Who are we?
Here at Ohaeawai we are busy, with family-making, mudpie cooking and hut building on the top of our agenda. We pick up play from the previous day, and deepen our play experiences. Each day is a new creation, different from the next. There’s lots of communication, problem solving and core intelligences unfolding, with everyday day being a new learning opportunity. We are a community of kaiako, whanau and tamariki who shine through the joy of play!
Our space is an environment that supports and allows your child to be creative, to be an inventor and innovator. We put the emphasis on the importance of play, as this is their way of challenging themselves. We need the next generation of leaders to think outside the box! That’s exactly the opportunity play gives children. Add to that love and kindness as non-negotiable ingredients and we are, in the words of the children, “the best place to be”. Can we get any more praise than from our own tamariki?
The programme
Let me explore I need to tinker and potter. Set me free!
At Ohaeawai we value children's PLAY. We believe children learn through their PLAY. We know that their bodies learn 100% when they PLAY.
Through PLAY they are able to move, create, use their imagination, explore their metaphoric thinking, build a body of knowledge, and it allows social and emotional literacy to unfold and develop.
Our teachers support our children at PLAY. They provide provocations to support higher thinking and investigation and above all they provide your child with Respect, Care and LOVE, all whilst they PLAY!
The environment
There is nothing like being amongst real life to feel alive!
Supporting our young tamariki with their learning and development, we recognise the importance of involving them in real life experiences, being apart of the process that is involved in the work itself. When childcare environments mirror a home away from home, siblings are able to share many precious moments together, just like they would at home.
Taking risks in play is essential for children’s growth and development, supporting our tamariki as they learn their strengths and weaknesses and become more aware of their limitations so that they can learn to take care of themselves.
Care, beauty and love is an essential part of our environment set ups for our children, an environment that ignites the senses, and provides children with security and self worth.
The community
Building a Unity within our Community!
It takes a village to raise a child and that is what our Ohaeawai community is about. It has to start with love. With caring and teaching from the head, heart and hands!
Here we take time to come together, to grow relationships/ Nga hononga, to share stories, enjoy the beauty, engage in festive activities. We take time to just be together.
We do this with our traditional candlelit pathway leading the way, with kai contributed by all, with a beautiful hangi to full those tummy's on a cold winters night, with an environment that is carefully planned to bring surprise, and pure delight to all.
The team
Teachers plant seeds of knowledge that never stop growing. Never be afraid of growth, it might lead to the making of you!
Our team/kaiako continue to soak up knowledge on a daily basis. We value the benefits of great professional development! It is essential that as kaiako we are prepared in the head, heart and hands. Which allows us to support an incredible peaceful time for your child at Ohaeawai!
With our daily rituals and routines firmly in place, providing the children with predictability and consistency (the known), the environment intentionally prepared for play, gives them what their little hearts need.
Beauty comes from within. We believe that it is not enough that children receive good care, the care must be excellent. Here at Ohaeawai we feed the soul of both the child and the adult. We believe in collaboration with the child and with our whanau, our community and our professional sector. Without collaboration our growth is limited to our own perspectives.
“We can be excited by a child’s competence without forgetting that at the heart of it, they are still very little. They are so new to this planet, and they need kindness and grace to support that newness. They can be both things - big and little, which means they need independence sometimes and to be served other times, space sometimes and closeness at others.”
— The Heart School
And at the end of the day…
Every child is loved. Beauty and love is not only seen but felt. And this is what ultimately counts!
A true reflection of our beautiful place is that your child feels safe, and nurtured, they are grounded and therefore they are able to Shine, and Shine in the best possible way.
Your child needs to be in a space that bring happiness, spaces that bring joy and smiles. At this young age our children need opportunities where they can come together, be relaxed, share conversations, and build friendships!
