity and refining their fine motor skills while practicing pen/brush strokes.
Testing techniques and endless possibilities, experiment with colours, paints, scissors or pencils, mixing, through self-directed play, while experiencing and exploring other ways to competently communicate their interests and passions. Expressing your feelings and ideas using a wide range of materials and modes (MOE,2017, pp25).
What has made an impression on tamariki, seeks expression, through their symbolic, even abstract means. Tamariki will often depict what they know and feel. We love to observe a child at work and never interrupt, unless we have been invited in. The creatively and incredible results are truly wonderful to see being developed.
30/01/2023
Clarification of essential worker
Kia ora Parents and Whānau,
Just to advise that following our communications last night, Ministry of Education clarified that in this situation, ‘essential workers’ are not the same as with Covid. MOE advised that the definition of an essential worker is: ‘any child whose parent needs them to attend the service physically.’
The purpose of these measures is to reduce traffic on our roads, as opposed to reducing infection during past Covid lockdowns.
Our centre is safe, and our team are able to support you. If you need childcare this week, our service is available for you. Apart from those we already know will be attending, if you need childcare, please let us know so that we can call in only the number of Kaitiaki who are needed on site.
For those of you who do not need the childcare, thanks for keeping the traffic on our roads light.
Aroha nui
TJ and the Nurturing Hearts Kaitiaki
30/01/2023
Kia ora parents and whānau,
Well, that was a long weekend we didn’t plan for! I hope that you, your whānau, people you live with, and your homes are safe.
You may have just heard that schools and ECE centres are required to remain closed this week, except where they are required to care for children of essential workers. This means we will be open only for these parents and we would like to extend this to parents of children who have had their homes damaged, are clearing up and it has been a distressing weekend. The centre is safe and if your tamariki have had a weekend of upheaval, and you are able to bring them in for some normalcy, they are welcome to attend also.
If you are working from home, please remain at home with your tamariki. This will be the situation from tomorrow (Tuesday) to Friday this week. Back to normal Tuesday 7th February.
Please advise by reply email if you are required to attend your workplace and you require childcare this week. Also, if you need childcare to support your home situation damaged by the floods. If this is the case, please let us know so we can be careful in our conversations with and care of them. We need this information by 7pm tonight so we can plan for the week.
Action to take:
• Parents of essential workers and those who need the support, advise by 7pm tonight if you need childcare this week and the hours you expect to need.
• Everyone else working from home, no need to reply. We will follow up with an update tomorrow.
Aroha nui
TJ and the Nurturing Hearts Kaitiaki team
25/11/2022
Yesterday we were honored to have a visit from a Police Officer, and were able to ask and communicate many questions during the visit. We were firstly asked "How can you recognize a Police Officer", "A Police car," was one response and "Why do you use a Police car? as a follow up question. "What do Police Officers do? "Help people, asking for help, was her response".
We spoke together about road and personal safety, with tamariki answering that "Look both ways, Hold hands, cross with a teacher" are the ways we keep our health and wellbeing.
We got to explore what Police carry with them to help others and the highlight, getting inside the police car, putting on the Police costume's and to hear the siren, with one child exclaiming "Siren is very Loud".
What a wonderful opportunity and experience for all the tamariki.
27/10/2022
Spring is here at Nurturing Hearts, after seeing our first seedlings growing and our various types of seed collecting, round two of preparations and observing of plants growing has began, thanks to some contributions from whānau ❤️ 🌱
Providing opportunities to see changes of the living plants with hands on, messy play helps tamariki develop an appreciation and aroha for the natural world and make discoveries on their own 🌎
Exploration, through questions and investigation, active involvement and discussing the care an wellbeing for plants, our peers and selves
06/10/2022
06/10/2022
There isn’t bad weather, just bad clothing, so when the tamariki asked for an excursion, we checked the weather and chose our appropriate gear.
Windy and raining, meant warm clothing and raincoats, tamariki agreed. After our preparations off we went.
Trips are wonderful opportunities to enjoy new experiences, and tamariki who are confident and familiar with these experiences support and guide through Tuakana-Teina, older modeling to the younger less experienced.
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12/04/2026
14/08/2023
27/07/2023
22/06/2023
06/06/2023
25/11/2022
27/10/2022
06/10/2022
06/10/2022