Little Diggers Early Learning Centre

11/06/2026

🥬🧀 Recipe of the Month: Savoury Spinach & Cheese Scones 🧀🥬

Nothing says winter comfort quite like a warm, freshly baked scone! This month, our Little Diggers tamariki have been enjoying our delicious Savoury Spinach & Cheese Scones – a wholesome winter warmer that always disappears quickly from their plates.

Not only are these tasty scones packed with flavour, but they're also full of goodness. Spinach provides essential vitamins and minerals to support growing bodies, while cheese offers calcium and protein to help build strong bones and muscles. Together, they create a nutritious snack that keeps little learners fuelled for a busy day of play, exploration, and discovery.

It's always wonderful to see children enthusiastically trying and enjoying nutritious foods, and these scones have certainly become a favourite, with many tamariki coming back for seconds!

Why not give them a try at home and see if they become a family favourite there too? 💚

11/06/2026

Looking for the owner of this male dog. He was hit by a car on Tram road near the Mandeville village. We have a parent who will drop him at the Oxford vets.

10/06/2026

We have developed a strong literacy and numeracy programme in the preschool that provides children with the foundational skills they need for lifelong learning. Through play-based experiences, children develop early language, communication, problem-solving, counting, and reasoning skills. These opportunities help build confidence, curiosity, and a positive attitude toward learning, supporting a smooth transition to school and fostering success in everyday life.

08/06/2026

As part of our Fun day Friday's, Toddler room Kaiako Sam brought in her coffee machine for 'Fluffy Friday' last week. The tamariki were very excited to enjoy a mini fluffy with their morning tea.

04/06/2026

Little Diggers is proud to support the PJ Project and will be having a PJ day at the centre on Friday 12th June. We are also a drop of point for people who would like to donate new or used PJs that get distributed to children in need this Winter. Donations will be accepted until 13th July. Please help us support this worthy cause.
2/468 Mandeville road Ohoka

28/05/2026

Team Lead / 2IC – Nursery Room

We are looking for an experienced and passionate ECE teacher to join our Nursery team in a Team Lead / 2IC role.

This is an exciting leadership opportunity for someone who:
✨ Has strong experience working with under twos
✨ Can support and mentor a teaching team
✨ Sees the bigger picture beyond the Nursery room
✨ Is confident in supporting wider centre operations and leadership when required.

What we offer:
🚜Full Pay Parity
🚜Supportive leadership team
🚜Ongoing professional growth opportunities
🚜Well-resourced learning environments
🚜A welcoming and collaborative team culture

To find out more: https://gazette.education.govt.nz/vacancies/1HAs_y-team-lead-2ic-nursery-room/?search=canterbury%3FSectorsAndRoles%3Dearly-learniong-kohanga-reo%23results

Ready to apply:
Email your CV and cover letter to [email protected]

28/05/2026

28/05/2026

The nursery tamariki have been enjoying lots of sensory play activities such as exploring the properties of dry cornflour, wet cornflour and coloured rice. We have been making the most of the lovely Autumn days and getting outside as much as possible and enjoying the fresh air and playing alongside each other. We are very lucky at Little Diggers to have such an awesome outdoor playground.

21/05/2026

On pink shirt day we explored what it means to be kind friends and how we can show manaakitanga (kindness and caring) towards others every day. Through conversations, stories, and play, we practised using kind words helping our friends, sharing and showing aroha (love and compassion) to those around us. Kaiako planned some neat activities for children to explore, and we even had a compliments box created by kaiako Katie where families could share their voices of appreciation.