Ranui Kindergarten

15/06/2026

Ko te whakatipuranga tenei o te mana ki te whenua, te mana turangawaewae me te mana toi whenua o te tangata – children and their families feel a sense of belonging (Te Whāriki 2017).

From belonging comes learning. A strong sense of belonging gives tamariki the confidence to try new experiences. At Ranui Kindergarten, we are dedicated to being whānau-focused, fostering strong relationships and a sense of belonging through the principle of whanaungatanga.

We believe that family involvement is essential in creating a nurturing learning environment for our tamariki. By actively celebrating events like Pink Day and Mother's Day, we invite whānau to engage with us in meaningful ways, linking home life with our kindergarten experience.

Our tamariki are actively involved in these preparations, participating in baking, organising decorations, and setting up our environment, which helps them develop a sense of ownership and pride in their kindergarten community. This commitment not only honours the cultural diversity of our community but also strengthens the bonds between families and educators, ensuring that every child feels valued and connected as they grow and learn.

13/03/2026

The idea of a give-away shelf at Ranui Kindergarten was born early on in their Enviroschools journey and fitted in with the kindergarten’s philosophy and culture. It's recently had a makeover...

13/11/2025

Ranui Kindergarten sits in the heart of the South Invercargill community and prides itself on reflecting its community. It is committed to providing opportunities for each tamaiti to be able to communicate with confidence, persevere with difficulty, understand the wider world around them and have a true sense of themselves as capable and independent learners.

At Ranui Kindergarten, tamariki are nurtured and supported to discover their own capabilities and successes. We work with and alongside whānau to create strong links between home, kindergarten and community environments. We strive to make everyone feel welcome as soon as they walk through the gate.

Our papa tākaro (outdoor play area) is vast, tree-lined, grassy and inviting. We have resources available to offer both safe and challenging play for 2 to 5-year-olds. Our indoor space is open and spacious with ample space for messy play, exploring the arts, areas to build with a range of resources, pukapuka, puzzles and games for all ages. We also provide morning tea and a hot lunch for free.

Ngā kaiako support children’s social and emotional development by modelling, coaching and supporting the language needed to communicate thoughts and feelings. We have a mahi mārie (quiet space) where ngā tamariki can go to self-regulate, or just to have some quiet time.

Tamariki are encouraged to explore the indoor and outdoor spaces freely. These spaces are resourced in a way that encourages exploration. Kaiako facilitate and support tamariki to explore the play spaces by setting up provocations and being actively involved in their play.

Ranui uses Storypark to keep whānau informed about their tamariki learning and day to day moments, through stories, photos, videos and to convey valuable information.

We warmly invite you to visit Ranui to see and feel our space and meet ngā tamariki and ngā kaiako. We have an open-door policy, so any time is a good time.

25/09/2025

Ranui Kindergarten has been part of the Enviroschools programme for a number of years now. Being an Enviroschools kindergarten means that caring for the environment is part of our kaupapa, helping tamariki become empowered learners, and trying to live in a sustainable way. Out of his concern for the birds, one of our tamaiti designed and built a great bird feeder which was put up in the kindergarten's playground. We decided to extend this idea and produced enough bird feeder kits so that tamariki could gift one on Father's Day. Dads, did you get your present? Bird seed cake is one way of providing nourishment in winter. If you are wanting to make a really good bird seed cake, here is a recipe that I use at home with great success. Combine a block of melted lard with rolled oats, some left-over jam and pumpkin seeds. Press the mixture into small blocks and freeze. Do not use salted peanuts or desiccated coconut for they can kill birds. Give birds time to find your offerings. Tui and bellbirds particularly like a sugar and water mixture. If anyone didn't receive a bird feeder and would like one to hang in their garden at home, get in touch.

02/09/2025

August was a very busy month for Ranui Kindergarten as we took part in community events. First came Polyfest which was the culmination of lots of Mahi especially around how to present ourselves on stage. The bus ride alone was a huge experience for many tamariki! Kaiako and whanau were incredibly proud of our Ranui team. Next came our disco which was a fun night of shared kai, dancing, strobe lighting, balloons and noise! Both of these events brought together 3 generations of Ranui whanau ranging in age from 70 to 1 week old and demonstrated the amazing support we have from our community. This is so important to us and they never let us down. A small group of tamariki attended the unveiling of the latest Heritage Trail panels at the Ness St playground. This was quite an honour for us and will form the basis of kōrero for some time to come. Nga tamariki smiled and sang through the bitter weather conditions, enjoying the novelty of being away from kindergarten and exploring more of the community. This is a current focus for us at Ranui so watch out for us - who knows where we will pop up next!

11/08/2025

Just a snippet with what we have been up to lately 😊 as well as lots of Polyfest practice!

24/06/2025

Matariki harikoa - Happy Matariki. Matariki is an abbreviation of Ngā Mata o te Ariki Tawhirimātea - the eyes of the god Tawhirimātea. According to Māori tradition, Tawhirimātea was so angry when his siblings separated their parents, Ranginui and Papatūānuku, that he tore out his eyes and threw them into the heavens - creating the stars of Matariki. The rising of this star cluster in mid-winter, signals the beginning of a new year for Māori.
Tamariki at Ranui Kindergarten have been busy creating Matariki art works, including Kewa the whale which was displayed at the 2-day light show at the association's office - Te Whare Rakau. During this coming month, take the time to enjoy time together as a whānau, sharing food and reflecting on the past year.

02/05/2025

Find our comment and click ’like’. We would love to win this. As you all know, our tamariki LOVE exploring water play! 💦

📯🥁WINNER ANNOUNCEMENT: Competition is now closed and we are stoked to announce that Blue Duck Early Learning Centre - Waihōpai has won the Water Wall with 291 votes from their community! 🎊
Nice work Blue Duck Waihōpai, we will be in touch to arrange a time to drop it off 😃.

🎉 GIVEAWAY – tag your favourite preschool! 🎉

You might’ve seen us recently at the Food Fest🍔🍢🍜, Night Market 🎸✨🌭, or Murihiku Marae chatting about Council’s Annual Plan with our Water Wall—and now it's up for grabs!

We’d love to give it away to a deserving kindy/daycare or other group with young tamariki who would enjoy it as much as we have.

👉 Comment below which group or school you think should win it.

The organisation with the most likes by 15 May will be offered the Water Wall! ❤️👍

10/04/2025

Have you seen our third place winning scare crow at kindy? Ranui tamariki loved this project!

24/03/2025

Thanks so much from Heart NZ for all your kind donations given on Little Heart Day last week. It is always good to support such great causes and to have fun while doing it. By using a balloon filled with water and a couple of straws, tamariki could see how the heart pumps blood around the body. Tamariki could listen to their own heart using a stethoscope and investigate an anatomical model.