Brookfield Kindergarten

04/09/2026

Spring has officially arrived, and we were so lucky to celebrate Hanami—the Japanese blossom festival—alongside our incredible teacher aide, Natsuko!

Natsuko helped our tamariki prepare delicious homemade sushi, which we then gathered to share with our children and whānau, in Lees park next door. We are so grateful for the rich cultural diversity within our kindergarten whānau. These special moments create wonderful opportunities for us to learn, connect, and celebrate kotahitanga - togetherness.

Moving forward, to keep our tamariki safe, we will no longer be posting photos of children on our social media page. We look forward to continuing to share updates, fundraisers, and stories of our learning journey with you with selected images.

21/08/2026

The appointment of a childcare centre owner and lobbyist for the sector’s largest for-profit companies to the Teaching Council has drawn criticism from some in the sector as “outrageous”.

Minister of Education Erica Stanford appointed Kelly Seaburg to the Teaching Council on July 30 as the only early childhood education (ECE) sector representative, with her appointment starting 1 September.

However, critics say Seaburg is not a trained ECE teacher and therefore is unqualified to represent the sector. They believe she could put the business side first.

Here is the link. It is paywalled.
Lobbyist for largest commercial childcare chains appointed to Teaching Council | The Press https://share.google/IqcwUoQ69uuowefWQ

31/07/2026

Ngā mihi o te tau hou Māori! 🌟 It’s been absolute bliss returning to kindergarten this week. The energy has been buzzing after our Matariki celebration on Thursday (a full wrap-up post is coming next week!).

In the lead-up, our tamariki have loved exploring the stories and significance behind each of the 9 Matariki stars. Pair that with the exciting opening of our new carpentry workshop and these gorgeous, crisp sunny days, and it’s been a week full of rich learning, play, and connection. 🪵☀️ Whānau, enjoy your weekend!

27/06/2026

Over the past week we have continued exploring kaitiaki roles associated with two more whetu in the Mātariki constellation - these will become visible in early July signalling the start of the Mātariki Māori new year period.

Last week we explored Waitī and Waitā - associated with kai from freshwater and saltwater.

This week we explored Tupuānuku and Tupuārangi - associated with kai that grows in the ground (like the Kumara we harvested recently at kindergarten) and kai growing above ground and up in the trees (including manu - birds).

We will enjoy eating much of the kai discussed cooked in a hāngi here at kindergarten as part of this year’s Mātariki hākari (shared feast) that we are getting excited about!

19/06/2026

✨ Welcoming the magic of Matariki ✨

There is a beautiful, calm energy in our space as we prepare for Matariki! Lately, we have been learning all about Waitī (freshwater life) and Waitā (ocean life). 🌊💧

From screen printing and games to singing waiata together, our tamariki are deeply engaged. With our kaiako intentionally present to scaffold their learning, it’s been wonderful to watch new concepts click and new friendships grow.

Roll on July—we are so excited for our upcoming Matariki celebration! 🌟

30/05/2026

Updates, insights, research and tools to support and empower our ECE community.

24/05/2026

Today I shared my experience of visiting NASA with our tamariki. We talked about how NASA is a special place where people learn about space — a place much higher than the clouds and airplanes
We linked this learning to literacy and early mathematics by exploring the different shapes we could see in rockets. Tamariki noticed squares, triangles for the top of the rockets, circles for the windows, and more triangles on the sides of the rockets. Together we used shape names, described what we saw, and created our own rocket designs using different shapes

08/05/2026

Play is the foundation of learning, creativity, self-expression, and constructive problem-solving. It’s how children make meaning of the social world around them.

This is why we prioritise long uninterrupted periods of free play and learning within the day at kindergarten.

Our mixed ages programme provides rich opportunities for sociocultural learning and tuakana-teina relationships.

02/05/2026

01/05/2026

It has been a beautiful week of growth and connection at our kindergarten! 🌱 We found it almost impossible to narrow down the photos because there were so many special moments to capture.
This week we:
Welcomed new friends into our whānau.
Hosted kaiako from our local kura, who visited to build those important bridges for our tamariki.
Harvested a spectacular crop of kūmara with Nannie Wendy! 🍠
Celebrated our wonderful Rosie’s birthday! 🎂
From the garden to the classroom, it’s been a week of learning, laughter, and building our community together.