Educare Tamahere

Educare Tamahere At Educare Tamahere we believe our tamariki should enjoy beautiful spaces that encourage them to interact with the natural world.

MEET THE TEAM MONDAY!
31/08/2026

MEET THE TEAM MONDAY!

Today was Daffodil Day. Here at Educare Tamahere, and there was plenty of yellow to be seen around the centre.Tamariki w...
28/08/2026

Today was Daffodil Day. Here at Educare Tamahere, and there was plenty of yellow to be seen around the centre.

Tamariki were encouraged to wear yellow for the day, and where they could add a gold coin to our daffodil painting out in reception. Coin by coin, the flower slowly filled with colour, until it was covered from petal to petal.

Thank you to everyone who got behind this worthy cause and took part today. Thanks to your generosity, we raised $166.80 for such an important cause.

We're proud of our tamariki and whānau for showing what a bit of yellow and a lot of heart can do.

Cancer Society New Zealand

Liz’s Garden Guardian duties, in action!Today, a few lucky tamariki joined our amazing toddler teacher Liz on a very imp...
27/08/2026

Liz’s Garden Guardian duties, in action!

Today, a few lucky tamariki joined our amazing toddler teacher Liz on a very important mission, to feed those hungry worms.

Scraps went into the bin, tiny hands got busy, and out came the good stuff, worm wee, nature’s own liquid gold. With watering cans now filled up, the tamariki went to feed it straight to the gardens.

Along the way came the questions, as they always do out here. Questions about worms, about plants, about all the small creatures that call this garden home. Liz has time for every one of them, because out here Liz isn’t just growing vegetables, she’s growing future papatūānuku kaitiaki, who understand where their kai comes from.

Just another day of Liz doing what she does best.

Last week marked Aotearoa New Zealand Children's Book Week, and our preschool tamariki celebrated by diving into one of ...
26/08/2026

Last week marked Aotearoa New Zealand Children's Book Week, and our preschool tamariki celebrated by diving into one of the classroom's most loved stories, Rainbow Fish.

Over the course of the week, our little artists drew the shape of their very own fish, then brought it to life with collaged rainbow scales, a few very special silver ones, bubbles, seaweed, and a scattering of shiny gemstone embellishments. Each fish finished with something just as important as the artwork itself, a name, proudly added to claim it as their own.

The results are truly beautiful, and it doesn't stop there. This whole school of Rainbow Fish will soon be swimming across the walls of Tamahere Model Country School's library, for tamariki, students, and whānau alike to enjoy. If you're in the area, keep an eye out for them.

There's something rather lovely about a story on a bookshelf about a fish learning to share, ending up shared itself, in a library, for everyone to see.

MEET THE TEACHER MONDAY
24/08/2026

MEET THE TEACHER MONDAY

Today, our preschool tamariki became the bees. It's the finale of weeks spent deep in an inquiry into bees, covering the...
21/08/2026

Today, our preschool tamariki became the bees.

It's the finale of weeks spent deep in an inquiry into bees, covering their anatomy, food sources, pollination, and the whole buzzing ecosystem they're part of. There have been songs sung and bee-and-flower role play acted out again and again, and today, it all came together.

It started on the mat, recapping everything they'd learned so far before branching into other words starting with "B" (turns out there are a lot). From there, the group moved into the main event, with bees strapped to wrists and flowers freshly crafted just days before.

Today’s job was simple, glue a lid to the centre of the flower, scoop in some pretend pollen, then dip a fingertip in glue and into that pollen, just like a real bee would. Then it was time to fly, buzzing across the room to the hive on the wall, and back again to the flower, over and over, gathering pollen and bringing it home.

Along the way, there was so much happening under the surface. Counting bee legs as they went. Following each step of the task through to the end. Sitting, listening, and contributing as part of a group. All that fine motor control needed for every careful dip and glue. It's the exciting groundwork of school readiness, folded into a story about bees.

Turns out the best way to learn something is to become it.

Pots, pans, a wooden spoon and something to stir. Long before "big kid" pretend play, this is where it all begins, in ou...
19/08/2026

Pots, pans, a wooden spoon and something to stir. Long before "big kid" pretend play, this is where it all begins, in our nursery's kitchen corner, now one of the most popular spots since our beautiful environmental refresh.

Here, tamariki open lids, stack bowls, mix and pour, cooking up whatever's on today's imaginary menu. It's familiar, it's a place to belong, and it's exactly where dramatic play takes its very first steps.

But there's something else happening here too, with tamariki gathering around a table, alongside each other, sharing a space, a moment, and plenty of laughter.

It's not just about the kitchen tools. It's about learning to be together, in our home away from home.
Come see what your little one might discover around our table.

The other morning, right over our fence line, we noticed something new arrived. Lambs! Wobbly-legged and super cute, bor...
14/08/2026

The other morning, right over our fence line, we noticed something new arrived. Lambs! Wobbly-legged and super cute, born into the paddock next door.

Our preschool tamariki were very excited to see the new lambs, lining up along the fence to point, watch, and take it all in. No screens or lesson plans needed, just a paddock offering up spontaneous learning opportunities in late winter.

This is one of the quiet joys of being a centre on the rural fringe. The seasons don't just change around us, they change right in front of us, and on this occasion, that meant new life just over the fence!

Since the reset, one thing has become an obsession in preschool, and that's the light table. Once you look closely, it's...
13/08/2026

Since the reset, one thing has become an obsession in preschool, and that's the light table. Once you look closely, it's easy to see why.

Stack a red block on a blue one, and suddenly there's purple. Hold a piece up to the light, and the whole world turns a different colour. What looks like simple play is actually tamariki experimenting with colour, light, and transparency in real time, no explanation needed, just pure discovery.

Then there's the creative building side of things, with towers rising up, wobbling, coming back down, and going straight back up again. Balance, gravity, and spatial awareness are all being tested and re-tested, one block at a time.

And because there's only so many pieces to go around, there's another kind of learning happening too, one built around sharing, turn-taking, and working together on something bigger than one pair of hands could build alone.

Colour theory, physics, engineering, and teamwork, all before morning tea. Not a bad morning if you ask us!

Address

25 Tamahere Drive
Tamahere
3283

Opening Hours

Monday 7am - 6pm
Tuesday 7am - 6pm
Wednesday 7am - 6pm
Thursday 7am - 6pm
Friday 7am - 6pm

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