One of the highlights of our year ✨
This week our KIDDZ whānau came together to celebrate the Chinese Dragon Boat Festival (Duanwu Festival), a traditional festival that honours culture, community, and connection.
Our tamariki and educators had the wonderful opportunity to learn how to make zongzi, traditional sticky rice dumplings wrapped in bamboo leaves – guided by some of our talented Chinese educators and grandparents. It was beautiful to see knowledge, culture, and traditions being shared across generations.
A special thank you to Julie Wiley, who led a joyful music session featuring Dragon Boat Festival songs, singing in Mandarin, and familiar favourites like Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star. The room was filled with music, laughter, learning, and plenty of enthusiasm from both tamariki and adults alike.
At KIDDZ, we treasure opportunities like these that bring our community together, celebrate the cultures within our service, and create meaningful learning experiences for our children.
Thank you to everyone who joined us and helped make this year’s Dragon Boat Festival celebration so special. 🐉🛶💚
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Kiddz Homebased Childcare
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“Inspiring inquiring minds to wonder, discover and contribute.” Children are born into family and at Kiddz they can continue to grow and learn in family.
We are a Ministry of Education Licensed Homebased Early Childhood Service
Why we do what we do...
It is our fundamental belief that children learn best when they learn at their own pace and in their own way. In our small family sized groups, children can follow their own rhythms and routines and be who they are. Family is the basis of the community. Strong foundations build strong family, strong f
🌿 Exploring Our Place in Nature 🌿
This week Hāpori we enjoyed another visit to one of our favourite places, Riccarton Bush. We are absolutely loving the new walkway through the bush, and it has been wonderful to watch our tamariki confidently explore a place that has become so familiar to them.
At KIDDZ, we intentionally return to the same outdoor spaces throughout the seasons. Rather than always seeking somewhere new, we believe there is great value in revisiting special places again and again. Through these repeated experiences, tamariki develop a sense of belonging and connection to the environment around them, finding their own tūrangawaewae – their place to stand.
Even in winter, we believe that being outdoors is an important part of childhood. As long as tamariki are well, warm, and dressed for the weather, fresh air, movement, and connection with nature remain an essential part of our programme. There is so much learning to be found in listening to birdsong, noticing seasonal changes, climbing over roots, and simply having time and space to explore.
Although it was a chilly morning, we were lucky enough to enjoy some beautiful winter sunshine, making our bush walk even more special.
As we head into winter, we know many families start to feel the impact of constant coughs, colds, and bugs, especially in larger group settings.
One of the beautiful things about home-based care is the smaller group size and calm home environment. With low ratios and fewer children together at one time, illnesses often don’t spread as quickly as they can in larger centres.
Our educators also spend lots of time outdoors with the children, exploring nature, visiting parks, going for walks, and getting fresh air whenever possible. Even in winter, these everyday experiences support wellbeing, movement, and healthy little bodies.
Homebased care offers:
• Smaller groups and more individual attention
• Calm, familiar home environments
• Strong relationships and secure attachment
• Flexible routines that respond to children’s needs
• Plenty of outdoor play and community experiences
Winter can feel long with little ones, but having a nurturing, responsive environment can make such a difference ❤️
13/05/2026
✨ Why small group care matters ✨
Many parents feel pressure to enrol their toddlers in large daycare settings early for “socialisation” ,but research tells us that in the early years, children need something even more important first: secure, responsive relationships 🤍
Before the age of 3, young children are still learning how to feel safe, regulated, and connected. They thrive in calm environments with familiar adults who can respond to their individual needs, emotions, and rhythms throughout the day.
That’s one of the beautiful things about homebased childcare and smaller group sizes 🌿
With fewer children in care, educators are able to build strong, nurturing relationships with each child, offering the comfort, co-regulation, and gentle guidance that supports healthy emotional development.
Toddlers absolutely benefit from being alongside other children, learning through play, observation, and connection, but they don’t need busy, overwhelming environments to do that.
Small group care allows children to socialise naturally while still feeling safe, seen, and supported ❤️
Because in the early years, connection comes first
09/05/2026
To the mums, grandmas, aunties, and special women who make childhood feel safe, loved, and full of magic Happy Mother’s Day 💛
We hope today brings you a quiet cuppa, a handmade card, sticky kisses, and a reminder that you’re doing an amazing job 🌷
With love from all of us at Kiddz Homebased Childcare.
06/05/2026
Back at Travis Wetlands, a place that’s becoming part of our tamariki’s story 🌱
There’s something special about returning to the same spaces, the familiar paths, the ducks waiting by the water, the feeling of knowing this is a place I belong.
These moments help nurture our children’s sense of tūrangawaewae, their connection to the land, to place, and to community.
Watching them slow down, notice, and connect… this is where real learning lives.
04/05/2026
Kia ora whānau 🤍
If you’re looking for a beautiful home-based care option in Burwood, Shenae currently has a rare full-time and part-time space becoming available soon.
Shenae is a mum of two and offers a truly nurturing, calm environment where tamariki are supported with so much aroha and respect. Her space is centred around play, nature, and everyday learning, the kind of place where children can just be themselves and feel completely safe and valued.
With small group sizes, lots of outdoor exploration, creative play, and a real sense of whānau, it’s a lovely option for anyone wanting something a bit more personal than a larger centre.
✔️ 20 hours free ECE
✔️ WINZ subsidy approved
These spaces don’t come up often, so if it sounds like the right fit for your whānau, we’d really recommend getting in touch with Shenae for a chat 🤍
01/05/2026
We were told classrooms build brains.
Truth is… brains are built long before the desk.
“Play builds the brain that school later uses.” – Dr. Gordon Neufeld
Mud pies. Climbing trees. Bare feet. Endless imagination.
This is the real curriculum.
This is where brains are built. Where curiosity takes root. Where regulation begins.
Not in rows.
Not on worksheets.
Children aren’t designed to sit still for hours on end.
They’re wired to climb higher, get messier, play longer. 🌿
This isn’t a bonus.
It’s not enrichment.
It’s the foundation.
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Contact the school
Telephone
Address
P O Box 38052, Parklands
Christchurch
8842
Opening Hours
| Monday | 6:30am - 7:30pm |
| Tuesday | 6:30am - 7:30pm |
| Wednesday | 6:30am - 7:30pm |
| Thursday | 6:30am - 7:30pm |
| Friday | 6:30am - 7:30pm |